Will be fifty in july, female, i moved 2 years ago from tx to ark, i feel like the physican i have seen does not take enough time with me on my last year checkup , only test he did was cholestoral and thyroid, can you give me suggestions on what i may need at this age if i go in for my yearly, list of test, blood work and other ,i sometimes feel lost when i go in if i have a list in hand on what someone my age should have i would feel better. one more thing, i have been having leg and buttock pain for a long while now on my left . hurts when i am on my feet or in bed, it is really getting me down because i stay so tired because of it, any advise i can carry to my dr here

Dr. Joshua’s Answer:

In medicine, there are two things more important than anything else:
1-history
2-clinical examination

Ideally, the checkup should include a thorough history, a review of your current medication and overall wellbeing, including a review of your diet, tobacco and alcohol habits, and a number of other things that could affect your health.

This is followed by a thorough physical examination including the skin from head to toe, and the measurement of body mass index and blood pressure.

For women, a Pap smear is recommended every 1-2 years depending on the result of the previous test. A mammogram is recommended every year starting at the age of 50, along with a monthly self-exam of breasts.

As for the lab tests, blood lipids are important and should be checked regularly. Other lab tests may be ordered at the discretion of the physician - a blood cell count (including hemoglobin), electrolytes, blood sugar, HbA1C, creatinine, TSH (thyroid) liver enzymes, urine strips for protein and sugar are recommended. If heart disease risk is considered high, a high-sensitivity CRP test may be useful. Most of these do not need to be repeated regularly if they are normal.

Fecal occult blood test annually and/or flexible sigmoidoscopy every 5 years are recommended. Please see a previous post.

These are just general outlines, something to talk to your doctor about. Your doctor will then plan the optimal checkup routine for you.

As for the buttock and leg pain, it is not an uncommon problem, but, again, a thorough history of the symptoms and clinical examination is in order - it could be due to something compressing a nerve root in your lumbar spine. If there is cause to suspect a spinal cause, a lumbar spine CT or, preferably, MRI would confirm the diagnosis.

Oh, and come July, happy birthday!

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