Alternative Forum for Sharing Medical Experiences

GearMaven

Does anyone know of an alternative Irish board or forum where one can openly discuss medical/health experiences and ask for specific practitioner recommendations? Or is there a "yelp" Ireland? Seriously looking for a referral to another site. (Have lots in the States but not here, I guess.)

Also, not necessary for anyone to explain this board's policy. I've read the stickies--and the back and forth--about the rules. So just seeking an alternative site for those specific issues.

Thank you.

g'em

Depending on what kinds of medical issues you're talking about you may find other forums being recommended on the Long Term Illness forum?

Dr Galen

The problem you will have OP is deciding how to trust the information contained on any other sites tbh.

Most of them, especially the US ones, are nothing more than shill magnets, with people pretending to be something they are not, i.e. a person with a condition, when actually they are a doctor/clinic owner/drug rep etc. Same goes for recommendations, who do you believe would always be my question.

There aren't really any Irish specific sites that I know of, the closest we'd have is the ratemyhospital thing on the Irish Health website.

I'd agree with G'em that LTI might be a good place to start for specific medical conditions and support groups. That way you can get a trusted opinion on specific things.

GearMaven

Thanks, g'em, for the link. I'll check that out.

I've not found my trusted US sites to be anything but helpful, often with respondents/patients better versed than many doctors and nurses in particular conditions. My father is a respected physician-surgeon, my mother is a registered nurse, my sister is a top-flight cardiac registered nurse, my uncle and aunt are psychiatrists...so I'm not lacking in medical advice and expertise around me and to whom I can bounce off the various "opinions," specific case histories and experiences, etc. In so many cases, we've found personal experiences by patients to provide valuable insight into medical conditions.

My entire family has long ago given up the idea that, like priests, doctors in general should be placed on a pedestal where we assume they know everything. There is too much specialization in medical school, as well as influence by pharmaceutical companies, to make that the case any longer. And, in Ireland, the system really precludes that!

When my father spent 8 weeks in Univ Hospital Galway after suffering a fractured skull and traumatic brain injury from a heart-related collapse, my sister and I (living in the hospital room 24/7) were the ones who saved his life three times when 1) staff didn't recognize signs of a secondary bleed and the consultant refused to order another CT scan until we physically refused to move from his path as he made his rounds with his residents; 2) even after the CT scan, it was my father's friend a visiting Irish-Canadian neurological radiologist--not UHG doctors--who spotted the new bleed after being asked if he'd "like to take a look," and then treatment was ordered! 3) Catheters weren't changed in a timely manner, as they would have been in the States, and my father developed a severe urinary infection which we identified and had to demand lab tests for. We took over changing the catheter thereafter! 4) Labs were not ordered in a timely manner nor were heart medications reinstated after the initial trauma even though we daily pleaded with the consultants to have this addressed. My father went into a coma induced by low sodium levels, which the UHG nurses thought was him having a "good rest" or so they literally told us until my sister proved he was comatose and emergency treatment was ordered...of course when the nurse found the ward sister who found a resident who called a consultant and so on!

When my father was later moved to Merlin Park for further recovery, I eventually took oversight for his heart medication management since nursing staff didn't understand the necessity of adjusting medications according to blood pressure levels.

Throughout the 8 weeks, we observed many primarily elderly patients with symptoms of bronchitis or pneumonia not being tested for such until WE urged the visiting relatives to demand X-rays or the like. Ageism was shockingly rampant among the consultants!

So...please don't generalize about those who contribute to or view forums where medical experiences are shared by non-doctors! Sometimes it can be life-saving!