I found this dude to be so annoying. Well, annoying might be an understatement. Perhaps I should say, reprehensible. The quote and link below is about people turning to the internet and online support groups for help, assistance and information regarding their health issues.

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"Irdell Iglehart, a Baltimore rheumatologist and assistant professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University, says some e-patients may arise out of frustration: With doctors in short supply, they sometimes take too long to return patients' calls.

"They'll look up symptoms and put in symptoms and see what they might have," Iglehart said of surfers.

Unfortunately, he said, they "usually they get the wrong answer. They look up skin fungus and think they have Lyme disease. The Internet will often over-diagnose."

Iglehart said most of his patients have used the Internet to get medical information and he does not have a problem with it "as long as they take it with a grain of salt and consult me.

"I guess maybe I'm patting myself on the back, but I'm the Internet. I'm Google," he said of his medical expertise."

http://www.dailytimesonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071210/NEWS01/71210016/1002/NEWS01

It is a valid point, the internet can make hypochondriacs out of anyone

But it also helps the people that got crappy medical treatment

Goes both ways

with out the internet I would not have ever figured out the link between my illness and my amalgams fillings , I had seen 6 doctors in the past and not one of them made the connection , the information that I found on the internet about amalgams is what is giving me my life back

kriminal after being mercury poisoned yourself , you should be questioning the very validity of the word 'hypochondrac'.

Ditto Mikey. I agree with every word.

I don't agree, I do not think the internet makes hypocondriacs out of anybody! Unless you're one in the first place.

The only reason people are on forums like this is because we're hunting down the reasons why we feel like sh*t all the time. Far from hypocondriacs, it's a responsible thing to do instead of sitting around doing nothing and complaining, but never actually doing a thing to find out why....

We wouldn't be on here in the first place anyway. Anytime I feel remotely improved, I leave the house and go and do stuff. Unfortunately it's rare!

My personal experience doesn't have to do with it, we are the exception and a minority, many doctors have to face many patients that think they are doctors thanks to Google, and it can make hypochondriacs out of anyone.
Both sides have valid viewpoints.

No matter what you think, this forum is very small, and I really haven't seen another great place for mercury poisoning. Finding this forum was hard enough, I was browsing a social anxiety forum and after like 3 years someone pointed this site.

I don't mean hypochondriacs in the strictest sense, but there is massive advertisement to make people believe they are sick, and if you see the massive list of supplements everyone has tried here you can see it is a very good business.

I was in no way implying that the people here aren't sick, but with the internet explosion and advertising spam doctors have to deal with many patients with phantom illnesses.

This forum might be pretty small, but there's a lot of other ones out there on the same topic, so it's probably more widespread than we think.....I just don't know anybody off the net who is going through this in my own life, so I find it a comfort to get on here and not feel so isolated.

I agree, I think there is the market to exploit this too, and unfortunately alot of money is to be made from the sick- but most people I know who have pretty average health just don't show interest in sickness .....until they get sick....I think you get the odd person who might have a tendency to become obsessed, but usually I find people just want to get well and get on with life.

I actually know somebody that suffers hypocondria, it's a very real and serious problem. Anything at all and they think they're going to die <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shiftyeyes.gif" alt="" /> I mean to the point that it takes over their whole life.