I Just Say No

About twelve years ago, I decided to quit having annual checkups or screenings of any sort. I also refuse prescription medications. Many in the medical profession agree with this stance, but I don’t know any ordinary older people like me who practice it.

I also don’t get sick. The last time I had the flu was 50 years ago. (I realize this is mostly dumb luck. I could drop dead tomorrow.) As long as I’m feeling fine, I will stick with this no checkup/no meds program. This blog explains my reasoning as well as scientific evidence to support my stance.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m grateful to have medical care when I need it, as when I split my kneecap in half. The doc put it back together and the knee works fine. I'm also absolutely in favor of childhood immunization! So I’m not against medical practice per se. I’m simply against unnecessary—and potentially harmful—meds, tests, and procedures. 

I should note that I’m seventy-nine years old. According to Medicare data, half of all beneficiaries over sixty-five have at least three chronic conditions. Twenty-one percent have five or more! I have none. That's partly because of luck, of course, but also because I refuse to be diagnosed with high cholesterol or hypertension or what have you. Let me also assure you that I’m not some miracle of nature. I feel and look my age and have aches and pains aplenty.

Oddly, even though I try to steer clear of the medical system, I read lots of books about medicine. For example, one of my favorites is Overdiagnosed: Making People Sick in the Pursuit of Health, by Dr. H. Gilbert Welch. Welch is a professor of Medicine at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Research. Another good book is The Truth About the Drug Companies: How They Deceive Us and What to Do About It, by Dr. Marcia Angell, former editor in chief of The New England Journal of Medicine.

So, in this blog, I’m going to share the bits from the books that I think are important to know. Save you the trouble of reading them. Plus I’ll share some of my personal experiences, if anybody cares.

In next week's post, I’ll discuss why you don't need an annual checkup. 

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