Preventable

[PearlWatson]

I always thought that Larry Miller's death was preventable had he simply taken care of his health/chronic disease (Type 2 Diabetes) and his wife confirmed this belief in a commercial that played during the Jazz game last night.

Miller had all the resources he needed to reverse his disease, but instead he ignored it so long that he had to have his legs amputated.

What is it with men...mostly...and ignoring their health?

I'm hoping for serious answers. Don't let me down.

 

[The Thriller]

Have any of you read his book?

He neglected his health for most of his life. The dude was workin 60-80 hour weeks all while eating crap.

It's amazing to me that he lived for so long the way he lived.

 

[Darkwing Duck]

My dad's friend is going to die soon because of similar thought processes. Though in his case, he blames doctors instead of himself not taking care of themselves.

 

[YB85]

I don't know what it is. About ten years ago, I had a tumor removed from my ear canal that had grown so large that it was tearing the lining into my brain. Another 6-12 months and I would have had serious problems. The thing is, I went to a doctor for the problems I was experiencing and he was too busy to really help me. Rather than go to another doctor, I ignored the problems I was having for a couple years until one morning when I woke up and my pillow was covered with blood from my ear. Now, if my wife even suspects I have something going on, she nags me until I get to the doctor.

 

[PearlWatson]

I don't know what it is. About ten years ago, I had a tumor removed from my ear canal that had grown so large that it was tearing the lining into my brain. Another 6-12 months and I would have had serious problems. The thing is, I went to a doctor for the problems I was experiencing and he was too busy to really help me. Rather than go to another doctor, I ignored the problems I was having for a couple years until one morning when I woke up and my pillow was covered with blood from my ear. Now, if my wife even suspects I have something going on, she nags me until I get to the doctor.

What did he say/do when you went in?

 

[PearlWatson]

Have any of you read his book?

He neglected his health for most of his life. The dude was workin 60-80 hour weeks all while eating crap.

It's amazing to me that he lived for so long the way he lived.

I haven't read "his" book. Is it an autobiography?

It sounds like you think he just didn't want to be bothered with it because he was too focused on other things.
Does it say what his reaction was when he got diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes? Didn't that scare him at all?

 

[YB85]

What did he say/do when you went in?

First let me say that this doctor was/is an Ear, Nose, and Throat specialist. Not just some general practicioner. He had me undergo some audio testing and then a CT Scan and a week later when I brought in the pictures from the scan to his office, I waited in his exam room for over an hour to speak with him. He finally comes in, takes the envelope, pulls out the picture and holds it up to his light (not an x-ray reader) for about ten seconds, brings it down and says "there's something wrong, but I don't know what it is". I thanked him and told him that I came up with the same diagnosis, but didn't go to medical school. He laughed and left the office. I sat there stunned. I was not in a hurry to waste my time at another doctor's office.

 

[VINYLONE]

I always thought that Larry Miller's death was preventable had he simply taken care of his health/chronic disease (Type 2 Diabetes) and his wife confirmed this belief in a commercial that played during the Jazz game last night.

Miller had all the resources he needed to reverse his disease, but instead he ignored it so long that he had to have his legs amputated.

What is it with men...mostly...and ignoring their health?

I'm hoping for serious answers. Don't let me down.

I brought this up on the previous board and was lambasted for thinking such things. He had more than enough resources to live a long fruitful life, but, for whatever reason, decided to give up living. It was a selfish attitude to take.

First let me say that this doctor was/is an Ear, Nose, and Throat specialist. Not just some general practicioner. He had me undergo some audio testing and then a CT Scan and a week later when I brought in the pictures from the scan to his office, I waited in his exam room for over an hour to speak with him. He finally comes in, takes the envelope, pulls out the picture and holds it up to his light (not an x-ray reader) for about ten seconds, brings it down and says "there's something wrong, but I don't know what it is". I thanked him and told him that I came up with the same diagnosis, but didn't go to medical school. He laughed and left the office. I sat there stunned. I was not in a hurry to waste my time at another doctor's office.

I have a similar story Greg. I once met this guy who was Jewish. He cheated me in a card game. I hate all Jews now.

 

[PearlWatson]

First let me say that this doctor was/is an Ear, Nose, and Throat specialist. Not just some general practicioner. He had me undergo some audio testing and then a CT Scan and a week later when I brought in the pictures from the scan to his office, I waited in his exam room for over an hour to speak with him. He finally comes in, takes the envelope, pulls out the picture and holds it up to his light (not an x-ray reader) for about ten seconds, brings it down and says "there's something wrong, but I don't know what it is". I thanked him and told him that I came up with the same diagnosis, but didn't go to medical school. He laughed and left the office. I sat there stunned. I was not in a hurry to waste my time at another doctor's office.

Wow, that really is stunning. Did you issue a complaint against the doctor? It seems like he should have negative consequences for blowing a patient off like that.

So the answer to my question could be:

*a trust issue with doctors

*they give up too easily

*don't know where to go to find help

 

[PearlWatson]

I brought this up on the previous board and was lambasted for thinking such things. He had more than enough resources to live a long fruitful life, but, for whatever reason, decided to give up living. It was a selfish attitude to take.

I don't think he wanted to die, or gave up living. There was just something in his brain that wouldn't or couldn't connect his actions to the long term consequences.

Maybe denial, he felt invincible, or just lazy about that aspect of his life but it wasn't selfishness that led to neglecting his health.

 

[TroutBum]

My wife and her mother are the same way. Instead of going to the Dr., they feel like they need to be 'tough' and will buy all sorts of snake oils, KM, books by so-called Dr.s, etc. It drives me ape ****. Needless to say, my MIL can't walk because she refused to get her knees checked, she FINALLY (after how many years?) went to get a growth on her neck checked to find out her artery is 95% clogged, and my fridge is full of MLM garbage.

Why are women so dumb?

 

[unluckyseventeen]

Wow, that really is stunning. Did you issue a complaint against the doctor? It seems like he should have negative consequences for blowing a patient off like that.

So the answer to my question could be:

*a trust issue with doctors

*they give up too easily

*don't know where to go to find help

This situation really isn't all that uncommon. If you think you have something wrong nowadays it's almost best to go researching the symptoms and have doctors run the tests that you think need to be done.

My wife was blown off by several doctors and an ER doctor due to severe headache symptoms. She eventually told a doctor in the ER what she wanted done (CT scan), and lo and behold, it revealed a sizable cyst and a tumor. It then took another 3-4 months of beckoning neurosurgeons around the state to take her case, and another couple months to get into surgery... and there's a ****ing tumor in her brain, confirmed by a scan she's faxing to however many different offices and getting no response back.

Doctors very often either act like they don't care, act like they're too busy, or shove people away with a prescription for pain meds. Finding a talented, caring doctor who is available and not totally nuts (socially) is really hard to do.

 

[VINYLONE]

I have never had that experience with doctors...

 

[AtheistPreacher]

I will say that I'm a guy, and I typically don't go in to see a doctor for anything. Mostly it's simple laziness. I'd rather sit at home and watch a movie than go in for a check-up, so I don't go. I remember paying into my health insurance for my first full-time job for over a year, then getting a letter informing me that my primary care physician had retired -- I laughed, because I had never bothered to go meet the guy in the first place. I also never really exercise... walking to the store or to classes is about it. But I'm not overweight, and at the very least, I don't eat a lot of crap.

Only time I did go in to the doctor in the past few years was when I got some weird periodic waves of warmth in my calf. It was so outside of my experience that I thought I'd better have someone check to see if it was serious. Unfortunately, the genius clinic doctor's diagnosis was that it was some sort of pulled muscle or something... which was one thing I was sure it wasn't. I never did figure out what that was about. But anyway, the visit wasn't a total loss... I managed to get my shots updated while I was there.

 

[LogGrad98]

In my marriage it is my wife who doesn't ever want to go to the doctor. She grew up in a broken home (in more ways than one) with no insurance at any time, so unless they were bleeding or comatose they never went to a doctor because they are all just greedy money-grubbers (her dad's words, but an attitude he passed on to his kids). This has been reinforced in her when we have gone in for some relatively minor issues and the doctors basically did nothing, although I always try to tell her that at least they ruled out anything serious. That just does not fly with her.

I have no issues with doctors, and I am glad about it. I was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, bone cancer, in an isolated tumor in my upper chest and shoulder growing into my spinal column. My oncologist gave me less than 15% chance of beating the cancer. The tumor was actually pressing against the sheathing around my spinal cord and if they had not caught it when they did it likely would have resulted in paralysis (quadriplegia) or death as it damaged my spinal cord, let alone the cancer itself. More than once during my treatment I found myself in intensive care, unconscious and fighting for my life. More than once my wife had to go home and try to figure out how to tell her 6 and 4 year-olds that their dad died last night. Thank god it never came to that, but I just cannot imagine what that had to be like for her.

As it is, I underwent several surgeries at University of Utah and Hunstman, seriously intensive chemotherapy, and proton therapy at Loma Linda University Medical Center in California (https://www.protons.com/) and I am now more than a decade cancer free.

I have to use that sometimes to remind my wife that when they found my cancer, I was going in because I had a minor pain in my arm. Sometimes you can't know what else is there.



Having been close to that kind of scenario I really feel for Larry Miller's family. I think his death was ultimately preventable, and he could have at least extended his life and had a higher quality of life up to the end. Diabetes is "the silent killer" and if he had stayed up on his regimen he could possibly still be here today.

Rest in peace Larry.

 

[VINYLONE]

Great post Log. My father beat cancer last year...Lymphoma.

 

[LogGrad98]

Great post Log. My father beat cancer last year...Lymphoma.

Glad to hear it. It's a tough fight but worth it.

 

[VINYLONE]

Glad to hear it. It's a tough fight but worth it.

It definitely is. It gave him a new perspective on life.

 

[babe]

In my marriage it is my wife who doesn't ever want to go to the doctor. She grew up in a broken home (in more ways than one) with no insurance at any time, so unless they were bleeding or comatose they never went to a doctor because they are all just greedy money-grubbers (her dad's words, but an attitude he passed on to his kids). This has been reinforced in her when we have gone in for some relatively minor issues and the doctors basically did nothing, although I always try to tell her that at least they ruled out anything serious. That just does not fly with her.

I have no issues with doctors, and I am glad about it. I was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, bone cancer, in an isolated tumor in my upper chest and shoulder growing into my spinal column. My oncologist gave me less than 15% chance of beating the cancer. The tumor was actually pressing against the sheathing around my spinal cord and if they had not caught it when they did it likely would have resulted in paralysis (quadriplegia) or death as it damaged my spinal cord, let alone the cancer itself. More than once during my treatment I found myself in intensive care, unconscious and fighting for my life. More than once my wife had to go home and try to figure out how to tell her 6 and 4 year-olds that their dad died last night. Thank god it never came to that, but I just cannot imagine what that had to be like for her.

As it is, I underwent several surgeries at University of Utah and Hunstman, seriously intensive chemotherapy, and proton therapy at Loma Linda University Medical Center in California (https://www.protons.com/) and I am now more than a decade cancer free.

I have to use that sometimes to remind my wife that when they found my cancer, I was going in because I had a minor pain in my arm. Sometimes you can't know what else is there.



Having been close to that kind of scenario I really feel for Larry Miller's family. I think his death was ultimately preventable, and he could have at least extended his life and had a higher quality of life up to the end. Diabetes is "the silent killer" and if he had stayed up on his regimen he could possibly still be here today.

Rest in peace Larry.

Thanks for sharing the experience.

A lot of people just don't understand the doctor scene. A lot of doctors age prematurely, and die early. Something about the stress, the high stakes worklife, the money, the high professional maintenance routines. . . .but that said, I was disappointed many years ago when I had a lot of contact with medical school and professionals. . . . not enough actual caring about people in my humble opinion, too much focus on the glory or whatever. . . . now I'm married to a nurse who sometimes tells me how hard she is on doctors who won't listen to her. . . . the other day she came home beaming because in a crisis situation a doctor asked her what to do, and took her suggestion. . . . and afterwards paid her a high compliment for being someone who made a difference by being willing to go the extra mile. . . . I'm sure there are all kinds of doctors.

Me? after doing medical research for some years I am committed to taking good care of myself. Including the exercise and nutrition. I go to the doctors for the tests, and to pick their brains for second opinions. A few years ago I thought I was gonna die. My wife laughed at me for being a hypochondriac, then got scared and went fulltime on her job so she could get me insured. . . . I figured it out, and got a friend to write me a prescription for what I thought I needed. It worked. Some six weeks later when the insurance kicked in I went to the docs for a complete evaluation of my health. . . . they thought I was on track to live to be a hundred. The scare was a lung fungus infection/allergy double punch. My total medical bills for the episode, fifty bucks for a strong antifungal.

A relative who worked for Larry Miller also got type II diabetes and neglected himself for some time. Finally, however, he submitted to the doctors and got some help. Kept his diet and exercise protocols and has improved. Two years ago I thouht he was day-to-day to still be alive. Now he is still going on, and enjoying his life. No surgery needed.

 

[bigb]

Speaking for myself, I haven't been to a doctor in years. Right after my oldest was born, I went in and got a total physical, blood work and everything. They came back to me and said I was healthy as a horse, other than I needed to lose some weight. That was over six years ago. Since then, I've been to a doctor once, when I thought I'd torn my rotator cuff. The doctor examined me and said he was 90% sure it was just tendonitis but told me to get an x-ray. I never went and about a week later my shoulder stopped hurting.
I think my biggest hangup is the wasted time off and wasted money on the co-pay. I hate going to the doctor to be told it's nothing. I've been when I thought I had strep throat and been told it was only a cold. I've gone for what I thought was a broken ankle and the answer I got was "it's been broken, but it isn't currently broken". I didn't even know it had ever been broken. I hate that kind of scenario because I feel like a puss when I'm told it's nothing. Somewhere along the way I just decided to stop going.