How to get the most in depth physical?

What are some tips on getting the most in depth physical?

The best way is to be really, really sick.

Probably your best bet is to find a physician who makes a habit of a very thorough physical.

As I have posted elsewhere here (sorry) find a practice which allows a doctor to be thorough with physicals. Watch signs. If you are scheduling as a new patient for one and get a 9:15 appointment, the practice may be allotting 15 minutes per patient. See if a first appointment is a meet and greet or history discussion. OK, an extra step, but it represents a good starting point. If you are mailed or asked to download a long history form, that, too, could be a good sign. Very important to me are his/her first questions such as why are you here, and, most of all, your thought out reply: that you are looking for a doctor who is thorough and what you mean by that.

Going into an office a detailing specific symptoms is a sure way to get a specific type of exam. For example, mentioning a periodic rapid heartbeat is a sure fire way to receive an EKG which is one of my exam favorites. Also mentioning that prostate cancer runs on both side of the family will most likely get your a DRE. Admitting that you are experiencing difficulty in maintaining an erection usually ends up with a thorough genital exam. Be specific when speaking with a doctor and use alerting phrases such as "I want a complete head to toe exam." I have had several doctors that block one hour for a physical exam and all have been very thorough exams. As mentioned in post #4, receiving the medical questionnaire in the mail or downloading it will certainly give some indication of how complete the exam will be. In these mailings I have been instructed not to use body lotion before an exam due. This indicated to me that an EKG would most likely be performed as lotion interferes with the electrode adhesive. I have been very fortunate that most of my doctors have been from the "old school" train of thought and have nearly always received very complete exams. Younger doctors seem to be to clock conscious and overly concerned about modesty of the patient. While this may work for some it has absolutely no appeal to me!

Tell the doctor that you have not seen a doctor for years. Without any previous findings to go on, the doctor will do a thorough exam. But also be forewarned that he or she may also order expensive studies such as blood tests, cat scans, etc., that may not be covered by insurance.

Ask for a thorough exam

You could always make an appointment with me 😃

Go to a smaller practice, the larger ones, especially physician associate practices, seem to run like a business, trying to get as many patients in and out as fast as possible, they really dont give you thorough exams. Find an older doctor, they usually seem to give more thorough physicals, Ive heard nurse practitioners are thorough as well. Another tip would be to tell them you havent had a physical in a long time, that would make them more likely to be extra thorough. Bring up any and every symptom you might be having, if youre worried about something, theyll examine you for it.

From my experience, life or disability insurance companies send applicants for thorough physical exams prior to approving their applications for coverage. I have both types of insurance and request higher amounts of coverage as my income increases. Just about every time I do this, the company sends me for a physical. The physicals are with doctors with whom they contract and I never see the same doctor twice. They are always full body exams and always include exam of the penis, testicles, and hernia. The life insurance always requires a rectal while the disability does not. If you just want the physical, you could always apply, take the physical, and then not buy the insurance.

Just about every time I do this, the company sends me for a physical.

Unfortunately, when I applied for life insurance, all they did was send out someone to check my pulse and bp and not much else. I was hoping for a full exam by a real doctor, but alas, that didn't happen.

If you just want the physical, you could always apply, take the physical, and then not buy the insurance.

Now, that is an interesting idea, although I'd be afraid that after the first one, I'd get myself on some "list" and never be able to get insurance.

Mentioning a family history would usually result in a more thorough physical.

I found over the past 10 years or so, the MD doctors spend less and less time with a yearly physical exam. many now call them wellness exams, and only do more specific exam on areas where a person may complain or there was a history of an issue. Of course lungs and heart are listened to. no genital or prostate exam by 4 out of my last 5 doctors.

We just moved for our last time to the west coast and my wife and a neighbor became kind of close. So about 6 months later, after talking about a family physician that we were looking for, she recommended a Naturopath. My wife ended up booing an initial appt with a female Naturopath MD. she said her exam was almost 1 hour 30 min and included everything, some stuff she never was asked about or examined

It was my turn about 30 days later, and I had the same experience, a 1.5 hour long exam, most thorough I have EVER had. She checked my posture, all reflexes, full skin exam, genital, abdominal, heart/lungs, and and over 100 detailed questions on past medical issues, accidents, illnesses as well as head to toe questioning of every part of my body, such as headaches, eye Issues, dental history, mobility and flexibility, eating habits digestive questions urine and bowel movement questions, sexually health, etc. Also spent 30 min or more going over a very thorough blood workup she completed which was covered under my insurance. However, Naturopaths don’t take medical insurance, so her portion of the exam was 450.00 but VERY well worth it! So glad we found a NMD who can write prescriptions ONLY when necessary.

I am with a new doctor now and had a preliminary appointment. She didn't do much. I have some mild ED issues. What should I say to get a more thorough exam?

Only thing I can suggest is before you schedule an appointment state very plainly you are looking for a COMPREHENSIVE physical examination, including genital and rectal exams, and labwork to match, and ask the receptionist to have the nurse/doc/PA/NP to call you back to confirm that your request can be accommodated. I think the litigious nature of our current environment and the actions of some doctors (e.g. Larry Nassar) has made a lot of physicians wary of getting too intimate with their patients--that and the current AMA guidelines on rectal exams which dismiss them in favor of PSA tests (though those are not fully reliable either.) Other than that, finding a playdoc may be your best bet (but, honestly, even harder to do.) Good luck!

Physicians, nurses and other medical personnel aren’t sex workers. Sure we have a fetish. So what. Involving someone else in your kink WITHOUT THEIR EXPRESS CONSENT is heinous and no different than a Larry Nassar. You’re pushing your kink onto an unsuspecting individual, you’re taking up valuable time that someone who may be legitimately ill might need and you’re being a quasi-rapey creep.

Go to a pro-dom who offers the service if you don’t have a play partner.

If you’re actually needing medical help, tell them what your concerns are. If you just wanna get off, find a willing partner.

If you’re actually needing medical help, tell them what your concerns are. If you just wanna get off, find a willing partner.

@Nurse_Phillips a very good point. Don't push your kink onto others who are not informed participants in the matter. But if you have honest concerns about your health..talk to your medical provider about your concerns.

@Nurse_Phillips agreed completely, should have made that clear in my response. That said, I think most of us would also agree that real and bona fide physical exams are not what they used to be and that is unfortunate.

Lol, when I say I want a thorough exam, I want doctors to not just have a conversation with me and collect their co-pay. I was definitely displaying the symptoms way before, but I was first diagnosed with asthma at 28 years old! “Wow, you get bronchitis a lot, here are some drugs" is not ok!

What’s really not ok is getting many ‘thorough’ physicals and having every doctor miss vision problems, asthma and allergy problems, pre-inguinal hernia, deviated septum, urine retention, fluid in the ears, and eczema. If ‘thorough’ physicals are so beneficial why don’t they ever catch these kind of issues?