General Health Checks
Discussion
Has anyone had a general health check with someone like Bupa / Nuffield that checks for things like early signs of heart disease / cholesterol / diabetes / anything else that might be wrong?
I'm sure there are probably cheaper ways of getting the tests done through your GP, but it would be convenient to have them all done in one go and good to get some advice if e.g. I might be at risk of getting diabetes.
Is it worth it, and do some companies include some important tests that others don't that I should ask about when booking?
I'm sure there are probably cheaper ways of getting the tests done through your GP, but it would be convenient to have them all done in one go and good to get some advice if e.g. I might be at risk of getting diabetes.
Is it worth it, and do some companies include some important tests that others don't that I should ask about when booking?
Soovy said:
I turn 40 this year.
My 40th bithday present will be a Lifescan.
Bricking it.
Two questions. My 40th bithday present will be a Lifescan.
Bricking it.
Why do this for your 40th birthday? Surely you don't want to find out how long you've got left on the toughest birthday in your life.
Why waste a load of money on Lifescan when your GP will do everything they do without any cost. The GP will order tests that are appropriate based on his findings but Lifescan will just subject you to everything they can and there is probably no need for half of it.
I'm seeing my doc next week for a free healthcheck. Had one a few years ago and everything was great. Changed docs since so getting another one done with the new surgery.
I had a lifescan just over 2 years ago.. it saved my life.
I have had high blood pressure since my early 20's, I'm not overweight but did like a drink or two and was a smoker. but no more than most of my mates. I was told the problem was genetic and put on meds at about 30. when I got to 40 my GP suggested a lifescan, He thought the calcium score would reveal any build up in my arteries, So I booked for a heart and lung scan.
When I got there they said they were doing a deal and for an extra £100 or so they would scan all of me. I had the scan and they told me they would write to me within a few days/ a week or so.
I got back to work.. the phone rang, It was the consultant radiologist. obviously my bowels opened when he said that.. I thought immediately I would have lung cancer or my heart was shot. He said now.. but there was a lump or mass above my kidney which may be the cause of my high BP and i should seek a second opinion.. quickly. He told me he would write to my GP.
My GP called, called said don't worry, ( as they always do ) its probably nothing but it might be a pheochromocytoma, but unlikely as they are so rare. I was worried
Went to see an endocrinologist who said the same thing, but reassured me it was unlikely, most likely a benign lump. started some tests, but said they took weeks to get results, as it was quite large, referred my to a surgeon in the meantime, He said whatever it was it would need to come out. prep for surgery while waiting for results. at this point I was rescanned, A proper contrast CT scan, Lifescan he said was more of an MOT and didn't have the detail he wanted.
Meet with surgeon who kept looking at the scans, He said looks weird, Bit bigger than he thought, and something wasn't that normal. He also told me these things are so rare that he would seek a second opinion from St Barts in London, which is the Mecca of Endocrinology in Europe, He would get back to me in a few days time.
I can't say I was that worried up until he called me the next day, clearly on his mobile from the car.. At this point I shat myself. He was very business like, He said, There is no easy way of saying this.. You are much worse than we thought, The team in Barts looked at your scans and think you are severely compromised all over that area, the tumor is much bigger than originally thought over 12cm, these things go malignant at about 8cm, he said there are signs of possible metastasises everywhere. both kidneys, spleen, liver and major arteries. Have I had my Lungs and Brain properly scanned?. I replied that I hadn't. He said he would arrange it and someone would call.
I had a few moments to have a sob, when the phone rang again. It was the local hospital the royal surrey, they asked if I would come for the scans, I said when.. they replied.. how about now. I shat myself again, I never experienced such a speedy reply. I knew it was serious.
The scans were fine. and everyone decided I should go to Barts in London as it so rare and they would know how to handle it. My tests also came back showing huge levels of Nor-adrenaline and almost 10 times the normal levels of dopamine in my system, It was a secreting tumor. and it was huge. I thought i was f*cked.
To cut a long story short after months of tests.. (My lifescan was in the first week of May), I was scheduled for surgery in Sept. It took that long as they couldn't figure out what it was. or how bad I was. coupled with the fact I was felling fit and looked fine all the time, The biopsy had revealed a benign bit, but the tumor was so large they said some could be benign. some could be malignant.
The surgical teams came to see me an hour before, It was a surprise at my bedside. keeping the best till last, 4 teams, Endocrine, Kidney transplant, vascular and a cardiothoracic team. They said they didn't know what to expect so they were covering all bases. the consent form I signed was a long as my arm, possible removal of both kidneys, hopefully transplanting the best one back in down in my pelvis, removal of spleen, sectioning of liver and bowel, putting in a stoma, and if it had spread above diaphragm some work there, and rejigging of my venacava and aorta. I was then told it was a very high risk procedure and if they had to do all of that my survival was going to be tested.
I was quite scared. I knew it wasn't going to be a great day out, However they were confident it wouldn't require all of the above, they were hoping it would be some but not all. Anyway a mobile rang when I was on the gurney going to theatre, the bed in ITU reserved for me was taken by a trauma case.. it was all stand down. We waited for 3 hours and gave up. gave me back my clothes and told me they would reschedule in a few weeks. They told me to go home and relax, Now in all of my life.. I have never been in such an anticlimax. lol.
Three weeks later on October 15th 2008 I woke up after 7 hours of surgery, the first thing I saw was my wife beaming at me, "They got it all out, and all your organs are safe".. I feel back to sleep. I woke up again.. Main surgeon standing there " Incredible.. Never seen anything like it before.. it was bright orange" I feel back to sleep. when I woke up again I saw the head of the endocrine unit. " That was lucky.. still don't know what it was" I feel back to sleep. when I awoke again it was a physio.. she said this is going to hurt sorry.. it did!
It took 7 hours to remove, They found a huge tumor, the main mass was 750grams and 14cm across, it had spread like ivy wrapping itself around all my organs, the surgeon said it was like clingfilm and he just peeled it off, that was the reason all the scans showed signs of it all over me, it was wrapped around my main arteries, liver, bowel, left kidney, spleen, all my lymph glands were standing to attention so that's why they thought they were metastasise. but it was all attached and hadn't invaded any organ. they did slice a lump of my liver.. but that would grow back.
It was a ganglioneuroma, bright orange apparently, fused together with an adrenal cortical adenoma. No one knows why or how. They said if I hadn't discovered it it would have killed me within 2 years or shorter, it was strangling my organs and arteries. it would have bleed out, or released so much adrenaline I would have blown up. it was lucky I got that far, They think it had been growing for anything from 10-20 years, probably from the first time I had high blood pressure.
So that's my story. I went for a Lifescan.. on a whim.. It saved my life. GO
I posted this before in the scars thread.. but here you go,
I have had high blood pressure since my early 20's, I'm not overweight but did like a drink or two and was a smoker. but no more than most of my mates. I was told the problem was genetic and put on meds at about 30. when I got to 40 my GP suggested a lifescan, He thought the calcium score would reveal any build up in my arteries, So I booked for a heart and lung scan.
When I got there they said they were doing a deal and for an extra £100 or so they would scan all of me. I had the scan and they told me they would write to me within a few days/ a week or so.
I got back to work.. the phone rang, It was the consultant radiologist. obviously my bowels opened when he said that.. I thought immediately I would have lung cancer or my heart was shot. He said now.. but there was a lump or mass above my kidney which may be the cause of my high BP and i should seek a second opinion.. quickly. He told me he would write to my GP.
My GP called, called said don't worry, ( as they always do ) its probably nothing but it might be a pheochromocytoma, but unlikely as they are so rare. I was worried
Went to see an endocrinologist who said the same thing, but reassured me it was unlikely, most likely a benign lump. started some tests, but said they took weeks to get results, as it was quite large, referred my to a surgeon in the meantime, He said whatever it was it would need to come out. prep for surgery while waiting for results. at this point I was rescanned, A proper contrast CT scan, Lifescan he said was more of an MOT and didn't have the detail he wanted.
Meet with surgeon who kept looking at the scans, He said looks weird, Bit bigger than he thought, and something wasn't that normal. He also told me these things are so rare that he would seek a second opinion from St Barts in London, which is the Mecca of Endocrinology in Europe, He would get back to me in a few days time.
I can't say I was that worried up until he called me the next day, clearly on his mobile from the car.. At this point I shat myself. He was very business like, He said, There is no easy way of saying this.. You are much worse than we thought, The team in Barts looked at your scans and think you are severely compromised all over that area, the tumor is much bigger than originally thought over 12cm, these things go malignant at about 8cm, he said there are signs of possible metastasises everywhere. both kidneys, spleen, liver and major arteries. Have I had my Lungs and Brain properly scanned?. I replied that I hadn't. He said he would arrange it and someone would call.
I had a few moments to have a sob, when the phone rang again. It was the local hospital the royal surrey, they asked if I would come for the scans, I said when.. they replied.. how about now. I shat myself again, I never experienced such a speedy reply. I knew it was serious.
The scans were fine. and everyone decided I should go to Barts in London as it so rare and they would know how to handle it. My tests also came back showing huge levels of Nor-adrenaline and almost 10 times the normal levels of dopamine in my system, It was a secreting tumor. and it was huge. I thought i was f*cked.
To cut a long story short after months of tests.. (My lifescan was in the first week of May), I was scheduled for surgery in Sept. It took that long as they couldn't figure out what it was. or how bad I was. coupled with the fact I was felling fit and looked fine all the time, The biopsy had revealed a benign bit, but the tumor was so large they said some could be benign. some could be malignant.
The surgical teams came to see me an hour before, It was a surprise at my bedside. keeping the best till last, 4 teams, Endocrine, Kidney transplant, vascular and a cardiothoracic team. They said they didn't know what to expect so they were covering all bases. the consent form I signed was a long as my arm, possible removal of both kidneys, hopefully transplanting the best one back in down in my pelvis, removal of spleen, sectioning of liver and bowel, putting in a stoma, and if it had spread above diaphragm some work there, and rejigging of my venacava and aorta. I was then told it was a very high risk procedure and if they had to do all of that my survival was going to be tested.
I was quite scared. I knew it wasn't going to be a great day out, However they were confident it wouldn't require all of the above, they were hoping it would be some but not all. Anyway a mobile rang when I was on the gurney going to theatre, the bed in ITU reserved for me was taken by a trauma case.. it was all stand down. We waited for 3 hours and gave up. gave me back my clothes and told me they would reschedule in a few weeks. They told me to go home and relax, Now in all of my life.. I have never been in such an anticlimax. lol.
Three weeks later on October 15th 2008 I woke up after 7 hours of surgery, the first thing I saw was my wife beaming at me, "They got it all out, and all your organs are safe".. I feel back to sleep. I woke up again.. Main surgeon standing there " Incredible.. Never seen anything like it before.. it was bright orange" I feel back to sleep. when I woke up again I saw the head of the endocrine unit. " That was lucky.. still don't know what it was" I feel back to sleep. when I awoke again it was a physio.. she said this is going to hurt sorry.. it did!
It took 7 hours to remove, They found a huge tumor, the main mass was 750grams and 14cm across, it had spread like ivy wrapping itself around all my organs, the surgeon said it was like clingfilm and he just peeled it off, that was the reason all the scans showed signs of it all over me, it was wrapped around my main arteries, liver, bowel, left kidney, spleen, all my lymph glands were standing to attention so that's why they thought they were metastasise. but it was all attached and hadn't invaded any organ. they did slice a lump of my liver.. but that would grow back.
It was a ganglioneuroma, bright orange apparently, fused together with an adrenal cortical adenoma. No one knows why or how. They said if I hadn't discovered it it would have killed me within 2 years or shorter, it was strangling my organs and arteries. it would have bleed out, or released so much adrenaline I would have blown up. it was lucky I got that far, They think it had been growing for anything from 10-20 years, probably from the first time I had high blood pressure.
So that's my story. I went for a Lifescan.. on a whim.. It saved my life. GO
I posted this before in the scars thread.. but here you go,
was all that bar the lifescan on the nhs - pretty dam good if so. is the woman in the pic on the nhs?!
if i could afford a scan id have it tomorrow. i dont see whats to lose as long as you dont have them regularly and get blasted by radiation etc. funny how we all give our cars mots yet when it comes to ourselves...
if i could afford a scan id have it tomorrow. i dont see whats to lose as long as you dont have them regularly and get blasted by radiation etc. funny how we all give our cars mots yet when it comes to ourselves...
originally I was treated privately but I was put back in the NHS whey they knew trouble was afoot, I was told to keep my private insurance for simple things, I was advised they would drop me if they knew what was ahead. All my follow ups are still done on the NHS.
When the poo hits the fan there is no other place I would rather be than with the NHS. incredible resource. good people.
The wife I picked up 16 years ago..
When the poo hits the fan there is no other place I would rather be than with the NHS. incredible resource. good people.
The wife I picked up 16 years ago..
bacchus180 said:
............possible removal of both kidneys, hopefully transplanting the best one back in down in my pelvis, removal of spleen, sectioning of liver and bowel, putting in a stoma, and if it had spread above diaphragm some work there, and rejigging of my venacava and aorta. I was then told it was a very high risk procedure and if they had to do all of that my survival was going to be tested.
I was quite scared.
Jesus titty feckin' christ.I was quite scared.
That's an amazing tale.
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