Googling your symptoms is so much more effective than seeing a doctor (treat, danger)
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I speak Spanish but when I'm writing in Spanish I'll often google a word I can't think of or to check a grammar issue. I get good results because I am already fluent and am using the web as a reference. But if someone who doesn't speak Spanish tries this, they often get a humorously screwed up mistranslation, which they don't even know is wrong.
There's a difference in how likely a person is to get an accurate result when it's a doctor using a reference versus some random joe using a reference.
Not all doctors take the time to do research, nor are they open to what they might read. This might be TMI, but several years ago, totally out of the blue and with nothing different in my diet or any new medicines, I developed a bowel problem that wouldn't go away. I had to literally run to the bathroom within a few minutes of eating, and all day and night. This went on for months. All my lab tests came back normal, and my colonoscopy came back normal. After the colonoscopy, I asked my GI doc "what's the next step" and she answered "Well, some people just have chronic diarrhea". I was aghast, apparently the next step was for me to just live this way forever.
So I went home and got on Google, and I ended up finding a study in the New England Journal of Medicine that tested one very specific strain of probiotic on people with this issue, and got pretty good results. So I found this strain on Amazon, and within a week of taking it my symptoms were improved, and completely back to normal within 2 weeks.
When I went for my follow up, I brought the bottle with me as well as a print out of the study abstract and results, thinking she would be excited to have something to help her patients who had my issue. She glanced at the bottle, didn't even want to read the abstract, and said "You should be careful taking any supplements, they can cause a lot of problems". My jaw almost hit the floor! This is not an unusual attitude in my experience.
There is a big difference between using Google instead of professional medical care and using it to research and educate yourself. If I hadn't gotten on and done my own research, I'd still be living a restricted life where I can't eat socially and can't be without quick access to a bathroom.
Btw, between the colonoscopy and my office visits, I spent about $700 in medical care, only to be told I have to just live with it. I ended up curing it myself for about $18.00.
I’m sorry, I haven’t had time to read the entire thread, but over the years seriously researching my various conditions online (the term “googling” makes it sound less serious, but, you know, high quality journal articles can be returned with a google search) has helped me:
1) Accurately self-diagnose reflex sympathetic dystrophy/complex regional pain disorder after visits to many specialists in more than one country failed to turn up anything. Once I had the self-diagnosis, I could self-treat effectively. I could also find the appropriate specialist and make my case to him. He soon diagnosed me with atypical RSD, then prescribed me the medication I needed to get better.
2) Find a really good and ultimately effective therapist for repetitive strain disorder after all my local therapists had failed.
3) Accurately self-diagnose with Autoimmune Inner Ear Disease. Knowing I most likely had this allowed me to really push to see the appropriate specialist (my local ENT did not have a clue and did not refer me) and get necessary medication to stop the disease before I went deaf in both ears.
4) Eased my fears about having pancreatic cancer after my PCP suggested I might have it (due to strange blood tests results). My research online showed me that the abnormally high pancreatic enzymes results were not a sign of possible pan can. My doctors insisted that I get various scans done, but nothing turned up. Another win for Mr. Google.
I may have also given myself unnessary scares along the way. But the funny thing is I can’t even remember these — I just remember the health and sanity-preserving benefits.
I haven't read all the responses, but I just wanted to say that a very good family friend is a doctor, and he told me that doctors Google symptoms all the time. It's just impossible to know every symptom of every condition. He said ER docs are the ones he knows of that do it most because they usually need to come up with a diagnosis quickly and see such a wide range of complaints.
I have no doubt that they do and don't think badly of it - I'm pretty sure they have some really good sources and likely some that are subscription only.
If you suffer from any sort of stress or anxiety disorder using google will be a disaster because so many phantom symptoms especially heart related are created from excessive stress/anxiety and sympathetic nervous system activation and most of these people need a psychologist or therapist, not a doctor.
Stress also messes with your gastrointestinal system and causes things like IBS, idiopathic gastroparesis, GERD, gastritis, etc. It's estimated 75-90% of doctor visits are stress related and I don't doubt those facts given what I went through.
If you suffer from any sort of stress or anxiety disorder using google will be a disaster because so many phantom symptoms especially heart related are created from excessive stress/anxiety and sympathetic nervous system activation and most of these people need a psychologist or therapist, not a doctor.
Stress also messes with your gastrointestinal system and causes things like IBS, idiopathic gastroparesis, GERD, gastritis, etc. It's estimated 75-90% of doctor visits are stress related and I don't doubt those facts given what I went through.
If any of what you posted were true, it would show up under possible causes on google. If it is in medical books or taught in medical school, it can be googled. If we can’t trust google, we sure as heck can’t trust you and your posts on city data.
I figure no one has a bigger investment in my well-being than I do. So for acute problems and check-ups -- it's a trip to the Doc.
But for other nagging issues like a sprained ankle or a fungal toenail or a blister or a bout of cold or flu, I do go to Google and try to find the most authentic, research-based advice I can....
I've found 85%-95% of my minor ailments heal themselves over time and do not require an office visit...but if minor problem lingers or gets worse, it's off to Doc I go...
I figure no one has a bigger investment in my well-being than I do. So for acute problems and check-ups -- it's a trip to the Doc.
But for other nagging issues like a sprained ankle or a fungal toenail or a blister or a bout of cold or flu, I do go to Google and try to find the most authentic, research-based advice I can....
I've found 85%-95% of my minor ailments heal themselves over time and do not require an office visit...but if minor problem lingers or gets worse, it's off to Doc I go...
Totally agree. And what is important to note is that doctors/clinics aren't really waiting to get their hooks into you for this kind of stuff either! Some make it out to be a conspiracy and that if they've successfully avoided going to the doctor then they've "stuck it to" someone.
I think doctors want to catch the serious stuff and sometimes it is hard to tell - hey - they are trained to tell the difference. So if after doing some research you still have doubts, then by all means get it checked out. If it turns into something serious that you delayed about then obviously that's on you. It's a balance we all have to weigh.
What's funny is that when you go to a doctor and they say something to the effect of "wait and see" people get ticked off! When for many minor things like a weird pain it does resolve itself.
I figure no one has a bigger investment in my well-being than I do. So for acute problems and check-ups -- it's a trip to the Doc.
But for other nagging issues like a sprained ankle or a fungal toenail or a blister or a bout of cold or flu, I do go to Google and try to find the most authentic, research-based advice I can....
I've found 85%-95% of my minor ailments heal themselves over time and do not require an office visit...but if minor problem lingers or gets worse, it's off to Doc I go...
I just talked to my mom and she went to the doctor for hip pain. The doctor said here was no treatment but pain killers, so my brother googled her diagnosis and found that there was in fact other treatment options and my mom is going to see another doctor. You all are naive regarding doctors and online research. If doctors all knew what hey were doing we wouldn’t have an opioid crisis.
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