Update: Tammy and Ben’s true diagnoses have been revealed. Thanks to everyone who guessed! We’ll announce the winners soon. The comments section of this post are still open, but any new guesses can’t win a Spark bag.
These people are sick. Well, two of them, anyway. Sort of.
Spark and White Coat, Black Art have teamed up to give two very lucky listeners medical conditions. As part of our February 20th episode, Dr. Brian Goldman assigned Ben Land and Tammy Hillier each a set of symptoms. Their task was to diagnose themselves online.
And we want you to play along at home. Here’s how:
- Using your favourite online health site, use the symptoms below to diagnose Tammy and Ben
- Leave your diagnoses in the comments section of this post
If your diagnoses are correct, you could win a fashionable re-usable Spark grocery bag. Click below to listen to the symptoms, or download the MP3.
Play audio:
Tammy’s symptoms:
Tammy’s feeling very tired lately. She’s just been dragging herself from place to place, thinking, “I’ve just got no energy.” She’s sleepy all the time. She’s been a bit forgetful and she can’t concentrate at work. Even her boss has asked if everything is all right. She’s a bit on edge emotionally. She snaps at people, and seems to cry at almost no provocation. She feels cold all the time. Her periods have become irregular. Her skin is dry. When Tammy brushes her hair, she notices that some of it has fallen out.
Ben’s symptoms:
Ben feels achy all over. He works out regularly. But, for the past three weeks, he’s been too sore and too tired to exercise. He’s gained 5 kg, which is really odd, because he has no appetite. His wrists are swollen. He has trouble using a computer keyboard. A few times, he has woken up with pins and needles in the thumbs and index fingers on right and left sides. He’s been asking people to speak up. For the past few weeks, Ben’s had a hoarse throat, and it’s a bit painful to swallow.
Why should Tammy and Ben have all the fun? Leave your diagnoses in the comments below.
Tammy has hypothyroidism.
Ben’s symptoms are a little trickier. I would suggest multiple schlerosis but the sore throat may be out of the range. Possibly, it could be a tick or parasitic born illness such as Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.
Both have hypothyroidism but Ben’s is more severe.
I agree with, well, everyone on Tammy. She definately had hypothyroidism (though I doubt it’s Hashimoto’s, unless she’s built like a Sumo wrestler.)
As for Ben…well, I think he has Rheumatoid Arthritis. Or possibly Syphilis or Trichinosis.
I can really see how people can get panicky looking up their own symptoms online. I had to narrow down some pretty impressive (and deadly) illnesses to get to my diagnoses for Tammy and Ben!
Tammy… Hypothyroidism…
Ben… possibly Mono (depends on Glandular affliction if any) or some other viral affliction (Possibly Hashimoto’s / Thyroid)
I think they both have thyroid problems. [Seems like that's what most of us Googlers think!]
This was an interesting exercise.
I don’t use the computer to diagnose an illness; rather, I use it to understand my doctor’s diagnosis and make choices in treatment.
As a person who has hypothyroidism I would say both have under active thyroids. They should get their TSH levels checked>
Tammy’s diagnosis: Hypothyroidism to be confirmed by blood work testing for TSH and total thyroid.
Ben’s diagnosis: Viral infection (he deserves a blood test for mononucleosis due to the duration of his symptoms). The duration of his symptoms has resulted in him repeatedly googling these symptoms which has caused a repetitive motion injury to his hands and wrists (likely carpal tunnel syndrome).
Thanks for a great show!
I didn’t look them up yet, but my immediate guesses are Tammy: menopause, Ben: Lupus.
Now I’m going to look them up and see what I think after that.
I’m thinking that Tammy is suffering from lupus.
Fibromyalgia would be my guess for Ben.
Love this!
Speaking from experience, I think Tammy is heading straight into menopause. And Ben is suffering from the flu after weekends of on-line gaming with his earbuds in too loud, yelling at the screen, and too much junk food! Love the show!
I’m sorry to say that Tammy has Myalgic Encephalomyelitis.
Tammy needs to go pee on a stick…sounds like she’s knocked up! I’m in a family way myself…9 mths and waddling, and in the beginning of my pregnancy, I was online everyday checking every little symptom; I think THAT was the cause of any hair loss! There are some good information sources out there, but many more ridiculously incorrect and/or alarmist ones.
I think Ben has Fibromyalgia, but I much prefer the Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever diagnosis…sounds dramatic; it would make good radio!
Radio One rocks!!!
I think Tammy has hypothyroidism or some other thyroid dysfunction. I think Ben may have lead poisoning. This assumes that they are not on any medications which may cause drug side effects.
Hey hey…They’re both hypothyriod. A more detailed history, physical exam and some diagnostic tests would determine the subtype.
i think tammy has vitiam b defeciency and ben may have thyroid problems
Ben has Wegener’s granulomatosis. I haven’t figured out Tammy’s condition yet, but I would guess iron deficiency.
I think Tammy has hypothyroidism,and Ben has Lupus.
I am loving this! I wonder if we can get to 100 guesses!
Hypothyroid for both I think, having personal experience with all of Tammy’s symptoms and many of Ben’s.
1) hypothyroid
2) Poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis
Tammy has hypothyroidism, while Ben has acromegaly.
It’s a good thing doctors check for several causes at the same time. Diseases, disorders, drug reactions, genetic conditions, etc. can share similar symptoms, as this guessing game demonstrates. It would be unwise to assume and follow up only one cause for Tammy and Ben. (Even though that’s what most of us have already done! Including me.)
Thanks for making us think (and appreciate medical training!).
Let’s try some rare things… Tammy has heavy metal poisoning (lead,cadmium, mercury??). Ben has rheumatic fever with heart failure.
For Tammy – I’m going with iron deficiency anemia, based on personal experience and quick google search.
For Ben: *I’m going with Rheumatoid Arthritis, even though I don’t see how it explains the sore throat (but it’s immune related so he could have the flu from reduced immune strenth).
Internet search I typed in ‘Symptoms: ‘ with a list in Goodle, which sent me to WD wrongdiagnosis.com’s Multiple Symptom Checker.
For 6 symptoms, this tool came up with:
Results: 18 causes of Fatigue AND Joint pain AND Nerve symptoms AND Swelling symptoms AND Throat symptoms AND Weight symptoms
1. Acute myeloblastic leukemia type 3
2. Cancer
3. Celiac Disease
4. Crohn’s disease
5. Dermatomyositis
6. Eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome
7. Irritable bowel syndrome
8. Lupus
9. Polychondritis
10. Rheumatoid arthritis
Great show, interesting exercise for us all for sure!
Tammy is definately hypothyroid. She needs to get her TSH tested to determine the extent. Ben could have arthritis
I think (like many others, it seems) that Tammy has Hypothyroidism. I think Ben has Rheumatoid Arthritis.
I agree with many others that Tammy's symptoms appear to be hypothyroid. I'm not sure about Ben's, but it almost seems like his might also be thyroid related. He may have more than one thing going on, as others mentioned.
I think both would at least need blood tests to rule out possible conditions – a haematology panel for underlying anemia and other possible blood disorders, tests for RA (rheumatoid arthritis), lupus (LE), T4 & TSH for thyroid, fasting glucose. They also need to be physically examined by their physician and seen in follow-up to lab tests. Not sure if x-rays would be needed for screening…
Tammy's symptoms were familiar enough for me (being in health care). I Googled as a double check, but Ben's symptoms were much more difficult to Google and get something appearing to best fit the symptoms description.
Good luck to all!
Tammy’s symptoms really lead me to an autoimmune thyroid disease(Hashimoto thyroiditis–hypothyroidism)
For Ben, it’s less clear, but he could also be suffering from hypothyroidism. Weight gain, decreased appetite, muscle pain, joint pain and weakness as well as paresthesia and nerve entrapment syndromes (pins and needles) are a few of the many symptoms of hypothyroidism
I think that Tammy is going through menopause (crying, dry skin, irregular periods, etc., all fit the profile).
I agree with other posters that poor Ben seems to have hypothyroidism.
Cheers,
Michelle
They are probably both menopausal!
I think Tammy has an eating disorder.Anorexia would seem to fit.
As for Ben I have no clue….he should go visit his Doctor and describe his various unusual symptoms. Doubtless blood tests will start the investigation.
Using the internet for this will keep you awake and tired and catastrophizing for hours. See professional advice!
I had Graves disease (hyperthyroid) many years ago and now am hypothyroid without medication so have some personal experience to go on. Although many of the symptoms are common to both hypo- and hyperthyroidism a few point to the latter. Tammy feels cold all the time and Ben is gaining weight despite a lack of appetite. Further questioning should reveal additional symptoms and blood tests should identify and confirm the diagnoses. But I suspect that they are both hypothyroid. A list of symptoms can be found here: http://thyroid.about.com/cs/hypothyroidism/a/checklist.htm
I don’t think either are sick at all. Tammy is menopausal and Ben is just aging. His sore throat is just a dry-air-in-the-winter thing.
If a rapid strep test is negative he should just rest and drink lots of liquids. If it is positive he needs antibiotics, rest and lots of liquids.
P.S. the internet was not used. I am athletic enough to jump to conclusions all by myself.
In my previous post I indicated that both Tammy and Ben probably have hypothyroidism of some type or other. But I’ve been intrigued by this exercise and have continued to search the web. There are numerous conditions that have VERY similar symptoms and as others have said it is imperative to take a full history to further identify and clarify symptoms. As others have suggested, it is possible that Ben has fibromyalgia rather than hypothyroidism, especially since he engages in a lot of exercise and may be overdoing it which could exacerbate this condition. He definitely has carpal tunnel syndrome which is consistent with both conditions. I would test for both fibromyalgia and hypothyroidism for Ben. But I’m sticking with hypothyroidism for Tammy (though an anxiety condition is also a possibility).
In both cases, without knowing more about the patients’ mediocal histories, it’s too hard to make a definite diagnosis, but based purely on the symptoms given:
Tammy’s symptoms are typical of hypothyroidism, but then, depending on her age, she could also be pre-menopausal.
As for Ben, I’d consider a diagnosis of SLE (Lupus), though more testing would be needed. In any case, a visit to the doctor is definitely in order.
It seems many are in agreement, Tammy has a thyroid condition. Ben should be investigated for diabetes.
They’re both on prednisone and it has taken over their adrenal gland function.
Tammy: accute anemia
Ben: flu
Either they both have mono (ooooooh!) or Ben has a cold and Tammy just got off her pill.
Tammy and Ben both have hypothyroidism, which in some cases can be brought on by Lyme disesase. Test for thyroid antibodies and Lyme disease. Avoid TSH tests and free T3/T4 tests like the plague, since they’re BS.