Comments on: Health information on the web http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2008/09/health-information-on-web.html medical blog Sun, 22 Nov 2009 14:15:05 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: liz4cps http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2008/09/health-information-on-web.html/comment-page-1#comment-87480 liz4cps Wed, 01 Oct 2008 05:44:00 +0000 http://clients.emmense.com/kevinmd/2008/09/health-information-on-the-web.html#comment-87480 As a patient, the most useful sites I've found are forums for patients with the same or similar diagnoses. For example, a forum on sleep disorders helped me identify a CPAP mask that would work in spite of my having long hair -- that saved my life. On such forums, if you read enough, you read enough on this kind of forum, you can sort out the nonsense from useful information. The practical solutions invaluable -- related to treatment and to family issues.<br/><br/>As an aside, long delays in treatment (either due to problems with insurance coverage or to difficulties in getting appointments) can give patients a lot of time to read, worry, and perhaps even try some kind of treatment on their own, out of desperation. In 1997. I waited eight months for my first CPAP and was very distressed about having apneas every night. A quicker answer and clear plan with a known expected outcome can help avoid the worst of these problems. As a patient, the most useful sites I’ve found are forums for patients with the same or similar diagnoses. For example, a forum on sleep disorders helped me identify a CPAP mask that would work in spite of my having long hair — that saved my life. On such forums, if you read enough, you read enough on this kind of forum, you can sort out the nonsense from useful information. The practical solutions invaluable — related to treatment and to family issues.

As an aside, long delays in treatment (either due to problems with insurance coverage or to difficulties in getting appointments) can give patients a lot of time to read, worry, and perhaps even try some kind of treatment on their own, out of desperation. In 1997. I waited eight months for my first CPAP and was very distressed about having apneas every night. A quicker answer and clear plan with a known expected outcome can help avoid the worst of these problems.

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