Male Health taken seriously in Ireland?

dbnavan · 13-02-2007 01:07PM #1

Can anyone tell me is it normal for a guy in ireland at the age of 27, to go his GP, for a annual checkup, I have never been and after some discussion with my wife, who is american, she advised me that it would do know harm, so last week I made an appointment to go this morning....

When I went in the doctor basically accused me of being a hypocondriac and there was no need for me to be "wasting his time", "and that the american way of life of annual checkups is only a way for doctors in the states to rip people off."

When I told him I had never had an STD test, he said to me, "Oh now come on, its not like your sleeping around on your wife", no I havent but I have had sexual partners before meeting my wife, and anyway how the hell would he know?

Sorry just needed to vent, took a morning of work for this and it bugged me all day,

geuro · 13-02-2007 01:12PM

i cant believe your doctors attitude. youabsolutely should have your annual checkup. I try to have a checkup every year, but im afraid to say i often let it slide much longer than that. But how a professional doctor can insinuate you are a hypochondriac because you want to make sure everything is ok is beyond me. the most important thing in life is your health. if there is anything wrong with me, or anything i need to be paying attention to, i would certainly like to know about it before it gets out of hand. get a new GP. the guy you saw is a joke.

Rabies · 13-02-2007 01:21PM

I went for a check up in Nov. Rarely go to the doc unless I really need to. Only went because I was leaving the country for the year and knowing me wouldn't see a doctor unless I was half dead.

Got a general check up, blood, chest, a general well being thing. All fine, gave me a prescription for stuff to pick up before I left in case I needed it.

A yearly check up should be done even if you are fit and healthy.

BeardyGit · 13-02-2007 01:25PM

DB, I reckon my GP would do the same. He's in his early 60's and scowls at people who come for a prescription refill.

Anyone else thinking of going for a general checkup, I'll recommend visiting McCabes Pharmacy in Dundrum Town Centre. I don't know anyone who works there but I've been for a general checkup and received excellent attention and printed reports on my cholesterol, blood pressure etc etc along with some good advice from their 'in house' GP.

I'm sure the VHI clinics will do the same of course.

Gil

loismustdie · 13-02-2007 01:26PM

you should report that doc, did you pay him?

dbnavan · 13-02-2007 01:31PM

loismustdie wrote:

you should report that doc, did you pay him?

Have medical card so I didnt have to pay, might have a different attitude if I did pay him, thinking of reporting him, not sure if its worth the hassle.

The_Conductor · 13-02-2007 02:13PM

There is a macho attitude over here among males- who only tend to attend a doctor/hospital when they are seriously ill, and normally long after they should have had complaints seen to. Concurrently there is an attitude among many doctors that only hypochondriacs attend them if there is nothing wrong with them. There are a lot of services available for women dealing with specific issues- like the much advertised breast check campaign. There are no reciprochal campaigns for mens issues (prostate cancer etc). Most Irish men wouldn't know how to check for prostate abnormalities if their lives depended on it.

It is very much a combination of a macho attitude on the part of men, along with poor organisational skills and a loathing to admit that anything is wrong that has most of the Irish male population condemned to this strange position.

Maybe attitudes will change?

Talliesin · 13-02-2007 02:43PM

Ah.

Full medicals for otherwise healthy people are indeed seen as something that is a bit of a rip-off by a lot of doctors.

There is therefore the difference between:

"I want a full medical, even though I'm perfectly healthy."
"That's a rip-off to be honest."
"I want to pay for one anyway."
"Fair enough, it's your money."

and

"I want a full medical, even though I'm perfectly healthy."
"That's a rip-off to be honest."
"I want the tax-payer to pay for one anyway."
"Go away".

That said, it's still a matter their opinion. Check out on whether medical-cards entitle you to such a full check-up or not and if they do insist on it.

dbnavan · 13-02-2007 02:58PM

Talliesin wrote:

Ah.

Full medicals for otherwise healthy people are indeed seen as something that is a bit of a rip-off by a lot of doctors.

There is therefore the difference between:

"I want a full medical, even though I'm perfectly healthy."
"That's a rip-off to be honest."
"I want to pay for one anyway."
"Fair enough, it's your money."

and

"I want a full medical, even though I'm perfectly healthy."
"That's a rip-off to be honest."
"I want the tax-payer to pay for one anyway."
"Go away".

That said, it's still a matter their opinion. Check out on whether medical-cards entitle you to such a full check-up or not and if they do insist on it.

Load of s**t TBH, if your going to give someone access to something you can pick and choose what they use it for, its not like I want cosmetic surgery or viagra on my medical card.

And you only know your perfectly healthy after a doctor tells you so, friend of mine couple of years ago had cancer which had spread throughout his body, meaning he had to have had it several months, you dont develop it over night, he didnt know about it till it was too late. They also have an MOT(and call it that) in England(so its not just an american thing.) which they recommend men have every 2/3 years.

thewing · 13-02-2007 03:15PM

If you want an MOT, you should have to pay for it.Simple as.

dbnavan · 13-02-2007 03:29PM

thewing wrote:

If you want an MOT, you should have to pay for it.Simple as.

Thats your opinion, and if it were a rule, i wouldnt have a problem with it, but its not so why should i suffer? Should women on medical cards pay for breast checks too? Older men pay to have their prostate checked?

BeardyGit · 13-02-2007 03:33PM

As a tax payer (12k paid last year....Grrrr), I'd prefer if everyone on a medical card got 1 annual checkup, instead of waiting to present at hospital with previously undetected illnesses that will add many thousands to the cost.

I'd also like to see them lose the benefit of a medical card if they don't follow doctors orders to lose weight, give up smoking, drinking etc.

hunnymonster · 13-02-2007 03:33PM

OP, having a medical card is a relevant fact and probably should have been mentioned. Until such time as "mot's" become standard, they are a luxury service, and as such will probably not be covered by a medical card.

Do you think your GP would have reacted differently if you had been a woman? THe title suggests this?

I've read before that in the long term, regular checkups would save the gevernment money as care for heart patients, chemotherapy etc are extremely expensive. (sorry don't have the stats to back this up) The health insurance companies appear to have taken this on board and part-finance check-ups every couple of years.

Personally, I spend a lot of time with medical doctors so regularly get checked out but if this wasn't the case. I would want a check-up every couple of years.

Petey2006 · 13-02-2007 04:11PM

To be honest, I'd get myself a new doctor. If your custom is such a hassle to him, take it elsewhere.

Red Hand · 13-02-2007 05:15PM

You may want to change your Doctor. It is good to get a health check-up every so often. Though saying that I have only ever gone for one check-up and that was at the behest of a former employer two years ago. Yikes!

dbnavan · 13-02-2007 07:04PM

hunnymonster wrote:

OP, having a medical card is a relevant fact and probably should have been mentioned. Until such time as "mot's" become standard, they are a luxury service, and as such will probably not be covered by a medical card.

Do you think your GP would have reacted differently if you had been a woman? THe title suggests this?

To answer your second question first yes I firmly believe women are treated differently, they have breast screening, pap smears etc, all sorts of tests that they are offered and encouraged to take up.

And on your first point I could probably start a new thread on this one!! Why should someone get an inferior service because they are "entiled to it free", should old women stand and give you their seat on a bus, because you paid and she didnt, same mentality in my book, should a medical card holder wait til tues between 11am and 11.40am so they can use their free service? If you are going to entitle someone to an benifit that benifit should be afforded in the same way as if they had paid for it.

Nevyn · 13-02-2007 07:33PM

Breast screening is only for a very small segment of the female population,
pap smears are promoted but they are not pushed enough imho.

http://www.vhi.ie/hfiles/hf-055.jsp wrote:

The latest statistics from the National Cancer Registry report that approximately 965 new cases of cervical cancer are reported in Ireland every year. On average, 85 women will die from cervical cancer every year. However, if detected early, cervical cancer can be successfully treated in almost all cases.

I don't think that men's health is less of a piroty at all, I do think that there may seem to be more about women's health issues as it is only recently that
the medical profession has started to stop thinking about women as men with extra bits.

I do think that your dr was out of order and you should look at changing dr
and consider putting in a complaint.

This thread is starting to become more suited to humanities.

The_Conductor · 14-02-2007 11:41AM

dbnavan wrote:

And you only know your perfectly healthy after a doctor tells you so

Horsemanure.
Its one thing to have a general health check- which indeed a lot of prospective employers insist on, its entirely a different matter to expect a doctor, any doctor, to tell anyone that they are perfectly healthy. If you tried to get a doctor to say that- he would drop you like a hot potato, thinking that you were trying to sue him for something. It is impossible to diagnose someone as perfectly healthy- indeed some of those considered the fitest and healthiest in the country have died while playing sports and exercising. If you insist on a doctor telling you "you are perfectly healthy"- if the doctor has any sense of self-preservation he/she will immediately order a whole barrage of most probably highly invasive tests- just so if you happen to have something wrong, you won't sue them. The Irish are even more litigious towards doctors than they are in the US- which is why so many doctors are leaving the profession here and why there are very few people willing to practice at all in certain areas.......

dbnavan · 14-02-2007 12:27PM

smccarrick wrote:

Horsemanure.
Its one thing to have a general health check- which indeed a lot of prospective employers insist on, its entirely a different matter to expect a doctor, any doctor, to tell anyone that they are perfectly healthy. If you tried to get a doctor to say that- he would drop you like a hot potato, thinking that you were trying to sue him for something. It is impossible to diagnose someone as perfectly healthy- indeed some of those considered the fitest and healthiest in the country have died while playing sports and exercising. If you insist on a doctor telling you "you are perfectly healthy"- if the doctor has any sense of self-preservation he/she will immediately order a whole barrage of most probably highly invasive tests- just so if you happen to have something wrong, you won't sue them. The Irish are even more litigious towards doctors than they are in the US- which is why so many doctors are leaving the profession here and why there are very few people willing to practice at all in certain areas.......

I agree with you there I think my statement was too loosely termed and I left myself open to such a response, when I fix a computer, and tell a client its working fine, I dont expect them to sue me if they leave the office and the hard drive fails as soon as they leave, if I have run all the tests available to me at the time I fixed it. But certainly I would like them to think that in my professional 'opinion' backed up by test results the system is running as it should be. Same applies for a doctor.

hunnymonster · 14-02-2007 12:36PM

OP,
I'm sure I'm leaving myself open to all sorts of accusations here (will delete post if anything thinks it's offensive) but if you're a computer engineer with clients, think you're in ok health and about to go abroad, why have you got a medical card?

Sangre · 14-02-2007 12:37PM

She probably refused because she was a female specialist and hadn't examined men in years. She probably felt she wasn't properly qualified to examine you. I doubt it had anything to do with 'your bits'.

dbnavan · 14-02-2007 12:48PM

hunnymonster wrote:

OP,
I'm sure I'm leaving myself open to all sorts of accusations here (will delete post if anything thinks it's offensive) but if you're a computer engineer with clients, think you're in ok health and about to go abroad, why have you got a medical card?

Have medical card as I have Cerebral Palsy, I am a college student, recieving Back to Education Allowence(which is not means tested), and I probably have about 20 clients which brings nominal amount depending on what needs to be done(can go weeks with nothing, then all of a sudden a commerical website), when did I say I was about to go abroad? You know something I dont? Anything else you need cleared up?

Dont find it anyway offenisive resonable question!

dbnavan · 14-02-2007 12:49PM

Sangre wrote:

She probably refused because she was a female specialist and hadn't examined men in years. She probably felt she wasn't properly qualified to examine you. I doubt it had anything to do with 'your bits'.

She was a he, not that it makes a difference

hunnymonster · 14-02-2007 12:55PM

my mistake. sorry.

missmatty · 14-02-2007 01:08PM

As far as I remember, it's difficult to nigh on impossible to change doctors when on a medical card. Your card is usually assigned to a particular doctor. I had a medical card years ago and if i'd known then what I know now about the things you are entitled to on it, I'd have taken full advantage at that time. However I don't know whether a general health check up is covered on it. If it's not, then I could understand the doctor's reaction.

Sangre · 14-02-2007 02:26PM

Sorry, thought I was on a different thread db.

Marksie · 14-02-2007 03:47PM

My original post didnt come through. My fault.

But i have a much younger doctor who, when he heard my dad had stomach cancer, immediately made arrangements for me to be checked out. And stated that he will do so every five years.

I thin that having a health chekc is eminently sensible, it is better to find out you have high blood pressure than to have to deal with the after affects of a stroke.

On the subject of women being treated differently, they are and much worse.

I wanted to double check my figures so i found this from senator joe otools website.

"There are twice, if not three times, as many deaths among women from cancer as the cumulative number of deaths resulting from gun crime and road accidents. The lives of at least 1,000 women a year could be saved and they could be alive if we were to ensure the roll-out of the cancer screening programme to all parts of rural and provincial Ireland"

These are preventable, if this was to occur in teh male population i firmly believe the screening system would be in place and running by now. Good old FF

BeardyGit · 14-02-2007 04:30PM

marksuttonie wrote:

.....Good old FF

Ah, right so. The old pointless political reference in a PI thread. You'll be knocking 'Irolan' next.... :rolleyes:

I note DB is ready and willing to encourage someone turn a blind eye to their neightbours tax evasion on another P.I. thread. At the same time he's happy to try running up charges on a taxpayer funded medical card and p1ss and moan about it when another taxpayer (the doctor) scolds him for his behaviour.

If I was your doctor I would have turfed you out on the street. If I knew who you were, I'd report you for tax evasion and try to get that card taken from you :mad: I hate people like you who are more than happy to encourage others to ignore tax laws in this country while at the same time milking the social welfare my taxes fund.

I'm more than happy to have anyone benefit when they are mindful and respectful of those who pay THEIR way and YOURS. But you're litte more than a welfare leech.

Nevyn · 14-02-2007 04:43PM

Gil_Dub banned for unhelpful and offtopic posting.

Marksie · 14-02-2007 05:00PM

Gil_Dub wrote:

Ah, right so. The old pointless political reference in a PI thread.

No Gil_Dub its not pointless. The OP stated that treatement for women was different, i highlighted with an example. This screening proigramme should have been rolled out at least 5 years ago. FF/PD were responsible for it. you can calculate how many preventable deaths have occurred in that five year period.

I again re-iterate, this would not have happened if it was male health we were concerned with.

dbnavan · 14-02-2007 05:03PM

missmatty wrote:

As far as I remember, it's difficult to nigh on impossible to change doctors when on a medical card. Your card is usually assigned to a particular doctor. I had a medical card years ago and if i'd known then what I know now about the things you are entitled to on it, I'd have taken full advantage at that time. However I don't know whether a general health check up is covered on it. If it's not, then I could understand the doctor's reaction.

Medical card covers me for any doctor(of 5) in the surgery in Question, all he had to do is say if I want to have an elective consultation i'd have to pay for it, this wasnt offered, and would have been my option to take it then, spoke to college nurse today she said it is a service offered in the college and there is no way i should have been treated the way I was, infact people are encouraged to do it, medical card or not. So she is going to run a medical next week.

Male Health taken seriously in Ireland?

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