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something i wish everyone knew: medicine is much more of an art than a science. especially diagnosis! #NEISVoid
some things can be diagnosed in a relatively straightforward way, such as a blood test.
but even then - how specific is this test? eg, does a positive result definitely identify one particular disease, or does a positive result mean it could be A, B, C, or occasionally D?
but even then - how specific is this test? eg, does a positive result definitely identify one particular disease, or does a positive result mean it could be A, B, C, or occasionally D?
you can sometimes get around that by confirming a diagnosis thru several different avenues, but that& #39;s not always possible.
then - are there false positives? false negatives? ie, how often do you get a positive result that& #39;s actually inaccurate? or a negative result that& #39;s wrong
[CN: medical racism]
then - what did the doctor even think to check for?
sometimes there& #39;s a standard procedure (& #39;X symptom? use Y test.& #39;)
but it& #39;s not always that straightforward, and even when it officially is, the medical system is racist. https://www.aamc.org/news-insights/how-we-fail-black-patients-pain">https://www.aamc.org/news-insi...
then - what did the doctor even think to check for?
sometimes there& #39;s a standard procedure (& #39;X symptom? use Y test.& #39;)
but it& #39;s not always that straightforward, and even when it officially is, the medical system is racist. https://www.aamc.org/news-insights/how-we-fail-black-patients-pain">https://www.aamc.org/news-insi...
[CN: medical racism, misogyny, transphobia, ableism]
the medical system has racism, misogyny, transphobia, and ableism built into its foundations. it is the norm, not the exception.
so i ask again - how do doctors decide what to check for?
the medical system has racism, misogyny, transphobia, and ableism built into its foundations. it is the norm, not the exception.
so i ask again - how do doctors decide what to check for?
[CN: medical racism, misogyny, transphobia, and ableism, stigma against addiction and pain medication]
and unfortunately, the truth is they often make these decisions in highly prejudiced ways.
eg, calling someone in pain a & #39;drug seeker& #39; instead of ordering appropriate tests
and unfortunately, the truth is they often make these decisions in highly prejudiced ways.
eg, calling someone in pain a & #39;drug seeker& #39; instead of ordering appropriate tests
but even when everything goes as well as it possibly can, it& #39;s STILL more art than science!
i was misdiagnosed with MS. for over a year i was told i almost certainly had it.
that& #39;s a hell of a thing to be told and then find out it& #39;s not true, right when you& #39;ve adjusted.
i was misdiagnosed with MS. for over a year i was told i almost certainly had it.
that& #39;s a hell of a thing to be told and then find out it& #39;s not true, right when you& #39;ve adjusted.
but i actually don& #39;t blame the doctors in this case at all. my MRI looks very compellingly like it might if i had MS.
it took a team of the world& #39;s top experts at one of the best specialist clinics (who blessedly take Medicaid) to finally decide it& #39;s PROBABLY not MS.
it took a team of the world& #39;s top experts at one of the best specialist clinics (who blessedly take Medicaid) to finally decide it& #39;s PROBABLY not MS.
MS is notoriously hard to diagnose with certainty, but it& #39;s actually really not unusual in that regard.
if you& #39;ve spent more than three minutes around chronically ill people, you know it& #39;s not at all uncommon for our diagnoses to change even when our illness doesn& #39;t.
if you& #39;ve spent more than three minutes around chronically ill people, you know it& #39;s not at all uncommon for our diagnoses to change even when our illness doesn& #39;t.
with complex chronic conditions, even communication can be a barrier, even with the rare doctors who are actually interested in trying to diagnose us.
eg: you& #39;ve been sick so long you& #39;re so used to your symptoms, you forget to mention some of them and get a different diagnosis.
eg: you& #39;ve been sick so long you& #39;re so used to your symptoms, you forget to mention some of them and get a different diagnosis.
or you& #39;re autistic and your interoception (sense of what& #39;s going on inside the body) is different from other people& #39;s, so you have trouble interpreting sensations or other people& #39;s descriptions don& #39;t ring true.
or the doctor phrases questions ambiguously so you give what you think is the accurate answer but they misinterpret your response.
and that& #39;s without even getting into DSM diagnoses, which have no known basis in any specific identifiable biological processes.
that& #39;s not to say they& #39;re never useful! but you can& #39;t get a blood test for bipolar. it& #39;s always subjective.
that& #39;s not to say they& #39;re never useful! but you can& #39;t get a blood test for bipolar. it& #39;s always subjective.
so yeah! diagnosis is complex and much more of an art than a science, even when you are lucky enough to have a skilled diagnostician who actually wants to help you.
