Posted by pseudoname on November 22, 2005, at 10:11:48
I just saw a GP for the first time in about 12 years. I was there to get "a physical exam," at my decision as part of covering the legal hazards before starting to take opioids for depression. I am 40 and in good health. He had not seen me before.
I filled out their medical history sheet and the nurse took my BP and weighed me.
The doctor did the following things:
(1) He looked in my left ear, which I said had felt plugged for the last 18 months. He didn't look in my right ear. He said nothing.
(2) He digitally checked my prostate because I said I'd had a few problems urinating recently. (And "digital" here doesn't mean fancy electronics, LOL.)
(3) He listened to my heart & breathing.
(4) He ordered bloodwork (CBC, liver fxn, PSA, but not cholesterol, fasting glucose etc).
That was it. No patellar tendon taps, looking at the retina, follow-my-finger, turn-your-head-and-cough, examination of the skin, feeling the glands, abdominal palpation, testing of balance or muscle tone. We discussed nothing about lifestyle, diet, exercise, stress, or long-range health.
Are these things passé? quaint? useless? I'm mostly upset that he said nothing about my ear, but what the H. does a proper initial physical exam involve these days, anyway?
He got $140 and talked to me more about urban renewal in Chicago than about my health.
poster:pseudoname
thread:581205
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/health/20050929/msgs/581205.html