[SoftTalker]

More generally don't try to be your own doctor. Whether you're using LLMs or just searching the web for symptoms, it's way too easy for an untrained person to get way off track.

If you want to be a doctor, go to medical school. Otherwise talk to someone who did.

[FloorEgg]

I agree generally with what you're saying as a good rule, I would just add one exception.

If you've seen multiple doctors, specialists, etc over the span of years and they're all stumped or being dismissive of your symptoms, then the only way to get to the bottom of it may be to take matters into your own hands. Specifically this would look like:

- carefully experimenting with your living systems, lifestyle, habits, etc. best if there are at least occasional check-ins with a professional. This requires discipline and can be hard to do well, but also sometimes discovers the best solutions. (Lifestyle change solves problem instead of a lifetime of suffering or dependency on speculative pharmaceuticals)

- doing thoughtful, emotionally detached research (reading published papers slowly over a long time, e.g. weeks, months) also very hard, but sometimes you can discover things doctors didn't consider. The key is to be patient and stay curious to avoid an emotional rollercoaster and wasting doctor time. Not everyone is capable of this.

- going out of your way to gather data about your health (logging what you eat, what you do, stress levels, etc. test home for mold, check vitals, heart rate variability, etc.)

- presenting any data you gathered and research you discovered that you think may be relevant to a doctor for interpretation

Again, I want to emphasize that taking your health matters into your own hands like this only makes sense to do after multiple professionals were unhelpful AND if you're capable of doing so responsibly.

[burningChrome]

When the internet was completely booming and Google was taking over the search engine world, I asked my Doctor if he was afraid that people were going to start getting their medical advice from Google.

He basically said, "I'm not worried yet. But I would never recommend someone do that. If you have health insurance, that's what you pay for, not for Google to tell you you're just fine, you really don't have cancer."

Thinking about a search engine telling me I don't have cancer was enough to scare the bejesus out me that I swung in the completely opposite direction and for several years became a hypochondriac.

This was also fodder for a lot of stand up comedians. "Google told me I either have the flu, or Ebola, it could go either way, I don't know."

[herpdyderp]

I have health insurance. I don't feel like I get anything out of paying for it, I still get massive bills whenever I use it.

[morshu9001]

That whole thing is so scammy that I totally see why people would rather self-diagnose.

Except the author did it wrong. You don't just ignore a huge rash that every online resource will say is lyme disease. If you really want to trust an LLM, at least prompt it a few different ways.

[hn_throw2025]

I am eight months into Gastritis. I have seen several doctors at my local practice. They have examined me, sent me for blood tests, even an endoscopy. That’s all great, but the advice remains to just keep taking PPIs and wait it out. Nothing beyond the basics when it comes to dietary advice.

My flareups and their accompanying setbacks have been greatly reduced because I keep a megathread chat going with Gemini. I have pasted in a symptom diary, all my medications, and I check any alterations to my food or drink with it before they go anywhere near my mouth. I have thus avoided foods that are high FODMAP, slow digesting, or surprisingly high in fat or acidity.

This has really helped. I am trying to maintain my calories, so advice like “don’t risk X, increase Y instead” is immediate and actionable.

The presumption that asking a LLM is never a good choice assumes a health service where you can always get a doctor or dietician on the other end of the phone. In the UK, consultations with either for something non-urgent can take weeks, which is why people are usually pushed towards either asking a Pharmacist or going to the local Emergency department (which is often not so local these days).

So the _real_ choice is between the LLM and my best guess. And I haven’t ingested the open web, plus countless medical studies and journals.

[takinola]

The real decision is whether medical advice from an LLM is better than no medical advice at all.

I would always prefer a doctor’s advice over consulting an LLM. However, if I was stuck in Antarctica with no ability to consult a doctor, I would definitely use an LLM. The problem is there are people in society that are effectively isolated from medical care (cost, access, etc) so they might as well be in Antarctica, as far as medical care is concerned.

[red-iron-pine]

if you have connectivity and an advanced enough system to hit an LLM from antarctica, you can probably just call a doctor.

[cogman10]

Eh, depends a little. I think most of the population has experienced and can diagnose/treat the flu or a minor cut.

It's anything beyond that which I think needs medical attention.

[SoftTalker]

Yes, agree. Some stuff is obvious. I don't need Google to tell me what to do for the flu or a cut, and I've never searched for that.

If I had some weird symptoms that I didn't understand, or even well known warning signs for something, I'd go to a doctor. What is Google going to tell me that I can trust or even evaluate? I don't know anything about internal medicine, I'll ask someone who studied it for 8 years and works in the field professionally.

[bdangubic]

> I'll ask someone who studied it for 8 years and works in the field professionally.

if you can afford that, many can’t