# I gotta stop googling medical stuff **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 21, 2018, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-gotta-stop-googling-medical-stuff/826504 "2018-12-21T20:41:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![AngelSoft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angelsoft/32/440_2.png) [@AngelSoft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelSoft)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2018, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-gotta-stop-googling-medical-stuff/826504/1 "2018-12-21T20:41:48Z")
I really need to stop doing this. Especially right before a long weekend. I went and saw a cardiologist yesterday. Years ago I had an ‘echo’? done and it showed that there was something off with my heart but not so much that my doctor was alarmed. They told me to followup in a year. I never did. That was over three years ago. Well I’m back for a checkup and she wants to do all these tests. Another echo, a stress test, and some bloodwork. So I got the bloodwork done last night and the results came up on my patient portal. Of course I go to look at them and, to me, everything looks ok. But then I notice there’s a result that doesn’t have a convenient ‘normal range’ with it. Something called ‘NT-Pro-B-Type Natriuretic Peptide’ So I’m like, well how do I know if I’m normal or not?? So of course I google it. FTR. Don’t do this. Apparently I’m NOT in the normal range. Not anywhere close. But nothing online gives me any info about having a LOW value. Since apparently people are only normal or high. Now I’m all stressed out that I’m dying or something because I can’t confirm that I’m not via Google. And my doctor’s not available today. Fun times! lol ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2018, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-gotta-stop-googling-medical-stuff/826504/2 "2018-12-21T20:59:20Z")
Dr. Google has a bad rep for a reason. Try not to stress (Ha!). I like to think that if it were an emergency, someone would contact you ASAP, rather than waiting for the doctor to get back from holiday break. I did find this for you, which implies that things are likely to be fine… (IANAD) > [@](#): > > NT-proB-type Natriuretic Peptide (BNP) blood test > > B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) is a hormone produced by your heart. N-terminal (NT)-pro hormone BNP (NT-proBNP) is a non-active prohormone that is released from the same molecule that produces BNP. Both BNP and NT-proBNP are released in response to changes in pressure inside the heart. These changes can be related to heart failure and other cardiac problems. Levels goes up when heart failure develops or gets worse, and levels goes down when heart failure is stable. In most cases, BNP and NT-proBNP levels are higher in patients with heart failure than people who have normal heart function. Cite: [Cleveland Clinic](https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diagnostics/16814-nt-prob-type-natriuretic-peptide-bnp) ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2018, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-gotta-stop-googling-medical-stuff/826504/3 "2018-12-22T14:42:45Z")
> [@AngelSoft](#): > > So of course I google it. FTR. Don’t do this. Yep. Actually, I take a more extreme stance. IANAD either, and I don’t advise this anyway, but if I am prescribed something new I take out the package insert/patient information leaflet, read the section on things you’re not supposed to do when taking the medicine, then throw the damn leaflet away. I usually regret it and have to re-check it later on line, but the important thing (for me) is to not start off by reading the list of side effects, because if I do I’ll get all of them. I know exactly how my imagination is going to work; so you can bet I never google stuff either. I learned that the hard way. j ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2018, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-gotta-stop-googling-medical-stuff/826504/4 "2018-12-22T18:23:19Z")
Yep, bad juju. Best not to look.