Biologically male procedures only. EDIT: If the two people who downvoted this question could explain their reasoning, I would be super interested. No judgements. This is a safe space!
Do every test available for prevention and prophylaxis.
Get your general practitioner to do a full health check, ECG, EEG, cardiac ultrasound, a full blood panel, bloodpressure, pulmonary function, skin cancer prevention ect.
Schedule a gastroscopy and colonoscopy.
Check in with an urologist to get your prostate and urinary tract checked.
If you can, get a full body scan. Either PET or MRI.Nearly every serious disease or health issue is easier prevented or treated when caught before it casues real issues.
Every cancer there is, has a better outcome and is easier treated when found early. Most of them are silent until very late in the game.This is something I would recommend to anyone: Take advantage of every preventative messure or examination that is available to you!
There is no illness that you can detect too early.What you mean is, your HMO has had to dust off the “not medically necessary” stamp.
When this happened for me, I went and refilled my sumatriptan injections as fast as I could and actually used those for two years afterwards, it did save me money. If you need any extra dermatologist stuff, mental health, physical therapy, do it now.
Similar boat. Getting my snoring looked into. Got a sleep study done and now I’m having an ent do a scoping to see what’s actually vibrating and what can be done.
This is a major one!
Sleeping is a third of your day. There’s a lot of health issues that result from bad sleep/snoring. and the worse is that you’ll never even know it.
My wife had a sleep specialist provide helpful strategies after her pregnancy and her back pain stopped.
Snip snip
I don’t think you need health insurance to play Gwen
Dentistry. This shit is always hard to get for free so you should do everything you can.
Chewing bones and seeing orbs are not covered in US health insurance
Not covered by my health insurance, or even most health insurances in the US. We have special horrible dental insurance for that.
Ew, i’m not even surprised, this seems to be trend in all capitalist countries, in Poland dentistry also went to shit after 1989 and even worse after 1999 healthcare reform.
The dental insurance plans available in the US are basically a scam for adults because they have an annual maximum of $1-2k. You have to get a lot of cleanings before you even break even with the premium, and if something major happens you’re basically not even covered.
IMO you may as well just have that $1-2k saved up yourself and pay for your own dental appointments.
I say blow your free healthcare on something frivolous and fun.
See if they’ll swap your left kidney with your right one.
Frivolous? Yes. Fun? 😬😬😬
The surgeon deserves a little fun too
A surgeon can have a little fun as a treat.
If you’re on any expensive meds, now’d be a good time to get them refilled. …and ‘my backpack got stolen!’ them and get them refilled again if that’s covered.
If you’ve got anything you think needs to be addressed with any urgency at all, skip the normal process and go to the ER to complain about your symptoms, especially if you’ve got ANY pain in your abdomen or tenderness in your lower back (which could mean kidney stones).
Infact, even if you don’t have pain, go in and tell them you feel nauseous after eating anything greasy or fatty, and you’ll get a free ultrasound of your gallbladder to see if there’s any stones in there. …don’t actually accept surgery to remove it unless there are stones that look like they’re for sure going to be problematic, cuz you WILL have symptoms once it’s gone (eating will make you feel like shit… your body should adjust eventually, but that’s not a guarantee, and it can take anywhere from a few months to years).
So, if they offer a scan or any diagnostic, do it. If they offer surgery, have a long think about whether it’s actually worth doing.
Not only refill your meds, but there are places where you can get 90 day prescriptions filled, so you can go into the new year with several months of pills already ready.
The ER idea is brilliant, especially because I just moved here and don’t have a PCP yet. Even better, I can hit up urgent care every day!
Yeah your biggest obstacle right now is going to be “our next available appointment is in 4 months”, so ER is the way passed that. It’s not super ethical, but neither is the way our healthcare system operates, so do what you gotta do.
Teeth. Teeth right the fuck now. And if somehow there is nothing wrong with them see if your insurance will cover a flouride coat to keep them that way.
Oh and literally every cancer screening possible. Get your butt checked, your nuts checked, some dermatologists will literally check every inch of your skin. Tell your doctor about every bad habit you have and see what else they’re willing to look for.
Teeth are not covered by health insurance in the U.S. (I know. We all know)
Was just going to point this out too. It’s so stupid.
I’ve also done the math on dental insurance vs out of pocket and a few times, out of pocket was significantly cheaper than the service + insurance.
I’ve done the same math recently and decided it would be cheaper just to pay myself and keep a bit of savings around for anything extra. I could not find a plan that would pay out more than $2k in a year, and that’s not even a month of rent some places.
For those not in the US: it may be covered, but normally it’s a separate insurance plan and not covered by your regular health insurance.
It also varies what type of “dental” care. Some mouth/gum surgeries may be covered by the health plan. I think most dental plans cover checkups. All this varies wildly with your employer and insurance election, though.
Damn, teeth are included in health insurance in the US?
Nope, same with eyes. Dental and eye health are separate insurance in the good ol US
Do you snore? Get a sleep study and a CPAP - thats pricy! Need a colonoscopy? Gel shots in your knees? Any family histories that would warrant testing for cancer markers?
Just had Inspire surgery. How do you think I hit my maxes lol! What I do think I have also is arthritis.
If you’re beginning to struggle with joints, get on the PT, MRI route while it’s free.
This is the perfect opportunity to recreationally infect yourself with rare short term diseases. Try breaking your arm or nose so you have a story. Self harm has never been so cheap.
Edit: See evasive_chimpanzee’s comment here, as the following seems to be incorrect information
Seriously though get checked for prostate cancer. Especially if you’re over 25 it’s very possible and catching it early will be a massive difference.
Same for everyone reading this. I doubt it’s that expensive so please look into it and get checked if affordable where you are.
I would talk to your doctor about it for your case specifically rather than advocating broadly for prostate cancer screenings.
Huh, I’m always happy to proven wrong. thank you for bringing this up.
Is this still relevant however with blood testing becoming more prevelant? The main reasons listed are due to harms caused by probing both physical and psychological along with false positives which out-weigh the positives of a 0.128% life saving outcome. It’s been 6, nearly 7 years now and prostate testing is both more accurate and non-invasive
Either way, this body is currently in the final research plan stage of updating the recommendation.
https://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/draft-update-summary/prostate-cancer-screening-adults
I’d agree we should stand by the current assessment though until it changes. Thank you for the correction
I was actually told by my doctor that unless you have a history of colon or prostate cancers in the family, advisory boards are pushing testing to past 40.
Idk. When I worked oncology all our prostate patients were very young men way before 40.
But thats anecdotal. I don’t have any numbers. But whats the worst thing that can happen when you get a prostate check? That they don’t find anything?
Yeah, as an early 30s AMAB having to go in for annual checkups for insurance, two different doctors told me there really isn’t shit to do for someone my age
Checking for prostate cancer is super easy now and doesn’t even require a finger in your bum. It’s a simple blood test that is far more accurate than the traditional manual method. I get one done every time I have a physical since they just add it on to the other stuff they check my blood for.
-doesn’t even require a finger in your bum
Then what the heck am I paying these deductibles for?? >:(
Vasectomy if you don’t plan on having kids. Also consider mental healthcare. Everybody could use a little bit now and then.
Vasectomy is probably free anyway.
Yes! Mental healthcare!!
Do you have any persistent pain or discomfort when doing things? Get that checked out.
Another +1 for colonoscopy.
Also if there’s a family history of anything nasty, see if there’s a test for it my maybe? (E.g. heart attacks, get blood work done for cholesterol).
Get a full physical including blood work.
Fun fact: for people over 45, colonoscopy screening for cancer is always free. If your insurance tries to make you pay for it, report them to your state insurance commissioner or the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight. ACA made a lot of preventative medicine & screenings free.
in my experience the first one was free. the followup a few months later wasn’t.
Yeah, it’s the screening that’s free. If that turns something up, then it transitions to “care.”
I’ve had the same experience with “wellness” check-ups: if I mention some complaint to the doc during the visit, it suddenly becomes “visit with complaint” and costs me $120.
This is great, except in my case, where I have regional insurance that no one takes where I live. Everyone is out of network.
Start a fist fight with a random stranger!
(not me please)
That…can have other consequences besides medical.
I’d say colonoscopy, esp if you’re over 45, but those are required by law to have no out-of-pocket costs, regardless.
