Last night’s episode of ABC’s Medical Mysteries…..lingering questions

Okay, I admit it! I watch these types of shows. They keep the information short, in easy to digest pieces intermingled with the processor down time known as commercials. Since TDH and I refuse to make the leap into satellite television, and cable isn’t available in our neighborhood - yes people, there ARE still places in America without the benefit of cable TV and high speed internet, we are rather limited on our viewing choices. Basically, our “basic” TV is the three major networks, a new FOX off shoot, you know the one, where you only get certain Fox shows but not a lot of the good ones, then there is PBS and a religion channel. So, our choice of viewing being rather limited, I am inclined to watch what ever is most interesting. Btw, in my opinion, interesting does NOT include reality TV….. yuck. I’ve got enough drama in my own life, I don’t need theirs, feel the same about soap operas too.
So, last night we are watching ABC’s Medical Mysteries. The “can you figure it out” section was very obvious to me, because I’m familiar with Chiari. TDH thought it was a brain tumor… In the end, it turned out to be Chiari. What bothered me so much about the whole thing was the way they gave such limited information about what it is, who is likely to have it, etc. They gave a short list of symptoms and then the diagnosis. Chiari is a very serious condition! The “small piece of scull” they removed from his head did make him feel better, but they didn’t even mention the risks he now faces by not having that bone there.
I worry that the average person might see these shows and start self diagnosing based on the limited information they received while watching. The goal of the show, I’m guessing because they don’t actually say, is to raise awareness. Which is good, I agree. However, not everyone will run to the internet to research what they’ve seen and take it as useful information. Is it really responsible programming to do this? Would it be a better idea to spend the whole hour devoted to one disease or disorder? Or would that information be overwhelming to the average lay person? I wonder how many doctors hate these shows because people show up in their offices convinced they have what ever it was they saw? On the other hand, someone who has been searching for years trying to figure out what is wrong with them, might go –that’s it!
But is the information they give truly accurate? Things like Chiari have different symptoms for different people. Some go most of their lives with no indication that anything is wrong at all until one day the world goes awry for them. A person could have Chiari and not have any of the symptoms the man on this episode had. So does that person benefit?
And what about health care providers? So many of them have no training in the areas of these rare diseases and disorders, if one walked into their office they wouldn’t be able to diagnose it. Just as the man in the episode discovered, his “home town” doctors couldn’t find anything wrong with him. Yet obviously he did have a very real condition! It took going to the Mayo Clinic to figure it out. So why is the Mayo Clinic the last word on these types of things? Why is that it their physicians are so much more educated than the doctors practicing in our home towns? I understand that there is a load of information out there, and doctors can’t “lean it all”, but isn’t that why we have specialists? If you are designated a “specialists” in a field, shouldn’t you make it your business to know everything you can in that field?
Just my thoughts on the matter……