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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 9 of 9. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Phillipa on March 30, 2008, at 13:57:04
Site was down for a while so went to internet and did a search on lymes disease chronic and found that on the first two sites they both say that chronic lymes is the most misunderstood disease and infection control specialists and rheumatologists the worst with diagnosing and understanding it. And that it leads to thyroid diseses, chronic fatigue, and fibromyalgia. Any thoughts? Cold and miserable out. Phillipa
Posted by Merge on March 30, 2008, at 14:06:34
In reply to Is The Internet Not To Be Believed or Which Sites?, posted by Phillipa on March 30, 2008, at 13:57:04
Hi Phillipa,
I don't know about this particular issue, but, my first guideline for weeding out websites is this: if the website is trying to sell me something that will cure what ails me, I don't bother reading or believing it. I tend to put a little more faith in websites that are associated with medical associations or major universities....they tend to present factual findings rather than trying to sell their own cures. Hope this helps a little bit.
Love,
Merge
Posted by dbc on March 30, 2008, at 14:20:24
In reply to Re: Is The Internet Not To Be Believed or Which Sites?, posted by Merge on March 30, 2008, at 14:06:34
Not lymes specific but the internet is a freaking nightmare of hypochondria waiting to happen. If you look up information on any disease you will be convinced with in an hour that you need to go to an ER and are about to die. My old doctor called this interns disease.
I realize this isnt very helpful but the internet tends to project the worst possible scenario for every medical situation. Having a cold is probably really some peruvian flesh eating bacterial infection and within 24 hours you'll be dead and being autopsied by guys in hazmat suits. I think reading things about heart disease and various heart malfunctions on the net gave me a panic disorder
Posted by Phillipa on March 30, 2008, at 14:29:25
In reply to Re: Is The Internet Not To Be Believed or Which Si, posted by dbc on March 30, 2008, at 14:20:24
Oh do I relate to that. Now today about five new diseases. To other poster universities and not drug sites like deplin. Thanks Phillipa
Posted by Phillipa on March 30, 2008, at 14:33:23
In reply to Re: Is The Internet Not To Be Believed or Which Si, posted by dbc on March 30, 2008, at 14:20:24
Makes me wonder if we were better off without the internet seriously. So whats it good for? Phillipa
Posted by Molybdenum on March 30, 2008, at 16:55:15
In reply to Re: Is The Internet Not To Be Believed or Which Si, posted by Phillipa on March 30, 2008, at 14:33:23
I suppose the internet is the ultimate "average-outer" of opinions. Especially in the news groups you find an unpopular (& hence hopefully untrue) assertion getting flamed pretty quickly. Same if someone here said that all anti-depressants are placebos...!
I subscribe to Medscape for free. Lots of irrelevant stuff but now & then it has something interesting.
Good Luck :)
Posted by Jedi on March 31, 2008, at 2:23:05
In reply to Is The Internet Not To Be Believed or Which Sites?, posted by Phillipa on March 30, 2008, at 13:57:04
Hi Phillipa,
There is a tremendous amount of good information on the internet, but it is mixed in with such a large amount of total BS, you have to be really careful. My main research tool is PubMed. You can't always get to the full article without a subscription, but you can find good studies on almost all medications. Next, I look for well done studies and then go through the references for that study. Many of the references have direct links to other studies or abstracts. When searching with Google I will sometimes include the domain name .gov. This will weed out a lot of the trash. Lastly, I look for trusted names such as the Mayo Clinic.
Take care,
Jedi> Site was down for a while so went to internet and did a search on lymes disease chronic and found that on the first two sites they both say that chronic lymes is the most misunderstood disease and infection control specialists and rheumatologists the worst with diagnosing and understanding it. And that it leads to thyroid diseses, chronic fatigue, and fibromyalgia. Any thoughts? Cold and miserable out. Phillipa
Posted by Phillipa on March 31, 2008, at 19:14:22
In reply to Re: Is The Internet Not To Be Believed or Which Sites? » Phillipa, posted by Jedi on March 31, 2008, at 2:23:05
Thanks guys as I'm so gullible and believe so much. Was always told not street smart so to speak. Will try to search the better sites. I really do appreciate the information. Love Phillipa
Posted by yxibow on April 3, 2008, at 0:47:31
In reply to Re: Is The Internet Not To Be Believed or Which Sites?, posted by Phillipa on March 31, 2008, at 19:14:22
> Thanks guys as I'm so gullible and believe so much. Was always told not street smart so to speak. Will try to search the better sites. I really do appreciate the information. Love Phillipa
Oh I wouldn't be so hard on yourself, there are a lot of sites out there though as mentioned that are rather less than reliable.
Sites that adhere to HON (Health on the Net) are supposed to adhere to a certain set of health ethics.
Large scale medical sites that have advisory medical boards such as eMedicine/WebMD are usually trustful though they can have less than medically based "alternative" information deeply hidden in usually from one common feed (if you want to believe in them, you're more than welcome). But largely reliable.
And of course as said PubMed, and if you are in university or have access for other reasons, some of the normally unavailable articles can be available (however posting an entire article would not be "fair use").
Wikipedia, while a great collaboration of very detailed articles especially in the technology and chemical sectors has starting places for medication, and a good quick lookup, with guidelines like a regular scientific journal having sources, is probably that, a nice place to eternally browse if you're bored and not every article is going to be spot on. Of course this can be said about any encyclopedia.But I would agree, sites with flash banners and 5 for the price of 3, don't separate science (if there is any there) from selling.
This is the end of the thread.
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