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Anne's picture

Internet > Doctors

There's a lot of crap on the internet. Lots of anecdotes from unscientific people who assume their problems are caused by X, without evidence, and then conclude that X will therefore cause the same problems in everyone else.

But you know what? There are a lot of crappy doctors, too.

The majority of times I've been to the doctor in the past 10 years were a complete waste of time. I got more useful information from the internet than I did from the doctor. They just want to guess at your problem, prescribe some pills, and push you out the door.

One "good" experience was with a GI doc who diagnosed me with "probably IBS" and recommended I "eat more fiber". Armed with the Google keyword "IBS", I found that IBS is actually *aggravated* by insoluble fiber, and I had been causing my own misery by trying to eat more of it. Reducing insoluble fiber and increasing soluble fiber fixed me right up. So the doctor's visit was helpful... in the sense that he got me to look up good information on the net that contradicted his bad information.

A study found that "31% of doctors believe that the Internet complicates their relationship with patients and undermines their credibility." I say "good". Keep them on their toes.

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