To think the gps at my surgery shouldnt advise patients on things they know nothing about?

[Koothrapanties]

Dd has bad reflux and cows milk protein allergy.

It took months to get her a diagnosis and this was only once she was so ill she was admitted to hospital with blood in her poo and every other symptom on the list. She was in a very bad way. I had gone to the gp again and again, but had been dismissed as a hysterical first time mother.

She was put on domperidone, gaviscon and nutramigen (special milk) by her paediatrician and has been thriving ever since, still very sicky, but much better.

We had to go to the gp to get her medications on repeat prescription and were told by the gp to get her off of domperidone because it was an antipsychotic and very dangerous for her. We tried to wean her down on it but she started projectile vomiting again and was losing most of her feeds. Spoke to the paediatrician who was very cross that the gp had meddled and explained that what she had said was rubbish, and explained any side effects domperidone can cause.

I saw another gp for myself today and quickly asked him how to arrange dd's change to the next stage of nutramigen at 6 months. He told me to give her cows milk because nutramigen is not nutritious enough apparently?! I told him that the paediatrician had said not to even try to introduce it until after 12 months as she had such a bad reaction, and The gp didn't seem best pleased.

The last gp I saw for my pelvis problem also told me I have a problem with my ICG joint, which my physio has told me doesn't even exist! They were all laughing at the letter she had sent to them which made no sense apparently.

This isn't good enough surely? I understand GPs aren't experts in every area, but they shouldn't be giving out dangerous advice like they have for my dd! If they don't know, then surely they should leave it to the specialist dealing with the problem? Aibu?

candy - That is what I said, too. Go to GP when you don't know where your problem is.

I have a bad knee since skiing two weeks ago. I called up orthopedist's office at our local hospital. She prepared the x-ray prescription. I'll get it in about an hour before getting my knee x-rayed in the same hospital. Then I have a consultation with the orthopedist.

Why would I need a GP for any of this?

I have this conversation often with English friends who live in France. They are in the habit of seeing the GP for everything, and then getting referred to specialists. They don't seem to understand that they are not obliged to see their GP.

"All the medical knowledge in the world is available to anyone who can use a mouse."

From Dr Google, you mean?

That is (1) not always reliable, and (2) not a substitute for years of medical training imho.

Yes, the internet. It's not always reliable, no, but then IMO and experience neither are the opinions of GPs, regardless of years of medical training.

But you have to be able to determine the correct information on the internet. You can read as much wiki as you like, but take it with a pInch of salt too.

Patients are always being told not to google, for good reason. Although I can see why they do it, we all do it.

I guess one uses one's own analytical mind when looking at stuff on the net. Powers of analytics are not confined to the medical profession. Of course GPs know stuff and have the benefit of experience over time, but that doesn't mean that a patient can't do some extensive research.

The problem with Googling on an insufficient knowledge base is that one can't tell correct information from complete rubbish.

...clearly one should look at the validity of the source material.

You can look all you like but if you lack the minimum knowledge required to judge whether something is plausible, that won't get you anywhere. Or rather, it will lead you to false beliefs.

Google detoxing for example, and see what sort of "information" you find.

As a result of this search, do you realize that it's all a con and that there is no such thing as cleaning your body of "toxins" by just drinking fruit juice for a few days?

I will re-iterate that one needs to look at the validity of the source material. One doesn't just go trawling forums for opinions. Look, I could spend ten minutes regaling you of the experiences of wrong diagnoses that I and others close to me have experienced at the hands of GPs but I'm not going to.

(1) That is not an answer to my post.

(2) Couple of misdiagnoses you had are not relevant to our discussion of whether a layman can reliably diagnose & treat himself with what he reads on the internet

It happens on here quite a lot.

Poster comes along and says 'I've read so and so in some magazine/website and therefore I'm not going to do x, y and z, or I want a particular treatment'.

Another poster comes along and says 'I think what you've read is incorrect and here's why'. Produces a load of statistics and reasoning.

OP says, 'I don't care, I don't believe you, I prefer to come to my own conclusions based on what I've read on some slightly dodgy web site, based on no facts whatsoever'.

And take that to the GP scenario...

And anyway the point I'm making is that you can't determine the validity of what you are reading if you don't have a minimum knowledge base.

Websites that look respectable, quoting people called "Dr"s talk about the wonders of homeopathy & detoxing. How do you propose we judge their "validity"?

We have excellent GPs and I'm really grateful one of them followed by views on a matter relating to DS1. When he was about 16 I noticed he had lost a lot of leg hair and I had this odd feeling he didn't look as old as some of his friends, there was a softness about his features that didn't seem quite right. DS1 felt OK. DH was sceptical but agreed to take him to see GP ( he wouldn't go with me, thought he could get out if it if he insisted on his father going) The GP checked him over and pronounced him perfectly normal but said that as I had this feeling he wold order some blood tests. Turned out he had a Prolactinoma which was pressing on his optic nerve. It was reduced with drug therapy but if no one had done anything his sight would have been at risk. I think the key for a good GP is to listen and to take concerns seriously.

I never said it was couple of misdiagnoses.

Doctors and laypeople get it wrong all the time. That is irrefutable.

What is "all the time"? 100%? Surely not.

You seem to be saying there is no need for a medical education and that laymen are as likely to hit upon a correct diagnosis as doctors

You are proposing a straw man argument. That's not what I have said at all. And I think you know what I meant by ' all the time'. Someone, somewhere is making a wrong diagnosis.

Cote Ah ok, I see you said this. Trust me to read on my phone.

I took Ds2 to see a paediatric consultant the other week for his breathing issues, and we discussed the problem and what might be causing it - I mentioned I'd Googled and said "yes I know, we're not supposed to do that" but hesaid "no I'm always pleased when parents have done some background research for themselves". Of course, he's probably a complete anomaly!

Alark - I appreciate you have a tough job, but so do many many people. It doesn't excuse the doctors who aren't good at their job and make dangerous mistakes. Also if you do not thrive under that pressure then it isn't the right job for you. No one is forced to be a gp, they choose it as their occupation.

Hackmum - believe it or not, dd projectile vomited all over one of the drs we saw. She managed to cover his shirt from over three feet away. He said that she was just getting used to formula after bfing didn't work out for us.