Need an NCT

gimpotronitus

Hi all,

I'd like to get a complete health checkup somewhere, the kind that tests for everything - a complete checkup. Arrival of new kid and the fact that I am a smoker means I want to make sure all is ok on the health front. I have no concerns or symptoms or anything but have not been at a doctor in probably 25 years.

I dont mind paying for it either.

Can someone recommend where I can do this?

Live in the rathfarnham area.

thanks a lot.

sam34

you should visit a gp for starters. they can do full physical, bloods, some will do ecg if indicated and they can decide what else is necessary.

many of these health nct places charge a fortune for what can be done in a gp surgery.

r3nu4l

Weird, I just went to my GP today for the very same thing...although I'm not a smoker!.

I had my blood pressure taken twice and that was well within normal range each time. He didn't bother with height and weight because I was able to quote those. I did get blood taken and am getting a complete lipid profile, results should be back in a few days.

I think you know yourself that Smoking is the big no, no, right? Interestingly I told the doc that I wanted the check up because I was embarking on a fitness programme and change of diet and wanted some baseline figures to measure my health progress by. I said that my motivation was the fact that men in my family tend to be killed almost exclusively by heart attacks. The first question he asked was 'Did they smoke?', followed by 'Do you smoke?'. My answer to the first was 'Yes, they did' and the second 'No, I don't'.

He then told me (something I already knew) that Smoking is the number 1 risk factor for heart trouble, followed closely by being overweight or having type 2 diabetes.

So, if you have a kid, and want to see his/her 30th birthday I'd quit the smokes. Easier said than done? Well my Mam smoked for over 35 years until two years ago when my Dad (a former smoker too) had a quintuple bypass 36 hours after going for a test for his 'indigestion'. She hasn't smoked a cigarette since. Nothing like being confronted up close and personal, by your own mortality to ensure a change!

So, go to the GP, ask for blood biochemistry and a glucose tolerance test, blood pressure test, height and weight check. Then get your fitness tested at the gym (resting heart rate, time to recovery etc). Make sure the gym you get to do this knows what they're at.

Eat plenty of lean protein and green veg, quit the smokes, drink a little (or a lot) less and you should be healthy for a while to come Oh yeah...exercise more too

gimpotronitus

Thanks, very good advice.

I'm lucky in that I am fit enough I guess for my age, I swim about 3 or 4 times a week, play a bit of soccer etc.. but cant seem to get off the smokes. They are an absolute curse of the highest order but having the little fella now makes it a guilty pleasure.

The trigger actually was seeing John Hartson at 34 ( my age ) being diagnosed with testicular cancer and lung cancer. He's obviously fit and not a smoker. Nasty business.

Anyway, thanks for the advice.