When I NEED to go to the Doctor

Good Morning World!

Going forward in my healthcare experiment, here’s my list of when I NEED to go to a healthcare professional. This topic was spurred on by a comment on my posting on LinkedIn Health 2.0 discussion. It makes sense to me to have an EMERGENCY BUTTON going forward in this experiment. Thanks. Please keep the comments coming. I'm learning.

Tom’s EMERGENCY BUTTON - I will go, or let someone take me, to a healthcare professional if any of these conditions happen…

* If the result of any of my DIY medical tests shows “positive” and I get similar results after one or two repeats of the same test.

* Persistent pain, discomfort, aching, especially chest pain, etc.

* Persistent skin growths, discoloration, etc.

* Unusual and persistent diarrhea, vomiting, or other body discharges

* Persistent blood in stool, urine, saliva, or anywhere else in my body.

* Unusual difficulty in breathing.

* Unusual dizziness, inability to speak, passing out, convulsions, weakness, tingling, burning, numbness, stupor, drowsiness, disorientation, shock symptoms, blindness, etc.

* Serious accident or injury, especially with broken bones, severe bruising, symptoms of blood clot, etc.

* Unusual and persistent thoughts of hurting myself or others, etc.

* If I can’t fix myself and it really bothers me.

* Anything else that seems life threatening or I can’t explain away.


The above is from my second posting – RESOURCES – and from Internet searching.

I was surprised in my Internet searching there was not an easy-to-find list of symptoms that definitely require professional healthcare, if not immediate. If you know of such a list, please let us all know about it, by commenting.

FYI - I'm not doing this experiment outside of the professional medical community, but parallel to it. I am in generally good health now and plan to maintain/improve it, but in my case, I'd like to be more a part of my healthcare. I plan on still going to my doctor for annual physicals and as needed. However, on my next physical I plan on going in with the results of my own "physical examination" and my own DIY medical lab test results - and compare notes. Then we'll both agree on an action plan. Stay tuned for how this goes, later this year.

I'm a very lucky guy in having healthcare and insurance available. However, many people in the world do not have such a luxury. I've been posting on my other Blog http://tgideas.blogspot.com/ information helpful for organizations helping people in poverty countries, e.g. Engineers Without Borders, Design That Matters, etc. I'm also hoping my experiment can help where there is no doctor, for those who just can't afford a doctor, etc.

I'm sincerely grateful for professional doctors, nurses, etc., as much as I'm grateful for professional accountants, mechanics, carpenters, engineers, scientists, etc. Years ago, I had brain surgery, and I'm so grateful that fine surgeon was there when I needed him.

Working in parallel with professional healthcare, what do I have to lose? I'm retired and have time to work on this now. Maybe my experiment can help others. It certainly is helping me, since I'm learning about me and putting my scientific/engineering background to work. For me, it's like exploring a new frontier!

Thanks for reading this. Feel free to pass to others who might be interested. We're all in this healthcare thing together - me, you, and millions of others.

Legal Stuff - This writing, and any other communication, from TG Ideas LLC are strictly for informational purposes and is definitely not medical advice. See full disclaimer on TG Ideas LLC publications and website - http://www.athenet.net/~ideas/ The above is a collection of publicly available information that anyone could have found and pieced together.

Do It Yourself Doctoring Resources - Now and Future

Good Morning!

As I said in my first posting - In my research, I have found little in the way of Self-Diagnosis. The topic "Health 2.0" seems to come closest. Here's what I've found in books and other resources I’ve found, particularly on Self-Diagnosis. It seems like there are lots of how-to resources once you have the correct diagnosis, however.

Books, CD's, etc....

The Savvy Patient's Toolkit‎by Margo Corbett - 2008 - 250 pages

Complete guide to medical tests‎
by Henry Winter Griffith - 1988 - 932 pages
CD-ROM.

Complete Guide to Medical Tests‎
by Henry Winter Griffith - 1988 - 932 pages
Book

201 Medical Tests You Can Do at Home‎
by Shirley Motter Linde, Harold Laupman - 1983 - 199 pages

Simple Diagnostic Tests You Can Do at Home‎
by Martha M. Christy - 1995 - 108 pages

Where There Is No Doctor: A Village Health Care Handbook‎
by David Werner, Carol Thuman, Jane Maxwell - 1992
– latest issue at Hesperian.

Medical Tests You Can Do Yourself: More Than 250 Simple, At-home ...‎
by Herbert Haessler, Raymond Harris - 1997 - 218 pages

The Mother's Book of Home Medical Tests for Infants & Children‎
by Herbert Haessler, Raymond Herman Harris - 1998 - 176 pages

Medical Tests You Can Do Yourself‎
by Robert S. Katz - 1978 - 144 pages

Do-It-Yourself Medical Testing: 240 Tests You Can Perform at Home‎
by Cathey Pinckney, Edward R. Pinckney - 1989 - 396 pages

Symptom Checkers and other Online Health Information Sources -

e-Second Opinions: 100 Search Engines and Tools for Medical Self-Diagnosis – listing of symptom checkers and much more!

Patient Education –

Information on Lab Tests we can get without a prescription -

Lab Tests Online

ANY LAB TEST NOW®

Legal Stuff -

From what I see I can legally diagnose and treat myself, and tell others about it. On the other hand, I can't legally diagnose and treat others. Please don't ask me for medical advice.

Here's what I've found on the legal front...

Many countries have legal restrictions or regulations regarding diagnosing and treating others and the equipment used therein - Alternative Medicine - Regulation, and Medicine - Legal Restrictions, Biomedical Engineering - Regulatory Issues, Medical License, etc. On the other hand, there might be little or no legal restrictions to Self-Diagnosis/Treatment or Self-Experimentation. If in doubt, please check with a legal professional.

My Dream for the future....

• Generally, medical diagnostic and treatment more openly available. I'd like more Healthcare Professionals teach us how to "take care of ourselves", the people who wrote the books above.
• More public innovation in medical diagnostic and treatment (Open Innovation, Open Source, etc.)
• More open public Collaboration in medical diagnostic and treatment - we could learn from others for free.
• More capability for Telemedicine, so that we, the public, can exchange diagnostic and treatment information more easily.

Here's how this dream might look....

1. A free computer-based one-stop Medical Advisor that would check more than just symptoms. I’d like to see Symptom Checkers have the capability for the user to input Vital Signs, Diagnostic Test Results, and Health History. Based on these inputs, the computer would give the user most probable Diagnoses. The user then picks a diagnosis. The computer would then give a personalized printed “prescription” for Over-The-Counter Medicines, Exercise, Diet, Treatments, etc. that might help the user’s condition. Think of this as a “Super Symptom Checker”.

2. More DIY home health tests and tools available openly on pharmacy shelves. Examples – Home General Health Diagnostic Tests (e.g. Blood/Urine Panel Tests), Stethoscopes, etc. - plus how to use instructions. (FYI - I've written Walmart and Walgreens asking them about this - no answer yet)

3. Self-Service Health Kiosks in pharmacies, villages, malls, "health-mobiles" etc. that would include a computer-based Medical Advisor, basic medical testing capabilities, and where the user could provide health history on a removable memory card.

4. Health care professionals offer free training sessions on how to diagnose and treat ourselves for common sicknesses. (FYI- I've written local nursing schools and libraries asking them to put on public seminars - no answer yet)

Something similar to this dream concept might be your local DIY home-improvement or automotive-repair stores....

* These stores have many items on the shelf and even more available by online ordering.

* All the items have good how-to-use instructions.

* There are helpful knowledgeable employees onsite. Many of the employees are retired people who did that kind of work before they retired.

* There are frequent "How-To" seminars.

Next steps for me....put this information into practice on myself and let you know how it goes. Stay tuned for progress reports. Got any suggestions?

Thanks for reading this. Feel free to pass to others who might be interested. We're all in this healthcare thing together - me, you, and millions of others.

My own Legal Stuff - This writing, and any other communication, from TG Ideas LLC are strictly for informational purposes. See full disclaimer on TG Ideas LLC publications and website - http://www.athenet.net/~ideas/ The above is a collection of publicly available information that anyone could have found and pieced together.

First Day

Most, if not all, of us diagnose and treat ourselves, as evidenced by the huge Over-The-Counter Drug market. Yet, how efficient are we at this process? I know I’m not. If I had better tools and knowledge, I think I could diagnose and treat my own health conditions better. In this economy, can we afford to be inefficient in this process?

When I get sick, I probably do like most people and try to doctor myself, and then go to the doctor if it doesn’t get better.

My past do-it-yourself doctoring has consisted of…

* Drawing on my past experience or learnings, e.g. take aspirin when I have a headache.

* Looking in a book to try to match symptoms to determine what to do next to feel better, e.g. home healthcare books.

* Internet searching for key words of my health condition, e.g. online symptom checkers.

* Asking around to see if anyone has any suggestions, e.g. family, friends, nurse hotlines, etc.

* Wandering around pharmacies looking at the fine print labels and getting irritated by the pharmacist referring me to a doctor.

I don’t go to a doctor sooner because…

* I’d rather fix it myself - That’s my personality. Similarly, I try to fix my car, home repairs, computer, eyeglasses, etc. myself first – and go to a professional only if I can’t fix it myself.

* Cost – It bothers me that healthcare costs so much and I can’t do anything about it.

* Inconvenience – I’ll go to a doctor if I really am sick and it is the number one thing in my life. Otherwise, I have better things to do.

* It sure seems like it’s trial and error with doctors too. It seems like the doctors have to make a diagnosis based on what I tell them and a short examination. I think most doctors do the best they can, but they’re pushed by their employers, insurers, etc. They make the best diagnosis they can and give me medical advice (prescriptions, exercises, etc.). I don’t like it when doctors say “try this and make another appointment”.

* There is no warranty on the doctor’s work or advice. I have to pay for work or advice, whether it works or not. This is not entirely the doctor’s fault since sometimes I don’t “follow doctor’s orders”.

* Remembering that many maladies take care of themselves, with or without a doctor, e.g. common cold, minor cuts, etc.

* I’m learning that it’s my job to take care of me. The doctor just gives medical advice or does medical procedures. The decisions are up to me. Some people might want doctors to “tell them what to do and don’t ask questions” – I’m not like that. I like to make informed decisions.

Okay, that leads me back to – “If I had better tools and knowledge, I think I could diagnose and treat my own health conditions better.”

In my research, I have found little in the way of Self-Diagnosis. The topic "Health 2.0" seems to come closest. In future postings, I’ll let you know of the books and other resources I’ve found. There are lots of how-to resources once you have the correct diagnosis, however.

Going forward, I plan to find better tools and knowledge to diagnose and treat my own health conditions better – and post my experiences on this Blog. I’m doing this to help myself and hopefully help others by sharing my learnings. From what I see I can legally diagnose and treat myself, and tell others about it. On the other hand, I can't legally diagnose and treat others - so but please don't ask me for medical advice.


Feel free to comment. Thanks