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Should I quit Googling health symptoms/diseases?

cinnabun814

cinnabun814

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Original poster
Apr 2, 2018
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I'm a severe hypochondriac and i've been to the ER 8 or 9 times since 2015. I smoked cigarettes for a year when I was 20, and here I am 5 years later paranoid about the damage that i've done. I smoked for a year back then because I was extremely depressed and didn't want to go on. I'm paranoid about lung diseases, kidney diseases, heart diseases, all types of cancer, diabetes, etc. I'm convinced my health is failing even though doctors say i'm healthy. On one visit they said I had a little protein in my urine which I googled and that's sign of kidney disease. I'm 25 now and see a psychologist and take medication but i'm absolutely obsessed and don't have a life because of it.
 
Seeking medical help puts you on the right track, my friend.

Quick question, are you seeing a psychiatrist too; or perhaps your psychologist is working with one with you?

Oh, and yeah I think trying to avoid googling health symptoms would be helpful for you. Your doctors might suggest alternative behaviors when you feel that urge.
 
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I do not recommend trying to diagnose your own illness online. I had a habit of doing that a while back, just for laughs. 9 times out of 10, I ended diagnosing myself with cancer.o_O Runny nose? Cancer. Coughing? Cancer. Back pain? Cancer.

Do yourself a favor and visit the doctor. Diagnosing illness should be left to the professionals.;)
 
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Yes. Without going into details I have survived some very serious health problems. Looking things up in Google would accomplish nothing except making me upset and/or worry about things that it turns out didn't apply to me or were a different scenario.
 
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My partner is an ER physician and she concurs with those who say "yes". You simply cannot diagnose yourself with the internet.

For one thing, you can only evaluate a list of symptoms but you can't necessarily recognize the symptoms due to limited exposure.
 
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cinnabun814 said:
I'm a severe hypochondriac and i've been to the ER 8 or 9 times since 2015. I smoked cigarettes for a year when I was 20, and here I am 5 years later paranoid about the damage that i've done. I smoked for a year back then because I was extremely depressed and didn't want to go on. I'm paranoid about lung diseases, kidney diseases, heart diseases, all types of cancer, diabetes, etc. I'm convinced my health is failing even though doctors say i'm healthy. On one visit they said I had a little protein in my urine which I googled and that's sign of kidney disease. I'm 25 now and see a psychologist and take medication but i'm absolutely obsessed and don't have a life because of it.
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If you smoked for a year I’m sure your lungs will be fine. They will have recovered.

But if you know your a hypochondriac then avoiding looking up illness and symptoms is probably advisable. Like not going to bars if you were an alcoholic.

Good luck with it.
 
Google for "Uprooting the leading causes of death by Dr. Greger on Youtube". Take it from there.
 
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cinnabun814 said:
I'm a severe hypochondriac and i've been to the ER 8 or 9 times since 2015. I smoked cigarettes for a year when I was 20, and here I am 5 years later paranoid about the damage that i've done. I smoked for a year back then because I was extremely depressed and didn't want to go on. I'm paranoid about lung diseases, kidney diseases, heart diseases, all types of cancer, diabetes, etc. I'm convinced my health is failing even though doctors say i'm healthy. On one visit they said I had a little protein in my urine which I googled and that's sign of kidney disease. I'm 25 now and see a psychologist and take medication but i'm absolutely obsessed and don't have a life because of it.
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In a word, yes, you should.
 
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You also need to find a doctor you can trust and feel comfortable with. If you go in for a visit, have tests done, and they find nothing, you need to be able to feel comfortable that the diagnosis is accurate. You need to be able to accept they are telling you the truth.

FWIW, every diagnosis I have sought online was debunked once I visited a doctor. I have never been close to finding an accurate diagnosis online to any of my alleged health problems. There are just too many variables. A random pain in your side could be many different things. A list of symptoms on WebMD is just a general list and cannot be trusted without a visit to your doctor and a diagnosis.

You need to ask yourself do you believe in a random internet search more than what your doctor tells you after an exam and tests?
 
cinnabun814 said:
I'm a severe hypochondriac and i've been to the ER 8 or 9 times since 2015. I smoked cigarettes for a year when I was 20, and here I am 5 years later paranoid about the damage that i've done. I smoked for a year back then because I was extremely depressed and didn't want to go on. I'm paranoid about lung diseases, kidney diseases, heart diseases, all types of cancer, diabetes, etc. I'm convinced my health is failing even though doctors say i'm healthy. On one visit they said I had a little protein in my urine which I googled and that's sign of kidney disease. I'm 25 now and see a psychologist and take medication but i'm absolutely obsessed and don't have a life because of it.
Click to expand...
Psychiatric help is my recommendation and seeing your doctor when you have symptoms of something, preferably not imagined. ;) The thing is for most mild bugs, I give it a week (2 for a typical cold) before heading to the doctor, and that is based mostly on how I feel.

There is nothing wrong with searching online for medical info, if you can keep your perspective. It’s like searching for leads, but that is all they are. For something minor, you maybe able to take some action based on it, like a home remedy, change of diet, physical activity, or over the counter meds. I like WebMD and Mayo Clinic.

However, if you are obsessive, this changes the situation quite a lot, and maybe you should not be searching online if it is going to just give you more ammo to obsess over. Talk to a therapist.
 
cinnabun814 said:
I'm a severe hypochondriac and i've been to the ER 8 or 9 times since 2015. I smoked cigarettes for a year when I was 20, and here I am 5 years later paranoid about the damage that i've done. I smoked for a year back then because I was extremely depressed and didn't want to go on. I'm paranoid about lung diseases, kidney diseases, heart diseases, all types of cancer, diabetes, etc. I'm convinced my health is failing even though doctors say i'm healthy. On one visit they said I had a little protein in my urine which I googled and that's sign of kidney disease. I'm 25 now and see a psychologist and take medication but i'm absolutely obsessed and don't have a life because of it.
Click to expand...
Pretty sure you answered your own question in your first sentence.
 
When I had cancer, I had to make my mother and daughter swear they would stop using Google. They were scaring themselves silly. What you find will always only be the worst case scenarios.

Stick with your therapist, and every morning when you wake up, look in the mirror and tell yourself how healthy you look.
 
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