When To Research Medical Symptoms And Diagnoses

You can take a second opinion from another Doctor, about the Diagnosis and the Treatment Options, in case of doubt.

Doing a research on your own to find out whether the first Doctor was right or not will do more harm than good

 

The novel, please? Have some research ahead of me

 

In my personal experience when Google was less than 5 years old did my own research before getting a second opinion as I wanted to be an informed consumer and be able to take an extremely important decision. In such situations information overload could be overwhelming but definitely ignorance is no bliss. Researching and doing our homework helped us take better decision

 

Oh dear. I'm sorry to hear that!
Actually, what I was trying to say was that it's such a complex topic that one could go on and on. I wasn't exactly volunteering for the task, nor would I consider myself an expert on medical choices and decision-making, but I will try to set down a few thoughts in the hope that others will add to them. With a bit of luck, the aggregate may be useful to you (and others).
Hope things turn out well for you or whoever it is that you are doing the research for!

 

Own research helped me a lot in parallel to the doctors recommendations. There have been a few times where I found immense satisfaction and relief only after my own research, since doctors gave me confusing answers, and I could not rely just with a second or third opinion.

- When my newborn girl was suspected with a weird heart murmur. According to what I heard my her pead and a second dr, it was probably a hole in the heart case. Although they did not confirm it before an echo gram was done, they made me accept for the worst.
But what I read on-line gave me a different hope. It said 75% of the heart murmurs are innocents in infants, and it could end up as something totally trouble free. This news gave me some breathing time, as I was overwhelmed with the problem, specially during my postpartum.
When I did the echo gram to my 10 days old DD, the results turned out to be normal. I thanked myself for the read up, else I would have gone mad hearing what my Drs said.

- I used to have a weird throat pain. I could not explain the pain well whenever I see an ENT. Despite of my description, the ENTs have run certain tests on me to locate the exact problem. Since the past 4 years all our efforts were in vain, as my trouble seem to be repeating over time. I am on different medication only to have side effects like rapid hair loss, weight gain, loss of appetite. Second or third opinion did not work, as they make me a guinea pig for their experiments it seems.
This time I invested my time for a complete research. Looked for various articles and read up symptoms to finally understand what exactly my problem is.
This time i was able to take a print out, while explaining my Dr about my symptoms. He heard it right.
So, he was able to find out the problem and treatment for it.
I sincerely thank Google for this.

- I used to read a lot when I was carrying my kids, and all the info I read is still useful. Sometimes my friends used to call me a local Gynae, because of the answers i had for almost all their problems. Now that I do the same on pediatric matters. My peers rely on me to some extend and consult me before they actually consult their own pediatrician.

 

The first thing to understand is the process of decision-making in general. This is a good skill to cultivate, applicable in many areas of life. For complex or high-stakes decisions, it may be useful to formalize the process, while respecting both heart and mind. The most important thing to remember here, especially in this age of Google, is a distinction between 'information' and 'right information'. More information is not necessarily a good thing - a good chunk of it may be irrelevant to the decision you have to make, although you will be tempted to shoehorn it into the process. So, the first order of business is to learn to think.

Here are some pointers:
Thinking Fast, Thinking Slow: Most books and articles on decision-making are over-simplified and filled with irritating 'toy examples'. This book is the best one I know that does not talk down to an intelligent person. I consider this a must-read in general, an essential component of the mental toolbox for an educated adult.

A quick overview of the sorts of things you might look into, assuming access to a good library. Do take a look at the references as well.

You might also use this article as a framework to organize your decision-making process. It is both interesting and irritating at the same time, with annoying 'toy examples' and quaint references to 'Compact Disc Player' / 'Tape Player' and other 20th century artifacts, but it does serve to hammer in the difference between 'right information' and 'useless information'. The key notion is that non-instrumental information, once obtained, is often used as instrumental information in decision making. Therefore, it is important to distinguish between information that can alter a decision and information that does not.

More later.

 

The previous post was a preamble, to provide context. Personal medical decisions are often more complex and fraught with anxiety - not quite the same as buying a car. It is important to first clarify the sort of decision you are trying to make:

Is it a diagnosis?
Trying to consolidate your symptoms into a "differential diagnosis" is best left to professionals. Here, Google is not your friend. The best way you can contribute is by keeping good records, a journal, or by plotting a time-course or recording other relevant information.

For example: if you were to wander in with achy joints to chat with the average primary care physician in the United States, she will suspect arthritis and refer you to a rheumatologist. Chikungunya is not something that would come to their mind immediately (in Florida or New York it might, in Nebraska or Idaho probably not!). If you have traveled to India recently, spending a cheerful vacation on the fragrant banks of the Cooum, then it is up to you to recognize this as relevant information and bring it to her attention. This is the role of an informed, engaged patient - not cynical second guessing, but active, intelligent participation.

For a highly entertaining read, see: Brain on Fire. The book is unputdownable. Well worth a trip to the nearest library. It is a reminder that even the best physician cannot anticipate everything (this woman was super lucky!). As an educated, informed patient, you do have a role to play. The better you do it, the more responsibility you take for your own health, the easier you make it for your doctor to help you.

More later.

 

Being aware is good, but should not lead to self diagnosis. Anyhow I have given two links which discuss the same.

What Doctors Think About Your Online Health Searches

Why You Should Never, Ever Self-Diagnosis Using Google - Philadelphia Magazine

 

I look stuff up on webmd or the uk's NHS site or mayo clinic. I sort of self diagnose, panic, get the panic out of my system. Then go to the doctor and sit stoically when they rattle off one or the other treatment options I've read about. It helps me clear my mind and ask relevant questions to the doctor instead of wasting time becoming a sobbing mess in the clinic.

Especially when it concerns my little one, I'd be more effective this way than not. It helps me think straight.

Also most doctors and nurses here do seem to have a lot of patience to clarify my anxious questions. They are happy for the patient (or patients guardian) to get as involved in the decisions as they can. Sometimes if I'm in doubt about the treatment suggested (like putting my child on regular steroids which I deemed unnecessary as she was too young to be diagnosed properly then) I go back to my favourite doctor who never suggests even a paracetamol unless absolutely necessary. She very professionally helps me decide.