Pap test and mammogram once a year. Nothing wrong with me, no medication, don't enjoy listening to people talk about their aches and pains, because I think it could jinx me. I go to the dentist 2x a year, no problems there either. Guess I have mom's good genes.

I am one with you also Ronni. Mammogram once a year, colonoscopy every 5 years; yadayada.

That said, I am thrilled I have health insurance to pay for doctor visits and medications that keep me healthy.

And, with the success of our health reform blog led by you last week, we should all keep this in the forefront of our blogs. Especially with the loss of Senator Kennedy. I fear Senator Baucus who is leading the charge to defeat the public option of health care coverage, and who took almost $3 million from health insurance companies, will overtake and defeat public health insurance.

Then, I could not get medicines or see a doctor, even once a year.

I love you for writing this Ronni - it pretty much sums up my and my parents' attitude to medical care. If it ain't broke, don't fix it! I look at my brother & how he & his wife take their kids to the doctor for every conceivable reason (or non-reason!) and I just despair. They are going to grow up thinking of themselves as ill, rather than in the belief that, as you say, their bodies should keep on ticking over until they wear out and die.

I have always hated doctors (despite my dad being a radiologist!!) and luckily for me my parents never took us to the doctor unless we were on the verge of needing hospitalisation. I also understand that I am lucky in that I am very healthy (great genes) and I try to take the best care of myself that I can.

Here in the UK where we already have a public health system in place, rather than overprescribing, doctors have gone too far the other way. When my husband (who similarly avoids the doctor like the plague) went to the doctor to ask for antibiotics for a low-level respiratory infection that had bugged him for weeks and would nto go away, the doctor spent less than 5 minutes examining him or reading up on his file (which is available on-screen in our practice), refused him antibiotics and told him to gargle salt water. Unsurprisingly, the infection did not get better and 2 weeks later he woke up with the side of neck so swollen he could not turn it. One trip to the hospital, one throat swab, one needle biopsy, one scope up his nose and one MR scan later (to rule out a tumour), they confirmed that the throat infection had gone untreated for so long that his lymph node was now infected (lymphadenitis) and he immediately needed... antibiotics. Oh, and because he was so run down by then, he also developed shingles.

Why is it so hard for doctors to just sit down and LISTEN to patients??

I am blessed with decent health. I used to see a doc every 3 mos - but recently "graduated" to every 4 mos., for blood work associated with some BP meds I take, as well as statins. They have to keep track of certain levels. I have not seen a specialist since my last colonoscopy (6 yrs.). I get a mammogram every year and a Pap smear too. I have a lot of those brown spots (keratoses) and I'd love them removed, but a dermatologist said if you remove one, two come to the funeral.

My attitude and that of my parents matches yours. I go in very seldom but do try to stay aware of my body's differences. I do the yearly mammogram and a physical every couple of years but I find it mostly a waste of time as physicals really are best at blood work but otherwise people have had them to die a week later. I hadn't seen a doctor for several years when I had to have some stitches where I cut myself badly and then I asked do I need to come back in to have them removed and when he said no, I took care of them at home.

I live in Canada and I recently spent some time visiting (socially) with a couple of doctors; they had a couple of things to say that they thought would reduce some of the problems we have here with healthcare (our system is great but not perfect, like anything else). One was that a small fee, or deductible, on a doctor's office visit would go a long way to reducing frivolous visits. I tend to avoid the doctor's if I can help it, but apparently they get an amazing number of appointments with people who really don't need it. They also said it's hard to resist the pressure to order unnecessary tests, and a bit of a judgment call as to what is unnecessary and what is not.

Ronni, my husband and I avoid doctors, too.

Part of this is a consequence of moving around a lot, plus no primary care doctors in our area take Medicare patients...so this philosophy may be a necessity rather than a virtue. I "have insurance" but as every intelligent person knows, none of us will have it long if we have the effrontery to actually get sick under the current "system."

Overall, I am much more afraid of being tortured to death by the medical system than I am of keeling over with a heart attack.

It's a shame, in a way, because I think there's a lot doctors could do (if they would) to improve seniors' lives. But it doesn't pay them to do it, or it's not their specialty, or whatever insurance we have is never the right kind, or something.

There is so much wrong with the scale of the current "system" that I despair of ever getting real help when I get into bad trouble, even the simple kind.

That doesn't mean skipping the basics. Every year go in once. Have your mammogram, pap every 2 years, BP checked, Blood sugar.......and once now have a bone density done.

Why: I did it your way and had a stroke.

In my opinion
deliberately staying away from medical care is foolish, especially as we age. I have always enjoyed excellent health except for several bouts of pneumonia and a tendency to severe bronchitis at times for which I got medicines and treatment.

After age 70 I have had more medical problems, none of which fall into the frivolous category.

Temporal arteritis at age 70, (I would have gone blind without diagnosis and treatment) parathyroid surgery ( without which the leaching calcium from my bones would have resulted in fractures,)knee meniscus arthroscopy for torn meniscus) I would not have had this procedure as it did not help)

Earlier in my 60's I had Glaucoma surgery without which I would have lost my eyesight. The eye pressure was controlled with prescription drops for many years until they no longer worked.

My husband has Macular degeneration which the eye doctor retina specialist) diagnosed and saved his eyesight with a brand new injectable drug called Lucentis. A godsend.
He also has had many basal and some aquamous skin cancers removed. One near his eye that required plastic surgery. He must see a cancer specialist dermatologist on a regular basis.

Yes, when we are in our 50's and 60's we can many times avoid the medical profession but at times they are lifesavers.

The first 45 years of my life I hardly saw a doctor and except for a hysterectomy and 3 babies I was never in a hospital. To this day I have only been to an emergency room once due to a fall.

Without drugs for high blood pressure I might have already have had the type of stroke that killed my father at age 65.

Preventive medicine, like preventive dentistry, and good self care in the long run is well worth the time and expense.

I will be a healthy 80 years old in December. I am thankful for these extra years of reasonably good health during which I have watched my grandchildren ranging from 9 to 21 grow and flourish.

My husband of almost 58 years is in good shape and he works out at least 3 days a week. We both try to eat right and stay healthy but we are not foolish enough to ignore symptoms that seem serious to us.

I'm with Elaine. Living in a very small town, I've had the same doctor for 30 years and it's a godsend. Baseline mammogram showed microcalcifications but the mastectomy has kept me safe since '85. Hubby has severe disc problems as well as sinus conditions, despite an athletic lifetime when he was younger. I'm now treated for a chronic mental challenge as well, and bless the doctors and their sensitive referrals. Get those checkups and follow sensible advice--that's my advice!

I reckon at 62 I know my body better than any doctor, even one who has treated me for years. I go and see her when the need arises but don't at this stage feel the need for regular checkups.

So far that has worked fine - I had some blood tests a month or so ago, because of general tiredness and lack of energy and my cholesterol levels are 'disgustingly low'. We agreed was tired because basically sometimes you have more energy than others - it doesn't mean there is a problem.

Oh - and just to make sure the point is made, I'm in the UK and over 60 so none of this cost me a penny in co-payments or any other sort of charge.

I will go in early, but not often. That is, if something new happens and I'm worried about it, I will see the doctor. If they explain it to me and I know why it's not a big issue, that's the end of it - and when it happens again I will know.

My mother disliked doctors and didn't want to go even when she clearly needed to (although she never failed to take me when I needed to go). Her health suffered for it on more than one occasion over the years. I will not emulate her.

At the same time, I will happily call the advice nurse if I think it can be handled over the phone, and again, if I get a good answer, I don't need to be treated. I am just as glad to learn that I don't need to treat whatever-it-is, to be frank!

My son was born this past January. He was 11 pounds, 9 ounces. They didn't know he was that large (the test that might have told them that - there's a fair margin of error - was scheduled for three days after he chose to arrive), so he was delivered normally (albeit not without pain medication), not via C-section. Had they known how large he was, they would have scheduled a C-section instead.

In that case, it might not have been a bad thing. I'm grateful not to have had one, but at the same time, his birth required about the same amount of follow-up care as a C-section, and his arm was injured during the delivery (due to his size relative to mine). I'd rather have had the C-section than have him injured (but he's recovering nicely). At the same time, there was no reason to believe one was needed until he had arrived, and I am very grateful to have a doctor who considers C-sections something to be done only when reasonably necessary.