Re: Do not ask for medical advice on NMP!!
I don't think it is rude or abrupt and if I did then I would have removed it. Venus was just stating the facts and I had already done a previous post about this issue.
Quote:
people use this site for reassurance and people with HA will take this as a "no-one here knows anything medical so don't ask" but isn't that what this site is for
How can we reassure someone that they aren't having a heart attack or the pain in their leg isn't a DVT though when we are not qualified to do so? No-one here (apart from a few members that are nurses I believe) are medically trained and I did not want members telling others that they are fine when they may not be.
This site is not for that purpose it is for Panic Attacks and General Anxiety.
If you read the post carefully it says that members cannot diagnose illnesses so do not ask for a diagnosis - that was the main point of it all.
Re: Do not ask for medical advice on NMP!!
I did read it carefully, and agree with you that people should not ask for or expect an answer to such questions. I suppose the feeling that something is written in an abrupt way is subjective, but I wasn't the only one who thought so.
Vx
Re: Do not ask for medical advice on NMP!!
That is fair enough V - as you say different people read things differently.
Re: Do not ask for medical advice on NMP!!
This is a very difficult area that you are all discussing, when is reassurance a step to far. To most people we are coming from personal experience, I for example worked for 34 years as a health care professional and I saw a lot of things that the average Gp may only see once in a lifetime as I worked in a specialist centre that was world renowned.
I would suggest that any advice should always come with the caveat seek medical advice from your own doctor as nothin is better than a face to face consultation. A huge amount of information is collected by the history but not so much by a physical but add the two together and that's where accurate diagnosis is made. With health anxiety threads you cannot escape from people asking for advice and interpretation of test results ( its inevitable) and as previously stated don't put everything down to anxiety. Empathy comes from personal experience and that is something thay you certainly want to encourage but with the caveat always seek medical advice from your own doctor.
Re: Do not ask for medical advice on NMP!!
Hi all,
I agree about avoiding giving medical advice. I also don't think I am looking for reassurance when I post on this site, in fact, my GP says that reassurance is not the answer and that, after an appropriate medical evaluation, we need to become more comfortable with living with uncertainty. Ironic really, because the subliminal messages I pick up from our NHS is that EVERYTHING needs checking out!!!!
I am looking for a bit of empathy on these pages (I get a sense of what's it's like for you and how you feel) and sympathy (I know, I've been there, done that, got the t-shirt and know what it's like). And tips on how to cope with the waiting for test results and evaluations when there are symptoms.
Health anxiety has exploded because of the increasing medicalisation of our health. For example, the new, draft DSM V (American Diagnostic and statistical manual vs. 5, which gives medical professionals guidelines for diagnosis of mental health issues) is causing controversy amongst doctors, psychologists and other health professionals internationally because it classifies 'mental health' issues such as bereavement and pre-menstrual syndrome as requiring mental health drug treatment. Good grief!
Cerridwen:)
Re: Do not ask for medical advice on NMP!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
cerridwen
Hi all,
I am looking for a bit of empathy on these pages (I get a sense of what's it's like for you and how you feel) and sympathy (I know, I've been there, done that, got the t-shirt and know what it's like). And tips on how to cope with the waiting for test results and evaluations when there are symptoms.
Cerridwen:)
Exactly you have hit the nail on ther head of what NMP and this thread are about.....Reassurance and help for you panic and not for diagnosis.
it is fine to say........'I am panicking because I have this symptom please could you help me by reassuring me with your experiences and help me calm down'
but not... 'I have this symptom/lump/pain etc can you tell me what it is please so I do not worry about it anymore or go to the doctors about it'
:flowers:
Re: Do not ask for medical advice on NMP!!
If I had listened to my GP in 2005 when I was ill and continued to follow his advice of 'not to worry about a few pains and aches it's probably a virus' I would be DEAD. I had a fast growing tumour and my symptoms mirrored cancer and at the very least required further investigation like a scan. I got my diagnoses through Google searches and DEMANDED a scan in the end - 2 days after scan I was being operated on.
Re: Do not ask for medical advice on NMP!!
I am sorry about that Dave and I'm glad that you're okay now :)
But Venus's post isn't about people obtaining medical advice from their doctors, what happened to you sounds bad, but it's not what Venus is talking about here :)
What Venus has said is for people NOT to ask the members of this forum for medical advice, and there is a very good and valid reason for that too.
None of us here are qualified doctors, therefore, we are in no way qualified to give out medical advice or to be able to diagnose a medical condition.
It would be wholly wrong of us to even attempt to do that, I'm even reluctant at times to hazard a guess, it's just wrong all round.
Venus has said that it's fine for people to talk about their health anxiety and what worries them, but just not to ask us for a medical opinion, which we just can't give :)
The best route for all medical questions is to go direct to a doctor, stay away from Dr Google, he just gives you the bad news and tells you stuff that you don't need to know:winks:
Re: Do not ask for medical advice on NMP!!
"most people recommend going to the doctor but a lot of times, so many people are suffering the same symptoms which is why it's a great place to calm ourselves down and eventually our symptoms disappear and we forget about it"
I agree, I think that reassurance is what we need and coming on here in a bit of a panic, it sometimes calms us down to hear that others have been through similar things too. Most people are very careful of not trying to take a doctors place but simply saying the right thing to make us feel better and calm us down, whilst still advising to be have it checked to be sure.
Re: Do not ask for medical advice on NMP!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
CeeCeeCee
"most people recommend going to the doctor but a lot of times, so many people are suffering the same symptoms which is why it's a great place to calm ourselves down and eventually our symptoms disappear and we forget about it"
I agree, I think that reassurance is what we need and coming on here in a bit of a panic, it sometimes calms us down to hear that others have been through similar things too. Most people are very careful of not trying to take a doctors place but simply saying the right thing to make us feel better and calm us down, whilst still advising to be have it checked to be sure.
Unfortunately, although it helps in the short term, reassurance only serves to make things worse because it NEVER lasts and ALWAYS leads to more reassurance-seeking behaviour.