medical advice ???

Edinburghlass_2

LittleTinker wrote: »

And really....what is the difference between popping on here to ask friends a few questions and asking the same questions down the pub?

I think you'll find that Martin isn't responsible for any questions you ask in your local pub, or more importantly what wrong advice you may be given.

Savvy_Sue

pamaris wrote: »

I view medical conversations on the internet the exact same way I view medical conversations in person. They shouldn't be banned, and all views should be expressed.

And they can, just not on this site. I know MSE is often the first place people reading this think of to ask any question, but that doesn't necessarily make it the BEST place.

When I had a brain tumour, I posted on the Health board to ask about what might be useful in my hospital bag and the best places to buy it, but I used a website specific to my kind of brain tumour to get advice about treatment, recovery and aftercare.

There are very few illnesses and conditions for which you cannot find an appropriate website (and I know, because I've usually checked there is one when someone's asked!)

PolishBigSpender

LittleTinker wrote: »

If, however, the poster had said "I have been diagnosed as depressed and am taking Prozac....has anyone got experience of this?" they are not asking for medical advise. They are asking for opinions of usage.

Which quite clearly constitutes medical advice. Even a post saying 'I took Prozac and my hair fell out' is medical advice - as it may encourage the original poster not to take the drug for fear of hair loss.

A great deal of people who are given a new drug by their doctor will want to follow up by finding out what 'real life' users of that drug think. Their doctor cant tell them that....and hes the qualified one.....because he may never have taken the drug himself.

But there are other forums available to discuss just that. Why does it need to be discussed here? It's not allowed - so go elsewhere. It really is rather simple.

And the problem lies in that people do NOT know the difference between what constitutes medical advice and what is patient experience.

"Where is the cheapest place to buy Paracetamol?" is NOT the same as "Should I take paracetamol for my kidney infection?".

Granted, asking the cheapest place to buy an over the counter medicine isn't medical advice. But then, the board guides would have to keep a close eye on the thread and delete any medical advice posts - in the meantime, some idiot might have posted "Don't take paracetamol, it's no good, take tramadol instead". It's simply easier and more effective to prohibit all medical discussions.

Also, drugs are not the only thing that we take/eat/drink. Look at all the threads on the Old Style board that advise people that its OK to eat meat etc after its sell by date. Isnt that also life threatening??

This is an interesting point. Perhaps it should be discussed seperately - although I understand 'sell by' to be different to 'best before'?

Glad made the comment about the questions not being relevent on a Money Saving Site......I should think that MANY of the posts on here arent relevent either......what is money saving about the Alcohol Abuse thread or the Depression Support thread? What is money saving about all the threads you see about Blue Badge Parking?

The problem is that many people see websites like this as a place where they feel 'safe' - and thus want to discuss everything from their dog to the fact that they're depressed as their husband beats them if they don't have enough meat on their plate.

I think it's dangerous to have any sort of medical discussions on here - and that includes alcohol abuse/depression/etc.

And really....what is the difference between popping on here to ask friends a few questions and asking the same questions down the pub?

It's been answered, but the whole point is that Martin Lewis (or the company that runs this site, at least!) is responsible for the content. It would only take one moron to overdose on Tramadol for his reputation to be in tatters.

pamaris

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

And they can, just not on this site. I know MSE is often the first place people reading this think of to ask any question, but that doesn't necessarily make it the BEST place.

When I had a brain tumour, I posted on the Health board to ask about what might be useful in my hospital bag and the best places to buy it, but I used a website specific to my kind of brain tumour to get advice about treatment, recovery and aftercare.

There are very few illnesses and conditions for which you cannot find an appropriate website (and I know, because I've usually checked there is one when someone's asked!)

I do completely understand what you are saying. However, the reason I stay away from the websites specific to my condition is that while they do have the appropriate information, and can be very helpful, it can also be very depressing to stick around one of those sites long enough to get to know people. Day in, day out you read the same bad news. You read of people 10 times worse off then you, and you just hope your condition doesn't deteriorate as well. Whereas here it seems more like a getting on with your life site. You don't have to constantly focus on your health condition just to get to know people.

Just giving the other side of the coin. Since this is Martin's privately funded site, he may make whatever rules he wants.

marleyboy

pamaris wrote: »

If patients can't discuss personal experiences of a medical nature because it is deemed "medical advice", then it does a disservice to these patients. Many of you say that the doctor's office is the appropriate place to discuss such things. Well of course patients discuss these things with their doctors. The trouble is that the "advice" many of us receive from our doctors is either not helpful, nonexistent, ill-informed or outdated. (When we ask our questions, they are brushed aside). This is a big problem in the NHS (from my experience)- some people get excellent care, some don't.

If a patient wants to discuss experiences of a medical nature, it in effect becomes "medical advice". Personally I would much rather get "medical" advice from a qualified doctor, than from Joe Bloggs in a forum, whoever he or she claims to be.

If your doctors advice is lets say "unprofessional", do you not ask him or her for a second opinion or ultimately register with another doctor whom you can trust, or do you go into a public forum and say to Joe Bloggs, "My doctor advises I have 20mg of hydrochlorothiazide a day, but I dont trust him....how much do you think I should take?"??

~Chameleon~

pamaris wrote: »

I do completely understand what you are saying. However, the reason I stay away from the websites specific to my condition is that while they do have the appropriate information, and can be very helpful, it can also be very depressing to stick around one of those sites long enough to get to know people. Day in, day out you read the same bad news. You read of people 10 times worse off then you, and you just hope your condition doesn't deteriorate as well. Whereas here it seems more like a getting on with your life site. You don't have to constantly focus on your health condition just to get to know people.

Just giving the other side of the coin. Since this is Martin's privately funded site, he may make whatever rules he wants.

If you already know other people on this site who have the same health condition as yourself why not discuss it and ask any questions via PM rather than on the open forum, then no one is breaking any rules

pamaris

marleyboy wrote: »

If a patient wants to discuss experiences of a medical nature, it in effect becomes "medical advice". Personally I would much rather get "medical" advice from a qualified doctor, than from Joe Bloggs in a forum, whoever he or she claims to be.

If your doctors advice is lets say "unprofessional", do you not ask him or her for a second opinion or ultimately register with another doctor whom you can trust, or do you go into a public forum and say to Joe Bloggs, "My doctor advises I have 20mg of hydrochlorothiazide a day, but I dont trust him....how much do you think I should take?"??

That is ridiculous; I would never ask "how much should I take" of a prescription to a random stranger. You get medical advice from a doctor, and personal experiences and opinions from members of the public. It is already nearly a full time job for me to go to doctors who don't help me at all. I'm just saying that finding out others' experiences is helpful. I'm not even complaining that I can't do it here, just communicating my opinions to the powers that be.

As for registering with a doctor I can trust- well I'm working on it- I do trust my GP- but she just isn't particularly helpful for my condition. There are still some conditions that doctors don't know how to treat, or in which there are new developments the doctors don't know about.

The point of all this is that you CANNOT get personal experiences from a doctor; but you can get advice. You can't get advice from a member of the public, but you can get experiences. I'll respect the rules; I just wanted to give the point of view of someone who deals with this daily. No hostility here.

marleyboy

pamaris wrote: »

That is ridiculous; I would never ask "how much should I take" of a prescription to a random stranger. You get medical advice from a doctor, and personal experiences and opinions from members of the public. It is already nearly a full time job for me to go to doctors who don't help me at all. I'm just saying that finding out others' experiences is helpful. I'm not even complaining that I can't do it here, just communicating my opinions to the powers that be.

Your misunderstanding me, I don't mean you personally, and that's the whole point, maybe you wouldn't, but that's not to stop someone else doing so.

Its for those reasons we have to have rules, and you know only to well, how many threads can stray of track and start bordering what is legally acceptable,

Monitoring so many threads, particularly potential "borderline" wrangles, would be near impossible to control, just one slip up, could see MSE in court.

Its a case of covering both MSE themselves, and us the general public's backs.........just in case

kayaitch

pamaris wrote: »

I view medical conversations on the internet the exact same way I view medical conversations in person. They shouldn't be banned, and all views should be expressed.

Yes I agree but as someone has already pointed out, there are much more suitable sites to discuss a particular drug. Just google it and umpteen pertinent forums will come up - this is a money saving site and whilst that can and does cover a huge number of subjects I think that would be going off tangent somewhat.

Bayblue

Yes I agree but as someone has already pointed out, there are much more suitable sites to discuss a particular drug. Just google it and umpteen pertinent forums will come up - this is a money saving site and whilst that can and does cover a huge number of subjects I think that would be going off tangent somewhat.[/quote]

In some ways, I think that this problem (the confusion over medical discussions) has arisen because this forum is so successful. Because people feel comfortable talking about money here some have moved on from money saving and now want to discuss every other part of their lives and in all honesty this place is not the best site to do that. The site is a victim of it's own success.

I don't think that it helps to have self help threads for illnesses and disabilities, that adds to the confusion IMO. I can however understand that, maybe for sensitive reasons, they are left as they are.