Grey/Black Market Drugs / Self Doctoring

[Signtist]

The tough part is not the treatment, it is making a correct diagnosis. Hope you are better than drs google and Wikipedia.

J.M.

Female patient. 23 years of age, 10 days postpartum, first child, first pregnancy. Exhibits symptoms of pelvic organ prolapse. Heads to the ER.

Female: "I have pelvic organ prolapse."
Doctor: "Honey, you're 23 and this was your first pregnancy. You don't have POP!"
Doctor after cursory exam: "OMG! You're right!"

Same female patient some years later. Patient complains of fatigue, unexplained hair loss, among other symptoms.
Female: "I want to be tested for Hashimotos Disease."
Doctor is doubtful and attributes symptoms to early pregnancy. Patient persists and thyroid testing was done, and an unborn baby's life was saved.

Same female patient again several years later asks for blood panels to be tested including vitamin and mineral levels. Patient complains of extreme fatigue, yellowish tinge under eyes, and body tremors, especially under stress. Patient has family history of pernicious anemia x2 generations and is suspicious she is 3rd generation.

Doctor orders blood panel, but does not include vitamin levels on the requisition. Tests come back everything OK. Patient demands blood panel to be redone including testing for B12 levels, and notifies Dr. she has been supplementing B12 with some slight relief.

Levels come back "acceptable." Doctor orders CT scan and MRI. CT scan comes back clear.

Patient sees another doctor, complains of extreme fatigue and body tremors and explains family history of pernicious anemia x2 generations. Patient seems to be experiencing slight relief with B12 supplementation. New doctor says it could be B12 deficiency, Parkinsons or early onset MS. Blood panels are run. New Dr. says B12 levels are on the very bottom of acceptable levels, notes that it is possible supplementation helped achieve even that, and orders a B12 shot. Patient feels noticeable relief from tremors within days and some relief from fatigue. In the meantime an MRI is finally done and all comes back clear. Patient keeps getting monthly B12 shots from second doctor.

First doctor diagnoses Pernicious anemia.

Correct self diagnosis is not unheard of.

[joshuabgood]

It is common in "plain" circles, for patients to know more than their doctors. (resisting the eyeroll emoji)

[Josh]

It is common in "plain" circles, for patients to know more than their doctors. (resisting the eyeroll emoji)

Well, my relatives who are doctors (but are not plain, or of ethnic plain background) would agree with this statement - often patients know as much or more than about their condition than a typical doctor does. You may have a great deal of overconfidence in the medical establishment. My lack of faith in it mostly comes from hearing what doctors and other practitioners in the medical establishment have to say about it.

I may be a bit influenced by sitting in meeting rooms for years, sitting next to the CMOs of major health plans along with MSN's in clinical care management as we examined huge amounts of care management data. There are a lot of really bad hospitals and really bad providers out there. My clients wanted to find out which ones, so they could direct resources elsewhere instead of continuing to pay for terrible results.

[justme]

It is common in "plain" circles, for patients to know more than their doctors.

and also the not so "plain" circles.

[AnthonyMartin]

It is common in "plain" circles, for patients to know more than their doctors.

and also the not so "plain" circles.

I certainly wouldn't minimize the individual responsibility in making medical decisions. Doctors don't always know best. But, it's pretty easy to dismiss everything the doctor says with "well, I've done my own research". That's really scary, IMO.

[Josh]

It is common in "plain" circles, for patients to know more than their doctors.

and also the not so "plain" circles.

I certainly wouldn't minimize the individual responsibility in making medical decisions. Doctors don't always know best. But, it's pretty easy to dismiss everything the doctor says with "well, I've done my own research". That's really scary, IMO.

I prefer to work with medical professionals as a team, where we both find the best treatments for a condition. My goal in seeing a doctor is that he can figure out things I can’t figure out for myself.

Most doctors appreciate someone who’s done their research. So I’m careful to note days of symptoms, I take my temp each day, etc., and also have noted reactions to different drugs in the past.

[ragpicker]

and also the not so "plain" circles.

I certainly wouldn't minimize the individual responsibility in making medical decisions. Doctors don't always know best. But, it's pretty easy to dismiss everything the doctor says with "well, I've done my own research". That's really scary, IMO.

I prefer to work with medical professionals as a team, where we both find the best treatments for a condition. My goal in seeing a doctor is that he can figure out things I can’t figure out for myself.

Most doctors appreciate someone who’s done their research. So I’m careful to note days of symptoms, I take my temp each day, etc., and also have noted reactions to different drugs in the past.

In the last two states we lived in, our doctors seemed like our health care partners. They would take our research, combine it with their knowledge, and point us in some good directions. One day I mentioned the previous doctor to the second one. His eyes popped. "I know him from Loma Linda, CA." I put them in touch with each other. They had attended school together in CA. The were both SDA.

Now I live in a different state and have no health care partner, only a doctor. I feel kinda lost.

[mike]

I certainly wouldn't minimize the individual responsibility in making medical decisions. Doctors don't always know best. But, it's pretty easy to dismiss everything the doctor says with "well, I've done my own research". That's really scary, IMO.

I prefer to work with medical professionals as a team, where we both find the best treatments for a condition. My goal in seeing a doctor is that he can figure out things I can’t figure out for myself.

Most doctors appreciate someone who’s done their research. So I’m careful to note days of symptoms, I take my temp each day, etc., and also have noted reactions to different drugs in the past.

In the last two states we lived in, our doctors seemed like our health care partners. They would take our research, combine it with their knowledge, and point us in some good directions. One day I mentioned the previous doctor to the second one. His eyes popped. "I know him from Loma Linda, CA." I put them in touch with each other. They had attended school together in CA. The were both SDA.

Now I live in a different state and have no health care partner, only a doctor. I feel kinda lost.

Well, you have the dude at Tractor Supply with the key to the vet meds cabinet...

[Josh]

In the last two states we lived in, our doctors seemed like our health care partners. They would take our research, combine it with their knowledge, and point us in some good directions. One day I mentioned the previous doctor to the second one. His eyes popped. "I know him from Loma Linda, CA." I put them in touch with each other. They had attended school together in CA. The were both SDA.

Now I live in a different state and have no health care partner, only a doctor. I feel kinda lost.

I've had the same dentist since I was a teenage boy too young to drive. Eventually, I moved to San Diego and really needed a local dentist; her hygienist made a referral to me to a dentist in L.A. that was only taking new patients on referrals. One of the best dentists I ever found (west of the Mississippi).

I'm back east now, and my dentist truly feels like a partner in health. One of the areas she's working on is treating sleep apnoea using dental appliances instead of more complex CPAP type of equipment, particularly in children, where it can affect ADD or ADHD (can't remember which). (If you'd like to learn more, you'll need to find a peer-reviewed scientific journal.)

[Judas Maccabeus]

The tough part is not the treatment, it is making a correct diagnosis. Hope you are better than drs google and Wikipedia.

J.M.

Female patient. 23 years of age, 10 days postpartum, first child, first pregnancy. Exhibits symptoms of pelvic organ prolapse. Heads to the ER.

Female: "I have pelvic organ prolapse."
Doctor: "Honey, you're 23 and this was your first pregnancy. You don't have POP!"
Doctor after cursory exam: "OMG! You're right!"

Same female patient some years later. Patient complains of fatigue, unexplained hair loss, among other symptoms.
Female: "I want to be tested for Hashimotos Disease."
Doctor is doubtful and attributes symptoms to early pregnancy. Patient persists and thyroid testing was done, and an unborn baby's life was saved.

Same female patient again several years later asks for blood panels to be tested including vitamin and mineral levels. Patient complains of extreme fatigue, yellowish tinge under eyes, and body tremors, especially under stress. Patient has family history of pernicious anemia x2 generations and is suspicious she is 3rd generation.

Doctor orders blood panel, but does not include vitamin levels on the requisition. Tests come back everything OK. Patient demands blood panel to be redone including testing for B12 levels, and notifies Dr. she has been supplementing B12 with some slight relief.

Levels come back "acceptable." Doctor orders CT scan and MRI. CT scan comes back clear.

Patient sees another doctor, complains of extreme fatigue and body tremors and explains family history of pernicious anemia x2 generations. Patient seems to be experiencing slight relief with B12 supplementation. New doctor says it could be B12 deficiency, Parkinsons or early onset MS. Blood panels are run. New Dr. says B12 levels are on the very bottom of acceptable levels, notes that it is possible supplementation helped achieve even that, and orders a B12 shot. Patient feels noticeable relief from tremors within days and some relief from fatigue. In the meantime an MRI is finally done and all comes back clear. Patient keeps getting monthly B12 shots from second doctor.

First doctor diagnoses Pernicious anemia.

Correct self diagnosis is not unheard of.

Self misdiagnosis is unfortunately common too. Have you ever seen a fungating breast lesion? I have seen two in the past month. They apparently self diagnosed it as something else.

J.M.