Now that the major trauma seems to be well on its' way to being resolved it was time to take the body to the shop for some diagnostics. Went in to the lab a couple days ago for the specimen collection so the doc would have everything at hand for the meeting today.

He almost seemed disappointed when he told me he couldn't put me on any prescription medications. "Everyone your age is on at least one prescription medication, not counting eye drops" he said. Compared to what they were before this trauma evolution some are a bit out of whack, for me, but still well within normal. Glad something is normal, eh?

Then came the sobering comment. He told me this is my last prostate exam. No more PSA. No finger wave this time or ever again. I'm too old for that. They figure that the odds are at my age I will die with prostate cancer not of it.

Similar with the colonoscopy. I get one more because of family history. Without that I'm so old, in their view, there is no point in the screening.

Sobering...

You're in your 70s I'm guessing and you require no meds? Kudos! Sounds like you've done well, and I suspect you chose your parents carefully.

No meds at your age, whatever that is, great!

Drug companies aren't gonna make bigger profits by curing people's problems. The aim is to get you "hooked" on some prescription for the rest of your life. [/OPINION]

+1 They don't actually "want" to find a "cure" for anything anymore... JMO

All good things must come to an end. Enjoy today. It is all you ever have.

Good for you on the drug end. As far as the tests - my doc told me last time that the "protocol" no longer required the finger wave, although he did one.

I'm not due for a colonoscopy for 5 years, and by then I will likely be too old.

I recall that you are 2-3 years older than I am??

This thread is likely headed for P&R and I would prefer it remain in the 50+.

In your 70s and no meds? You are on your way to triple digits. They're right. You won't die of cancer. You'll die from being shot by a jealous husband, after being caught in flagranti with the young wife... and three other ladies. At the age of 103.

Live long and prosper!

Way to go! Nice for someone to demonstrate they can live without a boatload of medications.

Didn't do that good a job of picking parents. As of now chronologically I've outlived all my immediate family. Live one more year and I'll have outlived all of them. But, for me, the best mottoe has been Quality rather than Quantity. A good life vs. a long one.

Nothing against drugs when needed. I took a lot of narcotics after the accident for pain relief. Surgery took care of that. We can discuss drugs in another thread. For this one I'd like to discuss mutual motivation.

Yep, Denver we are about the same age. I'll be 76 a few days before Thanksgiving.

I wasn't kidding about it being sobering. Here I am a healthy person and being told I no longer mattered enough for preventive medicine. That I'm close enough to "the end" that it isn't worth the effort to do routine diagnostics. We treat our cars better than that.

I had an older Corolla that I wanted to trade in when I got a new car. But the dealer told me it was too old -- that I should simply donate it to a charity and take the tax deduction. I figured if it wasn't worth anything, I may as well keep driving it till it died: I drove that car for another 9 years and another 125,000 miles...

"Too Old" is an opinion based on a generalization. That kind of generalization did not fit for my specific automobile nor does it sound like it fits for you...
... Maybe you should shop for a new physician...

Just because the doctor says you don't need one doesn't mean you can't have one. Ask if the psa test is recommended for someone expecting to live another 30 years and see what the answer is.

My dad never saw 60 and died of prostate cancer, I'm currently 57 and have good numbers. If the doctor or insurance say no to a test I might consider getting it done anyway.

Congratulations on your health, your next goal is to outlive that doctor.

Seems like I read somewhere that the vast majority (like over 3/4) of men who make it past 75 (or was it 80) have at least an enlarged prostate when they finally reach the end but by the time it causes a problem a surgery is more likely to cause harm than a slow growing prostate problem. On the other hand (so to speak), it's not like a digital rectal exam costs anything, so I don't see why you shouldn't be able to keep requesting it for your own piece of mind (just tell him you plan on living another 30 years). I've heard a lot of conflicting reports about whether or not PSA tests have any value at all (too many both of false positives and false negatives to do much good), so if that's one less blood draw, so much the better from my point of view.

With the PSA if it shows a possible problem they will do a digital exam anyway. So why do the PSA? (Although I do prefer a needle in my arm as to a finger in my @)

Anyway, Good for you, but I do agree with telling them you plan on living for at least another 30 years. If George Burns had asked for a digital exam I am sure they would have given him one, why would they not give you one?

Keep on riding, when I was 32 I was riding with a guy that was 65 and he kicked my butt. I hurt myself trying to keep up with him. Now at 52 I hope to be in your shape when I hit 60!

I'm just saying they can take my Androgel away from me when they pry the pump out of my cold dead fingers. Less than a week and I haven't felt this good in years. I may just ride my bike down to Five O'clock Charlie's, mingle with the motor sickle thugs, and get in a fight.

That is sobering thought . . . something I'd been considering even though I'm a bit younger than you are (62).

I was kind of hoping to go on like George's old Corolla . . . good for another 100.000 or so cycling miles!

Rick / OCRR

Conservative financial planners assume we'll last til 95. Yes, seems a bit depressing, but cycling will give us a greater quality of life. I'd like to be as healthy as possible until then. Of course the new world of health care may only shoot for 85 as a more reasonable "standard".

This hit me hard this am as a good friend - one of our singers - had a stroke. The docs give him 2 weeks. He is 82 and diabetic, but was always in shape. 5 deaths in 3 weeks so far.

'Tis the fate of every single one of us.

I knew a gent who swam competitively at the age of 84. He said you got to move up the standings simply by staying alive.

The doc explained to me that from an overall point of view the PSA was just too unreliable. I did get a blood draw for one and depending on results I may or may not do something further. As for the manual exam: He confirmed what I've always thought. So much depends on the person who is attached to the finger that manual exams are not nearly the "gold standard" we have been told. Plus, unless the lower colon is pretty clean it is difficult for the provider to tell what is being felt.

THE KEY, to me, is to take responsibility for my own health. When I started doing that I realized that about 90% of the stuff that was labeled food and sold was not good for me. Also, that most of the recommendations for good health had at their heart either or both profit and not my good health. Then I spent a lot of time cutting through the snake oil surrounding health. I found that most medical providers and government folks in the business held a pretty low opinion of the general public. So, most recommendations are minumums rather than desired or even optimal.

In defense of medical and health providers I think this crowd would agree that most people would rather take a pill than do the work to be healthy. Given that background I'm not sure how much guilt I can place on someone for taking advantage of people's proclivities.

Sobering isn't the word I would choose for reaching some age north of 70 and being so healthy that no meds and mininal testing is needed. Take pride in a life that was so well lived that you are in excellent health. Unlike our ancestors many of us make it into and past our 70's because of the excellent medical care and medicines that were not available one and two generations prior. So some of us should not be too critical of those who do have to make use of the medical system.

Not at all critical of those who have to use the medical system. I am where I am because the medical mechanics have been able to put me back together. What I suggest is that so many people don't do what they can with what they have. To them their well-being is someone else's responsibility. But, I separate those who have mechanical issues due to trauma from accident, enemy action, occupation, etc. and health, like diabetes, from poor choices.

An earlier posting reminds me of a relative who has had chickenpox and, according to current knowledge, is especially vunlerable to shingles. This relative has decided that a trip to the pharmacy to get vaccinated is too much; especially since the doctor didn't mandate the vaccination, just said it was a good idea. This person is not taking responsibility for themselves.

I guess I would be concerned that folks who "pat themselves on the back" for their great health decisions also realize that there are others who also have made the best health decisions possible, but, due to circumstances beyond their control, do have to take medicines. I cite - in particular - my own trigeminal neuralgia - and my wife's post-herpetic-neuralgia, both requiring Rx daily or we would both be screaming in pain 24 hours per day. And, the shingles vaccine was not available 7 years ago.

Also, my own atrial fibrillation - since cured by an ablation - something over which I and milllions of others have no or little control, but requires medication.

There are many other examples. Many with elevated blood pressure find that it is not responsive to diet, exercise or weight control, etc. It is a genetic factor that they can't control.

So, don't pat yourselves on the back too hard - you might break an elbow and require treatment and medication.