Medical test results

We don't often talk about our medical issues because 1) we really don't have any, and 2) when we do talk about things medical, everyone becomes an arm chair doctor.

But, we spent much of the day yesterday with the doctor, and we don't have anything else to talk about so we might as well tell you the whole story!

Yes, Canada has "free" medical care, and we are Canadian citizens. But there are a lot of stipulations in qualifying for that "free" care. It's different in each province, but generally you need to be actually physically residing in your home province for at least three months in order to qualify once you have been out for more than five months. 

There are other issues, but the bottom line is that we are not currently eligible. The second problem is that even if we were, it is difficult to get a complete physical done in Canada if you are not registered with a family doctor which in itself is very difficult to do. 

And of course the other problem is... we are not in Canada right now! We don't plan to be back there until summer, and it would not be for a long enough time anyhow. 

We also have travel medical insurance through Heymondo. But they do not pay for regular medical tests. However, if the tests showed something serious that was not a pre existing condition, then it would be covered.

The last time we had full medical tests done was about 7 years ago. And even though we are not the type to go running to the doctor for every little thing, we both felt we were overdue. Here in Turkey, it's relatively inexpensive to pay out of pocket, so we decided now was a good time to have full checkups done.

We did the 5 km (3 mile) walk to the private hospital where we had our 10:30am appointment. Found the office, and the first thing they do is to make you pay for the doctor consultation... 545 lira ($51 CAD, $40 USD).

So, we met with the doctor and sat and talked for a while. Nice guy. He's about our age, and is originally from Iran. His English is very good, and in fact his parents live in Toronto. We told him about some minor issues and what we were looking for. He asked us some questions and was surprised that we do not take any medication. I guess for 60 year olds, that's not normal! 

He suggested we do the whole barrage of tests. They charge by the test, so it adds up, but we agreed that since we probably won't have it done for another five years, we would go for it. 

There are 39 different tests that they do! This is all the different blood tests, as well as EKG and complete abdominal ultrasounds with an additional ultrasound for Ruth (thyroid) and for me (prostate).

Once again, we had to pay the bill ahead of time. It cost 4,000 lira ($378 CAD, $293 USD) each, and it totally qualifies as an eligible medical expense deduction when we file our Canadian taxes. 

His assistant girl then took us around to the various tests in the hospital. We were led to the vampire room where they withdraw many viles of blood for all of the various tests. And then of course pee in the bottle for the urine tests. And then the ultrasound. That was kind of interesting actually. I watched Ruth have hers done, and then it was my turn. There is a computer screen right in front of you, and the ultrasound technician was explaining the various things you see... your liver, your spleen, your kidneys... etc. And then the EKG and blood pressure tests.

When we were done everything, they said we could return at 4:00pm to discuss the results. Yes, everything is ready that quickly. Due to the various tests, we hadn't eaten since dinner the night before so we were starved. We went and found some lunch, then went for a walk and I got a 70 lira ($6.50 CAD, $5.00 USD) haircut.

Then we went to the big Decathlon sports store where I was hoping to buy some hiking boots but we were surprised to find very little selection. The regular shoe stores only have low quality ones, so they were no help either. I found a hunting and fishing store that has some better ones and we will head there today or tomorrow.

Back at the doctors office at 4:00pm, for the results. We sat down with him and went over everything. Very comprehensive! He's going over the results, and mumbling things, then he says "Kevin, you have the blood of an 18 year old boy!". Ha.. too funny. But he was serious. Absolutely everything was within very normal ranges. However he did say that the vitamin D was on the low side, and that my blood pressure was slightly high. He gave me vitamin D capsules, and said that I need to limit my salt intake, which will be difficult since we don't eat much salt to begin with. Although, I like salted peanuts as a snack, and maybe there is too much salt on them. I'll try and cut back.

But I definitely don't have the prostate of an 18 year old boy. The ultrasound showed slight enlargement, which is typical for a 60 year old male. He said it's something to keep checking every second year, but nothing out of the normal yet. This is good because they said the same thing when it was checked 7 years ago.

The ultrasound on the abdominal organs showed everything normal as well.

We also talked about my heart. Now at age 60, I'm a little paranoid because both of my grandfathers died of heart attacks in their 60's. It's one of the reasons we make so much effort to get lots of aerobic exercise. He didn't seem very concerned about it, but suggested I go on the daily aspirin routine. I've been told this before, but there is now conflicting evidence as to whether or not this is a good idea. So I haven't yet decided if I want to go that route. It makes decisions like this difficult when the experts disagree on things.

With Ruth, she also has very few problems. She had an ovarian cyst at one point years ago, but it seems to have gone away on its own and nothing showed up on the ultrasound. She has had a few bouts with kidney infections over the last few years, so he talked about various ways to keep that problem away. She's always suffered from low iron levels, but they also are showing within normal range now. Based on the tests, he said she could pass for a 40 year old. So, whatever we are doing, just keep on doing it, and he said we'll be doing it for a long time yet!

So, eat properly, and get lots of exercise.

And with that, we did the 5 km (3 mile) walk back to Max.

Ruth has another test with the eye doctor at noon today, and then we are done with all of this stuff! Not sure what's on the schedule next, but we will talk about that tomorrow. We have some options!

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