{"id":484420,"date":"2022-08-13T23:04:00","date_gmt":"2022-08-13T20:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/next-avenue-do-you-really-need-all-those-medications-tests-and-doctor-visits\/"},"modified":"2022-08-13T23:04:00","modified_gmt":"2022-08-13T20:04:00","slug":"next-avenue-do-you-really-need-all-those-medications-tests-and-doctor-visits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/next-avenue-do-you-really-need-all-those-medications-tests-and-doctor-visits\/","title":{"rendered":"#Next Avenue: Do you really need all those medications, tests, and doctor visits?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3c5e271e3d2\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3c5e271e3d2\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/next-avenue-do-you-really-need-all-those-medications-tests-and-doctor-visits\/#%E2%80%9CNext_Avenue_Do_you_really_need_all_those_medications_tests_and_doctor_visits%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;Next Avenue: Do you really need all those medications, tests, and doctor visits?&#8221;<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/next-avenue-do-you-really-need-all-those-medications-tests-and-doctor-visits\/#Deciding_which_medical_procedures_you_can_omit_depends_on_your_health_and_your_goals\" >Deciding which medical procedures you can omit depends on your health and your goals<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-6' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-6'><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-6' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-6'><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-6' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-6'><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-6' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-6'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/next-avenue-do-you-really-need-all-those-medications-tests-and-doctor-visits\/#Do_you_really_need_a_colonoscopy_at_80_or_90\" >Do you really need a colonoscopy at 80 or 90?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-6'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/next-avenue-do-you-really-need-all-those-medications-tests-and-doctor-visits\/#Roll_back_or_stick_with_it\" >Roll back or stick with it?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-6'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/next-avenue-do-you-really-need-all-those-medications-tests-and-doctor-visits\/#Do_the_positives_outweigh_the_negatives\" >Do the positives outweigh the negatives?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-6'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/next-avenue-do-you-really-need-all-those-medications-tests-and-doctor-visits\/#Too_many_meds\" >Too many meds?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/next-avenue-do-you-really-need-all-those-medications-tests-and-doctor-visits\/#Michele_C_Hollow\" >Michele C. Hollow<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CNext_Avenue_Do_you_really_need_all_those_medications_tests_and_doctor_visits%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;Next Avenue: Do you really need all those medications, tests, and doctor visits?&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<h2 class=\"article__subhead\" itemprop=\"alternativeHeadline\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Deciding_which_medical_procedures_you_can_omit_depends_on_your_health_and_your_goals\"><\/span>\n  Deciding which medical procedures you can omit depends on your health and your goals<br \/>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"column column--full article__content\">\n<div class=\"article__side\">\n<div class=\"container--sticky not-active\">\n<div id=\"cx-next\" data-nosnippet>\n              <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"js-article__body\" class=\"article__body article-wrap at16-col16 barrons-article-wrap\" itemprop=\"articleBody\" data-sbid=\"WP-MKTW-0001087635\" role=\"document\">\n<div class=\"barrons-article-ad-wrapper\">\n<div data-track=\"barrons-article-ad-wrap\" class=\"barrons-article-ad sticky_item\">\n<div class=\"barrons-main-article-ad-target sticky_target body_ad\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div data-layout=\"\n                inline\" data-layout-mobile=\"\" class=\"\n          media-object\n          type-InsetArticleReader\n              \n              inline\n  article__inset\n          article__inset--type-InsetArticleReader\n              article__inset--inline\n  \"><\/p>\n<div class=\"media-object-article-reader\">\n<div class=\"audioplayer\" data-sbid=\"WP-MKTW-0001087635\" role=\"region\" aria-label=\"Listen to Article\" tabindex=\"-1\" id=\"articlereader\" data-show-title=\"false\" data-theme=\"wsj-article-reader\" data-show-header=\"false\" data-show-subscribe=\"false\" data-ads-enabled=\"true\" data-save-publication=\"false\">\n        <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>       <em>This article is reprinted by permission from\u00a0<\/em><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nextavenue.org\/\" class=\"icon none\"><em>NextAvenue.org<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p> While telling my mom about the next medical procedure I scheduled for her, she replied, \u201cEnough with the doctor visits.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She has a point. In the previous six months, I had arranged for her to be questioned and examined by an army of medical professionals, including an audiologist, a geriatrician, a physical therapist and several specialists at Montefiore Medical Hospital\u2019s Center for the Aging Brain in Yonkers, New York. She wants these <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ointments to stop.<\/p>\n<div class=\"paywall\">\n<p>In my defense, I hoped for solutions to the aging-related problems she suffers from. In her defense, the geriatrician said my mom was relatively healthy for a 90-year-old woman and recommended she take a daily vitamin with iron, vitamin D and calcium.<\/p>\n<p>Getting hearing aids was necessary, too. So were more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">trip<\/a>s to the Center for the Aging Brain. The last doctor who examined her at the Center nixed medication because the side effects were harmful. He said he believed her\u00a0lack of hearing\u00a0contributed to her mild cognitive decline.<\/p>\n<p>That doctor noticed my mom shuffled her feet when she walked and recommended I take her to a physical therapist. The physical therapist gave her the option of walking on her own every day or coming to the therapist\u2019s office three times a week and exercising daily at home. My mom chose walking.<\/p>\n<h6><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Do_you_really_need_a_colonoscopy_at_80_or_90\"><\/span><strong>Do you really need a colonoscopy at 80 or 90?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h6>\n<p>\u201cThis is not a one-size-fits-all yes or no answer,\u201d says\u00a0Dr. Suneet Singh, an emergency department physician, assistant professor at the University of Texas Austin Dell Medical School, and medical director at\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/carehive.com\/\" class=\"icon none\">CareHive<\/a>. \u201cYou have to look at your age, your health, and your life\u2019s goals. You have to talk to your doctor and ask, \u2018Why are these tests being ordered?&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo you have a history of cancer?\u201d he continued. \u201cA\u00a0colonoscopy\u00a0can screen for polyps. Most are benign, but some can eventually become cancerous, and early detection is when cancer treatments work best.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Like other doctors, Singh discusses with his patients the risks and benefits of surgeries and other medical procedures. \u201cI also talk to them about their goals in life,\u201d he says. \u201cIf you\u2019re in your 80s and 90s, in good health and want to see your granddaughter walk down the aisle, then yes, maybe you do get that colonoscopy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Look at your age. \u201cFor example, current research shows colonoscopies could prevent death from colon cancer in patients with life expectancy of greater than 10 years,\u201d says\u00a0Dr. Eric Chyn, geriatrician, assistant professor and director of the geriatric medicine fellowship program at Rutgers Health New Jersey Medical School and University Health\/Ambulatory Care Clinic.<\/p>\n<div id=\"cx-membership-tile\"><\/div>\n<p>For older patients in excellent health who are expected to live 10 years or longer, Chyn said he believes a colonoscopy \u201cwill likely bring more benefit than harm.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If a patient is in fair health and expected to live another five years, the benefit of colonoscopy is unclear, he says. \u201cTherefore, a shared decision is particularly important. If the patient is in poor health and has less than five years, then prioritizing care that improves a patient\u2019s quality of life would have more benefit than a colonoscopy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHowever, this is not an overall statement that a colonoscopy is never appropriate for older adults living with poor health,\u201d he says. \u201cIf there are concerns of life threatening internal bleeding, a colonoscopy would still be offered for the purpose of diagnosis and treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>You might like:<\/strong> Why life in your 70s may be your happiest ever<\/p>\n<h6><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Roll_back_or_stick_with_it\"><\/span><strong>Roll back or stick with it?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h6>\n<p>Chyn and Singh point to the\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org\/uspstf\/search_results?searchterm=Prostrate%20exams%20for%20men%20over%20age%2075\" class=\"icon none\">U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF)<\/a>, which keeps an up-to-date list of recommendations for different medical procedures for people of all ages. For example, the task force recommends biennial screening\u00a0mammography\u00a0for women aged 50 to 74 years. After age 75, the USPSTF sees little evidence for women to have mammograms.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe consider the patients\u2019 medical comorbidities and prognoses,\u201d Chyn says. \u201cWe explore the patients\u2019 goals of care. We enable patients by explaining the likelihood of benefits versus harms within the context of their personalized health profiles so they can arrive at decisions that align with their goals of care.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The USPSTF\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org\/uspstf\/recommendation\/prostate-cancer-screening\" class=\"icon none\">recommends against<\/a>\u00a0PSA (prostate-specific antigen) screening for prostate cancer in men 70 years and older because of potential harms, such as false-positive results that lead to more testing, overdiagnosis, overtreatment, and treatment effects such as incontinence and erectile dysfunction. \u201cThis again comes down to talking to your physician and making an informed decision,\u201d Singh says.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Read:<\/strong> Is trying to get healthier making you feel lousy?<\/p>\n<h6><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Do_the_positives_outweigh_the_negatives\"><\/span><strong>Do the positives outweigh the negatives?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h6>\n<p>A good example is a proton pump inhibitor, which is great at controlling heartburn. It\u2019s also associated with increased risk of bone weakening and lung infections. \u201cAn older patient in excellent health may choose to stop proton pump inhibitors to avoid lung infection and weakened bones,\u201d Chyn says. \u201cOn the other hand, a nursing home resident in poor health may value heartburn symptom control as the top priority.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Women, ages 65 and up, and men, ages 70 plus, should schedule routine bone density scans for\u00a0osteoporosis. Symptoms for osteoporosis are often undetected until a bone fracture occurs. According to the\u00a0American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, osteoporosis occurs five times more often in women than in men.<\/p>\n<p>Men, ages 65 to 75 with a history of smoking, should schedule an\u00a0abdominal aortic aneurysm screening. The screening can detect an aneurysm before it ruptures.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Also see: <\/strong>Do I need to enroll in Medicare if I\u2019m still working at 65?<\/p>\n<h6><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Too_many_meds\"><\/span><strong>Too many meds?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h6>\n<p>\u201cMany older adults take five or more medications each day,\u201d Singh says. \u201cIt\u2019s called a\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aafp.org\/afp\/2019\/0701\/p32.html\" class=\"icon none\">polypharmacy<\/a>. Is it too much? Again, you have to look at the benefits and the risks by talking about them with your doctor.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Chyn asks his patients what bothers them the most and then focuses on improving his patients\u2019 quality of life. \u201cAfter establishing if it\u2019s important to my patients, I then prescribe or deprescribe accordingly,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s another example of shared decision-making and personalized health profiles to guide treatment plans.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Read next:<\/strong> You may become a family caregiver soon, and not even know it<\/p>\n<p>To find out about drug side effects and if your new prescription interferes with an old one, keep all of the doctors you see in the loop. You can also check out the American Geriatrics Society\u2019s\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.guidelinecentral.com\/guideline\/340784\/#section-society\" class=\"icon none\">Beers list<\/a>, which posts inappropriate medications for older adults.<\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.michelechollow.com\/\" class=\"icon none\"><em>Michele C. Hollow<\/em><\/a><em>\u00a0is a freelance writer, editor and ghostwriter specializing in health, climate, social justice, pets and travel. Follow her on <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Twitter<\/a> at @<\/em><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/michelechollow\" class=\"icon none\"><em>michelechollow.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>This article is reprinted by permission from\u00a0<\/em><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nextavenue.org\/\" class=\"icon none\"><em>NextAvenue.org<\/em><\/a><em>, \u00a9 2022 Twin Cities Public Television, Inc. All rights reserved.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>More from Next Avenue:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul class=\"articleList\">\n<li>\n      <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextavenue.org\/getting-medical-treatment-dont-need\/\" class=\"icon none\">Are You Getting Medical Treatment You Don\u2019t Need?<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n      <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextavenue.org\/health-conversations-friends\/\" class=\"icon none\">How to Keep Health Conversations From Becoming the Only Conversations<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n      <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextavenue.org\/beware-unnecessary-medical-care\/\" class=\"icon none\">Beware Unnecessary Medical Care<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"byline article__byline\">\n<p>    <span>By<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"author  hasMenu\" data-scrim='{\"type\":\"author\",\"header\":\"Michele C. Hollow\",\"subhead\":\"The Wall Street Journal\",\"list\":[]}' itemscope itemprop=\"author\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Person\">\n<h4 itemprop=\"name\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Michele_C_Hollow\"><\/span>Michele C. Hollow<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/news\/story.asp?guid=%7B20C06575-04D4-B545-7109-8931BF3CB877%7D&#038;siteid=rss&#038;rss=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Next Avenue: Do you really need all those medications, tests, and doctor visits?&#8221; Deciding which medical procedures you can omit depends on your health and your goals This article is reprinted by permission from\u00a0NextAvenue.org. While telling my mom about the next medical procedure I scheduled for her, she replied, \u201cEnough with the doctor visits.\u201d She&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":484421,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-598584\/social","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-484420","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/484420","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=484420"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/484420\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/484421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=484420"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=484420"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=484420"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}