Information Overload

I easily looked up an area code this morning to identify where a call came in from last night. I identified the state and time zone in a flash, which prevented me from accidentally waking somebody up at 6 am Pacific time. It is fantastic that I could do this so quickly and without much effort; and as I think about the information available at my fingertips daily, I'm in awe of the volume of information out there as well as the speed at which we can access it.

But there are times that I wonder, does there have to be so much info out on the net? Last night I read into the wee hours of the morning all about gallstones - causes, treatments, problems after treatment. And what I've read was disturbing, as well as confusing at times. It reminds me of Billy Joel's song, We Didn't Start the Fire. I was in college when BJ released this song. There are too many facts spewed out all at once and most of the events I cannot decipher. Did he say face monkey and bacon Reagan? Or was it space monkey and bakin' Reagan? Perhaps my mind does not move quickly enough or history just bores me. Either way, I was confused by this song. Still am.

Below is a sampling of what I've read on the net. I feel like I'm in BJ's song as I click - I'm clicking so fast and have too much information at my fingertips in such a short span of time. Each of these bullets came directly from various websites, without alteration from me. I know I'm supposed to cite the source, but I didn't think about that until after I copied them and moved on to another website. My comments are in green italics.

• In medical school, the "five F's" help doctors to remember the usual patient with gallbladder disease: "fair, fat, forty, fertile, and female." Sexist as it sounds, it describes the group most frequently affected by gallbladder disease: overweight middle-aged white women with a history of several pregnancies. Bah, hah! This one made me laugh until I cried: fair, fat, forty, fertile, and female. My husband thought I had lost it as I sat here reading off the five F's to him. He actually started getting pale and looked sick, which made me laugh even harder.
• On average, symptoms take about 8 years to develop. So this would explain why I've been nauseated for so long.
• Regular exercise decreases gallstone-causing excess cholesterol in body tissues and bile. And you don't need to run marathons — just two to three hours of regular exercise a week can lower gallstone risk by 30 percent. I guess I'm excluded from this statistic. Boot camp five days a week for four years (one hour each class) is pretty significant exercise. As soon as I'm feeling better, I plan on doing my exercise craze again.
• A diet high in fat can cause gallstones. OK
• A diet low in fat can cause gallstones. Confusing...high or low, which one is it?
• Bone marrow or solid organ transplant patients often develop gallstones. I am excluded from this statistic.
• People over the age of 60 are most susceptible to gallstones. I am excluded from this statistic, but doesn't this conflict with the "fertile" comment earlier?
• While many people can have gallstones and not know it, severe cases can lead to the eventual rupturing of the gallbladder and possibly even death. I would really like to think that I'll be excluded from this statistic.

So this is where I STOPPED reading. "Possibly even death." Are you kidding me? So glad I don't have anything really serious, because the Internet doctors would surely never let me sleep.

Instead of panicking or wallowing in too much self-pity, I decided to take some much-needed proactive steps today.

1. I registered with a new primary care physician, but cannot get in to see him for 10 WEEKS! Apparently, he spends a lot of time with new patients, so he only books one new patient per day, and he's booked with new patients that far out. I guess this could be a good sign - people like him. But he might just be too busy for a patient who really needs him. Either way, he won't be helping me with my current medical condition.
2. I did call three GI doctors, who all said they cannot help with gallstones. One for my bad doctor lady.
3. I found and scheduled an appointment with a general surgeon. I just hope he's not related to my bad lady doctor.

In the meantime, I will continue my lite menus by avoiding fatty foods in dairy and gluten, and begin searching for a nutritionist. I'll also avoid reading anything on the internet about gallstones, or any other medical condition that I or anyone in my family or circle of friends may have I just may never sleep again.