WebMD Needs to be Banned from my Reality!

I am a chronic googler, I freely admit this, in fact I'm proud of my quest for knowledge and thrilled that I can gain it with a few keystrokes.  There are times though that too much information is NOT a good thing, at least when it comes to me and googling a medical condition.  It starts off all innocent, "oh, I'm just curious on what exactly is the reason behind eye twitching", and ends up with me on WebMD convinced that my eye is going to fall out any second or that the constant twitching is going to short out my neural synapses leaving me drooling over a bowl of Captain Crunch, or something equally ridiculous and far removed from my actual issue.  Luckily this overblown panic is reserved to my own mind and voiced to a few good friends with excellent rational minds.  Today though...you almost got me WebMD...almost!  In fact...you almost gave me a heart attack by making me think I was having a heart attack!  


Today after lunch I had numbness and tingling in my left arm along with some other symptoms so I went googling to find some information on why and what I could do to alleviate the issue.  Well of course I ended up on that infernal, son of the devil WebMD and this is what they returned to me (my responses are in purple)...

Symptoms of a Heart Attack (Myocardial Infarction or MI)

Symptoms of a heart attack can include:

• Discomfort, pressure, heaviness, or pain in the chest, arm, or below the breastbone
• Yes...yes I did have a slight pressure on my chest and I am finding my response to this discomforting
• Discomfort radiating to the back, jaw, throat, or arm
• Ummm...see above...why are you telling me again.  Why do you keep using discomfort, call it what it is PAIN!!!
• Fullness, indigestion, or choking feeling (may feel like heartburn)
• Yes...I am feeling too full (my logical side later realized that I just finished lunch)
• Sweating, nausea, vomiting, or dizziness
• "Gulp, Erp"...yes, I'm going to vomit right now!  (logical self:  you ate something last night that your stomach doesn't like...you expected to feel slightly off today)
• Extreme weakness, anxiety, or shortness of breath
• Well..yes, I have anxiety now since so many boxes have been ticked!
• Rapid or irregular heartbeats
• Yes WebMD you have now elevated my heartbeats from calm to rapid with your checklist of doom!

After about 20 minutes of panic I did realize that I wasn't having a heart attack, but rather I most likely slept on my arm wrong the night before, my IBS is kicking up again, and I'm tired from staying up late the night before.  It really had me convinced for a while that I was facing imminent death...it almost gave me a heart attack.  Now I do believe sites like this have a purpose and have helped people prepare for Doctor's appointments, and educated them on their diagnosed disease, but for those out there like me...it's a booby trap.  So...as of today I am imposing on myself a lifetime ban from WebMD and sites of that nature.  If I absolutely must know why my bellybutton feels like it's being stabbed with an icepick I will allow one of my sane friends to do the googling for me.  Friends...you have been warned!  :)

Tell me your WebMD horror story?  Leave your thoughts and feedback in the comments section below.  

You can also find me at  Veggie Girl Eats Out:  http://veggiegirleatsout.blogspot.com/