Diagnosing Self Through A Website

[HappyKoi]

I have done this, and I know I probably shouldn't.  WebMD is a popular site for me to self-diagnose, and some of the things they come up with scare me even more.  I always jump to the worst one "just in case", and then end up scaring myself that I am in more trouble than I really am.  I also take a lot of online tests for this mental illness or that one.  I don't know how accurate most of them are, but I take them anyway.  Even the "might" or "very unlikely" scare me a bit.  Has anyone else does this, and what are your experiences?  What do you do to try and stop yourself from looking at these kinds of websites?

 

[Zeesi]

I do this from time to time, especially because I'm not all that fond of going to Dr's, so I try to find out what is going on with me, and then take it from there.  I remember about a year or so ago, I was having a great deal of trouble breathing.  I googled all the symptoms that I had, and it came back a collapsed lung.  One site said something about the situation correcting itself if this or that was done.  I proceeded to do the "this and that" and in a few hours, I was able to breathe again.


I think that some of us are just built that way, we want to self-diagnose, where others will go to the Dr. once a month, just for fun.  I have a friend like that, every time you turn around she is at or in the hospital for something.  

 

[djanx]

I only check something on webMD if its a minor thing, like a strain in a leg after an endurance run. I rarely worry about getting some outlandish disease. But, I do stay "safe" as in I keep a general check on my water intake, on my sugar/salt intake, on whether I snore or not, that sort of thing. People don't realize that the last two kill more people than other things.


IF someone in your family snores, then they're at the beginning or middle stages of getting a cardiac arrest. Snoring and the conditions associated with it are called sleep apnea. It's a slow killer. It IS curable, so consult a doc and make sure that any affected family member stops snoring and starts breathing normally.


It's about the odds of something happening. Most of those outlandish diseases or conditions aren't normal and so the chances of you or me getting them are minuscule.

 

[Ania]

I used to do this almost daily some years ago,  back then my OCD had taken over my life.  I'm doing better now, but I still do this from time to time.  Thankfully I don't do it nearly as often as I did before, but this is a habit i had to fight in order to get better.   I followed the advice of a friend who told me I had to stop, or else I'd end up in the psychiatric hospital, not far from the truth at all.


 I remember when I used to spend hours and hours checking the ''AIDS meds'' forum, the ''Am I infected?'' section.  That forum was full of question of people like me (with OCD), who were afraid of getting HIV by things like cuts or plain paranoiac thoughts.  God, I almost drove myself crazy back then... I was completely obsessed, and ever minor ''exposure'' drove me into panic...  I spent so much time in those forums that now I can surely say I am an expert in the topic   Good thing I learnt the difference between theoretic and factual risk. 

 

[Choochoo]

I have done this in the past when I felt something odd with my condition but I usually only resort to that in what I consider to be possibly serious matters. Most of the time I just try and give it time to see if the problem clears up naturally and fortunately for me it has happened for most of my ailments. I try to avoid self diagnosis online because I feel I'll just get even more paranoid doing that. 

 

[Alex]

I think most of us will look at the web before going  to  the  doctor, and I'm  sure they hate patients  telling them what they have. I do look up things, but if it gets  worse, I will seek  help.


The problem  lies in self denial, when we put up with  things such as pain or use painkillers.  I remember  the case of the baby dying in Canada  becuse the parents mistook croup for meningitis as they looked it up online..  They also wanted the herbal way, and they were arrested and found  guilty of manslaughter.

 

[stephonline]

My doctor had told me to stop playing with "Doctor Google" and to stop self-diagnosing. I have done it so many times in the past and I have done it right before bed too. That makes me just worry and then I don't get any sleep. Then the next morning I wake up so groggy and out of it and then I cement in my mind that I really am sick! What a dirty cycle!

 

[Laneorexorcist]

I used to do this before... and I can tell you that it wasn't the best thing for me to do at that exact moment in my life. I am nobody to tell you what to do, but if you think that you're having problems with your mental health or if you are concerned about something going on there, go to see a professional. Googling things up is not going to change anything or get rid of anything, in some cases, it only makes things more difficult because you might start believing that you have something that you possibly don't really have. 
I wish you the best luck. 

 

[Panic57]

I don't think there is anything wrong with looking at it for minor things.  I used it to figure out what was wrong with my mom's leg and that she needed to go to the hospital.  Luckily, they didn't need to cut off the infected part of her leg off.  I think it's fine as long as you don't think it's a replacement for an actual doctor or use it to obsess about what you might have.  I also use it to find diseases for my fictional characters.  I think it's important to remember that most of those sites aren't written by doctors but by paid writers without PhD.  So don't take it for infallible truth.

 

[Natasha0717]

I have done this, and I know I probably shouldn't.  WebMD is a popular site for me to self-diagnose, and some of the things they come up with scare me even more.  I always jump to the worst one "just in case", and then end up scaring myself that I am in more trouble than I really am.  I also take a lot of online tests for this mental illness or that one.  I don't know how accurate most of them are, but I take them anyway.  Even the "might" or "very unlikely" scare me a bit.  Has anyone else does this, and what are your experiences?  What do you do to try and stop yourself from looking at these kinds of websites?

Oh sure, I am known for doing this.  There's even a site called "HealthTap" where there are real doctors that answer your questions for free (provided you keep the word-count low enough- anything more and that's when they start asking you to pay $$ if you need to get more detailed in your question.)  I have quite a few questions over there that doctors have answered for me...and I've also gotten VERY GOOD at learning how to keep my questions short so I will get a reply for free.  


I'm actually really not supposed to be doing this at all, because I'm also known as the "Google Queen" around here when it comes to health problems and symptoms.  I can find answers in a matter of seconds.  I know exactly which keywords to use to get me the Google answers I need, and of course most of the time I am frantically looking up symptoms.  When my Grandparents were still alive, I was always Googling stuff for them....now, it's usually about me, or my cats....whenever anybody gets some new symptom that just pops up and seems suspicious to me.


What do I do to stop myself from all of this health-scare researching?  Well, nothing.  Because I know I'm going to do it because I simply can't help it.  Sitting here and feeling unsure and doing nothing is much worse than looking for answers and at least getting some kind of info, scary or not. 


But my doctor still doesn't want me to do it.  And I still do it.  :blush:   (No need to tell him that.)  :tongue:

 

[Alexandoy]

Pardon me for this comment, I mean no offense. I think it is wrong to diagnose yourself even with the help of a website. I had done that before and it may have been the root cause of my anxiety issues. And it turned out that I only had a severe case of indigestion. That stomach ache was blown up by my hypochondrial mind, huh. That served me a neat lesson. And I am fortunate that I have a brother-in-law who is a physician. He can give me an informal diagnosis when I needed and if required, I would go to their home for a formal checkup. His wife is a nurse (my wife's sister) so I have a lot of support from them. But I understand that if you are alone and with only the internet for company, you can be tempted to check on the medical websites for your health issues. 

 

[thisnthat]

I don't think there is anything wrong with looking at it for minor things.  I used it to figure out what was wrong with my mom's leg and that she needed to go to the hospital.  Luckily, they didn't need to cut off the infected part of her leg off.  I think it's fine as long as you don't think it's a replacement for an actual doctor or use it to obsess about what you might have.  I also use it to find diseases for my fictional characters.  I think it's important to remember that most of those sites aren't written by doctors but by paid writers without PhD.  So don't take it for infallible truth.

I have to agree with you. I think it's a good tool, but not a replacement for professional healthcare. I know doctor's hate it when you look stuff up, but I don't see anything wrong with being an informed patient (besides the eye roll from the doctor, ha ha). I don't obsess over it either or imagine that I have some rare, horrific, disease, but I know people who do. I can see how it would be easy to "fall down that rabbit hole."


You make another good point. Many things today contain content created by paid writers, so while they can sometimes be informative to a degree, they shouldn't be taken as gospel.

 

[moondebi]

I guess, there's nothing wrong in self-checking if it's a minor issue and needs no medication.


Couple of months back, I had a severe bout of hairfall with no apparent reason. It was disheartening to see clump of hair everyday. Then I checked for the symptoms in the medical websites, and could understand that the statin medicines I'd started taking could be the cause. I immediately consulted the doctor who'd prescribed the medicine. He then changed it with a lower dose. 


If someone just wants to be guided for a particular symptom, it is okay to take the help from. However, it is not to promote the habit of self medication. People must know where to draw the line.

 

[tomorrow]

I won't  recommend self diagnosing something with the help of a website as in any diseases (physical or psychological) the treatment varies from person to person.  If you finally decide to go for help it would be better to consult a doctor as he can only understand the real condition and do the needful.  Correct dose of medicines is also an important thing to consider.  Even for minor illness like cold or fever usually the physicians arrive at a suitable quantity of medicine after considering a lot of factors like your allergic reaction to some medicines, weight, lifestyle and a lot more.  Using services online may only aggravate the situation even if there is a minor lapse on either side. 

 

[thisnthat]

I won't recommend self diagnosing something with the help of a website as in any diseases (physical or psychological) the treatment varies from person to person. If you finally decide to go for help it would be better to consult a doctor as he can only understand the real condition and do the needful. Correct dose of medicines is also an important thing to consider. Even for minor illness like cold or fever usually the physicians arrive at a suitable quantity of medicine after considering a lot of factors like your allergic reaction to some medicines, weight, lifestyle and a lot more. Using services online may only aggravate the situation even if there is a minor lapse on either side.

Yeah, I think there is a big difference between self-diagnosis/self-treatment and self-education (simply learning more about what ails you). I actually think it's a good idea to be an informed patient. I also like to learn as much as possible about the meds I'm given before taking them. There are so many potential side effects and interactions and unfortunately, docs and pharmacists don't always pay that much attention to these things. They are usually so rushed, they don't even tell you about the possible side effects or what to watch for. So, I read the packet and also look online.