Depressed over the over use of doctors and procedures..approaching 80

@kndaustin71 You are correct! Medicare is what compels some Doctor’s to behave the way they do, at times!

Count me IN! I am a retired RN, most of my career was spent taking care of first the active duty, then I went into the Veterans hospitals and finally as a Director of Nurses for almost 20 years for Long Term/Rehab patients. So I know first hand how the Medical Community refers to us oldsters! First let me say I hate the expression that the physicians, NP etc use as "improving your quality of life." NO, my quality of life was when I didn't have all these ailments......it a "change of life style." No quality to it most of the time. I too. am tired of going to one specialist to the other, (who by the way don't even communicate with each other) that misses and/or overlooks several things. I truly wish that everyone could have an informed advocate that could competently help manage the care the geriatric patients receive. Also I think that there should be a pharmacist in every physicians' office to do a medication review and approval before the Dr can write a new prescription to assure it is not contraindicated based on health status and/or will cause side effects, because if you have a side effect to the new medication....guess what, you get put on another one....and so it goes. Me and my Soap-Box! I'm in my 70's and thank goodness am alert, oriented and have not lost the capability of doing deep-dive research on anything a physician may recommend in caring for me. I am sure there are some physicians out there that a quite happy I'm not their patient. But I am respectful, I just ask alot of questions. Enuff for the nite. God Bless!

@foundryrat743 no one says you have to do all those things. It’s your decision. As my doctor said: “just because a doctor tells you you should do something doesn’t mean you have to.”

@frouke That’s exactly how I feel! Even my primary care Dr. has been getting edgy with me! So much has changed, since COVID! I don’t recognize”The good ole USA”, anymore, where medical pro staffs used to say “How can I help you, and do you need my advice on an ailment that may be concerning you?” Instead, like just this last week, I had recently been diagnosed with Arterial Fibrillation, after a very scary episode, where I felt like my heart was flip flopping in my chest, and the primary doctor said, “Well, at least you could feel something happening! What about those people, where they have a-fib, but don’t feel anything going on in the chest?” I could express other similar encounters, but, the bottom line, is that, at least where I live, I get the impression that medical pros are tired of dealing with elderly people, on Medicare!

@foundryrat743 Wow do I agree. I do think Covid had a lot to do with it. I was recently hospitalized and I asked each nurse how long since they had graduated. All of them...ALL... had only been a nurse for 1 year. I think many caring good nurses left because they became fed up during covid. They saw what was actually happening, and could not longer be a part of it. So now we are left (many times) with book learned inexperienced young people who are in it for the money.

I just got out of the HOSPITAL (3 of them) with a massive heart attack with two stents and a lot of chest veins corrected, most of the nurses were okay but a few were EXCELLENT. THE OLDER ONES SEEMED TO HAVE MORE PATIENCE and the new ones less. IT was busy as one of our leading HOSPITALS closed to be CONDOS and the one I was in got double duty. I AM SO grateful to be HOME that I do not even want to remember any of it. Now onto heal and to see the follow up NURSE with the paperwork next week. I was warned it would take several months as there was a lot of calcification whatever that means. GOD BLESS YOU TO PUT YOUR MIND AND HEART ON YOUR HEALING. I WILL PRAY FOR BOTH OF US...Margaret O