I've been self-diagnosing.
In general, this is probably a bad practice. Firstly because I am not a licensed medical professional at all, and secondly because any website ready and willing to tell you what's wrong with you likes to say things like, "Tuberculosis," and "Cancer." My two favorites.
That being said, there are times were I have found self-diagnosing really helpful. My friend Alex once had a swollen finger from biting at his cuticles; after a few minutes of searching online, I was able to tell him what was wrong with it and encourage him to go to a doctor for a bacterial infection. Had we not dabbled in self-diagnosing, he probably would've waited longer before going, continued to be in pain, and continued to wave his puffy finger around at unsuspecting bystanders.
For the most part, I find self-diagnosing more of a calming tool than a genuinely useful one. Finding DSPD is in that vein - when I was a baby, my parents called me the Vampire Baby because, according to them, I had my days and nights mixed up. In terms of my own experience, I can't remember many nights past elementary school that didn't involve me going to bed, staring at the ceiling for hours trying to fall asleep, and waking up feeling like death. In high school I just stayed awake, usually to do homework, but it meant that for at least one semester of school I got about 2 hours of sleep a night. Not fun. Not nice. In college it was just the same - I seem to be, mentally, about 4 hours behind everyone else. Which fits perfectly with DSPD and makes me think, "Hey, I'm not insane! This is perfect!"
The face of evil
Having (I think) never been to an allergist, I also self-diagnosed allergies. It's not like it's hard - being around cats makes me sneeze and wheeze, touching my bare skin to grass makes me red and itchy, and when I eat heavily citric foods I get really ill. Similarly, citric acid in soap makes me itchy. Based on that, I have to assume that I am allergic and/or sensitive to cats, grass and citric acid. That assumption has heavily reduced my exposure to all three things which, as it simultaneously limits associated adverse reactions, makes my life a whole lot more comfortable.
I've also never been to a sleep centre - and I may never go. That being said, I like to imagine that there is an explanation for my lifelong failure to fall asleep at the same time as everyone else or wake with the same perkiness my mom shows every morning. (Seriously, the woman is incredible. I have never met anyone so cheerful at 5am.)
What do you guys think? Go to the doctor, figure out your own explanation, or mix it up?
From my experience self diagnoses can be very useful. I had a problem with eating for two years and I constantly went to the doctors and explained and I had more ultrasounds than a pregnant woman. They never found anything but I realized when it happened and I found out that it was just too much stress, by googling the symptoms. I didn't even know back then that something like that could make you seriously ill but thanks Google.
ReplyDeleteAfter the self made diagnosis it might be important though to go see a doctor and go check it, it might as well be something way more serious and I'd say better safe than sorry.
Sometimes doctors just have too many options of sicknesses that they miss out on the one and right, so we can as well try to help them by doing our research, but in the end, they should know best.
Hmm...I've never had a good experience turning to the internet. According to Google I've been pregnant on and off for the past 5 years =P
DeleteI say go to the doctor. Yes, you can see what irritates you and presume but you can never be sure until you are explicitly diagnosed.
ReplyDeleteI think it can be helpful, but I've also had incredibly frustrating experiences with doctors who don't listen. I do know my aunt self-diagnosed herself with Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Basically, the thyroid levels GPs screen can be in the normal range, but you may still have thyroid issues. My aunt had to fight to get her GP to send her to an endocrinologist (insurance requirement) and, sure enough, she had Hashimoto's. I think there's a decent balance. No, we're not all doctors, but we can use common sense. And, some doctors get so stuck on one symptom that they refuse to acknowledge other symptoms. I think using the doctors' wisdom and experience combined with our own common sense and research is the best way to go about things.
ReplyDeleteI do both. First I self diagnose, and then based on what Dr. Google tells me, I might go to the walk-in clinic down the road. It has actually been helpful in some situations, although I have gone through the whole "omg I have cancer!" thing, which my dad was not too pleased about.
ReplyDeleteI think self-diagnosis can be very helpful, as long as you have the common sense to not majorly panic when taking a 2 minute quiz and find out you have some life-limiting condition. I personally went through many diagnosis of mental disorders feeling as though they didn't 'fit' me, with a little frustration, research and self diagnosis, I found and suggested a diagnosis that stuck. Also, with many (not all) doctors being so pushed for time with patients these days it is also, I believe, a very good step to have an idea of what may be the problem so as to raise it as a suggestion. Doctors, in my opinion and experience, don't always know whats best. <3
ReplyDeleteI think both are helpful. You know yourself better than anyone else and the doctor knows medicine. It's probably really helpful that you can explain your symptoms too (I always get a little embarrassed when the doctor asks me whether things seem related and I just shrug). But the doctor can stop you from over-diagnosing, not that I really think you have, and help you have the option of not having perpetual jet-lag.
ReplyDeleteYou don't waste a lot by going to the doctor, or maybe a little bit of time. You'll be fixed. But, at the same time, you can always come prepared with a list of symptom or past experiences. The doctor might think you're crazy, but at least, you'll know where to stand.
ReplyDeleteHope you'll finally get a good night of sleep
I rarely go to the doctor, that is an medical doctor. For two main reasons, the first one being I don't believe in conventional medicine, I've never been on antibiotics in my life, nor have I been vaccinated, and the other is that I just don't get sick very often, and when I do it's nothing serious. I do go to the chiropractor every month, if I'm worried about something I can ask him about it and he can reccomend something, or often a chiropractic adjustment can fix the problem.
ReplyDeleteI have done some of that self diagnosing before, and it really doesn't help much. Sometimes it can, but it's rare. I've tried to limit my googling over the past few months, and I think my anxiety levels have been reduced as well.
I tend toward natural supplements and homeopathic remedies (people say they're BS, but I have seen them work miracles in myself and others) for when I'm sick or unwell in some other fashion.
it definitely depends on what you're diagnosing. throughout my life i've been to doctors and talked to school counselors and psychiatrists and none of them helped me to find out that i actually have been suffering with social anxiety for nearly my whole life. i didn't find out what it was until last year, and i think had i not gone about it on my own i'd still feel hopeless and feel like maybe i'm just a weirdo. it was a relief to find out that i wasn't the only person feeling the way i've always felt, because it felt very lonely, and i didn't know that what i had was called social anxiety. everyone i'd see would tell me to get over it and that i'm just really shy, but it was always so much more than that. there are certain circumstances that can benefit of self-diagnosis.
ReplyDeleteI had never heard of that! Time to search, I don't know if I'm an insomniac or I just have a fucked up sleep schedule and now this... Lately I've been taking a syrup and it's working great but I don't want to start depending on that. Furthermore you've made a post about naps and after a few days I stumbled upon this page http://dft.ba/-3XZg and now I consider napping. How do you overcome or treat DSPD?
ReplyDeleteI recently self diagnosed myself with Social Anxiety Disorder after struggling my whole life with being 'insanely shy'.
ReplyDeleteI came across a list of symptoms online by accident one day and realised they all fit me to a T. After a bit more research, I thought it safe to say that S.A.D is something I more than likely suffer from.
I find it reassuring to know that I'm not just being really silly all the time, and can finally stop beating myself up over it. It also helps me realise why I'm behaving certain ways throughout the day.
The main problem I feel with self diagnostics is when I try to explain to a friend who's known me a long-ish time, I feel like they think I'm just overreacting and being melodramatic about it, as if I'm saying it to seem 'cool' or get attention, just because it hasn't been diagnosed by a professional. When I think about it, this feeling of judgement could just be my S.A.D speaking, but I do know that people think those things when someone says they have a condition...
Self Diagnosis all the way! I self diagnosed myself with seasonal affective disorder 4 years before a doctor confirmed it. I was told I have "symptoms of depression" but that I didn't have depression, which makes no sense. I knew myself that I got giddy in the sunlight and stressed, depressed and had trouble over sleeping in winter. As with all illnesses, I usually google my symptoms and if they happen again/are bad I'll THEN go to a doctor.
ReplyDeleteAs a nurse, I self diagnose a lot as well. However, I love my allergist. I'm also allergic to cats to the extent of wheezing and runny nose, but that has alleviated slightly through allergy shots. And for all my other allergies, dust mites, pollen, daily medications. I work in family medicine, so I would suggest specialist, but maybe start with a general practitioner. But if you want more details, go for specialist.
ReplyDeleteThe problem with doctors is so often they're treating a symptom, not a cause. Self diagnosis has gotten me a lot further than doctors with a lot of things. Discovering my own food intolerance has completely changed everything for me, all the things I used to go and see doctors about have gone away.
ReplyDeleteMy dad is an ENT surgeon so whenever I'm sick he usually diagnoses me, but as a specialist he often diagnoses/treats me for things that are not really his area. He is also quite unsympathetic (I guess because he treats people with real problems). I'll say things like 'my head hurts' and he'll be like 'maybe you have a brain tumour'. I've never really tried to self diagnose myself because I don't really trust the internet that much. If I think I have something I'll tell him and he'll usually (correctly) dismiss it. I was wondering though, why wouldn't you go to a sleep clinic? It could be worth a shot right?
ReplyDeleteHI MISS BRYARLY!! it's uh the girl who makes awesomemimi.blogspot.com! um do you remember? well, still rather desperate for you to view my blog so that's all good... um well I'm twelve and I CAN'T SLEEP!! it's rather horrid so yay!!!! Well honestly I just had to say that so um please????
ReplyDeleteI would go see a doctor at some point in time just to be sure. They may have some meds or something to help. They also might have ideas on how to fix your sleeping problem without medication. It also can't hurt to go. Also, if it's directly affecting your everyday life, then I would definitely go because if there's the slightest chance that it can be fixed, then I'd say it's worth it.
ReplyDeleteI really don´t like going to the doctors. Most of the time I´m told what I already know, and the I don´t even get medcine or a prescription for something I already have at home. But somehow it calms me a bit to hear a diagnosis from a doctor and not from the internet.
ReplyDeleteWhile the idea of self diagnosing sounds 'fun' it turns me into a hypochondriac so that's not good.
ReplyDeleteAs a medical student, soon to be doctor, I always have two sets of advice. One as a semi-medical professional, and one as a friend.
ReplyDeleteSemi-medical professional - Go see a doctor. You don't know what you have and it could be detrimental to your health in the longterm to ignore your symptoms assuming you know just as much/more than the doctor that can see you. Plus, how much time does it take to really go see a doctor (assuming you have one) just for some advice.
Friend - It doesn't sound like it's anything ridiculously serious. The few pieces of advice I've received in my life with regard to going to see a doctor personally or worrying about disease go as follows (from fellow doctors).
1. Nothing that is bad gets better or stays roughly the same.
2. If it is tolerable in your daily life and you're able to go through your days without it hindering or getting in the way, then you're probably fine.
3. At the moment that your worries about it get in the way of your daily activities, go see a doctor.
Now, there are exceptions to every rule and I honestly would be careful about depending on self-diagnosing. Also, take into account I haven't yet talked about this specific problem, I'm just talking in generalities. So, for this specific problem, I don't see the downside of going to the doctor. I'm not sure if you're afraid that they aren't going to know, making you feel more alone and lost, or that they won't tell you anything you don't know, which will make you feel like you wasted your time. Or most likely, some combination of the 2.
I personally think that, if you haven't seen anyone for this ever, I would see someone, just to get a medical opinion. If you have and it has been equivocal, than it might just make sense to wait to see if it gets worse or if you get to a point where you can't deal with it anymore.
Now onto self-diagnosing:
My mini-rant about self-diagnosing, and I'm going to try not to sound too overbearing here is that 99% of the time you are wrong. Not to say that you, personally, aren't close or maybe you are right. Patients in general assume that they all have either Cancer/something serious or No problem that is worth treating. There are actually a great number of conditions we treat and I feel like the internet deflates people's hope in doctors, especially by self diagnosing. I could go on and on but I won't my fingers are tired. Oh no! It's osteomyelitis!
I self 'diagnosed' myself as gifted while reading at mensas website about gifted children when I was 7. Than years went by, and I liked the idea of blaming my troubles with home assignments on the idea that I might have a high IQ. But at the same time I was afraid that it really was about a need to feel special.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was 18 I took a IQ-test. At first I didn't want to, but than I thought I owed it to my 7 year old me. And 7 year old me had been right all along. I had been gifted. But I found out a bit too late. I had only one semester of school left. Now looking back I'm a bit frustrated about that I had known it for so long, but hadn't done anything about it. If my teachers had known about my troubles and needs associated with a high IQ, it would probably had help me out. I missed out on allot of help and understanding that I needed. I regret that.
So from my experience, I find self diagnosing useful and comforting. But the doubt that comes with it can be both useful and harmful. Doubting yourself, when you think you have cancer every time you get a bruise is a good thing, but if it later on, turns out you were right about something, you'll regret it if you don't go to a professional and ask and talk about what you think you have.
(also having trouble sleeping, and sleeping less than the average person, especially at a young age is one of the signs for high IQ, just saying...)
I like to mix it up: it can be helpful, or reassuring, or help you narrow down things with your doctor. Or suggest to your doctor, when they are being dumb-bums (which they can be good at, unfortunately). In the end though, I think going to the doctor - or talking to a nurse friend/relative is best for big things, for official things.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of which, if I were you, I would go to a sleep center or.. whatever about your weridness with sleep. I mean, if you're coping with it 100% then don't bother, but lack isn't good for you, so if you do have issues with it in future school or work situations, I think it could be immensely beneficial to know more about what's going on and what you can do to help make it better.
I have never heard of DSPD until now, and now my life makes sense.(i type as I glance at the clock and realize it is 4 am.) ha I've had problems going to bed at a decent hour for as long as I can remember. I could barely get any sleep in result of having to get up early for something, but still not be able to go to bed until late hours into the night. It's nice to know i'm not completely insane.
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