[ZipSnipe]

I recently almost had what I thought was a heart attack but turned out to be an anxiety attack. Luckily it was just that and nothing worst, but it was scary as I couldn't catch my breath and my face and hands started tingling, and by the time my wife got me to the emergency room , I couldn't talk and my hands started getting stiff.
By the way did I mention I HATE hospitals and doctors and have always said to myself I would never go to either one. But after the othernite my opinion has changed. The staff in ER was professional and just like on tv wheeled my in and a team of 'em started plugging stuff into me. After a couple of hours I started getting my fingers back and my breathing was a lil better, still have little shortness in breath.
The point of this post, I,m a procrastinator! I waited too late to get my self into a doctors office, even through I had called one up to find out the cost of the visit and bloodwork, I still waited a couple days longer even through I had the money . And now with no insurance, I'll be shelling out 2-3k dollars for the ER visit wheres as the doctors(if I would of went earlier) was only a 2-3 hundred. I also procrastinated an year earlier when I had insurance and never used it(DUMb@?%)
So if you occassionally get short of breath go get it checked out before it gets worst and cost more!.....duh!

P.S. don't be a scaredy cat !

[madmike357]

i havnt had a checkup for 20 years when my wife finaly talked me in to it
they found a brain tumor 3cm
i wont wait that long again(chair)

[Geof]

I didn't procrastinate but I was too complacent.

Eighteen months ago I had a full medical for insurance purposes, ECG on the treadmill, blood workup, prodding and poking everywhere. I had no symptoms of anything and the physical exam for prostate problems was negative, but I didn't get the PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) test.

Then a few months ago I started to have difficulty peeing, so I got the PSA test. To make a long story short; this week I start therapy for advanced state prostate cancer, four months of chemo and hormone therapy, then seven weeks of daily radiation therapy followed by almost a year of hormone therapy. And I cross my fingers.

[MrWild]

Wow Geof, I'm joining your club. A year ago I had a full physical. This year I complained of painful urination. Upon doing a digital cavity examination, they said enlarged and hardened left side. They've just done a PSA and will be doing a biopsy soon.

[martinw]

Dear ZipSnipe and posters,

Thank you for this thread.

Best wishes,

Martin

[Geof]

Wow Geof, I'm joining your club....

I wish I could say membership is closed, but probably now you know the statistics, and know that out of the thousands of guys on this forum dozens are going to become members.

It is better to know you are a member early rather than late; I was obviously asleep at the switch.

[MrWild]

The good news is they have goododds at beating this cancer. I had very long odds in 94. 3% And very few made it past five years. Even so, I beat those odds. Just hate the chemo. It is a real MFer. Best to cut your hair short now. It sucks cleaning out the shower drain every time you bath.

Other thoughts are to get the shoulder hook up. Do NOT do like I did in 94 and have em use your arms for chemo. It is very hard for them to find veins and arteries now for any sort of blood work. Haven't told the family yet. Sis is going down hill fast with neuro mengiomas. They don't need the added stress until I begin my own chemo/rad/surgery.

We'll survive. Piece of cake.

[dertsap]

So if you occassionally get short of breath go get it checked out before it gets worst and cost more!.....duh!

P.S. don't be a scaredy cat !

shortness of breath or a chest pain


1 1/2 months ago , i left from work straight to my sons ball game , about 5 steps from my car i felt like i got smoked in the chest with a baseball , what worried me even more was my arm was in pain as well , i knew darned well it was not good , i fought the pain for a couple hours till the game was over came home to bed and slept it off , the weekend came a few days later and i was hit again but that time decided i had to hit the hospital , sure enough i had a couple heart attacks .
i always thought i was strong and healthy , my only vise left was cigarettes and now thats gone
at 40 yrs old this isn t a good start and it won t be the end , ive watched this all before , sh@t happens ,now i'm into heavy damage control with preventive measures and hope to reverse the inevitable

when does a guy decide when its time to start taking better care of himself , usually when its too late

[ZipSnipe]

Wow, I guess my problems aren't as bad as some of you(which I wish each and everyone of you nothing but good health). I just found out one of my buddies just got brain cancer, along with an ex-girlfriend(super hottie) who is stricken with Leukemia.
Upon my exit from the ER, I banned all caffeine( I loved coffee),beer(I loved beer),smoke(always hated smoke) and now wear a respirator as soon as I step foot in the shop.
Now I went down and paid the bill , I was told the complete bill was $1800 with a 25% discount if paid in 30 days , so I paid it. And now I get another bill for $178 from pathology and called, was told that I should expect 3 more bills. I was there 2 1/2 hrs , they took blood, plugged some stuff in my arm, stuck a bunch of sticky things on me and one xray! Gee! I think they want me to come to the ER.
I really have gotten into the wrong business, that is crooked if I have ever seen it, worse than lawyers!!!

[Geof]

.... I banned all caffeine( I loved coffee),beer(I loved beer),smoke(always hated smoke) and now wear a respirator as soon as I step foot in the shop....

The respirator is a good idea.

Not smoking is a good idea.

But you should do a bunch of reading from all sources on the caffiene and beer. You will find out that both of these in moderation are not harmful, and in the case of alcohol it is possible there are some benefits.

[low_48]

My brother lost his membership to this club a month ago, age 48. He went for more than a year thinking that hemeroids were the bain of his existance. He FINALLY went to the doctor. He had a 4cm tumor in his colon, small tumors in both the lobes of his liver, tumors in one lung, and some lymph nodes. He lasted 1 year and two weeks from the diagnosis. That year was hell, but that last month was triple hell. Watching a "healthy" 47 year old turn into a wasted 100 year old looking guy in just a couple of months. It ate him alive. I went in for a colonoscopy two months after his diagnosis. If you're around 50 years old, I strongly suggest the same!!!!!!!!!

[ZipSnipe]

I think the main point I,m trying to make is besides the obvious health reasons for seeing a doctor, you can actually save money as in my case I would saved some money rather than going to the ER(very costly). In fact I'm still pissed off about the cost. Here's how my ER visit is broke down in cost!

Wheelchair ride from front desk to ER room(20-25')= $200
Little gown they put on me (2-3hours of wearing it)= $200
Lay in the bed for 2-3 hours = $1400
Bloodwork = $178
Tech to look at bloodwork(10 min) = Surprise
electrode dyolysys = " "
Tech to look at dyolysys(5minutes) = " "
x ray = " "
Tech to look at xray(5 minutes) = " "
Nurse take temperature and put blanket on me = " "
Total Unknown

Was the service good? It was excellent! Is worth what they're asking? About half would be fair.
Remember, the next day I called asked for a total bill, was told it would take a week to calculate and a week later I paid and now I,m getting more bill which are separate!
If I did that in my business, I would be called a scam artist. Its like I come to your house, fix your window, and give you a final bill and you pay. But a month later you get bills for the glass, the caulking, the guy who delivered the glass to my shop, ETC...
Yep I,m paying more attention to politics and healthcare becuz they need to straighten it out or this country will definetly be seeing another revolution!

[midlf]

I had a good friend, retired tool and die maker. He was going to be my machining tutor when I retired. He kept ignoring a sore throat for way too long. When he finally checked it out it was cancer of the voice box and it was too far along to have any reasonable chance at a cure. For three years he played lab rat at the university hospital. His wife was angry at his procrastination. I was angry at his procrastination. Get things checked out, anything you fear will only get worse and more expensive if you wait.

After he died his widow gave me his tools, said he wanted me to have them. Now I have a bunch of tools, tooling and equipment I have to learn to use on my own. I'd rather have my friend.

If you don't want to check out a problem for your own self, do it for the others in your life.