Regular Medical Checkups?

[Grammy Ginger]

Dr.Jim...

[michaelswarm]

If someone in the SAD world responds by asking, “how common is the risk of a routine colonoscopy?”, “How does one compare the percentage of being helped with that of being hurt?,” what would you say?

Dr McDougall also has specific detailed Newsletter articles for the most common cancers: breast, prostate, and colon. I suspect the statistics you might be looking for are in there.

https://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2016nl/jul/colon.htm

However, I'm not sure accurate medical facts are the appropriate response. Maybe something like "I'm just following the advice of my conservative medical doctor," might be more socially acceptable. Doug Lisle probably has something wise to say on this.

[gracezw]

Michael, thanks! Your response sounds good! I will read the new article you pointed out to.

[openmind]

Honestly, I am to the point where I won’t take any colorectal screening, at all. Even the stool sample stresses me out until I get the result. Why cause myself unwanted stress to screen for a disease that (in all likelihood), I don’t have?

[Mom+Me]

I hear and understand what everyone's said and where they're coming from. Up until now most in our family have not graced the doorstep of a doctor except for a dentist and sometimes for vision. But the last 10 months have been filled with doctors and tests due to a head trauma requiring brain surgery and lots of therapy. All was going good when a stroke came out of no where (had been McDougalling around 14 years + no risk factors other than age, mid-70's).

Now he's scheduled for a heart loop implant this week and an endoscopic echocardiogram in a couple of weeks...all to try to figure out what caused the stroke and to help prevent any future strokes.

All this talk of fishing around in an otherwise healthy individual makes me re-question if these things should be done, especially since he hasn't been a big doctor goer anyway. It's the not knowing that causes concern: not knowing the cause and possible future strokes, but also not knowing if any gains from said implantation and test will be better than any potential risks.

Any thoughts? Anyone have a loop recorder implanted? Anyone have the TEE (transesophageal echocardiogram) or know anyone who has??? Much thanks!

[gracezw]

I am not sure whether what I ask or say will make any difference. But I will ask and say it anyway. What was his compliance level for Mcdougalling for 14 years, high or low? It might be possible that he could have had a stroke earlier if he had not been doing Mcdougalling. It might be good to consult with a WFPB family doctor, and/or a WFPB cardiologist/neurologist.

I hear and understand what everyone's said and where they're coming from. Up until now most in our family have not graced the doorstep of a doctor except for a dentist and sometimes for vision. But the last 10 months have been filled with doctors and tests due to a head trauma requiring brain surgery and lots of therapy. All was going good when a stroke came out of no where (had been McDougalling around 14 years + no risk factors other than age, mid-70's).

Now he's scheduled for a heart loop implant this week and an endoscopic echocardiogram in a couple of weeks...all to try to figure out what caused the stroke and to help prevent any future strokes.

All this talk of fishing around in an otherwise healthy individual makes me re-question if these things should be done, especially since he hasn't been a big doctor goer anyway. It's the not knowing that causes concern: not knowing the cause and possible future strokes, but also not knowing if any gains from said implantation and test will be better than any potential risks.

Any thoughts? Anyone have a loop recorder implanted? Anyone have the TEE (transesophageal echocardiogram) or know anyone who has??? Much thanks!

[Mom+Me]

gracezw, thank you so much for replying! His compliance level was not 100% throughout all those years. It was quite high, but I couldn't really put a % on it. It probably varied. I think it was probably highest when he ate at home and took lunches to work, which was most of the time.

When he was hospitalized in December, his cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar, etc. levels all were beautiful! His compliance since has been 99.5%, with added sodium usually between 400-1,000 mg per day.

It is possible he would have had a stroke sooner, but doesn't seem like it, but who knows?!

I was thinking of trying to get a consultation for him with Dr. Lim via phone. But I was hoping he'd have all the testing done/things settle down a bit so Dr. Lim could have a better picture of his health and what's going on. (This procedure and test are the first invasive things other than the brain surgery which was needed to live.) Do you know of any WFPB cardiologists or neurologists who would do this, too? I know I've read in the past where Dr. Esselstyn has personally called people who left an e-mail on his site.

Thank you, again, gracezw!!

[openmind]

Was he having high blood pressure?

[Lyndzie]

You should definitely call Dr. Esselstyn. I know a person who reached out to him and he called them back as well. No need to rush into this procedure if you are not yet convinced that it is the right decision. It can wait another week.

[Mom+Me]

Hi openmind and Lyndzie,

Thank you both for responding; I truly appreciate it!!

No, he was not having high blood pressure, so that is just another perplexing piece of the puzzle. Even when he was eating the SAD, his blood pressure was always good. Back in his SAD days he never really overdid it: at one point he was about 10-15 pounds overweight, but he always ate fruit, whole grains, plenty of vegetables, a "well-rounded" meal (for a SAD) type of person.

Wow, that's great that you personally know of someone whom was contacted by Dr. Esselstyn--very encouraging! Originally the TEE was scheduled to be done right after the implantation of the loop recorder. After reaching out to the dr., he agreed that we could reschedule. It was via an on-line patient portal, so we didn't actually talk with him in real time. The lady who does all the scheduling between the drs, hospital, and patients said she thought the dr. only told us to reschedule because we had concerns (of the recorder migrating because he'd have to lie on his left side for the transesophageal echocardiogram just after the surgical implant).

Unfortunately the implant is scheduled less than 24 hours from now, so I don't know about cancelling. One good thing is that his occupational therapist has had some patients who've had the loop recorder but didn't seem to have any complaints.

[cadete]

Jim
only jurnal members have access to the article
can you send us a summary?

[determined2bhealthy]

I am not renewing my health benefits. After everything I have been put through with doctors who are wrong, or incompetent, or greedy, or constantly looking for and finding and wanting to treat things--I am done. I am presently coping with the burden of an incidental finding that--had I NOT had that MRI "just in case"-- I would be living my life blissfully unaware of this benign brain tumor. But now I know it's there, and you just cannot unring that bell.

[Grammy Ginger]

I know I've read in the past where Dr. Esselstyn has personally called people who left an e-mail on his site.

Dr. Esselstyn called me within a day or two of leaving an email. He is wonderful. I would definitely get his opinion before proceeding.

[Grammy Ginger]

And for the record, Dr. McDougall used to email people back personally before he retired. Famous or not, plant docs really care about preventative medicine to help people.

[Mom+Me]

I am not renewing my health benefits. After everything I have been put through with doctors who are wrong, or incompetent, or greedy, or constantly looking for and finding and wanting to treat things--I am done. I am presently coping with the burden of an incidental finding that--had I NOT had that MRI "just in case"-- I would be living my life blissfully unaware of this benign brain tumor. But now I know it's there, and you just cannot unring that bell.

I'm so sorry to read of your horrible experiences. While no one has identical experiences, various family members throughout the decades have been the victims of similar doctor/medical experiences; so much so that one exclaimed, "Doctors can bury their mistakes!". I say that not to discourage you, but to hope to encourage you that people understand how you feel the way you do.

I cannot fathom how you must feel knowing that you have a brain tumor. I hope you take comfort, though, in knowing that it is benign(!), that you've found the truth about health (The McDougall Plan), and as your username says, you are determined to be healthy--congratulations!!