Do you self diagnose?

[fallen-archie]

When you get a bit of what we used to call indigestion or your blocked nose has gone on for more than 24 hours are you tempted to google your symptoms and finish up with a terminal disease? The reason I ask is because recently we have had all the local GP surgeries inspected and scores given. A few managed low 90% scores but then it went downhill rapidly. My own surgery managed 61% however another nearby was down at 42%. One of the receptionists from that surgery wrote to the local newspaper saying how shocked the staff were at the score but in defeence said that the number of appointments had increased threefold in as many years. I know the population has grown but not by 33% so what reason can you offer for the growing number of ailments in a society which is wrapped daily in cotton wool and which is supposed to be healthier than ever.

[cee-dee]

Ah yes, there's been a terrific jump in that well-know ailment, the finger-ache. If you see me anywhere near a doctor, there's something seriously wrong.

I have little faith in the GPs. One of them diagnosed me with one thing, another started treating me for something else, when I finally went to hospital at the instigation of a friend's wife, what I had was just short of being fatal!

[upthecreekyetagain]

Hadn't been to the doctor fornearly 15 years - started getting short of breath very easily and suffering 'indigestion' pains - nagged by the wife to go and see the doctor - he checked me out - told me to go straight to A&E - was in a ward in a matter of hours!

[******lynda******]

I told the docs what was wrong with me 2 years before they agreed with me. In the interim, I was told I was imagining it, laughed at and told to go away. Culminated in a fairly rushed appointment for major surgery after I persuaded them to give me a CT scan.

I'd pointed out that I hadn't bothered docs in 10 years, so wasn't likely to be making stuff up.

[fallen-archie]

I think many of us will have stories which culminate in being thankful we have a health service. There is however a real problem which is impacting upon the ability of the service to function. So why is demand so high, yes we have an ageing population but the scale of demand is unprecedented, many hospitals are in meltdown. Simple question, why are so many people I'll?

[upthecreekyetagain]

I wonder if it is because far more people survive illnesses that in earlier years they would have died from - the NHS is a victim of its own success, new treatments and early diagnosis just mean more work.

[cee-dee]

It might just be they they're actually being recognised as being a bit more serious

than just "ill"?

If you've got the Flu, you're ill, someone who is short of breath is ill too. You can be short of breath with the flu.

Chest pains? You can have them with indigestion, could be angina, could be a prelude to a heart attack. You still feel "ill" but exactly how ill are you?

Proper recognition in the first place that it's something different by the sufferer is perhaps a bit easier today? They then put their trust in someone who's supposed to know better?

Even after having an ECG someone could look at it and diagnose one thing. A specialist could diagnose the problem correctly.

[023mjc]

I've had a similar situation Lynda.

I must admit I have been tempted to self diagnose a few times as it's almost impossible to get an appointment before 3 weeks. I think they are hoping you'll either get better or snuff it before they have to treat you. It must be easier to get an audience with the Queen.

[jd.linklater]

I've had to live with this condition for most of my adult life. First group of attacks was when I was 19, they weren't correctly diagnosed till I was in my mid forties. I wasted years of my life being mis-diagnosed because it is a fairly rare condition (well under 1% of the population) and extremely difficult to treat effectively. Over the years I was prescribed everything on the market for migraines none of which had any effect. I was put on lithium, methysergide, ended up with an addiction to opiates, had electric shock treatment, one quack even told me I was imagining things and sent me to a psychiatrist. Thought I was going nuts, felt suicidal with the pain. I finally got to see a Professor at Birmingham University Hospital who diagnosed it immediately at the first appointment, he was the only Doctor I'd seen in 25 years who had any knowledge of it. Got it under control now but it still flares up from time to time. I've had to keep a supply of oxygen at home for the past 20 years and otherwise manage it with calcium channel blockers and a very occasional shot of morphine.

Having suffered so long with it doesn't exactly inspire me with any level of confidence in the NHS so in answer to the Op. yes I do have a tendency to self diagnose before I go anywhere near a doctor's surgery. Can you blame me?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cluster_headache

[******lynda******]

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@023mjc wrote:

I've had a similar situation Lynda.

I must admit I have been tempted to self diagnose a few times as it's almost impossible to get an appointment before 3 weeks. I think they are hoping you'll either get better or snuff it before they have to treat you. It must be easier to get an audience with the Queen.

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Indeed. I've always self diagnosed. I never went near a doc when I had shingles. I was only at a doc a couple of times in each pregnancy, and never before 5 months.  I even broke a bone in my foot and dealt with it at home...with hindsight, I regretted that as crutches would have been useful.