Why do people ask for medical info here?

[Debbie7452]

I didn't post a question, but I figured out from a medical thread that my DH was having symptoms of appendicitis. They were not the USUAL symptoms you hear about, so DH was resisting going to the Dr for a week or so. I forced him to go based on that thread and he had emergency surgery the next day. So a Big Thank You to the DisBoards!!

Sometimes you learn new things on those threads...

[hellow]

Originally Posted by Debbie7452

I didn't post a question, but I figured out from a medical thread that my DH was having symptoms of appendicitis. They were not the USUAL symptoms you hear about, so DH was resisting going to the Dr for a week or so. I forced him to go based on that thread and he had emergency surgery the next day. So a Big Thank You to the DisBoards!!

Sometimes you learn new things on those threads...

That is amazing! Long live the Dis Boards!

[indimom]

Originally Posted by eliza61

Because some random person may have some really good advice.

#1. You're assuming that no one has medical training. how do you know? I'm betting there is a doctor or two lurking about.

#2. some times experience is much better than the advice a doctor can give you. I found that out first hand from dealing with my dh when he was battling leukema. sorry but some of the advice I got here from other cancer patients was 1000X's more helpful than a boatload of oncologist from the University of Penn hospital.

#3. Some times a perfect stranger who has no vested interest can do a lot. that's the old "bar tending" syndrome. You really don't want or expect advice but some times it can help just by some one who doesn't know you pushing you in the right direction.

1. There definitely is.

2. I agree with this. Sometimes patients have a better understanding of what it means to live with a condition and deal with it day to day than the specialists who treat that condition. I've seen that first hand on a support board elsewhere, some of them are old hats who've tried it all and know what works and what doesn't. The doctors don't get involved in that type of stuff.

3. Nicely put.

[Art 1]

Originally Posted by disneyfans95

It always boggles my mind when I see someone with "insert random medical issue here" and asks everything from if they need to go to the ER, call 911 or set up their plot at the local cemetery..

Honestly, don't folks call a MEDICAL professionals? If your first instinct is to hit a Disney forum to see if that red bump is a going to give septic shock, you got your priorities wrong..

I mean, there are stuff here that people post that screams call 911 and they take the time to post and hope some random person with zero true medical training might give them good advice.

I have often wondered the same other than there are a lot of needy people on this forum.

[2girls4me]

I'm more amazed at the amount of personal health info people post on here. And the Internet, in general.

I get poeople want support, but I can't imagine posting everything from suspicious mole removal to biopsy for breast cancer.

And the "I'm bleeding to death,,what should I do?" posts make me nutty.

[disneyfans95]

Originally Posted by Art 1

I have often wondered the same other than there are a lot of needy people on this forum.

Bingo..

[kimmar067]

.....soooooo.....I have this RASH.....and it's oozing some greenish pus.....and it itches REAL BAD....and don't make me say where it's located, but it's safe to say that I won't be playing any long, piano concertos in the near future.....you think I should see a doctor? nahhhh, I'll wait till next week or so......

[akcire]

Didn't you know. Part of the new federal mandates for medical care require you to seek help from strangers on the Internet before actually hiring a qualified medical professional.

[Aliceacc]

Originally Posted by 2girls4me

I'm more amazed at the amount of personal health info people post on here. And the Internet, in general.

I get poeople want support, but I can't imagine posting everything from ...to biopsy for breast cancer.

As someone who has posted pretty openly about that, I'm a little curious about why you feel the way you do.

There are very few words in the English languge scarier than Cancer, Biopsy, Radiation and Chemo. A few, I know, but they're certainly on the top 10 of most people I know.

When I had my biopsy/ mastectomy/ radiation/ reconstruction, I didn't know anyone in real life who had already been through that particular experience. Sure, my doctors were wonderful, and gave me all the medical advice I could want.

But it was a completely different experience to be able to come on to the DIS at 2 am when the nightmares wouldn't go away... the "I have 3 kids, how are they going to grow up without a mom?" kind of nightmares... and get reassurance from others who had been in my shoes. Because no matter how knowledgeable, how caring, how professional and compassionate my doctors were, everything they told me about how it would feel was hearsay. My doctors are all male; none of them had actually known exactly what it was going to feel like or how I would feel about the experience. But the people on the Breast Cancer thread here were a very different story. They're the ones who told me where to find the type of bra I would need, and how to dress for work every day (I teach in a co-ed high school) during the week that radiation burns meant I couldn't wear a bra. They're the ones who gave the advice on how to keep my household running during that month when I needed to take a nap almost every day after work and radiation, even though dinner still had to get onto the table and homework still had to be checked and I didn't want my husband to feel like a single parent... or during the week after my mastectomy when I wasn't allowed to pick up anything "heavier than a tea cup" and my father in law was dying an hour away and all 3 of my kids were starting a new school year. And about my husband's fears too; something that my doctors simply didn't think of since it wasn't medical. They're the ones who were able to joke with me about the little things, since they had been through the experience and come out on the other side; their nightmares were for the most part over and they were able to give me the confidence that mine would end as well.

My medical experiences are not something I'm ashamed of.Cancer isn't a punishment for something you've done wrong. I've shared some of the details with some of the kids of both genders at school when the subject has come up-- primarily when one shares that homework didn't get done because the house was in an uproar over mom's recent diagnosis. The people on that thread were kind enough to give me the help I needed, and I'm more than happy to pay it forward and help anyone I can get through the nightmare.

I agree that I shake my head at some of the things I read here, but it's seldom the medical ones. (Though I have, once or twice, been one of those who post in capital letter: "GET TO THE ER!!!")

But I tend to be more amazed at the threads that tell us all about a friend/neighbor/coworker, and reveal all the personal details the poster assumes he/she knows of someone else's life, and ask us to sit in judgement of some third party.

[eliza61]

Originally Posted by Aliceacc

As someone who has posted pretty openly about that, I'm a little curious about why you feel the way you do.

There are very few words in the English languge scarier than Cancer, Biopsy, Radiation and Chemo. A few, I know, but they're certainly on the top 10 of most people I know.

When I had my biopsy/ mastectomy/ radiation/ reconstruction, I didn't know anyone in real life who had already been through that particular experience. Sure, my doctors were wonderful, and gave me all the medical advice I could want.

But it was a completely different experience to be able to come on to the DIS at 2 am when the nightmares wouldn't go away... the "I have 3 kids, how are they going to grow up without a mom?" kind of nightmares... and get reassurance from others who had been in my shoes. Because no matter how knowledgeable, how caring, how professional and compassionate my doctors were, everything they told me about how it would feel was hearsay. My doctors are all male; none of them had actually known exactly what it was going to feel like or how I would feel about the experience. But the people on the Breast Cancer thread here were a very different story. They're the ones who told me where to find the type of bra I would need, and how to dress for work every day (I teach in a co-ed high school) during the week that radiation burns meant I couldn't wear a bra. They're the ones who gave the advice on how to keep my household running during that month when I needed to take a nap almost every day after work and radiation, even though dinner still had to get onto the table and homework still had to be checked and I didn't want my husband to feel like a single parent... or during the week after my mastectomy when I wasn't allowed to pick up anything "heavier than a tea cup" and my father in law was dying an hour away and all 3 of my kids were starting a new school year. And about my husband's fears too; something that my doctors simply didn't think of since it wasn't medical. They're the ones who were able to joke with me about the little things, since they had been through the experience and come out on the other side; their nightmares were for the most part over and they were able to give me the confidence that mine would end as well.

My medical experiences are not something I'm ashamed of.Cancer isn't a punishment for something you've done wrong. I've shared some of the details with some of the kids of both genders at school when the subject has come up-- primarily when one shares that homework didn't get done because the house was in an uproar over mom's recent diagnosis. The people on that thread were kind enough to give me the help I needed, and I'm more than happy to pay it forward and help anyone I can get through the nightmare.

I agree that I shake my head at some of the things I read here, but it's seldom the medical ones. (Though I have, once or twice, been one of those who post in capital letter: "GET TO THE ER!!!")

But I tend to be more amazed at the threads that tell us all about a friend/neighbor/coworker, and reveal all the personal details the poster assumes he/she knows of someone else's life, and ask us to sit in judgement of some third party.

BRAVO!! Alice, BRAVO!!!

Like I said personally I thank God for some of the kind thoughts I got on the Dis when my dh was battling Leukemia. no one, absoluely no one who has never been through a cancer battle can remotely imagine the struggle.

[eliza61]

Originally Posted by 2girls4me

I'm more amazed at the amount of personal health info people post on here. And the Internet, in general.

I get poeople want support, but I can't imagine posting everything from suspicious mole removal to biopsy for breast cancer.

And the "I'm bleeding to death,,what should I do?" posts make me nutty.

Big whoo, what are you going to start stalking some one to see if it's true?

No harm, no foul. If I'm having a colonoscopy and want some advice or support on the prep, why is is so spectacular that some one should ask. So according to you they should stress about it simply because it's too "personal". that makes absolutely no sense to me. and 99% of the doctors will give you a very standard reply.

Do you personally know the person? are you going to go on an expedition to find out who they are and where they live?

Truthfully I'm more scared of people who could help some one but won't because of some preconcieved notion like it's "so personal".

If some one remotely gets some comfort or a shred of useful information from my life experiences, than IMO that is a wonderful use of the internet.

[Aliceacc]

Originally Posted by eliza61

BRAVO!! Alice, BRAVO!!!

Like I said personally I thank God for some of the kind thoughts I got on the Dis when my dh was battling Leukemia. no one, absoluely no one who has never been through a cancer battle can remotely imagine the struggle.

The purple quote from the tag fairy is my response to someone on the Breast Cancer thread who asked "How's it hanging?" during my radiation-braless week. I laughed all day when the tag fairy quoted it, and it still makes me smile.

[mikehn]

Originally Posted by akcire

Didn't you know. Part of the new federal mandates for medical care require you to seek help from strangers on the Internet before actually hiring a qualified medical professional.

Please dont give them any new ideas

[branv]

Originally Posted by Aliceacc

As someone who has posted pretty openly about that, I'm a little curious about why you feel the way you do.

There are very few words in the English languge scarier than Cancer, Biopsy, Radiation and Chemo. A few, I know, but they're certainly on the top 10 of most people I know.

When I had my biopsy/ mastectomy/ radiation/ reconstruction, I didn't know anyone in real life who had already been through that particular experience. Sure, my doctors were wonderful, and gave me all the medical advice I could want.

But it was a completely different experience to be able to come on to the DIS at 2 am when the nightmares wouldn't go away... the "I have 3 kids, how are they going to grow up without a mom?" kind of nightmares... and get reassurance from others who had been in my shoes. Because no matter how knowledgeable, how caring, how professional and compassionate my doctors were, everything they told me about how it would feel was hearsay. My doctors are all male; none of them had actually known exactly what it was going to feel like or how I would feel about the experience. But the people on the Breast Cancer thread here were a very different story. They're the ones who told me where to find the type of bra I would need, and how to dress for work every day (I teach in a co-ed high school) during the week that radiation burns meant I couldn't wear a bra. They're the ones who gave the advice on how to keep my household running during that month when I needed to take a nap almost every day after work and radiation, even though dinner still had to get onto the table and homework still had to be checked and I didn't want my husband to feel like a single parent... or during the week after my mastectomy when I wasn't allowed to pick up anything "heavier than a tea cup" and my father in law was dying an hour away and all 3 of my kids were starting a new school year. And about my husband's fears too; something that my doctors simply didn't think of since it wasn't medical. They're the ones who were able to joke with me about the little things, since they had been through the experience and come out on the other side; their nightmares were for the most part over and they were able to give me the confidence that mine would end as well.

My medical experiences are not something I'm ashamed of.Cancer isn't a punishment for something you've done wrong. I've shared some of the details with some of the kids of both genders at school when the subject has come up-- primarily when one shares that homework didn't get done because the house was in an uproar over mom's recent diagnosis. The people on that thread were kind enough to give me the help I needed, and I'm more than happy to pay it forward and help anyone I can get through the nightmare.

I agree that I shake my head at some of the things I read here, but it's seldom the medical ones. (Though I have, once or twice, been one of those who post in capital letter: "GET TO THE ER!!!")

But I tend to be more amazed at the threads that tell us all about a friend/neighbor/coworker, and reveal all the personal details the poster assumes he/she knows of someone else's life, and ask us to sit in judgement of some third party.

Your post brought tears to my eyes. Beautifully said. It sometimes makes me crazy, but mostly I'm often grateful and inspired by the humanity and compassion reflected on the Dis.

[badblackpug]

There is a big difference I see here.

It is one thing to come on the board AFTER seeing an established medical professional (remember anyone on here can say they are anything, it doesn't make it true) and receiving a diagnosis, and a treatment recommendation and asking for emotional support, or asking someone who has been through the same to share their experiences, it is quite a different thing to come on here seeking medical advice, especially in an emergency situation, IN LIEU of seeking treatment from an established professional.

In the last thread I remember a poster was having what clearly could have been symptoms of a stroke, and she knew they were stroke symptoms, and sought diagnosis and advice on a Disney message board, no less. People gave her diagnosis ranging from migraine to asthma, which it could be, but why chance it? Think if the poster read on here Disneyreader12 said it was a migraine, or asthma, or whatever and took that to heart and it actually was a stroke. That poster could have died or been left severely disabled. The general rule of thumb in medicine is "rule out the things that will kill you 1st."

Over the years I have read a lot of wacky medical info and advice on these boards, from people who have, and have made no bones about their dislike of the medical community who think that you can cure serious diseases with herbs and spices, to people who have every illness and allergy they ever heard of on "House."

I think it is one thing to offer your personal experience with a situation, treatment, disease, or procedure, and quite another to offer diagnosis and treatment recommendations.