Trekke

Here is my approach.

Work is important. It allows me to accomplish the personal goals and objectives in my life. I approach it every day with 100% effort. However, I only do this while at work and only give 100%. My list of important life things includes work but it is way down the list. Family, faith, friends, health, relationships and personal satisfaction are all way ahead of work. It really is all about balance, especially for those of us that are not able to retire just yet. What really makes this balance difficult is the time I spend at work which skews the balancing act for sure. Since there is not a lot I can do about that I make sure my time away from work is spent very wisely. After all Time really is the most important resource.

wpflem

Plus the med school in Guadalajuarha(sp) produced, my primary care Dr., an orthopedist friend, who ranks tops in the SW city in which he practices and the cardioliogist who saved my life, so Mexican practioners are def worth investigating[/QUOTE]



Beware of trusting yourself to the care of mexican practitioners. Would you really travel to Mexico to have your gallbladder removed or to have your knee replaced? US licensed doctors who received their medical school training in Guadalajara do well in spite of their inferior medical school training. They have to go through rigorous postgraduate qualifying programs in the US before they are allowed to practice here. They are a self-select group of highly motived individuals who in nearly all cases did not meet the admission requirements for US medical schools.

Dental care is another story and I can't speak on that issue, but most dental care procedures are unlikely to put life or limb at risk.

BaadDawg

Some of what this poster says makes some sense but much of it is nonsense. There are good and bad doctors everywhere including many in the US. My neice is a 4th year medical student in Saltillo Mexico (she is Mexican) and my sister is a licensed pediatrician in North America (she is Canadian) and I have spoken with them both about this very subject, plus have spent time reviewing both their training, and to tell you the truth there is very little difference. Access to more equipment and more costly drugs is more widespread in US, and yes there are some poorly trained doctors in Mexico, but, my Mexican brother-in-law underwent experimental arterial brain by-pass and my mother in law had a her colon removed and while the post op care is wanting due to resources, and there can be lineups, they received pretty much state of the art care there. And this was in the publilc Seguro Social system. The private system there can be better (or worse). Smaller towns definitely have inferior services.

In today's environment you almost have to be your own physician or at least be very familiar with what is being done to you and by whom. Generalizations just don't cut it.

cyclezealot

Mexico has an excellant medical school...If Mexico has a problem with medical care , I am sure it is related to regulation and not the fact all doctors are poorly trained..With research you can overcome who is a poor doctor.
My friend Joe is sold on his Ensenada doctor...And he now takes regular dental trips to Ensenada.
In fact..Anyone see , THink it was Lou Dobbs , as couple weeks ago...American insurance providers were actually advocating sending Americans abroad because medical costs are so much less elsewhere..
This from our beloved insurance companies...Maybe next gaul bladder operation you might find yourself in Thailand or Taiwan..Talk about the ultimate outsourcing.. wonder if they put you up in the Ritz...I demand they pick up my bar tab.

wpflem

I concur. Not all care in Mexico is bad. I know some that some MD's in Mexico receive fellowship training here in the US, and I'm told that Mexico City has some first class facilities. The message was beware.

On the issue of outsourcing of medical care for US citizens, I have to agree that may now be a very rational way to go. With regard to health care being affordable or even accessible for many, our system is desperately in need of a fix, perhaps a revolutionary fix.

Another poster suggested that much of what I wrote was nonsense. I dont' think so, I have personally known a sizeable number of Mexico trained physicians and I've never heard one of them praise their training there. They felt it was a pay your money and learn-any-way-you can system. My favorite story is from a practicing ob/gyn who had to smuggle his own cadaver across the El Paso-Juarez border in order to learn anatomy. He said his training was so bad that I just wouldn't believe without having been there myself. He harbors a good bit of bitterness over his Mexico medical school experience particularly with the high fees and bribes he had to pay.

cyclezealot

[QUOTE=wpflem]I concur. Not all care in Mexico is bad. .

On the issue of outsourcing of medical care for US citizens, I have to agree that may now be a very rational way to go. With regard to health care being affordable or even accessible for many, our system is desperately in need of a fix, perhaps a revolutionary fix.

I think this is the ultimate in irony...We are told we have the best care in the world....And now those that tell us that, consider sending us as patients, overseas...I predict there will be no overhaul of the US system, until it financially goes broke...But, that may not take that long.

skydive69

On my ride today, I ran into just the opposite of the tank commander. John Sinibaldi. 91 years old, and riding strong (two time olympion '32 & '36 & 10 time USA champion). I want to be like him when I grow up - not the tank commander.

BTW, what changed my life style (I am a retired airline pilot), is that I couldn't help but notice all of the black rimmed notices that used to appear on the bulletion board of the pilot's lounge. They typically announced the death of one of our retirees. I couldn't help but notice that the typical age of deather was 61-62 years old. Pretty grim thought, dying within one to two years of retirement with (hopefully) a wonderful retirement to enjoy. I started working out regularly, and 45 years later at the age of 65 I feel as vigorous and healthy as I did as a youngster! RIP tank commander, but I don't intend to follow you footsteps.

FXjohn

My grandfather smoked unfiltered cigarettes and drank scotch for 70 of his 90 years.

TysonB

Guys, I KNOW my exercise will NOT help my odds in the crapshoot of life. We all finally roll craps, that's a 100% certainty. I believe and hope that exercise leads to a healthier longer life, but I don't really count on it, or for that matter really even care. I just got in from a hard ride in a blustery wind . . . and enjoyed every second of it, pain sweat and all. Made me know I was alive and part of God's great world. Nice scenary and friendship.

That's why I am addicted to this stuff. Been that way 40 years now.

Tyson

skydive69

Which is a great point. My fiance's husband was 54 years old when he died. He was an outstanding athlete, and had many triathalons to his credit. He worked out regularly. Unfortunately, while doing his swimming workout one day, he suffered cardiac arrest and died at the pool. As an aside, my fiance started a group that puts defibrillators in public places and police cars (including of course the pool in which he died). The autopsy showed no blockage whatsoever in his arteries - he had been training since early in life. He did, however, have something many people are not even aware of - LDL pattern B, which can lead to sudden cardiac arrest. Her pro triathalete son also has it, and is being carefully watched by a cardiologist.

Bottom line: The best laid plans, and the best shape often lose out to our genetic mapping.

DnvrFox

Well, exercise - or actually the lack of it - CAN cause you to have a shortened life - i.e., morbid obesity.

The best reason to exercise is the improved quality of life. Being able to get out of a chair easily is just one example of many - being able to go for a long hike, ride a long ride, etc. But, there are NO guarantees.

wpflem

Indeed. Morbid obesity is a chronic life threatening disease increasing in epidemic proportion throughout this country and the industrialized world. It is now the second leading cause of preventable death in this country. It is particularly sad to see it manifest in the lives of our school age children.

TysonB

I wholeheartedly agree that exercising on a bike probably pays health benefits. I didn't say exercise was bad. I said it was great and that I do it because it is fun, not because of any potential future benefit.

We are all going to die. I'm not out there trying to prolong my life. I'm out there working hard, sweating, feeling the wind in my face and the sun on my shoulders, cussing and laughing just because I like it. My daughter while she was a high school athlete and potential star basketball player once said, "Dad, I know our soccer team is not very good and that our basketball team will be in the state finals. But, I'd rather play soccer in the driving rain than be indoors playing basketball. There's something about just kicking the ball and running and playing soccer that I love."

Pretty well sums up my attitude about "Just doin' it." The health benefits are something I'll let the Type-A's and the government actuaries fret about.

Tyson

Velo Dog

Life is MUCH easier when you abandon ambition....
That sounds like criticism, but it's not. I just turned 60, and when I started with my present employer 30 years ago, I was supposed to be a promising young up-and-comer. I got two pretty good promotions in four years, to what passes here for middle management. I didn't mind the work, but I HATED the politics, the long-range planning (especially since it was pointless--decisions were made from corporate HQ, without regard for input from my level) and the endless meetings. I could have done my job in eight hours a day easily, but if you have to do your work after spending four or five hours in meetings, you wind up only seeing your kids on Sunday mornings.
About the time I turned 40, I decided the only job I wanted was the one I'd started in. My wife agreed--she wanted me home more, and I wanted to raise my children--and I was lucky to have a boss who understood (he was a classic three-marriage, 60-hour-a-week guy, but beginning to have regrets near the end of his career). I was able to move back without stigma (they even created a "senior" category for me, to give me a little more money than I'd make otherwise) and I've been doing it happily for almost 20 years. I probably make $7,500 to $10,000 less than I would if I'd stayed in management, but I've never been sorry for one second.

oldspark

Wow sounds kinda like the situation with where I work word for word, can't just do a job anymore there are always issues to deal with. No options for me though as the pay and benefits are way better than any thing else around so for now I am stuck. My biking helps some what but there are days it's tough to go to work. Enough of that, I ride bike because I like it and the health benefits come with it but helping the odds to live longer to see the grand kids grow up doesn't hurt a thing. Dealing with foolish drivers on the road somewhat levels the playing field.

Litespeed

I would love to see the health industry give people who exercise and maintain good eating habits a break in the cost in health insurance. I say, if your doctor says you are actually trying to improve your overall heath, you should get a break on health insurance. Why should I have to pay for high health insurance when there are over 50% of the population that doesn't care at all and would rather pop a pill to try and change things. I only go to the doctor once a year for a yearly checkup unless I really have to (like for cracked ribs--taking a fall off my bike). I know that exercise and eating better is improving my life, I can see in my body and they overall way I feel. When I eat crummy food, I feel crummy. Your body is like a car, if you put crummy fuel in it, it's going to run crummy. You are what you eat.

FXjohn

By the same token, it would only be fair of them to examine your genes, to see if you were predisposed to certain things.
Let's get real..."trying to improve your overall health"
What a slippery slope.

You take care of yourself because you want to, not because your "daddy" rewards you.

DnvrFox

I only wish it was that simple.

I get a big charge over folks who brag about their medical excellence, what they eat, etc., etc., as if they were somehow better than the rest of us.

Many of you (us) will (have) discovered that "**** happens" no matter what or how you exercise and eat.

My Trigeminal Neuralgia had nothing to do with exercise and/or diet. Neither did my kidney stones.

Predisposition to cancer in women (and men) has nothing to do with diet or exercise. In many families, every single female has breast cancer early in life.

I could go on and on. Genetic predispoosition and even genetic diseases are also facts.

Yes, diet and exercise are important. BUt they are not the be all you make them out to be. Guess what. Some years in the future you may go to the doctor 2 or 3 or 4 or 20 times, based on nothing to do with exercise and diet. I know, I have been there. In fact, I am there right now. I have seen more docs this last year than in my entire life prior.

My dad died of a Brain Tumor (glioma) which had nothing to do with his exercise or diet. He was trim and fit.

So quit parading your plumage. Likely, your time will also come. If it doesn't, then thank your God and lucky stars.

Red Baron

well said DnvrFox, I'm always reminded of my Vietnam combat experiences , looking among the dead and/or multilated and thinking "Why was I the lucky one" - No answer then, none now, but I thank God every day and promised fallen friends back then and since whom weren't so lucky that I would treat every day as a gift...

Rowan

Personally, I think that was a bit rough, DF. She was only trying to illustrate that the medical system is being swamped by people who have let themselves go because the system offers up pills instead of physical exercise. In my reading, it wasn't directed at people posting here... and after all, there have been quite a few inspirational posts on BF about people who have used cycling to withdraw from the quick-fix system (ie, started as obese and lost weight to a realistic level).

I've had nasty things happen to me, too, but my impact on the health system is pretty minimal to the types of people who were the original subject of the thread.

And I agree absolutely with Velo Dog. Ambition and the corollary -- wealth -- do incredibly bad things to people emotionally and physically, at least in my own personal experience. The system plays on that, of course.

Red Baron

Also well said Litespeed. No offense meant in previous post.
your post triggered a memory-
Remember Natty Bumpo (The original 'hawkeye' - leatherstocking tales, last of the mohigans....... )

I'll always remember 'his' quote in one of the books - referring to overeating..... "I don't dig my grave with my teeth." Odd how that has stayed with me all these years.

oldspark

That's a great line, I'm surprised that has not been used in an ad for a health related business.

Rowan

Sometimes, it's very easy to let that thought slip away. I need to bring it back to the surface as a reminder that when I was on a gurney in intensive care and I just hoped to heaven that the HR monitor didn't flat line because my heart had stopped beating... that life from then on really is a precious bonus.

TysonB

Denver Fox,

What do you mine "Likely your time will com?" Hell, it's not likely, it's inevitable. Hope I get in a nice ride on that last day. If not, I hope I got in a nice ride the last day I was humanly able.

Whenever it is, I won't be saying "I wish I had worked more and not have ridden my Peugeot so much."

Tyson

DnvrFox

Some of us will exit easily. Most of us won't. That was my point.