Posted by medlib on May 29, 2000, at 16:54:36
In reply to Re: Unexplained Symptoms-- Shorter!, posted by Cynthia M on May 29, 2000, at 10:43:11
Cynthia--
Sorry for the medical jargon--sometimes I don't notice I'm using it. "Rule out" is an inane term, shorthand for " investigate a specific diagnostic hypothesis (educated guess) with the intent of confirming or denying it."
An example you may hear on "ER": Patient comes in with a "Rule out MI". They mean, "We think he's having a heart attack (myocardial infarction) so we will to do tests which prove or disprove that." It's sort of a pre-diagnosis. You can "rule out" a stroke with imaging tests such as a CAT scan, MRI or arteriogram. There is no definitive test for migraines, so a migraine can't be "ruled out." It is diagnosed by a preponderance of the evidence--med history, Sxs, and by eliminating other possible diagnoses.
I hope that, if it *does* turn out to be migraine, Paxil isn't the trigger. I'm guessing that her doc will want to wait for a possible recurrence before considering changing an AD that otherwise seems to work.
Take care of yourself; this, too, will pass eventually.
medlib
poster:medlib
thread:34845
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000526/msgs/35135.html