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When you hear hoofbeats behind you, don't expect to see a zebra. This aphorism is taught to doctors in training. It's like Occam's razor for the medical profes
by chasingsparks 16y ago
When you hear hoofbeats behind you, don't expect to see a zebra.
This aphorism is taught to doctors in training. It's like Occam's razor for the medical profession. It's not a bad heuristic, but it necessarily leads to a somewhat terrifying error rate when diagnosing people who actually do have the rare diseases.
I'm not saying you do have a rare disease, but if there is something wrong with you and you've been to many many doctors, it seems more likely than a common disease. I had a rare type of cancer and was misdiagnosed for a year prior to correct diagnosis.
My advice: browse through http://www.rarediseases.org/search/orglist.html http://www.rarediseases.org/search/orglist.html and see if anything stands out, then demand someone test you for it.
- savemylife 16y agoThanks, I didn't know about that list. (I feel slightly dangerous knowing it now). That's kind of the story of my life though- self diagnose (sleep apnea, lyme disease, etc), and then have to fight the doctors to get tested.
- Vivtek 16y agoOh hells yes. This describes our past decade. Keep in mind that you can, eventually, figure it out.
- andrew1 16y ago> When you hear hoofbeats behind you, don't expect to see a zebra. Unless you're in parts of Africa, in which case you might well see a zebra. Apparently in South Africa medical students are told that when you see a small bird on a branch, think sparrow rather than canary. Same principle, different animals!
- asmithmd1 16y agoMy father-in-law is an MD and he told me he was taught: "an un-common diagnosis is un-commonly correct"