Reply All: #42 Blind Spot

October 15, 2015 7:49 AM

Hope is a photographer. One day her body begins to betray her. It starts with her eyes.
posted by lunch (7 comments total)

A lot going on with this episode. I was utterly unsurprised that Hope's doctors weren't paying attention to her, as that is par for the course.

I have to say, I was a little put off by all the woo that came back from that online medical service. I mean, there is absolutely no reputable study that demonstrates that chiropractic treatment helps with anything beyond back pain (and even that is questionable), and yet somebody with a potentially fatal condition is being told to get their back cracked. Chair yoga?

I mean, I'm glad there is a site that will listen to women's medical concerns (for a premium), but if the results are valueless, then they're valueless.
posted by maxsparber at 10:14 AM on October 15, 2015 [3 favorites]

I also got a case of the discomforts from the list of suggestions, not to mention the cost of the service. Seems like a lot of money to throw at crowd-sourcing a diagnosis when you have no guarantee that any of the people helping you out are at all qualified. I think those aspects could have used a bit more attention, but I this was a pretty compelling show nonetheless.
posted by that's candlepin at 12:39 PM on October 15, 2015

I actually would have liked them to focus a little more on the fact that women's medical concerns are dismissed more often than men's. That's a serious problem. Although perhaps out of scope of the show.

I'm torn on how I feel about this service. On one hand, it's rather expensive, and there is not always "wisdom" in crowds. On the other hand, poor Hope was really at her wit's end because nobody else would listen to her and she was so debilitated from her problems. I can't say that I wouldn't have shelled out $500 if I was in her shoes.
posted by radioamy at 10:24 AM on October 16, 2015 [1 favorite]

The did successfully identify the problem as being in her neck, as well as suggesting the next test, but it was buried in so much woo.
posted by maxsparber at 10:27 AM on October 16, 2015 [1 favorite]

I was also skeptical about crowdsourcing something that requires professional advice, but at the same time the service did help her find a way to relieve her acute pain. I was listening while eating lunch so not entirely paying attention, but she starting out by going to a physical therapist (which is a good deal more reputable than chiropractic), right?
posted by psoas at 12:37 PM on October 19, 2015 [1 favorite]

Come to think of it, in the past 2 years I've shelled out close to $10k for "professional" medical treatment that hasn't helped much so...yeah...I really empathize with Hope.

Then again, I am related to someone with a "mysterious" illness (partially self-inflicted/self-exacerbated, and she's not a very compliant patient) who has already gone down enough Internet rabbit holes. She's thrown money away on essential oils, herbal pills, ionic rocks, sauna tents, and g*d knows what else. I hate to think what kind of nonsense she'd get from a site like this.
posted by radioamy at 5:26 PM on October 19, 2015 [2 favorites]

why put this story out before you know the results of the test though?
posted by garlic at 2:21 PM on October 26, 2015