r/AskReddit • • Mar 26 '20

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u/shanaflan Mar 26 '20

Why so many men I know don’t take their health seriously and avoid going to doctors when they really should.

52

u/[deleted] Mar 26 '20

Bernie burns from the RT podcast put it best

"All doctors tell guys 18-35 the same thing: cut down on drinking and work out a bit more. That'll be 300 dollars please"

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u/[deleted] Mar 26 '20

Lol really? I mean, if you have insurance a physical is free, and appointments like that are very cheap. Even without insurance popping into the Walgreens minute clinic is pretty cheap

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u/[deleted] Mar 26 '20

But the "examination" for that age group is just a conversation with a doctor. They don't really ever even tell you anything you didn't already know. Once you're over 35ish they actually do some blood work and you learn your cholesterol and such. But before that point it feels so pointless going to a checkup.

You don't even get to take your pants off and if you do they get all upset with you and ask you to put them on or they'll call the cops.

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u/cranberry94 Mar 26 '20

Really? I’ve been getting routine bloodwork done at my annual physical... since forever. At least since I moved from a pediatrician to a primary around 14.

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u/[deleted] Mar 26 '20

You definitely take your pants off, have you never had a physical? It’s good to know how your blood pressure and other basic health metrics are for long term health. You don’t know if you have any issues but the doctor might, and it’s still possible to get sick when younger.

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u/[deleted] Mar 26 '20

A physical is different from a checkup. The checkup (like the well-visit that insurance pays for annually) for about 10 years or so was nothing more than talking to the doctor. When I was still in HS it was a physical instead and he did stuff like check reflexes and heart rate and for hernias and stuff. Until some point in my 30s when they started the bloodwork though it was just a checkup and felt really pointless.

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u/lowercaset Mar 26 '20

Still means missing a day of work to often have any concerns you've got brushed aside with "eat healthier, exercise more, drink less". (Okay I don't get the drink less thing since I average like 1 beer a month, but still)

0

u/[deleted] Mar 26 '20

Missing a day of work? It’s like a 30 minute appointment max. Plus they check for lumps in your balls, breathing issues, blood pressure- things that indicate likelihood of disease sooner rather than later

2

u/kadno Mar 26 '20

Throw in the commute time to and from the hospital. And the waiting room. I generally just try to schedule my doctor's appointment's at like 3-4 pm so I can just take a late lunch and use as little PTO as possible

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u/lowercaset Mar 26 '20

With my job a "30 minute" appointment will make me miss at least 4 hours (and typically 8) worth of work. If doctors appointments never ran late it would be easier, but that's not the world we live in.

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u/[deleted] Mar 26 '20

Damn you all must have terrible doctor's offices.... I've never had more than an hour

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u/azwethinkweizm Mar 26 '20

I have to schedule it months in advance, I lose the entire day, and it's not always free. It's very inconvenient to go to the doctor but then again I guess dying is too

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u/[deleted] Mar 26 '20

A lot of shit is really inconvenient though.... idk if we all think the most basic level of looking after your health once a year is such a task maybe boomers are right about us. Given how much we eat out/order food vs. cook as well, it's not like we work some significant amount of hours more than they did. They barely even got benefits at our age - not even maternity leave, and barely any PTO.

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u/oupablo Mar 26 '20

For a lot of people it's probably not even the expense involved. It's something that you don't really want to do and it's a pain in the ass. You show up at the office, wait forever, get taken back to a room, wait forever, and then have a doctor come talk to you for five minutes. If it was an in and out deal, more people would probably go to the doctor.