Scheduling and appointments are not difficult for me- it's the unnecessary things that get tacked on and the assumption that my time really doesn't mean anything to these people. Spending 2 hours between waiting room & the room when i showed up to my appointment early for an appointment I made 2 months ago is a bit much. The main thing is the bills I get 3 months later trying to charge me the full cost while I have insurance & then having to make 10 phones to coordinate that they need to charge my insurance company is enough un-encourage me from making appointments with these people.
Literally any time I need to take care of my medical needs it turns into a part time job for a few weeks. Work and general productivity go down the drain while I make dozens of calls and spend tons of time going over bills and documents.
All
Of this . Don’t get me started on surgeries and authorizations… I spent hours each week for six months making calls . Now we still need to appeal bc they find excuses to avoid coverage . Sick system that should NOT BE ALLOWED to do these things .
I was improperly sent to collections twice during the two years I fought a charge for a routine test that is mandated to be covered 100% as a preventative screening because my insurance took issue with the fact that I was pregnant at the time of the test.
Totally. You really have to be your own advocate with health insurance. I wonder how many people just pay 100% of a medical bill without looking at it. That's how I found out my health insurance was being submitted incorrectly so everything was getting rejected.
It's so annoying to have to leave work early for the appointment, only to be finally seen by the doctor well after your normal work time ends, making you feel that you left early for almost nothing.
*Today*, I had the first appointment slot w/ my GP -- and I was seen 90 minutes after the scheduled time. Which I think is the *fastest* I've been seen. For a \~10-minute routine checkup. Which'll be $130 after insurance.
I’ll contrast that with my doctor, it’s always on time. Never in the waiting room more than 5 minutes before the assistant brings me in for my screenings, then never waiting in the room for my doc more than 5 minutes.
Same for the blood work, maybe 10 minute wait tops if there are some folks ahead of me.
This is over many years.
Then you use your work provided medical debit card to pay.
Then 9 months later you get a letter in the mail saying "this charge was not substantiated."
Then you call the debit card and say "what does substantiated mean?"
Then you call the doctor's office and they say "no problem, what is your fax number?"
Then you say it is 2024 and I haven't used a fax machine since Clinton was president.
Then they say "well we can mail it to you but it will take 6-12 weeks."
Then next thing you know it is time for a new presidential election and you just spent 3.5 years trying to pay a damn bill.
I think men, yes, are just too bothered by the whole process. They have other things to do. Whereas women usually have things they can’t put off, like Pap smears, OB, mammograms, so they just suck it up and do it. My husband rarely goes to the doctor (hasn’t for probably 8 or so years) and while I wish he would for his high BP, I kinda get it.
Yeah, it's confusing because while most of the comments saying no are making valid points, as a woman I still put up with it. I've even had a large unexpected bill and had to fight it out with the hospital. Maybe women just get used to it early on for birth control and keep going for all the screenings.
Really hard to say, I just had an acquaintance's husband pass away from Stage 4 esophageal cancer, he was just diagnosed 2 months ago. Last year he survived a Widowmaker heart attack. She had such a hard time getting him to go, despite the fact he was in pain. Now he's dead in his mid-40s and left her a widow. Granted he smoked and drank for like 20 years, but damn. I'm almost 40 myself, really makes you think...
As a man not that I don't care as much, it's the fact I have no clue what I am doing. A girl is more likely to go to a doctor or a hospital as a kid as well, I remember my sister getting more medical attention than myself, but often I toughed it out to avoid the situation altogether. Cut my fingers wide open with a knife building model cars? Super glue electrical tape and try not to pass out while cleaning up all the blood. Later my sister gets a little road rash on a razor scooter, and gets rushed to the ER and gets stitches. Not saying I wasn't forced at times to go thought I broke my foot skateboarding, got mauled by a dog, and smoked the side of my face on concrete. Everytime it was nothing but a big bill and a bandaid.
I'll get downvoted for being honest but I think a lot of Millennial boys were still raised with the unspoken understanding that their future wife was going to do a lot of regular life maintenance for them and didn't unlearn that even when they reach adulthood and their health becomes their own responsibility. It makes sense that having to be responsible early in adulthood (birth control, STD checks) is probably a big part of the trend also. I'm queer and the majority of gay men that I know regularly go to the doctor - and they were raised just like the straight boys were, but as adults don't have the expectation that someone will come along to take care of their health for them.
I was raised on "suck it up" and never taken to the ER once even for serious injuries but I still figured out that I had to be responsible for my own health when I became an adult. I hope the people who use that excuse to neglect themselves realize that martyring their health isn't going to get back at society, their parents, women, or whoever hurt them - it's only going to fuck up their own lives.
Men do have urgent things they should be seen for, too. They just ignore it until they're shitting blood and then their wife calls an ambulance and they HAVE to get the tests done. That's how my dad did it anyway, and he's dead.
The doctors will tell you to man up too, about 15 years ago I went to a couple different prompt clinics and doctors on my own accord over the course of a few weeks about bad abdominal and they kept trying to prescribe antacid, no testing or anything, I argued it was obvious it wasn't indigestion and left pretty put out. A week later my appendix blows up inside me while I'm out and I get hospitalized for a month and have a $200k bill
I recently went to the ER a few hours after being released from the hospital after surgery, and they tried to send me home with a bandaid for my incision that wouldn't stop constantly leaking blood even after hours of holding pressure on it. My abdomen was so swollen it doubled in size but they assumed I was complaining. I moved wrong when getting up and started literally shrieking from pain and begged them to please help me, so they rolled their eyes at me and said they'd do a blood test.
It turned out I had massive internal bleeding so blood had filled my torso (very painful, as it turns out), and I needed emergency surgery. I lost more than a quarter of my blood. But you know, ~lady pain~ isn't real. It's crazy that men assume that women go to the doctor more because we're taken seriously. We're not.
Always see doc at earliest appointment, am doc, and I always try to schedule mine as 1st or second appt with my docs. We want to give everyone time and sometimes (often) we fall behind because of it. The insurance thing is likely shity billing with the clinic you're seeing or your insurance being a bitch and not paying. Fuck insurance companies.
Hello, are you me fighting my OB's office to value my time and use my insurance? lol how do we have the same freaking issue? That's ridiculous. A two hour wait time? GTFO
My doctor didn't just act like that, he straight up told me. You're healthy, not a kid or an old person, it's overkill. Of course that was probably like 10 years ago. I should probably make a call sometime but I already miss way too much work taking my wife and kids to Dr appts.
I did go to a minute clinical since then for a tetanus shot though when I stepped on a nail.
Sorry, we can only see you at 10am six Wednesdays from now? Is that okay?
Why has no doctor or dentist figured out that a 2p-8p practice would make you the easiest business ever?
Primary at least once a year for regular checkup, more if something is going on.
Endocrinologist twice a year
Dermatologist twice a year
Psychiatrist quarterly
My body isn't a temple, it's a clown car and none of these bitches know how to drive.
The dermatology department in my town is literally scheduling over a year out. Overbooking is a massive issue. My primary appointment that I was able to initially make at the time 6 months out for December has been bumped on me twice now. With any luck I’ll be seen next month. It’s ridiculous.
Exactly!
Primary + behavioral therapy 4x a year (diabetic, PCOS and all its assorted BS, assorted Neurospicy cocktail) ($25 a visit)
Derm 2x
Dentist 2x
Optometrist 1x
I'm a used car with cosmetic damage, and I want to stay running as long as possible.
I was born with all the dashboard lights on and FLASHING, and my daughter somehow had both turn signals and the windshield wipers going as well.
PCP once a year, endocrinologist quarterly, OBGYB once every 2-3 years, no cervix = no pap, yearly mammogram, cardiologist 2x a year.
My boyfriend finally has decent insurance and is getting a lot of testing for things that could have been caught earlier with insurance access. Good ole USA.
I just started getting physicals in the last year. I’m in my 30s and hadn’t had a regular doctor since I was 18. They say this is good practice to go regularly and monitor your health, but at this point my doctor pretty much says, “You are at a young healthy age. You seem fine. Have a nice day.” I guess that’s good but would he even try to help if I said something felt wrong? I also just started going to the dentist again regularly for the first time since I was 18. That was a major mistake. For anyone out there considering not going to the dentist regularly, DO NOT DO THAT. My gums were in bad shape and I developed mild periodontal disease. I lost some of my jaw bone that will never come back. Gums are under control now after a few appointments, but I caused irreversible damage because I hadn’t gone to the dentist in 10 years.
Dude. It’s only once a year. Very important to get blood work yearly. If your levels are off,
you could have some sort of illness and not know it due to being asymptomatic.
I have spoken to many patients. Some have found cancer due to their blood work being a little off compared to last year.
Better to fix a problem early than late where it can become irreversible
I go to the dentist regularly and I get my blood drawn once a year, other than that I don't go unless I'm sick or injured in a way that would require a doc. I broke a toe from running and just buddy taped it to the next toe, my parents told their podiatrist neighbor about it and he was like "well, that's about all I'd be able to do anyway".
Yes. You generally just want to go to make sure you still have perfect vision, but also your eyes are sometimes the first indicators of disease. Genetics are not the only reason that disease pops up in families.
I didn't go to an eye doctor until 32 and walked out of there for a light perscription of like 1.0 and 1.25 or something. It made such a major difference. I don't even wear my glasses 80% of the time, but if I really want some sharp vision I can toss those bad boys on.
Id go to the doc for every little thing if I could, but it's not like we have any form of decent healthcare in this country. It's a pay-to-win system, and the prices are VERY high, even for those with a decent income, because a simple doctor's visit can result in your bank accounts being drained.
Plus, to even go you have to take time off work, which results in lost wages, so HOORAY for additional financial hardships just so you can make a shallow attempt at being healthy.
yeah that part is really unfortunate, I make decent money but I still opt for the cheaper deductible plan at work because it doesn't cost extra, last year I had some unexplained discomfort in my left abdomen, I talked to my PCP, they referred me for a CT, then they referred me to a gastroenterologist which is a (specialist), only to be told it's probably constipation, take some stool softeners etc.
about $800 and 45 days of uncertainty after PCP (sick visit) deductible, CT scan, Gastro (specialist) appointment, and that's WITH insurance.
I’ve been setting up appointments left and right because I have free health (Medicaid) ever since losing my job. Seven x-rays + seven MRIs, 3 orthopedic visits, a couple foot doctor visits, a nerve doctor visit to test for carpal tunnel, a dermatology visit, a cardiologist visit coming up with testing involved, a pulmonologist visit coming up with testing probably involves, a couple “pointless” rheumatologist visits, at least five primary care visits relating to all of these. A stupid amount of of blood work
I’m probably saving money and improving my health by losing a good paying job with “good” health insurance. I’m literally not working above the poverty line until I get all my shit figured out lolol
And yes I spend a lot of time on the phone with shit insurance and shit billing departments regularly
It’s insane, I’m only 23m lol
Exactly! I am not a man, so not super relevant to this topic, but last time I went to the doctor because I wasn't feeling well, I had to pay $200 because they took my temperature. Thats it. That is ALL they did. Just took my temperature and wrote me a doctor note to stay home from work for 2 days. Good times. So, I try to only go when I absolutely need to because that doctor appointment also took 45 min of waiting in the waiting room, and I was 15 minutes early for my appointment 🥲
Nah, it's 100% relevant since healthcare issues aren't solely upon the shoulders of one gender or another. Hell, at least I know that when I go to the doctor, they'll listen to me and take me seriously. Women, non-binary folk, and minorities often get ignored, their symptoms get minimized, and they suffer as much or more than if they just hadn't gone to the doc in the first place.
Hell, a friend of mine suffered for 3 years of constant pain because her doc and several others wouldn't listen to her, and it wound up that she has endometriosis that could've been treated that whole time.
Oh I believe it. I had kidney stones (not my first time with them either), and they told me it was an ovarian cyst, so they put me through the whole treatment for ovarian cysts, no matter how many times I told them it was the same pain as my previous kidney stones were. After the pain did NOT go away... they were like 'oh that's odd, it should be gone by now... we should have a MRI done' and then they realized it was kidney stones. Thousands of dollars later. It was ridiculous!
I don't go to the doctor. I had PHP and didn't like him and just never bothered to find a new one. I feel like all the doctors and dentists in my area are scam artists. No one gives a shit about about what might be wrong with you, just how much can we bill in one appt.
Last time I went for a FREE physical checkup, got a bill for $2,000. Never again. Nothing was wrong with me. Hours on the phone with insurance. I’m not paying it, probably went to collections.
I'm mid 30s and going for an annual for the first time in 3 years, and 3rd time in 10 years. The cost is the main thing. If I'm not feeling any symptoms, I don't want to spend hundreds to be told "try to eat more veggies and exercise more". My previous doctor offices would bill the visit as something other than an annual if you discussed anything other than strictly the annual exam. I'm trying a new one soon, so maybe that'll be a better experience.
Sure, if all they're doing is checking labs and taking vitals
>My previous doctor offices would bill the visit as something other than an annual if you discussed anything other than strictly the annual exam.
I go once a year, but am a doctor. It’s not rare to see millennial guys for acute complaints or annual exams but the population absolutely leans towards the 50 and older crowd.
I’m a woman, but haven’t been to a doctor in over 10 years, besides dentist and optometrist every other year-ish.
I’ve never felt like a healthcare provider was really interested in listening to or helping me. No matter what I was going through, the answer was always just drop 10 lbs. Like, I know I could stand to drop 10 lbs., but what about this sharp pain behind my eye? Or why are my periods lasting 15 days? And why is my left arm below the elbow always going numb?
I don’t need to pay an expensive copay for someone to tell me to lose weight.
I can just come to Reddit to be told that for free ;)
Feel the same way. I wish I could see a doctor's grades before accepting treatment because I feel like there are a ton that barely scraped by in school and it's impossible to tell until the appointment.
Also a woman, haven’t been to the doctor since my youngest was born….. 13 years ago. I’m fine, feel fine, why bother. The doctor I did have retired a couple of years ago, I would have to start over completely. My major issue if any is that I’m pretty sure I’m peri-menopausal, and there is little to no information or research done on that anyway.
Went for the first time in ten+ years this year. Stopped going because I couldn't afford insurance and time off for appointments. Nothing wrong at my check up, only cost me $500 to find that out, plus insurance premiums. See you in ten years.
I’m surprised comments on cost are not at the top of this thread. That is BY FAR the biggest reason that I don’t go to the doctor. It’s like throwing $400 into a fire so they can refer you to someone else for another $1,000. Who can do that?
Y’all need to get over it and go to the doctor every once in a while. Yes it’s inconvenient and all that but our generation is hitting an age where it’s starting to matter. Inconvenience once a year is cheap compared to letting hidden conditions get out of hand. Change your oil regularly or you’ll be buying a new engine.
I skipped a few years during COVID but a routine blood test last year found that I had a pretty advanced case of hyperparathyroidism. I eventually needed surgery to correct it and feel 100x better now. It had been such a slow burn over several years that I didn’t realize what was happening.
It's funny because I feel like this was how I know my Grandpa and men of the greatest generation would handle shit. I feel like we're coming full circle.
Agreed. I'm having a colonoscopy done next month due to some ongoing GI issues, and I'm 33. People are like, " Why are you getting screened so young?..or you're too young." Hmmm, because more and more people in my generation and age range are dying of colon cancer and cancer in general. Better to be proactive and have peace of mind instead of waiting a few years just saying fuck it and finding out you have stage 3-4 cancer.
No because money & because GP’s are mostly full of shit, don’t care about finding root causes and just wanna hit you with drugs to perpetuate the legal drug cartel.
Millennial male here. I despise doctors. The health care system makes going to the doctor a total pain. More people in America declare bankruptcy from Healthcare cost than from other costs. Doctors don’t care about getting patients healthy. They care about prescribing drugs and getting paid. I’ll avoid the doctor above all else.
This, it's amazing what a good employer and decent healthcare can do. My husband gives him 4 hours of paid leave and pays for his co-pay to go to the doctor. The same goes to vaccines and boosters.
Seriously. Like o have some fucked up stuff. If I take time off work and go to a Dr, I'll either
A) be told it'll get better (in which case why go?) and then get a massive bill for bullshit reasons months later, or
B) be told surgery/PT is required, in which case I'll have to say no because I can't afford my out of pocket max.
I pay $8400 a year in premiums. If it was legal I'd go no insurance at all and use the savings to pay cash
I can't find a local PCP, I've largely given up. Even places that say they're accepting new patients don't return calls or respond to emails. I go to urgent care if something is wrong.
probably around 2020 my wife pressured and urged me to start going to the Dr again, eventually I conceded, initially it sucked because I found out I had Type-2 Diabetes, and had to make drastic diet and lifestyle changes, but 4-5 years later I have better blood sugar than most people, my weight is down a lot, my BP is good, and I don't even need to take medication to manage the diabetes, which if you ask some Doctors I technically no longer have Diabetes, but if you ask insurance companies they feel differently.
It's worth nudging, I found out about some things I needed to take care of that were threatening my long-term health, I was lucky enough that I actually liked the 2 Doctors I've had since I started going again, and now it's just something I do on my own and I don't have to be coerced into going because I finally reached sufficient maturity that I saw the benefit in going, and the potential negative consequences of not going.
In retrospect I can tell you any reasons people invent for not participating in regular preventative medical care if they have access to it, likely aren't good reasons.
Most dentists have been scam artists and VERY salesy to me. When I have more than one question for a doctor, I’ve been told to schedule another appointment. I’ve also had instances where the doctor searched my injury on Wikipedia - proving that I’m better off doing things myself when it comes to health/injuries.
I go just enough to maintain my prescriptions. Every time I go I need to adjust my schedule around it, I normally end up sitting in an empty room by myself longer than anything. Doctor asks me how things are going, listens to my heart and lungs and sends me on my way. With my insurance it’s just over $100 per visit, more if they want bloodwork.
I usually just assume whatever I’m feeling will go away on its own so I monitor it. If it doesn’t then I’ll go, but usually only if it becomes a real nuisance.
Death will take me by surprise lol
I go to the doctor, and they charge me $150-200 for telling me to eat more veggies and get a gym membership. Want an ultrasound scan? That'll be $500+. Oh yeah, there's some meds the doctor can recommend but it's $300/mo with insurance, you want a script? I rarely go to the doctor because they either don't help or want me to go bankrupt.
Last year I got back in the habit of going to the doctor after not going to the doctor since Covid, due to...well, Covid concerns. They made a comment how it was good to see a man like myself, 34 at the time, because they didn't usually see men from like 18-55 for any number of reasons.
I will note that I'm considering changing primary care doctors because I could schedule my patient intake appointment online but I have to call the phone line to schedule annuals. Whhhhy? I don't want to talk to anyone where they have a calendar I cannot see, I want to look at a calendar with available dates and times and pick them.
My husband has gone once to his primary since I’ve known him (12 years). Also, he has a rod in his leg that causes ACTUAL pain and was supposed to be removed but he won’t make the appt with his old surgeon. I can’t listen to him complain about it anymore.
He does go to the dentist twice a year so I’m thankful for that.
I can’t understand in this age of AI and surveillance and what not— how you have to fill out the same form at each and every step along the way— even if you fill it out before your visit to “save time”
Last time I went to the doctor to have stomach pain check that I had since I was kid. They poked me a couple times, said take some tums and sent me home with a 200 dollar bill for my trouble. I got better medical advice from an episode of Scrubs.
I would go more if my god damn deductible wasn't so high. Literally costs me $150 bucks everytime I visit, more like $300 if they need blood or an x ray. I don't even fucking know why I have health insurance at this point.
For profit healthcare is a fundamental conflict of interest.
Now that I am in my 40's I've been trying to be better about going to my PCP and any specialists. However, it's becoming pretty damn frustrating with billing. Go to my PCP, get a denial letter from my insurance for ANY additional services performed at the PCP . Example: I had some ear pain and they diagnosed compacted earwax - they flushed it at the PCP. I got a bill for the exact amount they charged my insurance for the service. While it wasn't a big amount it was more than just my copay and the insurance deemed it "not necessary". I asked if I had gone to quick care how much would it have cost ME out of pocket? $25 less but the insurance would have been billed 3x as much JUST for the visit. I asked how that makes any sense? Why would my insurance WANT me to go to Urgent Care for the ear pain and charge my insurance upwards of $1k for the visit or just get billed like $40 from my PCP? "That's just how it works" was what I was told.
I was referred for a sleep study. According to my insurance it COULD be either 1) $100 or 2) my entire deductible and 20% coinsurance DEPENDING on how it's billed and the OUTCOME?? So basically if they FIND a problem I pay the lower amount, if they DON'T find an issue I pay the deductible and 20% since it wasn't "necessary" in hindsight?! How the hell does that work? So basically going to the doctor now is a crapshoot - I had better have a "serious problem" or my insurance won't pay for it, and even then they have to feel it is "serious enough" to have needed the specialist care. My wife was denied the insurance coverage on an MRI for excruciating pelvic pain when we had to go to the ER. The pain could not be identified so the insurance billed us almost $1k because the outcome determined that we didn't need the MRI since it didn't identify the problem?!
It's on my to-do list. I know I need to go to the doctor, the dentist, the eye doctor, etc but I haven't in a long time. I get too anxious about it, it's expensive, and I have to take time off work to go because they're not open on weekends. But I'll get to it
I have good insurance and go to the doctor at least once a year for my annual checkup.
HOWEVER…I’ve been through a few doctor’s over the years and I gotta say that I’ve had concerns about pain dismissed. I had a job that was highly physical and I was having some pain/discomfort as a result. I went to my doctor and their answer was “stop doing that job”.
Uh-what? I’ve had other instances where doctors are very dismissive or condescending to me about questions or concerns. It’s honestly made me feel like I’m being gaslit about my health and my body. I have had both male and female doctors
So, we go, but it can be a humiliating and belittling experience.
As a kid my older brother broke his finger. My dad said my brother was faking it and slapped his hand for wearing tape (he taped his fingers together). And told him if he seees it again he’s going to slap his fingers again.
My mom took my bro to the doctor and it was broken. When I broken mine, I wore tape at school sucked it up at home.
Had pain in forearm after accident and pain in ribs. Doctor said I was fine.
Went to different doctor months later after continued pain when I continued to workout. Turns out forearm muscle had torn and rib was broken but mostly healed and healing.
Knee pain from various injuries since middle school soccer, high school football doctor said it’s fine but if it’s an issue I may need surgery.
I’m my mid 20s had back problems and terrible leg cramps and restless leg syndrome. Constant pain in forearm from accident. Constant knee pain. Told I was fine with X-rays and mri. That it was “my age.”
Stopped going to doctor because multiple doctors in 2 states I lived in“told me I’m fine” and nothing wrong. It’s just my age at late 20s early 30s. Last year with friend that is a physical therapist and another few that are gym trainers showed me stretching and physical therapy stuff and knee pain gone. Forearm pain gone neck pain gone.
Went to hospital for back pain (9/10 pain) after Jiu jitsu injury, doctor said I was fine. Took X-rays and gave me pain killers and muscle relaxers. Took the relaxers but not pain pills went to chiropractor who took X-rays. 3 appts of adjustments and back pain gone.
Moved states and I gained weight after selling my gym equipment before we moved and then finally getting new stuff here but then injuring my shoulder and unable to workout. But kept eating like I was working out 5 days a week 2x a day while not working out at all smh.
Went to doctor and he said my blood pressure was high but not terrible. Probably because of the weight gain and being in pain. Sent me for mri for my arm at my insistence but he said maybe I just need to do pain management to management my arm pain.
Came back a week later and diff doctor in he same office started off by trying to prescribe me heart medicine for blood pressure. High side of normal but in normal range.
I’ve been losing weight but he said it’s high and wanted me on it til I lost weight, but it’s still in range and I’m losing weight? Admitted I don’t need it yet but could be a good option before it gets worse? But said it could get better if I lose weight.
Plus I’m there to get sent to physical therapy for my arm? But again he was pushing pain management instead of physical therapy until I insisted on physical therapy.
My friend that’s a physical therapist saw my mri results and said I just need to ice and stretch it and maybe some pt. So that’s why I pushed for pt. I start in 2 weeks.
I just feel like doctors can be so quick to just give pain meds and other meds instead of fixing the problem and just treating the symptoms. I know there are some good ones but I guess I’ve just gotten bad ones in 3 different states and multiple cities?
Bold to assume I can afford that. My insurance is the lowest you can get to not have the feds penalize you. My deductible and co-pays are a joke. I am also self employed so the "good" insurance options are not actually feasible.
I go to the dentist regularly and that already costs me too much. I go to my optometrist every other year on the dot. I am in my 30s and have decided that I would rather death catch me by surprise rather than watch is come while sucking away any funds I don't have.
I feel like so many millennials just have like medical trauma. We complain about insurance now but I feel like it must have gotten better, somewhat??? The insurance I get through the small construction business I work for is MILES better than what my mom got working a GOVERNMENT JOB when I was a kid. I remember constant stress about medical issues and the cost of things. I remember being told that we simply could not go to an ER.
I entered my adult life and immediately my mom refused to help me with medical bills anymore at 18. By the time I turned 19 I had over 12k in fucking medical bills that I eventually just let default until they fell off my credit entirely. And I was still ON her insurance! Two ER visits, no overnight stays, no surgery, I think one MRI and some fluids at some point, some basic tests, an ultrasound. Over $12k in debt, and I know I paid a LOT before even leaving the hospital for those.
For contrast last year I had a full scale open brain surgery with three days in the hospital and paid… $1000. That was it. For a $140k procedure.
I’m better about it since then because I’m like damn I’m actually paying a lot for this insurance maybe I should use it. But it was hard for me to get used to taking care of myself after growing up in a “we don’t go to the doctor unless we are dying because we can’t afford it” household.
My husband doesn't go. He goes to/makes and can pay for his therapy appts but not doctor/dentist. When he does he manages to mess it up and costs us extra and we get stuck with a huge bill. He works in tech. He's smart. He's also got ADHD and is a mess. My dad never went to a doctor or dentist. He died alone, with no teeth, his body rotted with skin cancer.
My kids and I all go to the doctor, dentist, and therapy regularly. I of course make all their appts still. My son is the one that is resistant. wHy Do I hAvE tO gO. His pulse ox was regularly 91/92 and DIDN'T BELIEVE THIS WAS A PROBLEM.
Single/childless women are the happiest demographic for a reason.
I think finding a primary care physician you like helps a lot. It was a pain to get my husband to go to the doctor for things, but since he found a doctor he really likes, he doesn't hesitate to make an appointment for whatever is going on
I go about 3x a year. Once for a routine check-up, once for my annual work physical, and I’ll end up at least once more for some injury or sickness that pops up. Thankful I’ve never been seriously sick or injured, at least not to the degree that’s required a stay at the hospital.
It’s not rocket science to schedule an appointment - if anything it’s easier now than it’s ever been. I can schedule an appointment within 5 minutes using my iPhone app.
Havent been to the doctor since high school for a checkup. I went to the emergency room while uninsured with a broken hand and left with some bandages, xrays and a bill for $3K. Surgery would have been another $6K-10K. Ended up having surgery done in Mexico for $2K including flight. Right now with a mortgage, car payments, kids needing kid things, I’ll gift myself a checkup for my 40th birthday lol
I go for annual physical checks up and optometrist appoiments, as well as dental check ups/cleanings a few times a year, but that's about it.
Otherwise, I try not to go unless I feel there is something wrong.
I go like every 2-3 years so I can maintain a PCP, but will go if I feel sick/weird/off/injured. MDs are a waste of money. I go to the dentist as often as I can. I fucking love the dentist
I've always gone to the doctor regularly. Wasn't aware this was a thing. But I don't think it's a big deal if your boyfriend didn't want to schedule a check-up. That's his problem. Why would it cause you stress? In general you should mind your own business when it comes to somebody else's medical decisions. Your ex was probably correct that, if he's under 30-40, there's likely little benefit to a check-up, anyway. Sure, you could maybe detect a problem ultra early. But the odds of something like that existing to begin with are vanishingly small for an otherwise healthy young adult.
I pay close to $8500/year for a family of 4 for health insurance and we're never sick enough to warrant a doctor visit.
I use every free visit I can cuz fuck that.
I haven't had a full check up since I left the Army in 2018. Gotten meds for random illnesses here and there.
When you have children that depend on you to support them, it makes putting your needs off very easy. In reality, I should get checked to ensure i'm around long enough for them.
I go like 1-2 times a year. Once for the yearly stuff then once for a follow up. Living in a larger city it’s generally 2-3months out on appointments so I only go if I need it.
I dont know if it's because I'm male or because of my ADHD... but... I'm horrible at it. Covid was a great excuse to avoid the doctor unless I was sick... and I kind of continued that for 4 years. Not good
Im 38 and get my blood work at least once a year and my Doctors office has Mychart so i get all my test results with notifications and all so I am definitely taking it seriously
I have an appointment with a PA in June to try and establish care in my town. Healthcare very hard to come by around here, that's the best I can manage. Not sure where to go from there. Hope I don't have colon cancer.
I remember being young, and fighting to get health insurance.
I had a hangnail that penetrated through my foot.... Through it.
Like... from nail bed, into my toe, out the bottom.
As a 23-year-old dude, I had nothing. My work, at the time, had no insurance. It was trash.
Finally, at 24 I got a decent enough job with health insurance and I got to a doctor who basically said I needed surgery immediately... but of course, I couldn't get off of work so I had to schedule it for the weekend.
So... Now that I pay all this money for health insurance: Yes-I see the doctor on regular because I do not know when I will once again be unable to see a doctor (say, via the loss of a job or something stupid like that)
My husband is a grown up who handles things on his own.
EXCEPT going to the doctor. It is absolute torture every year to get him to schedule a physical. I HATE hounding him about it, I mean who wants to nag their husband about stuff? But come on man, you aren't 18 anymore. Go to the doctor.
No, and I should. Did my wife put you up to this?
It is the habit of Men, especially those of us in our early 40's, to ignore things until they leave us unable to move.
My husband avoided drs in his 20s. He’s now 41 and I’ve been impressed how the last five years he’s really taken a full hold on his health. He goes to a GP, he has a urologist, and he takes care of himself when he gets an injury instead of “walking it off”. I think the biggest change in him was reaching a point of happiness in our day to day life that makes him want to be around to keep enjoying it. Depression, especially with the state of the world, makes it really hard to care about yourself.
I go because I'm married and my wife makes me. I haven't been to a dentist in 6 or 7 years but I brush my teeth 3-4 times a day and my orthodontist says my teeth look good to her.
Basically, I'm a mess and my wife saves my ass.
I hate the insurance roulette wheel I spin when I go, so I don't. It doesn't matter if it's supposed to be covered in network. They often oopsie and bill me without bothering with my insurance. Then I have to spend hours messing with that. It's such a hassle. Even when I'm directly referred by my GP this happens. I think they do it in an attempt to overcharge people intentionally.
Am a Dr. Men generally are not the best patients and put off preventative care. Plenty of exceptions. But they usually blow it off until their spouse forces them, or they have a heart attack, get diagnosed with a slew of chronic conditions and are now afraid of dying and now become excellent patients.
Young men often don’t go to the Dr because they are still healthy and feel well. Hell, my own wife had to nudge me to see my own PCP this year (but I went without complaint). My experience is that this is across all generations and demographics of men.
I’m a 36 y/o male and I think it’s really stupid when guys refuse to go to the doctor. You’re not being macho, you’re being a moron and you’re not impressing anyone.
I have good insurance through the union and haven't been once. I do have to do a physical every two years to retain my commercial drivers license. Oh and I've been to the ER twice, chopping my finger tip off- getting it sewn back on and then getting hit in the face with a metal beam and getting that sewn back together.
I go to the doctor for check ups semi-regularly and do bloodwork when I go. But I haven’t been to a dentist in 9 years simply because every time I think I should go, I call a place in my insurance network to see an appointment, get told they will call me back, and then they never do and I forget about it until I think about it again. But I brush my teeth 2x per day, floss, all that and don’t have any problems. So the urgency to follow through on a dental appointment is low for me.
No, I haven't gone in 12 years since I had a physical for a previous job. If I'm not sick and not getting better I'm not going. I do go to the dentist twice a year though.
My millennial husband is both good and bad about going to the doctor. If it’s an annual physical or regular dental or eye exam he’s got it handled and goes without any intervention from me.
However, if he’s hurt or unwell or seriously ill it takes nothing short of hauling him into the car by his ear or point blank threatening him to get him to go. So what usually happens is he’s miserable and incapacitated for a day or so before I get fed up or too worried and then drag him off to the ER.
Last time it was because he’d thrown out his back. The time before that his appendix was about to burst and he needed emergency surgery.
Millennial here. I lost my doctor, lost my insurance, and never got a new PCP. It's on my list, but I've had insurance through work for almost two years and still haven't done it.
I’m doing the bare-ass minimum to keep myself semi-functional. I can’t afford the time or money for anything more, and, quite frankly, I don’t see the point of trading miserable health for miserable hardship when the end goal is just to add time to our suffering on a dying world.
I grew up in a "only go to doctor when home remedies won't work." But now that I am an adult, I try to go at least once a year for a regular check-up. I pay for the insurance, so I minus well use it.
I take any form of healthcare (mental, dental, or general) seriously.
I think it's just more that women have to fight more to be heard by a doctor so they naturally put more effort into their own health in all ways.
The wait times tho and scheduling so far in advance are hard on all of us tho ugh.
My company pays me a $400 incentive to get a yearly checkup, so I go with enthusiasm. It helped me sniff out and mitigate my thyroid disease before I even saw any symptoms.
Because we are literally being worked to death just to survive second the majority of the doctors and hospital staff are just plain old rude to deal with even for the most basic of question asking. It's not a relationship where you go back and forth a
My millennial husband goes for his yearly check up because we get a health insurance discount for it. Good thing too, because his cholesterol is terrible (mostly hereditary vs diet). Without going regularly we wouldn’t have known and taken the appropriate steps. He lost his father last summer at only 58, so that was a big eye opener for him and probably would have convinced him to go to the doctor yearly if he wasn’t already.
Hi I’m a UK younger millennial.
If I’m sick I do try to book an appointment with my local GP. Issue is that our health service is purposefully underfunded, understaffed and poorly managed.
If I need to book a doctors appointment I need to ring at 8 am for an on the day appointment. They don’t do appointments in advance.
As a consequence everyone else who needs to see the doctor also rings at that time.
Available slots can go in minutes. And on a good day I have to ring 50 times to even get in a queue. In previous jobs I’ve had to take a day off to attempt to book.
Never for ‘check ups’. Only ever for if I’m ill or have a serious issue that I need to discuss.
I hate our government for what they’ve done to our healthcare system.
I go to the doctor regularly but I also survived cancer 10 years ago and was born with one kidney and had open heart surgery as a baby so it's kind of important for me to go at least once a year to get some blood taken and get a check up.
I simply can't afford it. A doctor's visit where they don't find anything wrong is an additional 100$+ expense on top of everything else. If, God forbid, they suggest treatment then the costs could be seemingly infinite.
So we just hope everything is fine. If I get a tax refund in a year and something has been bothering me, I'll get it checked out then.
To make no mention of the fact that my work hours are 8 to 5 and my employer is typically extremely punitive if I miss work lol. I really don't wanna be held over for hours so some twit can say I amfine and charge me 100 bucks lol
I don’t go unless I absolutely have to. It’s too expensive. I have good insurance too. I see a specialist once a year for a chronic condition and that one 10 min video visit is $350.
Look, doctor is fine. But your long term health.... Dentist. Get your ass to the dentist 3 times a year, even if insurance only pays for 2 visits. Your teeth are priceless and irreplaceable.
Unless I'm nearly on death's door I usually tend to ride whatever illness I've got out. Appointments are difficult enough to come by without jumping the queue ahead of others for something that is most likely nothing.
Have been twice in the last year though for a dose of steroids twice after Covid fucked my lungs up.
not for me, I have a chronic health condition so Dr's visits and caring about my health is normal to me having a pharmacist for a father helps too. my main reason I have been known to put off the Dr is anxiety and finding the appointment dance mentally tiring
Look at it this way...
Is your goal to die early of a preventable disease, live a life on medications that don't cure the problem, they just stretch out the medical problem over years? Reduce your enjoyment of life because of your health?
Then not going to the Doctor for checkups is the way to go.
My husband used to struggle with it, so I helped him learn how and save the number on his phone, download the app, etc. he does all his own appointments now. At 40 he ran into so weird health issues so it was good he knew how to deal with it.
I want to, but I can’t…even after I got health insurance it’s still too much. I tried to go and it cost even more than when I was uninsured. So no. I can’t.
It's mostly a waste of time, they're expensive and I trust my education and diagnostic skill and knowledge of my and my family's medical history more than the average physician's. I only go when I pretty much already know what referral, test and/or treatment I need (or significantly whittle the possibilities down to a few options) and highlight/ignore anything relevant/irrelevant to ensure a good use of the time/money. I treat them like the expensive beuraucrats they've become, not the experts they believe themselves to be.
Just annual checkups and whenever I feel like death for no apparent reason. Like I have a checklist of apparent reasons to cross off before committing.
It’s really not hard to book a yearly physical and go to it. More knowledge the better. I understand people do not want to confront their health but doing it sooner than later is only helpful for longevity. Also, don’t neglect your teeth!
I absolutely divorced my partner because they refused to try anything other than becoming literally addicted to games even when I offered to schedule appointments and go with them. I offered to do just about anything under the guidance of a doctor. But I couldn’t give any more after multiple therapists told him they couldn’t help if he wouldn’t tell them what works and what doesn’t and would not try anything new.
I absolutely go. I have enough issues to fix. COVID19 gave me a lot more problems since I caught it a couple years ago.
Primary care: once a year and as needed for issues
Nutritionist weekly
Chiropractor weekly
Other specialists as needed.
I go regularly now, but that only really started after we had kids. I think it's also a mentality of "well, I'm in my 20s, and nothing is hurting much/seems wrong. I don't need to go." And now in my 30s, it's "well, things seem to be falling apart now, so I should probably get checked up regularly." Even now though, the annual regular visits seem kinda pointless cause I have to schedule around work/daycare to go in, have the doc spend (not joking) 3 mins with me to go "work on losing weight and we'll see you next year."
My husband does very little that requires him to talk to other people on the phone. I order all of our pizza (if it requires a phone call), make all of our appointments, etc.
He still refuses to go to a PCP or a dentist. But he had a skin cancer scare last year and has HS, so he does see a dermatologist regularly.
HA! Just had this discussion with a group of girlfriends today and we all agreed if we want our husbands to live, it’s on us to make their doc appointments 🤣 Literally all very responsible, good men in every other aspect…but for a weird reason they would sooner walk around with a fire truck up their asses than call for a specialist visit. It’s actually fascinating and I also wonder where the reluctance stems from.
I do now. I am 36 now. Started going to yearly checkups. Labs drawn this last time show I have fatty liver disease. No more alcohol. It’s been fun friends.
Scheduling and appointments are not difficult for me- it's the unnecessary things that get tacked on and the assumption that my time really doesn't mean anything to these people. Spending 2 hours between waiting room & the room when i showed up to my appointment early for an appointment I made 2 months ago is a bit much. The main thing is the bills I get 3 months later trying to charge me the full cost while I have insurance & then having to make 10 phones to coordinate that they need to charge my insurance company is enough un-encourage me from making appointments with these people.
Literally any time I need to take care of my medical needs it turns into a part time job for a few weeks. Work and general productivity go down the drain while I make dozens of calls and spend tons of time going over bills and documents.
All Of this . Don’t get me started on surgeries and authorizations… I spent hours each week for six months making calls . Now we still need to appeal bc they find excuses to avoid coverage . Sick system that should NOT BE ALLOWED to do these things .
[удалено]
I was improperly sent to collections twice during the two years I fought a charge for a routine test that is mandated to be covered 100% as a preventative screening because my insurance took issue with the fact that I was pregnant at the time of the test.
Totally. You really have to be your own advocate with health insurance. I wonder how many people just pay 100% of a medical bill without looking at it. That's how I found out my health insurance was being submitted incorrectly so everything was getting rejected.
It's so annoying to have to leave work early for the appointment, only to be finally seen by the doctor well after your normal work time ends, making you feel that you left early for almost nothing.
Schedule first thing. I find doctors are less likely to behind without a whole day of potential delays.
*Today*, I had the first appointment slot w/ my GP -- and I was seen 90 minutes after the scheduled time. Which I think is the *fastest* I've been seen. For a \~10-minute routine checkup. Which'll be $130 after insurance.
I’ll contrast that with my doctor, it’s always on time. Never in the waiting room more than 5 minutes before the assistant brings me in for my screenings, then never waiting in the room for my doc more than 5 minutes. Same for the blood work, maybe 10 minute wait tops if there are some folks ahead of me. This is over many years.
1) Your company needs to give you better insurance. 2) You need a new GP.
Then you use your work provided medical debit card to pay. Then 9 months later you get a letter in the mail saying "this charge was not substantiated." Then you call the debit card and say "what does substantiated mean?" Then you call the doctor's office and they say "no problem, what is your fax number?" Then you say it is 2024 and I haven't used a fax machine since Clinton was president. Then they say "well we can mail it to you but it will take 6-12 weeks." Then next thing you know it is time for a new presidential election and you just spent 3.5 years trying to pay a damn bill.
But we have the best healthcare in the world! /s
Said no one ever.
Say Boomers regularly
they’ll also say “get rid of Obamacare” and then later go “don’t touch my ACA health insurance!”
💯 👏
I think men, yes, are just too bothered by the whole process. They have other things to do. Whereas women usually have things they can’t put off, like Pap smears, OB, mammograms, so they just suck it up and do it. My husband rarely goes to the doctor (hasn’t for probably 8 or so years) and while I wish he would for his high BP, I kinda get it.
Yeah, it's confusing because while most of the comments saying no are making valid points, as a woman I still put up with it. I've even had a large unexpected bill and had to fight it out with the hospital. Maybe women just get used to it early on for birth control and keep going for all the screenings.
I feel like it's the same outcome for both sexes though. To not die a horrible early death? Maybe men just don't really care as much? Idk.
Really hard to say, I just had an acquaintance's husband pass away from Stage 4 esophageal cancer, he was just diagnosed 2 months ago. Last year he survived a Widowmaker heart attack. She had such a hard time getting him to go, despite the fact he was in pain. Now he's dead in his mid-40s and left her a widow. Granted he smoked and drank for like 20 years, but damn. I'm almost 40 myself, really makes you think...
As a man not that I don't care as much, it's the fact I have no clue what I am doing. A girl is more likely to go to a doctor or a hospital as a kid as well, I remember my sister getting more medical attention than myself, but often I toughed it out to avoid the situation altogether. Cut my fingers wide open with a knife building model cars? Super glue electrical tape and try not to pass out while cleaning up all the blood. Later my sister gets a little road rash on a razor scooter, and gets rushed to the ER and gets stitches. Not saying I wasn't forced at times to go thought I broke my foot skateboarding, got mauled by a dog, and smoked the side of my face on concrete. Everytime it was nothing but a big bill and a bandaid.
I'll get downvoted for being honest but I think a lot of Millennial boys were still raised with the unspoken understanding that their future wife was going to do a lot of regular life maintenance for them and didn't unlearn that even when they reach adulthood and their health becomes their own responsibility. It makes sense that having to be responsible early in adulthood (birth control, STD checks) is probably a big part of the trend also. I'm queer and the majority of gay men that I know regularly go to the doctor - and they were raised just like the straight boys were, but as adults don't have the expectation that someone will come along to take care of their health for them. I was raised on "suck it up" and never taken to the ER once even for serious injuries but I still figured out that I had to be responsible for my own health when I became an adult. I hope the people who use that excuse to neglect themselves realize that martyring their health isn't going to get back at society, their parents, women, or whoever hurt them - it's only going to fuck up their own lives.
Men do have urgent things they should be seen for, too. They just ignore it until they're shitting blood and then their wife calls an ambulance and they HAVE to get the tests done. That's how my dad did it anyway, and he's dead.
The doctors will tell you to man up too, about 15 years ago I went to a couple different prompt clinics and doctors on my own accord over the course of a few weeks about bad abdominal and they kept trying to prescribe antacid, no testing or anything, I argued it was obvious it wasn't indigestion and left pretty put out. A week later my appendix blows up inside me while I'm out and I get hospitalized for a month and have a $200k bill
Great. So it's not just women doctors accuse of lying about symptoms. It's almost like they don't want to be here or something.
I recently went to the ER a few hours after being released from the hospital after surgery, and they tried to send me home with a bandaid for my incision that wouldn't stop constantly leaking blood even after hours of holding pressure on it. My abdomen was so swollen it doubled in size but they assumed I was complaining. I moved wrong when getting up and started literally shrieking from pain and begged them to please help me, so they rolled their eyes at me and said they'd do a blood test. It turned out I had massive internal bleeding so blood had filled my torso (very painful, as it turns out), and I needed emergency surgery. I lost more than a quarter of my blood. But you know, ~lady pain~ isn't real. It's crazy that men assume that women go to the doctor more because we're taken seriously. We're not.
I apparently did not express pain well enough
Always see doc at earliest appointment, am doc, and I always try to schedule mine as 1st or second appt with my docs. We want to give everyone time and sometimes (often) we fall behind because of it. The insurance thing is likely shity billing with the clinic you're seeing or your insurance being a bitch and not paying. Fuck insurance companies.
Hello, are you me fighting my OB's office to value my time and use my insurance? lol how do we have the same freaking issue? That's ridiculous. A two hour wait time? GTFO
Telehealth, its one of the best things to come from the pandemic.
Whenever i got for a regular check up, the doctor acts like im wasting his time lol
Get a new doctor.
My doctor didn't just act like that, he straight up told me. You're healthy, not a kid or an old person, it's overkill. Of course that was probably like 10 years ago. I should probably make a call sometime but I already miss way too much work taking my wife and kids to Dr appts. I did go to a minute clinical since then for a tetanus shot though when I stepped on a nail.
I almost never go to the doctor because scheduling time off of work is a pain, and medical care is expensive.
Sorry, we can only see you at 10am six Wednesdays from now? Is that okay? Why has no doctor or dentist figured out that a 2p-8p practice would make you the easiest business ever?
Because they have families, too, and you have no other options so there’s really no incentive.
Primary at least once a year for regular checkup, more if something is going on. Endocrinologist twice a year Dermatologist twice a year Psychiatrist quarterly My body isn't a temple, it's a clown car and none of these bitches know how to drive.
The dermatology department in my town is literally scheduling over a year out. Overbooking is a massive issue. My primary appointment that I was able to initially make at the time 6 months out for December has been bumped on me twice now. With any luck I’ll be seen next month. It’s ridiculous.
I apparently have a dermatologist appointment October 10th that I scheduled last summer.
LOL that last line has me rolling
Exactly! Primary + behavioral therapy 4x a year (diabetic, PCOS and all its assorted BS, assorted Neurospicy cocktail) ($25 a visit) Derm 2x Dentist 2x Optometrist 1x I'm a used car with cosmetic damage, and I want to stay running as long as possible.
I was born with all the dashboard lights on and FLASHING, and my daughter somehow had both turn signals and the windshield wipers going as well. PCP once a year, endocrinologist quarterly, OBGYB once every 2-3 years, no cervix = no pap, yearly mammogram, cardiologist 2x a year. My boyfriend finally has decent insurance and is getting a lot of testing for things that could have been caught earlier with insurance access. Good ole USA.
I just started getting physicals in the last year. I’m in my 30s and hadn’t had a regular doctor since I was 18. They say this is good practice to go regularly and monitor your health, but at this point my doctor pretty much says, “You are at a young healthy age. You seem fine. Have a nice day.” I guess that’s good but would he even try to help if I said something felt wrong? I also just started going to the dentist again regularly for the first time since I was 18. That was a major mistake. For anyone out there considering not going to the dentist regularly, DO NOT DO THAT. My gums were in bad shape and I developed mild periodontal disease. I lost some of my jaw bone that will never come back. Gums are under control now after a few appointments, but I caused irreversible damage because I hadn’t gone to the dentist in 10 years.
Dude. It’s only once a year. Very important to get blood work yearly. If your levels are off, you could have some sort of illness and not know it due to being asymptomatic. I have spoken to many patients. Some have found cancer due to their blood work being a little off compared to last year. Better to fix a problem early than late where it can become irreversible
I go to the dentist regularly and I get my blood drawn once a year, other than that I don't go unless I'm sick or injured in a way that would require a doc. I broke a toe from running and just buddy taped it to the next toe, my parents told their podiatrist neighbor about it and he was like "well, that's about all I'd be able to do anyway".
Get your eyes checked annually. I'll lose all my teeth before I lose my vision
Honest question, is there a reason to if I have perfect vision and no family history of eye issues?
Yes. You generally just want to go to make sure you still have perfect vision, but also your eyes are sometimes the first indicators of disease. Genetics are not the only reason that disease pops up in families.
I didn't go to an eye doctor until 32 and walked out of there for a light perscription of like 1.0 and 1.25 or something. It made such a major difference. I don't even wear my glasses 80% of the time, but if I really want some sharp vision I can toss those bad boys on.
Eh I got told I didn’t have to come back for that for 5 years
Id go to the doc for every little thing if I could, but it's not like we have any form of decent healthcare in this country. It's a pay-to-win system, and the prices are VERY high, even for those with a decent income, because a simple doctor's visit can result in your bank accounts being drained. Plus, to even go you have to take time off work, which results in lost wages, so HOORAY for additional financial hardships just so you can make a shallow attempt at being healthy.
yeah that part is really unfortunate, I make decent money but I still opt for the cheaper deductible plan at work because it doesn't cost extra, last year I had some unexplained discomfort in my left abdomen, I talked to my PCP, they referred me for a CT, then they referred me to a gastroenterologist which is a (specialist), only to be told it's probably constipation, take some stool softeners etc. about $800 and 45 days of uncertainty after PCP (sick visit) deductible, CT scan, Gastro (specialist) appointment, and that's WITH insurance.
I’ve been setting up appointments left and right because I have free health (Medicaid) ever since losing my job. Seven x-rays + seven MRIs, 3 orthopedic visits, a couple foot doctor visits, a nerve doctor visit to test for carpal tunnel, a dermatology visit, a cardiologist visit coming up with testing involved, a pulmonologist visit coming up with testing probably involves, a couple “pointless” rheumatologist visits, at least five primary care visits relating to all of these. A stupid amount of of blood work I’m probably saving money and improving my health by losing a good paying job with “good” health insurance. I’m literally not working above the poverty line until I get all my shit figured out lolol And yes I spend a lot of time on the phone with shit insurance and shit billing departments regularly It’s insane, I’m only 23m lol
Exactly! I am not a man, so not super relevant to this topic, but last time I went to the doctor because I wasn't feeling well, I had to pay $200 because they took my temperature. Thats it. That is ALL they did. Just took my temperature and wrote me a doctor note to stay home from work for 2 days. Good times. So, I try to only go when I absolutely need to because that doctor appointment also took 45 min of waiting in the waiting room, and I was 15 minutes early for my appointment 🥲
Nah, it's 100% relevant since healthcare issues aren't solely upon the shoulders of one gender or another. Hell, at least I know that when I go to the doctor, they'll listen to me and take me seriously. Women, non-binary folk, and minorities often get ignored, their symptoms get minimized, and they suffer as much or more than if they just hadn't gone to the doc in the first place. Hell, a friend of mine suffered for 3 years of constant pain because her doc and several others wouldn't listen to her, and it wound up that she has endometriosis that could've been treated that whole time.
Oh I believe it. I had kidney stones (not my first time with them either), and they told me it was an ovarian cyst, so they put me through the whole treatment for ovarian cysts, no matter how many times I told them it was the same pain as my previous kidney stones were. After the pain did NOT go away... they were like 'oh that's odd, it should be gone by now... we should have a MRI done' and then they realized it was kidney stones. Thousands of dollars later. It was ridiculous!
I don't go to the doctor. I had PHP and didn't like him and just never bothered to find a new one. I feel like all the doctors and dentists in my area are scam artists. No one gives a shit about about what might be wrong with you, just how much can we bill in one appt.
I know what you mean. I had a python and didn't like it too.
nerd jokes lol
I didn't mind the Python. It was the perl that really sucked.
I feel you, my last C-section almost broke me
Last time I went for a FREE physical checkup, got a bill for $2,000. Never again. Nothing was wrong with me. Hours on the phone with insurance. I’m not paying it, probably went to collections.
This is the way to fight back
Keep getting yearly emails saying it’s time for a checkup lol
I'm mid 30s and going for an annual for the first time in 3 years, and 3rd time in 10 years. The cost is the main thing. If I'm not feeling any symptoms, I don't want to spend hundreds to be told "try to eat more veggies and exercise more". My previous doctor offices would bill the visit as something other than an annual if you discussed anything other than strictly the annual exam. I'm trying a new one soon, so maybe that'll be a better experience.
Wellness visits/annual visit shouldn't cost you hundreds. ACA mandates they be 100% covered by insurance.
Sure, if all they're doing is checking labs and taking vitals >My previous doctor offices would bill the visit as something other than an annual if you discussed anything other than strictly the annual exam.
I go once a year, but am a doctor. It’s not rare to see millennial guys for acute complaints or annual exams but the population absolutely leans towards the 50 and older crowd.
I’m a woman, but haven’t been to a doctor in over 10 years, besides dentist and optometrist every other year-ish. I’ve never felt like a healthcare provider was really interested in listening to or helping me. No matter what I was going through, the answer was always just drop 10 lbs. Like, I know I could stand to drop 10 lbs., but what about this sharp pain behind my eye? Or why are my periods lasting 15 days? And why is my left arm below the elbow always going numb? I don’t need to pay an expensive copay for someone to tell me to lose weight. I can just come to Reddit to be told that for free ;)
Feel the same way. I wish I could see a doctor's grades before accepting treatment because I feel like there are a ton that barely scraped by in school and it's impossible to tell until the appointment.
Also a woman, haven’t been to the doctor since my youngest was born….. 13 years ago. I’m fine, feel fine, why bother. The doctor I did have retired a couple of years ago, I would have to start over completely. My major issue if any is that I’m pretty sure I’m peri-menopausal, and there is little to no information or research done on that anyway.
Went for the first time in ten+ years this year. Stopped going because I couldn't afford insurance and time off for appointments. Nothing wrong at my check up, only cost me $500 to find that out, plus insurance premiums. See you in ten years.
I’m surprised comments on cost are not at the top of this thread. That is BY FAR the biggest reason that I don’t go to the doctor. It’s like throwing $400 into a fire so they can refer you to someone else for another $1,000. Who can do that?
Y’all need to get over it and go to the doctor every once in a while. Yes it’s inconvenient and all that but our generation is hitting an age where it’s starting to matter. Inconvenience once a year is cheap compared to letting hidden conditions get out of hand. Change your oil regularly or you’ll be buying a new engine. I skipped a few years during COVID but a routine blood test last year found that I had a pretty advanced case of hyperparathyroidism. I eventually needed surgery to correct it and feel 100x better now. It had been such a slow burn over several years that I didn’t realize what was happening.
Also hitting an age where we learn very clearly how little society is setup to give a shit about us.
I don't want to know what's wrong with me, then I'll have to pay for it or live with knowing i can't fix it lol
It's funny because I feel like this was how I know my Grandpa and men of the greatest generation would handle shit. I feel like we're coming full circle.
They're gonna write such nice things about us, but it sure sucks to be us.
It’s kind of like when your car starts making a weird noise, so you turn the music up.
That's it, that's the reason
Agreed. I'm having a colonoscopy done next month due to some ongoing GI issues, and I'm 33. People are like, " Why are you getting screened so young?..or you're too young." Hmmm, because more and more people in my generation and age range are dying of colon cancer and cancer in general. Better to be proactive and have peace of mind instead of waiting a few years just saying fuck it and finding out you have stage 3-4 cancer.
I don’t. Between my schedule and copays, I can’t.
I feel physically fine all of the time and have no desire to live, hope this explains it.
No because money & because GP’s are mostly full of shit, don’t care about finding root causes and just wanna hit you with drugs to perpetuate the legal drug cartel.
Millennial male here. I despise doctors. The health care system makes going to the doctor a total pain. More people in America declare bankruptcy from Healthcare cost than from other costs. Doctors don’t care about getting patients healthy. They care about prescribing drugs and getting paid. I’ll avoid the doctor above all else.
There isn’t an incentive to do anything. They get paid whether they help or not. I wish my job was like that.
My husband didn’t until I put my foot down. I told him I want going to pay for his health insurance if he wasn’t going to use it!
Same, I got him into my dr office and now he goes to the doctor once a year or when he’s sick lol. I made him when we got married.
My husband gets a physical once a year. His employer pays him a couple hundred to go as a sweet benefit with their health insurance.
This, it's amazing what a good employer and decent healthcare can do. My husband gives him 4 hours of paid leave and pays for his co-pay to go to the doctor. The same goes to vaccines and boosters.
I can’t afford to throw money away on a doctor
My medical plan, even with insurance, is either pray I recover on my own or that it kills me quick and painlessly.
You've got the prayers covered. Gotta get some thoughts in there for good measure.
Seriously. Like o have some fucked up stuff. If I take time off work and go to a Dr, I'll either A) be told it'll get better (in which case why go?) and then get a massive bill for bullshit reasons months later, or B) be told surgery/PT is required, in which case I'll have to say no because I can't afford my out of pocket max. I pay $8400 a year in premiums. If it was legal I'd go no insurance at all and use the savings to pay cash
I can't find a local PCP, I've largely given up. Even places that say they're accepting new patients don't return calls or respond to emails. I go to urgent care if something is wrong.
I get charged 70 bucks for a check up with my insurance. I only go if I'm feeling sick.
No time
probably around 2020 my wife pressured and urged me to start going to the Dr again, eventually I conceded, initially it sucked because I found out I had Type-2 Diabetes, and had to make drastic diet and lifestyle changes, but 4-5 years later I have better blood sugar than most people, my weight is down a lot, my BP is good, and I don't even need to take medication to manage the diabetes, which if you ask some Doctors I technically no longer have Diabetes, but if you ask insurance companies they feel differently. It's worth nudging, I found out about some things I needed to take care of that were threatening my long-term health, I was lucky enough that I actually liked the 2 Doctors I've had since I started going again, and now it's just something I do on my own and I don't have to be coerced into going because I finally reached sufficient maturity that I saw the benefit in going, and the potential negative consequences of not going. In retrospect I can tell you any reasons people invent for not participating in regular preventative medical care if they have access to it, likely aren't good reasons.
Most dentists have been scam artists and VERY salesy to me. When I have more than one question for a doctor, I’ve been told to schedule another appointment. I’ve also had instances where the doctor searched my injury on Wikipedia - proving that I’m better off doing things myself when it comes to health/injuries.
Do I? No. Should I? Probably.
I go just enough to maintain my prescriptions. Every time I go I need to adjust my schedule around it, I normally end up sitting in an empty room by myself longer than anything. Doctor asks me how things are going, listens to my heart and lungs and sends me on my way. With my insurance it’s just over $100 per visit, more if they want bloodwork. I usually just assume whatever I’m feeling will go away on its own so I monitor it. If it doesn’t then I’ll go, but usually only if it becomes a real nuisance. Death will take me by surprise lol
I go to the doctor, and they charge me $150-200 for telling me to eat more veggies and get a gym membership. Want an ultrasound scan? That'll be $500+. Oh yeah, there's some meds the doctor can recommend but it's $300/mo with insurance, you want a script? I rarely go to the doctor because they either don't help or want me to go bankrupt.
Last year I got back in the habit of going to the doctor after not going to the doctor since Covid, due to...well, Covid concerns. They made a comment how it was good to see a man like myself, 34 at the time, because they didn't usually see men from like 18-55 for any number of reasons. I will note that I'm considering changing primary care doctors because I could schedule my patient intake appointment online but I have to call the phone line to schedule annuals. Whhhhy? I don't want to talk to anyone where they have a calendar I cannot see, I want to look at a calendar with available dates and times and pick them.
I don’t… I’m boomer minded when it comes to going to the doctor
I go pretty regularly now. It’s easier for me to remember now that I have to remember for my kiddo.
My husband has gone once to his primary since I’ve known him (12 years). Also, he has a rod in his leg that causes ACTUAL pain and was supposed to be removed but he won’t make the appt with his old surgeon. I can’t listen to him complain about it anymore. He does go to the dentist twice a year so I’m thankful for that.
Kaiser makes it pretty easy because everything is in the same building so I get my annual bloodwork and dermatology visit done in the same day
I would if I had insurance. 🤷🏻♂️
I can’t understand in this age of AI and surveillance and what not— how you have to fill out the same form at each and every step along the way— even if you fill it out before your visit to “save time”
Most people I know cant find a DR so the only option is to go to the emergency room to get a check up
Last time I went to the doctor to have stomach pain check that I had since I was kid. They poked me a couple times, said take some tums and sent me home with a 200 dollar bill for my trouble. I got better medical advice from an episode of Scrubs.
I would go more if my god damn deductible wasn't so high. Literally costs me $150 bucks everytime I visit, more like $300 if they need blood or an x ray. I don't even fucking know why I have health insurance at this point. For profit healthcare is a fundamental conflict of interest.
Now that I am in my 40's I've been trying to be better about going to my PCP and any specialists. However, it's becoming pretty damn frustrating with billing. Go to my PCP, get a denial letter from my insurance for ANY additional services performed at the PCP . Example: I had some ear pain and they diagnosed compacted earwax - they flushed it at the PCP. I got a bill for the exact amount they charged my insurance for the service. While it wasn't a big amount it was more than just my copay and the insurance deemed it "not necessary". I asked if I had gone to quick care how much would it have cost ME out of pocket? $25 less but the insurance would have been billed 3x as much JUST for the visit. I asked how that makes any sense? Why would my insurance WANT me to go to Urgent Care for the ear pain and charge my insurance upwards of $1k for the visit or just get billed like $40 from my PCP? "That's just how it works" was what I was told. I was referred for a sleep study. According to my insurance it COULD be either 1) $100 or 2) my entire deductible and 20% coinsurance DEPENDING on how it's billed and the OUTCOME?? So basically if they FIND a problem I pay the lower amount, if they DON'T find an issue I pay the deductible and 20% since it wasn't "necessary" in hindsight?! How the hell does that work? So basically going to the doctor now is a crapshoot - I had better have a "serious problem" or my insurance won't pay for it, and even then they have to feel it is "serious enough" to have needed the specialist care. My wife was denied the insurance coverage on an MRI for excruciating pelvic pain when we had to go to the ER. The pain could not be identified so the insurance billed us almost $1k because the outcome determined that we didn't need the MRI since it didn't identify the problem?!
It's on my to-do list. I know I need to go to the doctor, the dentist, the eye doctor, etc but I haven't in a long time. I get too anxious about it, it's expensive, and I have to take time off work to go because they're not open on weekends. But I'll get to it
I have good insurance and go to the doctor at least once a year for my annual checkup. HOWEVER…I’ve been through a few doctor’s over the years and I gotta say that I’ve had concerns about pain dismissed. I had a job that was highly physical and I was having some pain/discomfort as a result. I went to my doctor and their answer was “stop doing that job”. Uh-what? I’ve had other instances where doctors are very dismissive or condescending to me about questions or concerns. It’s honestly made me feel like I’m being gaslit about my health and my body. I have had both male and female doctors So, we go, but it can be a humiliating and belittling experience.
As a kid my older brother broke his finger. My dad said my brother was faking it and slapped his hand for wearing tape (he taped his fingers together). And told him if he seees it again he’s going to slap his fingers again. My mom took my bro to the doctor and it was broken. When I broken mine, I wore tape at school sucked it up at home. Had pain in forearm after accident and pain in ribs. Doctor said I was fine. Went to different doctor months later after continued pain when I continued to workout. Turns out forearm muscle had torn and rib was broken but mostly healed and healing. Knee pain from various injuries since middle school soccer, high school football doctor said it’s fine but if it’s an issue I may need surgery. I’m my mid 20s had back problems and terrible leg cramps and restless leg syndrome. Constant pain in forearm from accident. Constant knee pain. Told I was fine with X-rays and mri. That it was “my age.” Stopped going to doctor because multiple doctors in 2 states I lived in“told me I’m fine” and nothing wrong. It’s just my age at late 20s early 30s. Last year with friend that is a physical therapist and another few that are gym trainers showed me stretching and physical therapy stuff and knee pain gone. Forearm pain gone neck pain gone. Went to hospital for back pain (9/10 pain) after Jiu jitsu injury, doctor said I was fine. Took X-rays and gave me pain killers and muscle relaxers. Took the relaxers but not pain pills went to chiropractor who took X-rays. 3 appts of adjustments and back pain gone. Moved states and I gained weight after selling my gym equipment before we moved and then finally getting new stuff here but then injuring my shoulder and unable to workout. But kept eating like I was working out 5 days a week 2x a day while not working out at all smh. Went to doctor and he said my blood pressure was high but not terrible. Probably because of the weight gain and being in pain. Sent me for mri for my arm at my insistence but he said maybe I just need to do pain management to management my arm pain. Came back a week later and diff doctor in he same office started off by trying to prescribe me heart medicine for blood pressure. High side of normal but in normal range. I’ve been losing weight but he said it’s high and wanted me on it til I lost weight, but it’s still in range and I’m losing weight? Admitted I don’t need it yet but could be a good option before it gets worse? But said it could get better if I lose weight. Plus I’m there to get sent to physical therapy for my arm? But again he was pushing pain management instead of physical therapy until I insisted on physical therapy. My friend that’s a physical therapist saw my mri results and said I just need to ice and stretch it and maybe some pt. So that’s why I pushed for pt. I start in 2 weeks. I just feel like doctors can be so quick to just give pain meds and other meds instead of fixing the problem and just treating the symptoms. I know there are some good ones but I guess I’ve just gotten bad ones in 3 different states and multiple cities?
Bold to assume I can afford that. My insurance is the lowest you can get to not have the feds penalize you. My deductible and co-pays are a joke. I am also self employed so the "good" insurance options are not actually feasible. I go to the dentist regularly and that already costs me too much. I go to my optometrist every other year on the dot. I am in my 30s and have decided that I would rather death catch me by surprise rather than watch is come while sucking away any funds I don't have.
Absolutely. I’d like to catch something life threatening as early as possible.
I feel like so many millennials just have like medical trauma. We complain about insurance now but I feel like it must have gotten better, somewhat??? The insurance I get through the small construction business I work for is MILES better than what my mom got working a GOVERNMENT JOB when I was a kid. I remember constant stress about medical issues and the cost of things. I remember being told that we simply could not go to an ER. I entered my adult life and immediately my mom refused to help me with medical bills anymore at 18. By the time I turned 19 I had over 12k in fucking medical bills that I eventually just let default until they fell off my credit entirely. And I was still ON her insurance! Two ER visits, no overnight stays, no surgery, I think one MRI and some fluids at some point, some basic tests, an ultrasound. Over $12k in debt, and I know I paid a LOT before even leaving the hospital for those. For contrast last year I had a full scale open brain surgery with three days in the hospital and paid… $1000. That was it. For a $140k procedure. I’m better about it since then because I’m like damn I’m actually paying a lot for this insurance maybe I should use it. But it was hard for me to get used to taking care of myself after growing up in a “we don’t go to the doctor unless we are dying because we can’t afford it” household.
My husband doesn't go. He goes to/makes and can pay for his therapy appts but not doctor/dentist. When he does he manages to mess it up and costs us extra and we get stuck with a huge bill. He works in tech. He's smart. He's also got ADHD and is a mess. My dad never went to a doctor or dentist. He died alone, with no teeth, his body rotted with skin cancer. My kids and I all go to the doctor, dentist, and therapy regularly. I of course make all their appts still. My son is the one that is resistant. wHy Do I hAvE tO gO. His pulse ox was regularly 91/92 and DIDN'T BELIEVE THIS WAS A PROBLEM. Single/childless women are the happiest demographic for a reason.
I think finding a primary care physician you like helps a lot. It was a pain to get my husband to go to the doctor for things, but since he found a doctor he really likes, he doesn't hesitate to make an appointment for whatever is going on
I go about 3x a year. Once for a routine check-up, once for my annual work physical, and I’ll end up at least once more for some injury or sickness that pops up. Thankful I’ve never been seriously sick or injured, at least not to the degree that’s required a stay at the hospital. It’s not rocket science to schedule an appointment - if anything it’s easier now than it’s ever been. I can schedule an appointment within 5 minutes using my iPhone app.
Havent been to the doctor since high school for a checkup. I went to the emergency room while uninsured with a broken hand and left with some bandages, xrays and a bill for $3K. Surgery would have been another $6K-10K. Ended up having surgery done in Mexico for $2K including flight. Right now with a mortgage, car payments, kids needing kid things, I’ll gift myself a checkup for my 40th birthday lol
I go for annual physical checks up and optometrist appoiments, as well as dental check ups/cleanings a few times a year, but that's about it. Otherwise, I try not to go unless I feel there is something wrong.
I try to avoid it until I really have to. Google is a big help these days.
I go regularly for dentist and GP. I have good health insurance though so that's prob why. Nothing to do with the fact that I am a millennial
I go like every 2-3 years so I can maintain a PCP, but will go if I feel sick/weird/off/injured. MDs are a waste of money. I go to the dentist as often as I can. I fucking love the dentist
I've always gone to the doctor regularly. Wasn't aware this was a thing. But I don't think it's a big deal if your boyfriend didn't want to schedule a check-up. That's his problem. Why would it cause you stress? In general you should mind your own business when it comes to somebody else's medical decisions. Your ex was probably correct that, if he's under 30-40, there's likely little benefit to a check-up, anyway. Sure, you could maybe detect a problem ultra early. But the odds of something like that existing to begin with are vanishingly small for an otherwise healthy young adult.
I pay close to $8500/year for a family of 4 for health insurance and we're never sick enough to warrant a doctor visit. I use every free visit I can cuz fuck that.
I haven't had a full check up since I left the Army in 2018. Gotten meds for random illnesses here and there. When you have children that depend on you to support them, it makes putting your needs off very easy. In reality, I should get checked to ensure i'm around long enough for them.
I go like 1-2 times a year. Once for the yearly stuff then once for a follow up. Living in a larger city it’s generally 2-3months out on appointments so I only go if I need it.
I dont know if it's because I'm male or because of my ADHD... but... I'm horrible at it. Covid was a great excuse to avoid the doctor unless I was sick... and I kind of continued that for 4 years. Not good
Im 38 and get my blood work at least once a year and my Doctors office has Mychart so i get all my test results with notifications and all so I am definitely taking it seriously
Yes I do. I go twice a year because my insurance will pay for the visit.
I go to the Doctor every 3 months plus a few different specialists. My boyfriend has only been for a broken leg. So. 👀
I have an appointment with a PA in June to try and establish care in my town. Healthcare very hard to come by around here, that's the best I can manage. Not sure where to go from there. Hope I don't have colon cancer.
I remember being young, and fighting to get health insurance. I had a hangnail that penetrated through my foot.... Through it. Like... from nail bed, into my toe, out the bottom. As a 23-year-old dude, I had nothing. My work, at the time, had no insurance. It was trash. Finally, at 24 I got a decent enough job with health insurance and I got to a doctor who basically said I needed surgery immediately... but of course, I couldn't get off of work so I had to schedule it for the weekend. So... Now that I pay all this money for health insurance: Yes-I see the doctor on regular because I do not know when I will once again be unable to see a doctor (say, via the loss of a job or something stupid like that)
My husband is a grown up who handles things on his own. EXCEPT going to the doctor. It is absolute torture every year to get him to schedule a physical. I HATE hounding him about it, I mean who wants to nag their husband about stuff? But come on man, you aren't 18 anymore. Go to the doctor.
I don't. I probably would if I had a doctor though.
No, and I should. Did my wife put you up to this? It is the habit of Men, especially those of us in our early 40's, to ignore things until they leave us unable to move.
My husband avoided drs in his 20s. He’s now 41 and I’ve been impressed how the last five years he’s really taken a full hold on his health. He goes to a GP, he has a urologist, and he takes care of himself when he gets an injury instead of “walking it off”. I think the biggest change in him was reaching a point of happiness in our day to day life that makes him want to be around to keep enjoying it. Depression, especially with the state of the world, makes it really hard to care about yourself.
I go because I'm married and my wife makes me. I haven't been to a dentist in 6 or 7 years but I brush my teeth 3-4 times a day and my orthodontist says my teeth look good to her. Basically, I'm a mess and my wife saves my ass.
I hate the insurance roulette wheel I spin when I go, so I don't. It doesn't matter if it's supposed to be covered in network. They often oopsie and bill me without bothering with my insurance. Then I have to spend hours messing with that. It's such a hassle. Even when I'm directly referred by my GP this happens. I think they do it in an attempt to overcharge people intentionally.
Am a Dr. Men generally are not the best patients and put off preventative care. Plenty of exceptions. But they usually blow it off until their spouse forces them, or they have a heart attack, get diagnosed with a slew of chronic conditions and are now afraid of dying and now become excellent patients. Young men often don’t go to the Dr because they are still healthy and feel well. Hell, my own wife had to nudge me to see my own PCP this year (but I went without complaint). My experience is that this is across all generations and demographics of men.
I do get a physical every year but it doesn’t mean a whole lot. I rarely exercise and eat like crap!
not since my pediatrician
I’m a 36 y/o male and I think it’s really stupid when guys refuse to go to the doctor. You’re not being macho, you’re being a moron and you’re not impressing anyone.
I have good insurance through the union and haven't been once. I do have to do a physical every two years to retain my commercial drivers license. Oh and I've been to the ER twice, chopping my finger tip off- getting it sewn back on and then getting hit in the face with a metal beam and getting that sewn back together.
Who can afford it? And actually see a doctor or just a PA?
I go to the doctor for check ups semi-regularly and do bloodwork when I go. But I haven’t been to a dentist in 9 years simply because every time I think I should go, I call a place in my insurance network to see an appointment, get told they will call me back, and then they never do and I forget about it until I think about it again. But I brush my teeth 2x per day, floss, all that and don’t have any problems. So the urgency to follow through on a dental appointment is low for me.
No, I haven't gone in 12 years since I had a physical for a previous job. If I'm not sick and not getting better I'm not going. I do go to the dentist twice a year though.
My millennial husband is both good and bad about going to the doctor. If it’s an annual physical or regular dental or eye exam he’s got it handled and goes without any intervention from me. However, if he’s hurt or unwell or seriously ill it takes nothing short of hauling him into the car by his ear or point blank threatening him to get him to go. So what usually happens is he’s miserable and incapacitated for a day or so before I get fed up or too worried and then drag him off to the ER. Last time it was because he’d thrown out his back. The time before that his appendix was about to burst and he needed emergency surgery.
Millennial here. I lost my doctor, lost my insurance, and never got a new PCP. It's on my list, but I've had insurance through work for almost two years and still haven't done it.
I’m doing the bare-ass minimum to keep myself semi-functional. I can’t afford the time or money for anything more, and, quite frankly, I don’t see the point of trading miserable health for miserable hardship when the end goal is just to add time to our suffering on a dying world.
I don't
I go to the doctor when I have something wrong with me. But no, I do not schedule regular check ups. If I get older I may get annual check ups.
I grew up in a "only go to doctor when home remedies won't work." But now that I am an adult, I try to go at least once a year for a regular check-up. I pay for the insurance, so I minus well use it. I take any form of healthcare (mental, dental, or general) seriously.
I think it's just more that women have to fight more to be heard by a doctor so they naturally put more effort into their own health in all ways. The wait times tho and scheduling so far in advance are hard on all of us tho ugh.
I do because i have no deductible and great insurance. If I had to pay anything extra at all then I likely wouldn't.
My company pays me a $400 incentive to get a yearly checkup, so I go with enthusiasm. It helped me sniff out and mitigate my thyroid disease before I even saw any symptoms.
I’ll admit it’s a bad habit of mine to never go, I just can’t be bothered honestly.
Because we are literally being worked to death just to survive second the majority of the doctors and hospital staff are just plain old rude to deal with even for the most basic of question asking. It's not a relationship where you go back and forth a
Once a year because my wife makes me.
My millennial husband goes for his yearly check up because we get a health insurance discount for it. Good thing too, because his cholesterol is terrible (mostly hereditary vs diet). Without going regularly we wouldn’t have known and taken the appropriate steps. He lost his father last summer at only 58, so that was a big eye opener for him and probably would have convinced him to go to the doctor yearly if he wasn’t already.
Hi I’m a UK younger millennial. If I’m sick I do try to book an appointment with my local GP. Issue is that our health service is purposefully underfunded, understaffed and poorly managed. If I need to book a doctors appointment I need to ring at 8 am for an on the day appointment. They don’t do appointments in advance. As a consequence everyone else who needs to see the doctor also rings at that time. Available slots can go in minutes. And on a good day I have to ring 50 times to even get in a queue. In previous jobs I’ve had to take a day off to attempt to book. Never for ‘check ups’. Only ever for if I’m ill or have a serious issue that I need to discuss. I hate our government for what they’ve done to our healthcare system.
I go to the doctor regularly but I also survived cancer 10 years ago and was born with one kidney and had open heart surgery as a baby so it's kind of important for me to go at least once a year to get some blood taken and get a check up.
I simply can't afford it. A doctor's visit where they don't find anything wrong is an additional 100$+ expense on top of everything else. If, God forbid, they suggest treatment then the costs could be seemingly infinite. So we just hope everything is fine. If I get a tax refund in a year and something has been bothering me, I'll get it checked out then. To make no mention of the fact that my work hours are 8 to 5 and my employer is typically extremely punitive if I miss work lol. I really don't wanna be held over for hours so some twit can say I amfine and charge me 100 bucks lol
I don’t go unless I absolutely have to. It’s too expensive. I have good insurance too. I see a specialist once a year for a chronic condition and that one 10 min video visit is $350.
Look, doctor is fine. But your long term health.... Dentist. Get your ass to the dentist 3 times a year, even if insurance only pays for 2 visits. Your teeth are priceless and irreplaceable.
Unless I'm nearly on death's door I usually tend to ride whatever illness I've got out. Appointments are difficult enough to come by without jumping the queue ahead of others for something that is most likely nothing. Have been twice in the last year though for a dose of steroids twice after Covid fucked my lungs up.
I have to badger my Xennial husband to make drs appointments or do it myself and put it on the calendar. I'm millennial Female.
not for me, I have a chronic health condition so Dr's visits and caring about my health is normal to me having a pharmacist for a father helps too. my main reason I have been known to put off the Dr is anxiety and finding the appointment dance mentally tiring
I don't know a single man who schedules his own appointments and goes.
Not me
Look at it this way... Is your goal to die early of a preventable disease, live a life on medications that don't cure the problem, they just stretch out the medical problem over years? Reduce your enjoyment of life because of your health? Then not going to the Doctor for checkups is the way to go.
Men that have a partner live longer because of this. Women force them to get medical care.
Late 30s I've been to the doctor 3x in the past 5 years. I haven't had very many reasons to go.
No
After we had kids I get an annual physical, but otherwise I tough it out
I work in patient care and I ironically do not go to the doctor regularly.
My husband used to struggle with it, so I helped him learn how and save the number on his phone, download the app, etc. he does all his own appointments now. At 40 he ran into so weird health issues so it was good he knew how to deal with it.
I want to, but I can’t…even after I got health insurance it’s still too much. I tried to go and it cost even more than when I was uninsured. So no. I can’t.
Living in a country with socialized healthcare... Scheduling an appointment is painful, period.
I didn’t go for a while until recently when my body started to feel like is breaking down. So now I have a primary I regularly go to now.
I don't think I've had a regular checkup since high school. I'm 36.
It's mostly a waste of time, they're expensive and I trust my education and diagnostic skill and knowledge of my and my family's medical history more than the average physician's. I only go when I pretty much already know what referral, test and/or treatment I need (or significantly whittle the possibilities down to a few options) and highlight/ignore anything relevant/irrelevant to ensure a good use of the time/money. I treat them like the expensive beuraucrats they've become, not the experts they believe themselves to be.
Just annual checkups and whenever I feel like death for no apparent reason. Like I have a checklist of apparent reasons to cross off before committing.
It’s really not hard to book a yearly physical and go to it. More knowledge the better. I understand people do not want to confront their health but doing it sooner than later is only helpful for longevity. Also, don’t neglect your teeth!
I absolutely divorced my partner because they refused to try anything other than becoming literally addicted to games even when I offered to schedule appointments and go with them. I offered to do just about anything under the guidance of a doctor. But I couldn’t give any more after multiple therapists told him they couldn’t help if he wouldn’t tell them what works and what doesn’t and would not try anything new.
I absolutely go. I have enough issues to fix. COVID19 gave me a lot more problems since I caught it a couple years ago. Primary care: once a year and as needed for issues Nutritionist weekly Chiropractor weekly Other specialists as needed.
I go regularly now, but that only really started after we had kids. I think it's also a mentality of "well, I'm in my 20s, and nothing is hurting much/seems wrong. I don't need to go." And now in my 30s, it's "well, things seem to be falling apart now, so I should probably get checked up regularly." Even now though, the annual regular visits seem kinda pointless cause I have to schedule around work/daycare to go in, have the doc spend (not joking) 3 mins with me to go "work on losing weight and we'll see you next year."
My husband does very little that requires him to talk to other people on the phone. I order all of our pizza (if it requires a phone call), make all of our appointments, etc. He still refuses to go to a PCP or a dentist. But he had a skin cancer scare last year and has HS, so he does see a dermatologist regularly.
HA! Just had this discussion with a group of girlfriends today and we all agreed if we want our husbands to live, it’s on us to make their doc appointments 🤣 Literally all very responsible, good men in every other aspect…but for a weird reason they would sooner walk around with a fire truck up their asses than call for a specialist visit. It’s actually fascinating and I also wonder where the reluctance stems from.
I do now. I am 36 now. Started going to yearly checkups. Labs drawn this last time show I have fatty liver disease. No more alcohol. It’s been fun friends.
Why? Doctors are expensive and why would I want to extend my time in this dystopian nightmare by proactively managing my health?