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From: bzs@bu-cs.UUCP (Barry Shein)
Newsgroups: net.med,net.consumers
Subject: Re: Sugar: The real scoop.
Message-ID: <833@bu-cs.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 2-Jan-86 19:06:31 EST
Article-I.D.: bu-cs.833
Posted: Thu Jan  2 19:06:31 1986
Date-Received: Fri, 3-Jan-86 05:23:44 EST
References: <2106@aecom.UUCP> <1692@hammer.UUCP> <2124@aecom.UUCP> <1717@hammer.UUCP> <81@pyramid.UUCP> 8175@uclRe: Sugar: The real scoop.
Organization: Boston Univ Comp. Sci.
Lines: 62
Xref: linus net.med:2904 net.consumers:3286

>From: GMP@PSUVM.BITNET
>
>The problem with discussions like these is that they consist of the blind
>leading the partially sighted.  I have been ghostwriting for physicians for
>many years and have learned that laypeople, even computer geniuses really
>do not have the information they think they have. There is a great deal of
>hideously erroneous information exchanged on this network.  I think anyone
>who suspects diabetes or hypoglycemia should see a physician and have a proper
>diagnosis made.  The issue is not simple.  It involves both heart and kidneys
>and improper treatment could be disastrous.  It is easy to badmouth the
>medical profession because they cannot work miracles on demand.  On the other
>hand, I have been a writer long enough to know who really writes the self
>help books you see scattered all over the bookstores. They appear definitive
>and many are well written, but they are usually half-truths at best.  There
>is NO general health diagnosis you can make from a book.  You need individual
>diagnosis and if the diagnosis is serious you need a second and third
>opinion.  Especially about diabetes and hypoglycemia.  I am not a physician!

Note: this is *NOT* a flame

The problem with discussions like *these* is that there really are things
that people get from other people, other than talking to physicians. For
example, you note that "..anyone who suspects diabetes or hypoglycemia
should see a physician". Agreed. How do we "suspect"? Either we are born
with how to suspect hypoglycemia, we just feel lousy (whatever that means)
and take ourselves to a doctor and announce this or we hear from someone
(say the net) that if you feel like xyz after doing abc you might have
hypoglycemia (go see a doctor.) I think most people realize that seeing
a doctor is a proper thing to do for some ailments, not for others.
Hypoglycemia is probably a good example of what *should* be discussed
as I bet many people with it attribute the symptoms to other things,
like imagined emotional problems and are not seeing a doctor.

Also, where do you draw the line? Certainly I would agree that if I
thought I had diabetes, whoosh, off to the doctor. What about a
headache? No, we take an aspirin unless there is something unusual
about it, or do we take a tylenol (acetaminophen) or ibuprofen (another
over the counter remedy)...hmmm, we could ask a doctor, or do you just
say to someone 'hey, which of these should I take?' even if that person
is across a net. Answering the question should not be construed as
doling out medical advice (I take Excedrin which is a mixture of
aspirin and acetaminophen and some caffeine, works well for me.)

What about feeling dragged out after eating mega-sugar? Is that
indicative of serious disease or something a lot of people experience
which is best treated by avoiding foods which seem to bother you? Is the
reassurance from some other people that this is quite common bad medical
advice?

Should we not talk to anyone but doctors about our health at all?

Harm is surely done by *not* speaking to doctors, harm is surely done
by speaking to doctors (speak to a doctor, you won't get an argument,
just bring up the medical testing done to protect against malpractice,
going into the wrong doctor with a simple headache could be a disaster.)

There is no easy answer, but maybe if we keep talking to each other some
of us will learn something (even if just what is bad advice and how to
recognize it.) You have to assume people have some common sense, even
if some don't.

	-Barry Shein, Boston University