Newbie Post 5

Newbie 5: NEVER, EVER self diagnose
PANCREATITIS MESSAGE BOARD
Posted by Chuck on September 28, 2004 at 11:34:32:

Last of all for the usual disclaimer.

As the boards resident amateur biologist I do have to warn you about self diagnosis. For every symptom we can come up with there are literally hundreds of possible causes. We tend to hone in on a single symptom until we find one that fits. A doctor can't get away with that. Our research can however help push the docs into action. It can help get them to test you for certain diseases/syndromes. We have to be careful and believe them with healthy skepticism when they tell us no. We must accept a no answer but it must be just a step in finding a true diagnosis. There has to be more to it than just no. Accept it but push for a diagnosis.
The doctors have an old worn out saying "If you hear hoof beats think horses not zebras". It basically means to look for the most common of causes of the symptoms before seeking out the rarer ones. Chronic Pancreatitis is extremely rare. The last reports we have seen put the incidence in the United States at about 8.5 patients per 100,000 population. That is why most doctors see few if any cases of Chronic Pancreatitis in their careers.
IMHO you have to let the process work out to it's final end. You just need to make sure the docs don't stop the process short. Don't accept a default diagnosis. Make sure you get a definitive one.
This even extends to new symptoms as they arise. CP patients have leaned to live with pain that would have others writhing on the floor. As such we tend to downplay new symptoms as they show up. We rationalize that it is a normal part of the disease and just live with it. This is a passive form of self diagnosis.
Make sure when you get new issues that you let your doctor/Doctor know about it. That one symptom may be the key to discovering why you continue to have flare ups or attacks.

Chuck