Re:My deadly disease was just a 23andme bug
by ogreyonder on Monday November 25, 2013 @05:18PM
(#6797474)
Same thing here. Personal story short, I discovered--thanks to the internet--that having hypothyroidosis and taking L-Carnitine [1] can cause rhabdomyolysis and acute kidney damage.
3 doctors completely missed huge warning signs and prescribed strong antibiotics in spite of the fact that there was no evidence of infection.
It was only thanks to my being an informed healthcare consumer that I prevented a very bad weekend.
I think it's possible for non-physicians to make informed decisions. I would also say that many want to have someone to blame. In my case, though, blaming someone doesn't help much when your kidneys die.
I'd argue that a $100 DNA test is not a diagnosis tool. It's like a friend looking at your skin and saying 'hey, you should get that mole checked out'.
[1] In the form of Pantothen, the "Natural Acne Cure". Yeah.
3 doctors completely missed huge warning signs and prescribed strong antibiotics in spite of the fact that there was no evidence of infection.
It was only thanks to my being an informed healthcare consumer that I prevented a very bad weekend.
I think it's possible for non-physicians to make informed decisions. I would also say that many want to have someone to blame. In my case, though, blaming someone doesn't help much when your kidneys die.
I'd argue that a $100 DNA test is not a diagnosis tool. It's like a friend looking at your skin and saying 'hey, you should get that mole checked out'.
[1] In the form of Pantothen, the "Natural Acne Cure". Yeah.