When Web MD (and YOU) are Wrong

CourtneyDurham1

I was certain my symptoms were type 2 diabetes. I suffer from panic attacks and anxiety but I noticed in recent weeks that my 'panic attacks' were happening at regular intervals. Usually 30 minutes after eating, especially if it was a high carb meal. Combined with the recent weight gain and itchy dry skin I was pretty sure I was right. Everybody here has either used Google, or Web MD, or some other internet tool to self-diagnose but there is not substitute for a doctor's visit and a blood draw. Diabetic-I am not! My thyroid on the other hand is no bueno. Levothyroxine is now my new best friend. Funny thing is when I started my protein veggie shake diet a week ago I immediately started feeling better. My "panic attacks" after eating were actually tachycardia caused by my broken thyroid. So why would my sudden diet change make me feel better right away? I don't know. But I must be doing something right. Maybe it's the placebo effect. Or maybe my body was crying out for fiber and veggies. Anyway, have any of you ever got it wrong?

StaciMarie1974

Self-diagnosis is a sticky subject. Its easy to find information to validate what we think and easy to ignore other possibilities. Good for you, in that you saw a doctor and are moving forward with solid information. I know people who would avoid going to the doctor because they didn't want to have their fears 'officially' confirmed.

Could be that some of the food adjustments for diabetes and your condition are similar.

Vune

The internet is okay for helping judge it your symptoms require immediate treatment (or a visit to the doc, at least), but we're only plugging in the symptoms that are new or obvious. How many conditions can cause stomach pain or fatigue or dizziness? Your doctor will ask questions about things that you might have overlooked as "normal" anxiety, or "everyone in my family gets headaches." When my kidneys were failing, I was getting headaches and shaking and I was exhausted. They checked me for mono and thyroid problems first because my nephrologists never explained to me what it's like to lose renal function. And rare hereditary conditions didn't have a lot of web space in 1999. Bodies are tricky, and this post has no focus.

PaulaWallaDingDong

I always get myself in to trouble by looking up my symptoms online. If I listened to WebMD, I'd have had my prostate out twice by now. (tmi?)

MamaBirdBoss

LOL. I'm the one telling doctors, "I know that sounds like Lou Gerhig's, but it's not, and for the love of all that's holy, can you please, just once, not try to test me for rheumatoid arthritis, Lyme disease, lupus, and Sjögren’s? Because I DON'T HAVE THEEEEEEEEEEEEEEMMMMMM."

Yeah, they always test me anyway. Every. Single. Time.

*headdesk*

"We just want to make sure..."

Um, I've had my inherited genetic muscle condition since I was two. It's still not lupus. IT WILL NEVER BE LUPUS!

I've had blood draws nearly the same volume as a donation.....

tat2cookie

I went on WedMD once to see what to do about an ingrown toenail and it told me that I actually had cancer.

PeachyCarol

Our expectation about how food might make us feel is powerful.

Someone recently posted a very interesting read geared towards the food industry regarding satiety in foods. It talked about results from studies conducted on the subject. They floored me. In one of the experiments, people were given a liquid they were told would gel in their stomach.

Now, we expect something gel-like to fill up the volume of our stomachs. The catch was that the liquid was just a liquid.

The study participants not only reported feeling full, but they had a corresponding hormonal response that would, indeed, indicate that they were sated.

Our minds are very powerful.

sheldonklein

My trigger to using MFP was self diagnosed diabetes. I used Google and a TV drug ad to make the diagnosis. I was wrong, of course, but the thought of having diabetes was enough of a scare to finally get me to lose weight

booksandchocolate12

tat2cookie wrote: »

I went on WedMD once to see what to do about an ingrown toenail and it told me that I actually had cancer.

Ha! I was just going to add my two cents to the discussion, saying that no matter what symptom you throw at WebMD, they'll tell you that cancer is a possibility.

MamaBirdBoss

PeachyCarol wrote: »

Our expectation about how food might make us feel is powerful.

Someone recently posted a very interesting read geared towards the food industry regarding satiety in foods. It talked about results from studies conducted on the subject. They floored me. In one of the experiments, people were given a liquid they were told would gel in their stomach.

Now, we expect something gel-like to fill up the volume of our stomachs. The catch was that the liquid was just a liquid.

The study participants not only reported feeling full, but they had a corresponding hormonal response that would, indeed, indicate that they were sated.

Our minds are very powerful.

Follow up: Stick everyone in a room with a plate of cookies. See who then eats more.....

(I'm curious!)

Also: Whole30.

Sarauk2sf

PaulaWallaDingDong wrote: »

I always get myself in to trouble by looking up my symptoms online. If I listened to WebMD, I'd have had my prostate out twice by now. (tmi?)

I used it to self diagnose once - said I had yellow fever of all things (even though I had never visited a country with a high risk for it). Ended up being sciatica and a cold!!

Vune

MamaBirdBoss wrote: »

LOL. I'm the one telling doctors, "I know that sounds like Lou Gerhig's, but it's not, and for the love of all that's holy, can you please, just once, not try to test me for rheumatoid arthritis, Lyme disease, lupus, and Sjögren’s? Because I DON'T HAVE THEEEEEEEEEEEEEEMMMMMM."

Yeah, they always test me anyway. Every. Single. Time.

*headdesk*

"We just want to make sure..."

Um, I've had my inherited genetic muscle condition since I was two. It's still not lupus. IT WILL NEVER BE LUPUS!

I've had blood draws nearly the same volume as a donation.....

On the other side of this, I've had stomach pain for fifteen years. I've had dozens of ultrasounds, xrays, blood tests, barium swallows, gastric emptying studies, and gastroscopies over this time, and they could never find anything more than some inflammation. My most recent ultrasound showed gallstones, and a hida scan confirmed gallbladder issues. It was the first thing they checked (along with H. Pylori). I was ready to resign myself to a restrictive IBS diet because after 15 years, my doctors and I were pretty much convinced that it was all in my head.

And your average doctor knows diddly about all these post-industrial revolution genetic disorders. There has been more than one occasion when a doctor has been really excited about examining me because they've never had an Alport Syndrome patient, let alone a female with full progression. I think my nephrologist is in love with me.

zyxst

I think I have Raynaud's phenomenon, but my fingers and toes never lose circulation when I'm at the doctor's office, so no confirmation.

EvgeniZyntx

WebMD or self diagnosis is a risky thing. I thought I had broken my foot. I was really sure. It was gout. Whoops.

MamaBirdBoss

Vune wrote: »

MamaBirdBoss wrote: »

LOL. I'm the one telling doctors, "I know that sounds like Lou Gerhig's, but it's not, and for the love of all that's holy, can you please, just once, not try to test me for rheumatoid arthritis, Lyme disease, lupus, and Sjögren’s? Because I DON'T HAVE THEEEEEEEEEEEEEEMMMMMM."

Yeah, they always test me anyway. Every. Single. Time.

*headdesk*

"We just want to make sure..."

Um, I've had my inherited genetic muscle condition since I was two. It's still not lupus. IT WILL NEVER BE LUPUS!

I've had blood draws nearly the same volume as a donation.....

On the other side of this, I've had stomach pain for fifteen years. I've had dozens of ultrasounds, xrays, blood tests, barium swallows, gastric emptying studies, and gastroscopies over this time, and they could never find anything more than some inflammation. My most recent ultrasound showed gallstones, and a hida scan confirmed gallbladder issues. It was the first thing they checked (along with H. Pylori). I was ready to resign myself to a restrictive IBS diet because after 15 years, my doctors and I were pretty much convinced that it was all in my head.

And your average doctor knows diddly about all these post-industrial revolution genetic disorders. There has been more than one occasion when a doctor has been really excited about examining me because they've never had an Alport Syndrome patient, let alone a female with full progression. I think my nephrologist is in love with me.

Post-industrial revolution meaning being diagnosed then? I have a very strong feeling this has been in my family a long time. My grandmother had it, and so did one of her parents--she never told me which.

My neurologist thinks I'm fascinating. Every neurologist does. They all know SOMETHING is wrong--I've only ever had one idiot GP not believe me, and strong abnormalities come up on a basic neurological work up--but they can't quite figure out WHAT it is.

I'm about to get referred to a research hospital and from there to NIH rare diseases, if they can't come up with something. Only reason I'm pursuing it is that some possibilities hold a promise of fairly non-horrible treatments. But it's going to be either a channelopathy or a possible metabolic disorder. My money is still on channelopathy. My current neuro is betting on something involving the CNS, but I think my slight peripheral nerve damage isn't CNS involved. I'm still hung up on the warm-up effect. That's CRAZY rare and distinctive, and everyone who has the disorder has it. That's not CNS. Can't be.

I look back at all the generations who didn't have NSAIDs....or heating pads...and I'm like, you poor, poor SOBs. I am so desperately grateful I have pain killers!

I had never heard of Alport syndrome at all, and it's actually rare that there's a genetic disease I HAVEN'T heard of just because I'm so interested in the subject because I'm a freak of nature myself. When you said "hearing loss," I was like, Apert syndrome? http://www.webmd.com/children/apert-syndrome-symptoms-treatments-prognosis Cuz I've heard of that.

Yours is one of those that any doctor SHOULD be able to diagnose if he or she knows enough. Those are, I think, the most infuriating.

Mine...God only knows for certain right now. :P

999tigger

I cant see the problem. I reserach I analyse the information and if need be i will talk with and present the evidence to the Dr if need be. Some of it falls within their area of expertise but some analysis is common sense, just know your limits. If you recognise the boundaries then the Dr will listen and you will be more or less correct based upon what you say and the reasonable objective conclusions you draw.

Got it wrong? Not that i can recall. Sometimes if I get a pain soemwhere that I havent had before, then I might be a bit concerned, but thankfully they have always gone away.

PeachyCarol

MamaBirdBoss wrote: »

PeachyCarol wrote: »

Our expectation about how food might make us feel is powerful.

Someone recently posted a very interesting read geared towards the food industry regarding satiety in foods. It talked about results from studies conducted on the subject. They floored me. In one of the experiments, people were given a liquid they were told would gel in their stomach.

Now, we expect something gel-like to fill up the volume of our stomachs. The catch was that the liquid was just a liquid.

The study participants not only reported feeling full, but they had a corresponding hormonal response that would, indeed, indicate that they were sated.

Our minds are very powerful.

Follow up: Stick everyone in a room with a plate of cookies. See who then eats more.....

(I'm curious!)

Also: Whole30.

Well, here's another interesting bit from the satiety piece. A protein drink was given to study subjects. In the first instance, the drink was thin and watery. Subjects reported not feeling satiated and ate again soon after drinking the preparation. When the drink was modified (I'm going to guess with either xanthan or guar gum) to have properties making it thicker and creamier while still having the same amount of calories, study subjects reported feeling much more satiated and did not eat again for a significantly longer period.

My own experience? I had switched recently from a very thick protein powder to a slightly thinner one and didn't find my shakes quite as satisfying. I started adding 1/4 teaspoon of xanthan gum to them, and BOOM. They started keeping me stuffed full for hours... EVEN THOUGH I KNEW WHAT THEY DEAL WAS!!!!

Bodies are WEIRD.

PeachyCarol

I shouldn't be on this thread. I've self-diagnosed twice and then gone to the doctor. I was right both times.

raelynnsmama52512

Every time I've put my symptoms in to that site it tells me I have ADD. Actually, it's quite funny since my husband, myself, and a friend who actually has ADD all believe that I have it. I've sent in the new patient paperwork, now to wait for the doctor visit to confirm it..