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When I visit a doctor, the doctor appears primarily concerned with making a diagnoses and issuing treatment, particularly as there is a shortage of doctors in my city and there are always several people outside waiting for their treatment.

As a curious person, I often have hundreds of questions about my medical results and how the doctor knows that I have what I have given my test results/physical examination/history etc.

When I ask my doctors these questions they usually give very short and simplistic answers as they constantly in a rush to get on to the next patient. I don't doubt that they are right, I just like to know more of their thought processes they they normally don't have time to explain.

Does anyone know where I can ask personal medical questions on-line to get more scientific detail on my medical condition, diagnosis and treatment than what a doctor has time to provide in a 15-30 minute consult (e.g. how does this ECG show that I have this disease given I have these symptoms etc., and how did the doctor know it wasn't disease x instead etc.)?

Are these questions on-topic here or are there any other services available that can provide a person with this additional information?

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    I don't know the answer to your first question (where you can ask for personal medical advice on-line) and as for here I would say that it depends on the question and sometimes phrasing. But great job on trying to be an informed patient.
    – Lucky
    Commented Mar 31, 2016 at 20:55

2 Answers 2

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You can try asking on Quora, but just like here, many questions remain unanswered.

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    True, as this site is waste of everybody's time. However I don't like Quora, since 1. they're required people to login (I'm aware of workaround), 2. no backup/dump available for public, 3. they've blocked my account for not giving my full name (rubbish).
    – kenorb
    Commented Apr 4, 2016 at 18:57
  • 4. they limit the question size 5. They don't use markdown etc. It's hard to find a decent place :/
    – Franck Dernoncourt
    Commented Apr 4, 2016 at 19:13
  • How about Reddit?
    – Ooker
    Commented May 16, 2016 at 4:14
  • @Ooker Good point, I don't have much experience with it.
    – Franck Dernoncourt
    Commented May 16, 2016 at 4:47
  • Why can't this place be that "decent place" ? Shouldn't this website encourage such discussions to learn from other people what we can't easily find online?
    – Mango Princess
    Commented Sep 12, 2016 at 17:15
  • @MangoPrincess see Is Health.SE sick?
    – Franck Dernoncourt
    Commented Sep 12, 2016 at 17:20
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I don't think they have a Q&A section, but the Mayo clinic is arguably the best source for easy to understand medical information. It's run by doctors and medical experts and is also independent and non-profit and has a clear dividing line between advertising and editorial.

Here's the section on ECG results:

http://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/electrocardiogram/basics/results/prc-20014152

And all the conditions it tests for:

http://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/electrocardiogram/in-depth/PRC-20014152

Note that often more than one test is required to diagnose many conditions, as multiple conditions can share similar symptoms.

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