[rubicon]

There are a number of website or applications wherein a person can list symptoms to self diagnose what ails them or determine the side effects of prescriptions, etc.

From the standpoint of both the consumer and the doctor is this a good thing or a bad thing. Remember the adage "He who doctors himself has a fool for a patient"

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by rubicon

There are a number of website or applications wherein a person can list symptoms to self diagnose what ails them or determine the side effects of prescriptions, etc.

From the standpoint of both the consumer and the doctor is this a good thing or a bad thing. Remember the adage "He who doctors himself has a fool for a patient"

Interesting topic. I think if people rely on internet advice only they really endanger themselves. If I have a question about something I do go to what I hope are reputable sites for information such as The Mayo Clinic site or Web MD.

If you are fortunate to have a skilled and qualified MD who knows from education and experience a lot more than you do, than you are indeed fortunate. I imagine that most doctors are more than a little annoyed at all of the "stuff" they hear from the internet and Dr. Oz. etc. etc.

I would love to have a really GOOD GP again. I am not satisfied with the one we are now consulting and I am searching for someone that we can place our trust in again. When it comes to the medical community, I so miss Cincinnati.

[gomoho]

About 5 years ago my doctor (first time I saw him) diagnosed me with alcohol induced cirrhosis of the liver. I knew this was not possible so I got on WEB MD and figured out myself with the same information the doctor had what I really probably had were gall stones. Sure enough went for a sonogram and had gall bladder surgery shortly thereafter. So I would say there are times WEB MD could be a good thing - probably saved my live. No, I never went back to the doctor again.

[rubicon]

I had a primary care doc here who became annoyed with me because I explained that I research the internet before our appointment. He clearly felt aback about it. I did not judge why because it was clear that the relationship was not going to work.

Conversely, I now use my cardio guy as my primary. He encourages me to search the net so that we can converse concerning the ways and hows, etc.

I will always defer to my doc he/she is the expert but I do want to know and I do want input and I do want the satisfaction of knowing I was active in my treatment, etc. And the bonus for me is my doc separates the internet shaft from the wheat because I remember that old saw of "I know enough to get myself into trouble but not enough to get myself out."

[Villages PL]

Originally Posted by rubicon

There are a number of website or applications wherein a person can list symptoms to self diagnose what ails them or determine the side effects of prescriptions, etc.

From the standpoint of both the consumer and the doctor is this a good thing or a bad thing. Remember the adage "He who doctors himself has a fool for a patient"

About the adage: What year was that said and who said it? Possibly it was said long before the internet came along? Years ago when people didn't have a lot of labor saving devices, like we do today, they kept pretty busy providing for themselves. So they didn't have the time to go looking for library books or store bought books. Education levels were much lower then too, so perhaps they didn't have the ability to make complete sense of what they read. Back then it's likely that many books were written by professionals for professionals. The foolishness came in because they probably didn't do ANY reasearch. It was Joe telling Martha something he had heard from his mother or grandmother: Hand-me-down wives tales.

So I think it may be time to take that adage with a grain of salt. There's still no shortage of fools in the world but there are many highly educated people who do understand what they read. And if they are highly motivated to do a lot of reading, because they find it interesting or necessary, they may know themselves better than the doctor does.

Case in point: My doctor decided to test me for thyroid function, even though I didn't have any adverse symptoms. The result of the test indicated that I had an underactive thyroid (hypothyroid). He set me up to repeat the test just to make sure. When I asked him if changing my diet would help, he said, "no, this is just something that happens to everyone as they get older". But I went and did lots of research anyway, just to make sure. I checked the internet which was very helpful. Then I read a couple of thyroid books and they were helpful too.

As a result of the research I found there were a number of things I could do. One thing was to add some extra iodine to my diet. Another was to make sure not to take too large a dose of B-12 because that could put other B vitamins out of balance. If too much B12 had the effect of lowering my B-6, for example, that would interfere with my body's production of thyroxin. Then there were a few other minor changes I won't bother to explain.

The bottom line is this: My next thyroid test came back with a perfect result. If I hadn't done any of my own research and made the changes that I made, the doctor was going to put me on a daily dose of thyroxin.

So, I think the fool is the one who relies totally on what the doctor says and doesn't do any thinking for himself or herself.

P.S. I had asked my doctor if too much B12 could put other B vitamins out of balance and he said, "no that's a misconception". I doubted him, so I checked with the Walmart pharmacist and she said, "he's wrong, tell him to read a (certain) journal. (I don't remember the name of the journal off hand, I have it written down somewhere.)