About Dr Google

I was talking to a doctor friend of mine today, who has been reading my blog.  He said he enjoyed reading it, but he did make a couple of really good points.  First he said that I had given doctors a bit of a bad rap recently.  And you know what, he is right, so I apologise to those sensitive doctors who have taken my blog personally.

Second, was the message that he thought people might read into by the post "Dr Google", a dangerous message.  And he was bang on right to make the point he did.  He suspected that people might think that I am trying to say that one should not bother with your doctor and just self diagnose on the internet. Personally I think that that is a really bad idea.

Please understand that I think it is really important to research your symptoms, diagnosis and treatment options from as many sources as possible.  But the most important one is your doctor.  Doctors have studied for a very long time and are very knowledgeable, especially in their own specialised field.  They should be your first port of call.  After you have seen them you can go home and research their diagnosis and recommended treatment options.  If you disagree with your doctor you can go back to them and raise your concerns, or you can ask for a second opinion.


The point I am always trying to enforce is that you should not just blindly follow your doctor's advice.  You need to listen to them, then go home and research and understand the diagnosis and treatment options.  It is taking charge of your health.  Sometimes even good doctors get it wrong, and if they do, wouldn't you like to be in a position to question them about it?


The following link is an article outlining the dangers of self diagnosis.


BUPA warns of dangers of self diagnosis

However, far be it for me to write a blog like this without having at least a tiny little dig at the medical fraternity.  If you want to stop people self diagnosing.  Don't just tell us to stop but do something about it! First, you could start treating patients as rational, intelligent human beings instead of uneducated, brain dead morons.  Second, doctors could start seeing patients within a week and not three months.  Until next time, stay well:)

The future is in safe hands

Today's training day was for three final year medical students who were competing for the Billings prize.  They all had a turn at examining me in front of a practising neurologist and at the end of it they were scored and the winner announced.

I have to say, all three students did a really good job.  Seeing as though none of them had any specialist training I did not expect them to have a complete understanding of my conditions, but they all did a fantastic job showing good practical skills and a wide knowledge base that they were able to apply.

However, nobody hit the nail right on the head and nobody got the diagnosis completely right, but what impressed me was the methodology they used and the thinking behind the conclusions they made.  Also nobody made any really wacky diagnosis that made me think, "Wow! I'm glad he's not my doctor!"

Saying that though these were the top three students out of about sixty, so if I were to be examined by the bottom three I might be a little more panicky.

After the exam we all had lunch together as well and it was really good to have a general chat with the guys to get a more informal understanding.  All three of them seemed like genuinely nice people who who had a genuine interest in my condition.  I think it is safe to say that from this little corner of the medical world, the future is in safe hands.

Someone however did get my diagnosis completely wrong.  The cab driver on the way home had a crack at it and his preferred treatment option was to rub mustard into my head.  Maybe there is merit in it as an alternative therapy.  I might research.  Until next time, stay well:)

I feel sorry for the students

So tomorrow is my chance to give something back to the medical fraternity that has done so much for me.  I am off to St Vincent's Hospital to be poked, prodded and examined by medical students so an examiner can assess their ability to diagnose my conditions.

In all honesty I pity the poor buggers that have to examine me because out of about 20 students only four will get the privilege. And I am one tough case.  I not only have one but two neurological conditions and a kidney disorder thrown in to boot (but for the purposes of this exam they are only looking at the neurology.

The other reason I feel sorry for them is that there are questions about my diagnosis that even the leading experts with decades of experience can't answer so what hope does a medical student have.  Questions the expert can't answer include the cause of my neuropathy and whether my tremor and neuropathy are related.

It can also be disconcerting hearing what the med students come up with.  I have been sorely misdiagnosed in the past but I have learned to take it with a pinch of salt.  I will promise to let you all know how it goes.  Until then, stay well:)