Should You Read Info On An Illness

[emmie]

you think you might have, have you ever looked up something which may or may not give a clue to how you are feeling. I am beginning to wonder is it a good thing, to be better informed, even if you are not sure. And the doctor isn't sure of what you are talking about, feeling...

[bravejordy]

I don't think trying to self-diagnose your symptoms is a good idea full stop. In May 2009, I became terribly ill, I won't bore you with all the details but some of my symptoms included total loss of appetite; burning sensation when I passed water and blood in my urine; fluctuating temperature and rapid weight loss. The worrying part was numerous courses of antibiotics from my GP had little or no effect. Foolishly I tried to look up my symptoms on the Internet and all that I succeeded in doing was convincing myself I had prostate cancer! Eventually my GP referred me to a Urologist (although why he waited five months before doing this, I'll never know!) and it turned out the cause of my problems was kidney stones.

The Internet is a great thing but sometimes we make the mistake of thinking if we look up our symptoms it will put our minds at ease when in fact it has the complete opposite effect.

[arwyn]

God I wish I'd had the internet 30+ years ago when I was a teenager and my G.P told me I was "imagining pain to seek attention. His incompetence was the first in a long line of other Doctors that I met (i could write a book).

A year after his coment another G.P had me xrayed and it showed Spondylosis.

[Eve]

I also agree it depends what kind of person you are, how objective and realistic. I think the trouble is that people have too personal a slant on things, can think it's worse than it is (objectively medically, in the grand scheme of things) and I imagine have a tendency to add in things which they wouldn't have normally have thought to mention just because they see certain words on a page, the mind is a powerful thing.

I think there is also the drive to be diagnosed with something, to have a name and a treatment almost as a validation if that makes sense.

I find the internet a great tool for looking up details on conditions I've been diagnosed with, medications, support groups and information, all kinds of things. I do know some hypochondriacs thought and in their hands the web can be a dangerous thing!

I don't expect to go to a GP, tell them a few symptoms and expect them to make a diagnosis then and there and walk out with a treatment. Yes, of course, sometimes it's possible with more common or obvious symptoms but I appreciate my GP has to look stuff up and needs tests and sometimes just time to see how things go, similar with specialists. It can be frustrating but it's just how things are sometimes.

Em, if you think things are related to your fibromyalgia then I don't see how an MRI scan would help either. I have fibro which my rheumatologist manages alongside my rheumatoid arthritis. I've never had an MRI scan suggested for it. I've had 5 for various things (arthritis, bowel condition and Meniere's Disease), but never for the fibro.

Do you see a specialist and are you on any medication or other therapy for it? Could you not give the scan a try? I'm not keen on a lot of the stuff they've done to me over the years but it's been a necessary evil to help them see whatever they've needed to.

[emmie]

have tried to do an MRI twice, panic attacks ensued both times, even with meds to calm down, i am claustrophobic, i had a diagnosis of fibromyalgia years ago, and it wasn't diagnosed by MRI. This is as bad if not worse. if i know something for sure, i can then get on with things, but it's the not knowing if it's back or something else. And no i don't also go on what's on wiki or NHS websites, but sometimes being left totally in the dark from doctors who say little but dole out pain meds that don't do much, and shuffle you out the door, after ticking the boxes isn't helpful.
I am waiting for a specialist to contact me to discuss options, and a scan, i can do a CT, it's not nearly so bad, it's the waiting i hate. In this case i would pay to go private if i had the money, but that's not an option.