Full Health Checkup

[JD™]

Hi All,

I've been thinking for a while that it might be nice to have like a full run down check on my health - I seem to be always ill and it's always different but even when I'm healthy I feel like I'm not running at 100%. When I go to the docs I always wuss out and let them give me antibiotics rather than do blood tests and the like because I feel like I'm wasting their time.

What I'm getting at is, does anyone know of a service where you can go and get checked for like EVERYTHING? Full on tests for all the diseases going. I guess it would cost a bomb, but it's something I'd definitely consider to have piece of mind that I am actually running at 100% or find out what's wrong so I can fix it.

Thanks TF

[ben_travis]

Tell them you went to a third world country and slept with a prostitute there and you are really concerned for your health?

simple...all sorts of test will be undertaken.

p.s. no racist intent in this post.

[JD™]

Lol, thanks but probably not the sort of thing I'm after. Tried out this whole Google thing after this thread (it's a wonderful website, ask for a link if any of you don't know it...) and it turns out the closest thing I'm going to get is the premium check that Bupa do - it's about £850 though. Time to get saving I reckon!

[RobinJI]

Tell them you went to a third world country and slept with a prostitute there and you are really concerned for your health?

simple...all sorts of test will be undertaken.

p.s. no racist intent in this post.

This ^^ Plus tell them her dad and his rabid dog chased you through the sewers while throwing rotten meat and used syringes at you. Sorted.

[Simpson]

Bupa

Watched a TV programme on that, in summary its a rip. Just explain clearly to your doctor your conserns and stop wussing out.

[JD™]

Watched a TV programme on that, in summary its a rip. Just explain clearly to your doctor your conserns and stop wussing out.

It's more the fact that I literally want to be tested for diabetes, anemia, intolerances, allergies, asthma, etc etc. Like all of it, whether I have specific symptoms or not. If I could have a sheet of paper saying 'You are 100% OK' that I trusted then I could just get on with shit and stop blaming my lack of Olympic performance on these constant colds and lack of energy.

If I could just have a clean enough run to get on the 2012 GB Olympic team I could get them to pay for it all, haha.

[arw_86]

colds, minor illnesses and not havin 100% energy seems to be down to a persons diet alot of the time.

also could be down to lack of exercise, the power of positive thinking or being a hypochondriac.

....this is where you tell me, you eat nothing but the best food cooked by your very own michelin starred chef michel roux jr, rambo is your fitness coach and paul mckenna is your psychiatrist

[JD™]

colds, minor illnesses and not havin 100% energy seems to be down to a persons diet alot of the time.

also could be down to lack of exercise, the power of positive thinking or being a hypochondriac.

....this is where you tell me, you eat nothing but the best food cooked by your very own michelin starred chef michel roux jr, rambo is your fitness coach and paul mckenna is your psychiatrist

Haha, no this is where I thank you.

The problem is that you're not far from the truth. My diet is sorted, but then again I drink a shit ton of beer. My fitness is done by the random relation on this site www.dynamoboxing.co.uk as well as a top GB duathlete. I'm not a hypochondriac, I just fancy having that piece of mind. I'm not actually assuming anything is wrong, just wanted to go and get a full check up because I'm curious and want to be in the best possible position to have no excuses for not reaching my running goals.

[ben_travis]

its such a cliche now-a-days, but seriously harden up and go to the doctor.

you are not wasting their time. its their job. they get paid to do it, by you and your taxes.

all you have to do is explain your situation, say you are concerned about every aspect of your life, you would lik to do blood tests and all that jazz, even get your wang out and get a jazz and pee sample on the go. poop in a cup too for stool samples.

just get it done man. doctors love having something to do that isnt just - here have some anti biotics.

£850 is a total con.

[JD™]

its such a cliche now-a-days, but seriously harden up and go to the doctor.

you are not wasting their time. its their job. they get paid to do it, by you and your taxes.

all you have to do is explain your situation, say you are concerned about every aspect of your life, you would lik to do blood tests and all that jazz, even get your wang out and get a jazz and pee sample on the go. poop in a cup too for stool samples.

just get it done man. doctors love having something to do that isnt just - here have some anti biotics.

£850 is a total con.

You're totally right, well said

Hadn't even thought about the fact I'm already paying for all this!

[forteh]

Have you considered lyme disease? Read up on it and see if you think it might apply to you. Apparantly a lot of undiagnosed illness could be symptons of lyme, I know someone who has been misdiagnosed for lyme by the NHS for best part of 15 years, she is now basically housebound as she is so debilitated by the disease. Whats worse is its been passed onto both of her daughters, 5 and 13. Early diagnosis is easily treatable, later chronic stages are currently untreatable.

edit: not saying that you are suffering the normal symptons but its a commonly misdiagnosed illness.

Edited June 15, 2010 by forteh

[Tomm]

It's more the fact that I literally want to be tested for diabetes, anemia, intolerances, allergies, asthma, etc etc. Like all of it, whether I have specific symptoms or not. If I could have a sheet of paper saying 'You are 100% OK' that I trusted then I could just get on with shit and stop blaming my lack of Olympic performance on these constant colds and lack of energy.

That's never going to happen. It would be completely impossible to test for every disease going, and that's before you run into the problems of false positives (no test is 100% perfect). I.e. It's irrelevant to use diagnostic tests for screening, not to mention irresponsible as it could lead you down the road of unnecessary investigations for no good reason. False reassurance is worrying, too. Just because you don't have cancer on this year's scan, doesn't mean you can't have it next year. So what, should you have a CT scan each year? That's a surefire way to increase your cancer risk...

That BUPA test looks like a fairly sensible compromise if you're overly concerned. They seem to be looking for heart disease which may be useful for older people but I would guess is not a concern at your age. My opinion: save the money and do something f**king cool. Drive a Ferrari around a race track or something, that's a much better way to spend that much money on improving your life.

[lyme disease is] a commonly misdiagnosed illness.

No, it's not. It's an incredibly rare disease in this country. Yes, it's not the easiest diagnosis to make and I'm sure a handful of people have had it misdiagnosed. Obviously if you're concerned about anything, then see a doctor.

[club_card]

When I used to fit airconditiong I used to have to do a full health test every year. They took my blood and wee wee then then tested my eyes and attached things to my chest they did all sorts but I never had anything wrong with me though.

I would just ask your doctor I'm sure they could do a similar thing for you.

[1a2bcio8]

I've often found that some of the doctors at my surgery seem to have a way of making me feel like I'm wasting their time. They've often seemed uninterested in helping as well. I had to be quite firm in getting a blood test to try and find out what might be causing me to be inexplicably exhausted for upto a month, needing to spend a lot of time lying down. They tested me for anemia and liver functioning amongst other things that I've forgotten. They all came out negative and the doctor was totally uninterested in pursuing any other investigations. It seemed to be that if standard testing didn't show anything, there couldn't be anything wrong with me despite what I might be experiencing. Rubbishness.

But anyway, have you considered things like your quality of sleep and mental health. Either of these things can mess up your energy levels. Stay up on the computer too close to sleep and it reduces the quality of your sleep, likewise with consuming things like caffiene or alcohol before bed. Bad mental health (stress, depression, anxiety, etc.) can also intefere with sleep in addition to causing it's own problems for energy levels.

Out of interest, what's the sport that you doing at such a high level?

Edited June 15, 2010 by Ben Rowlands

[Willy]

Tomm are you a doctor? You seem to know one hell of a lot about health

[JD™]

Cheers Ben, that's exactly what I have experienced with doctors. They make me feel like I'm not worth their time unless I'm about to die of cancer right now. I guess I thought they were in it out of a genuine care of other people - my ex girlfriend is training in medicine because she truly wants to make people feel better, I wonder how long it'll take for her to become like the others?!

The sport that I'm definitely not at a high enough level at is running. I am planning to get onto team GB for a long distance event at some point in my life. Ideally this would happen for 2012, but that's almost certainly written off now with my being unable to run a road marathon for the past year. Aiming for 2016 now, but the great thing about marathon runners is that you can carry it on for quite a while. It's all a pipe dream really - I'm not fully expecting to get anywhere!

Tomm are you a doctor? You seem to know one hell of a lot about health

If I remember right, Tomm is training to be a doctor - I could be completely wrong though.

[Tomm]

Tomm are you a doctor? You seem to know one hell of a lot about health

In my real life, yes. But not on here

I don't think I would be able to answer any specific questions on here - Partly because of the distance / not seeing people in the flesh, and partly because I'm still very junior. So it would be out of place and unprofessional to give specific advice etc. Hence I'm not a doctor in this world. But yeah, I would hope I know more than average about health

But anyway, have you considered things like your quality of sleep and mental health. Either of these things can mess up your energy levels. Stay up on the computer too close to sleep and it reduces the quality of your sleep, likewise with consuming things like caffiene or alcohol before bed. Bad mental health (stress, depression, anxiety, etc.) can also intefere with sleep in addition to causing it's own problems for energy levels.

I would definitely agree with these statements. The "tired all the time" patient is very difficult to deal with since it's very often at least partly a matter of perception - who doesn't feel tired at times? Wouldn't it be great to have a lot more energy? I would imagine that half of the GPs' clinics are filled with people like this. Yet extensive investigation is unlikely to yield anything in most cases so it's a waste of money / resources and potentially harmful - not to mention distressing to patients. I suspect the sense of "uninterest" your doctor exudes is related to the frustration that modern medicine often has very little to offer.

[isitafox]

Probably nowhere near the right solution but I go to the gym quite a bit and take the usual protein shakes and supplements (like creatine) so try and stick to a relatively healthy diet but the one thing I find that really kills me is not drinking enough.

Most days I drink around 2-3.5 litres of water (not including brews!) and I find if I have a day or 2 where I'm just on tea and coffee and don't get much water down I get absolutely knackered, fall asleep on the sofa, no energy, colds and general roughness.

Could be all in my head but thought I'd stick a suggestion in for you, you never know!!