All these tests these days

fancyflowers - I had a breast cancer test - once and never again. I knew it involved a mammogram and the thought hadn't crossed my mind they would do a test that was painful of itself. So I got in their machine and they "tightened and tightened" the darn thing - and kept tightening - even when I said the test itself was hurting. It hurt a lot by the time they finished their tightening. Never again! I was gobsmacked they would do a test on people that was painful - yep...I know and I feel pretty naive to not know that...but no-one had ever said! Of course I've now read since that this primitive test itself can cause problems. So double reason not to let them near me with their "Stone Age" medicine.

So I felt betrayed - both by the NHS (with their primitive test) and other people (some of whom must have had it - but kept schtum that it was painful!!!!)

Then there's the fact they'd probably want to stick one of those things down my throat to check out why I have been getting acid reflux daily (!) for a while now. Errr...no...the whole idea is to avoid anything unpleasant and my dentist could tell them I'm very concerned about just what I let anyone put in my mouth. So that's another thing I won't do and I'm thinking "Even the NHS knows that's primitive and there's a sorta Contac type thing one can swallow instead for that test - so why are they still doing it that way?!!!". Meanwhile - I'm now experimenting with whether Aloe Vera liquid will stop the problem.

Basically I find most of "modern medicine" of this era very very primitive indeed and, when I can even picture some of what there will be in centuries to come = I'm blowed if I'm going to let them get their hands on me with this primitive early 21st century stuff of theirs. To me - it's in the same category as "A couple of centuries ago they used to do operations without general anaesthetic - they were so primitive".

So - to me - I've now come pretty firmly to the conclusion "I'll live in the 23rd century mate mentally-speaking - and, if you've not invented what I need yet = I'm going to use alternative medicine instead. Get a move on and stop being so darn primitive with what you're offering currently".

Any medication is a 'poison'. It is there to stop the body doing or not doing something by working against what the body wants to do.

But all medications these days come with very comprehensive leaflets spelling out the dangers, and there are often articles in the print and social media, not to mention reliable medical sites online that regualrly publish information ondrugs and their side effects.

As long as people are sensible and can tell a reliable site from some conspiracy theorist convinced that every vaccine or tablet you take will kill you, all the information anyone caan need about a medication is available at the touch of a button.

I can follow the logic re any medication being a "poison" - certainly amongst the conventional drug range for sure.

I think maybe one of the reasons why medications are problematic to so many people is that they hear (or should hear) what the effects are on a noticeable number of other people - but go ahead and take it themselves subsequently.

I recall when Prozac came on the market and was being touted as side-effect free - and I cynically thought "Oh really?!!!" and sure enough it turned out to be very far from. Right at the moment there's Ozempic and the like that a lot of people are taking to lose weight - and, sure enough, that's turned out to have a load of side-effects too and yet still people are demanding it. Which I find very odd - as, to me, there's two other choices anyway....so "Just why". Take one of the other two choices imo - either stay fat or go on a diet. It's like they forget those two options are still available.

There is always going to be a great variety of views on this. My take on it is that I am now 80 and have run my life to the best of my ability, and have every intention of doing so for the rest of it, long or short. So long as I was not causing problems for others I have made my own decisions and accepted the result of that. So think Diana Trent in Waiting for God, if you ever saw that. There is no way that I would go and live in a care home , if I can help it. They may suit other people , but as long as I can possibly do so, I will live in my own space , and so , while health and lack of funds might stop me doing some things, I have the joy of music, radio 3, and 4, and surrounded by many books, and the ability to go out and come in at times that suit me and be beholden to no one, and not have to "clock in" . I accept the down sides, when I struggle to move about much or cant bend for something or whatever. Then things just have to wait until I can manage. I have always cooked most things from scratch, preferring my own cooking to shop bought stuff and knowing what makes up the contents of my plates. Yet I have had to find a few things that I can have in the freezer , for days when I just cant stand up and cook.

I did 10 years hospital car and have seen how unforeseen things can alter your life and not in a way you would choose. So I gave up my house and lovely garden with regret but chose to move to a ground floor flat, ensuring that I could manage for longer with no hills etc. But it has ensured that I can remain in charge of my life for longer, well that is how I see it. I have cancer again now which is not good news , but am coping and again , by living here I am able to go for treatment, and remain at home. Actually my back causes me much more everyday hassle and frustration, and if I was in a care home I recognise that I would have more help, and probably much less pain, yet even that does not make me want to leave here. As regards to medication, I listen carefully to what doctors say, do some checking up of my own and try to come to a sensible decision. I am diabetic and take tablets for that, but with reasonable care I can manage my food intake and of course sometimes eat less healthily , but over all I am coping.

We all have our own views on what is important in life. If I can still enjoy music and art and reading, be able to enjoy eating and drinking occasional treats then I will continue to plod along. If I am feeling particularly down or struggling a lot then I have bits of Billy Connolly recorded, and I just find him very funny and makes you laugh out loud. Definitely something that , for me, is much better than medication. I listen to J S Bach every day, and many other things too, which can still surprise and cheer me, and enjoy watching the wonderful Nature programmes which allow us to see things that we may never have the opportunity to see in real life. There is a lot of rubbish on tv , in my opinion but those wonderful nature programmes I thoroughly enjoy. So with things like that and my radio, I have much to still enjoy, and can please myself when I listen or watch. This may not be the best life but it IS a life , in a way that matters to me. I just hope that I am never in a situation where I am bedbound without the chance to enjoy these things that count so much for me in my life. If I can no longer enjoy anything and am only living because I am breathing, then I would not want to continue. We all have things that make our lives still worthwhile, and I think we are all responsible to try and live in a sensible manner so that we can continue to enjoy our choices. However , one mans meat etc., I do not think I have the right to tell anyone else how they live their lives. GN is also part of my life too now, and there is much to learn, and enjoy , and occasionally feel annoyed about, but how great it is to have something to read about at rubbish oclock in the morning when you cant sleep! I never look up on Google or whatever about illness things, If I cant actually do anything myself about it , it would just be one more thing to worry about, so I dont look. After all these years I think I recognise when I need to see a doctor, although they usually moan at me and say I should have come sooner, but if something hasnt been affecting me much I prefer to see how it goes. I hate injections and dont much care for tablets, so will definitely not be trying to have any unnecessary costly treatment, and accept it is my own fault if I should have gone earlier. If they suddenly discovered that coffee shortened your life by a day a month, I would still choose to drink it as fresh coffee is my favourite drink, and so again I make my choice and live by the consequences. Enjoying what you can in life seems to me to be the measure of what you can do for yourself within reason.

madeleine: isn’t it wonderful that we can watch so many wonderful things on our tablets and TV’s. My current favourites are Channel 91 which is a wildlife safari and a utube channel called Cornish Walking Trails. I wish I could ignore Dr Google; he has a lot to answer for!

Just discovered I have Chronic Kidney disease for past 6 months by spotting it on my NHS app. It’s stage 3 and I’ve clearly been eating the wrong food for the past 6 months. Can’t eat avocados, bananas, sweet potatoes, tomatoes etc etc. Now trying to come to terms with it mostly through internet searches.
Does anyone have the same and have any useful advice? Drinking 2 litres of water a day is tricky!

Hi Jrose

I think you would get more replies if you started a new thread about this.

Calendargirl

We are all going to die eventually.

Do I want to end up in my 90’s in a nursing home, unable to do anything much, and taking a plethora of pills to ward off potential heart attacks, strokes etc?

Reading here on GN about care of elderly parents, in their home or in care, I really don’t know if prolonging life to great age is how it should be, and the medication all that keeps them going.

Much of the point with BP monitoring & control, & cholesterol monitoring, is to prevent stroke which is a (the?) leading cause of disability in old age.
So it's not about prolonging life as much as trying to ensure as many people as possible have a healthy & independent old age.

It's rosy-tinted glasses to say that the knowledge from previous centuries is being ignored & could be useful - tonics with arsenic, bleeding people who may already be anaemic, surgery done by barbers because the qualified doctors looked down on it? I read years ago that doctors harmed more people than they helped prior to the 1950s.
And which of us with toothache or a headache hasn't been glad of paracetemol in our time? Courtesy of big pharma.

I have no trust in doctors and ignore the steady stream of offered tests. GP surgeries are paid for every vaccination or routine test and the vast powerful drug companies make their profits by developing drugs which may or may not be necessary.
I have highish blood pressure but it really doesn’t matter. I’d rather die of a stroke than of dementia or cancer. I don’t take any drugs and haven’t seen a doctor for years. It’s almost impossible to see a doctor here yet they keep being given targets to meet and boxes to tick.

I am currently feeling that my life is coming to an end. I've had type 1 diabetes since I was 13 (I'm now 71) and it has always been very unpredictable and impossible to control. Every single day I have to try to get it right and to be honest I don't want to anymore. I know I've been incredibly lucky to live in the uk with the NHS, and many other people don't have that. I have ME too, and one of my eyes has no vision and I don't think I'll get that back. My pleasures are gardening, dancing, reading, crafting and only occasionally seeing my grandchildren and children. All these require eyesight and if that goes completely I don't think I'll have anything to live for.

My mother had various health issues in later life but lived to 104 despite chronic kidney disease. She did smoke cigs as a young woman in WW2 but never drank alcohol except for a sweet sherry at Xmas.

Sensible posts from MOnica as usual. I wonder how many posting on this site would still be here if modern medical tests and subsequent treatments and intervention had not been available.

I tend to agree OP. My mum lived with chronic kidney disease (stage 3) for years and died of a stroke aged 92. Tests revealed MGUS in my brother and there’s no treatment for that either so it’s just a constant worry for him.
But on the whole, they’re obviously a good thing. I hope you stay healthy and diet does play a role in managing kidney disease, which I’m sure you know. My mum avoided mushrooms and drank lots of water!

Thank you Grannybags, I’ll try to work out how to do it!