How to Maximize Your Data and Make It Work For You
Quantify your subjective experiences to be a better self advocate
If you are on a diagnostic odyssey, you are most likely experiencing a variety of symptoms for the first time. Understanding how you feel and noting these symptoms can help you get one step closer to finding a diagnosis. However, there are different types of data to be aware of while you are on this quest. Subjective data is a set of measurements that comes from the interpretation, opinion, and perception of an individual. On the other hand, objective data is a set of data that derives from fact through measurement and is not subject to interpretation. A blood test result qualifies as an objective measurement, whereas the severity of a headache is a subjective measurement.
Even though one set of data is up for interpretation, while the other isn’t, that doesn’t make one more or less important than the other. When you are on a diagnostic odyssey, blood panels may not be a direct reflection of how you are feeling. Other tests such as MRIs and X Rays may also look normal, and not reflect pain or fatigue. Additionally, an irregular test result may be written off and not utilized as a diagnostic tool. One example of this is an ANA (antinuclear antibody) test. A positive ANA test can alert a physician of an autoimmune condition, but is not used to diagnose because many healthy individuals can also have a positive ANA (1).
While on a diagnostic odyssey, the odds are high that you have various symptoms that coexist. Maybe your head hurts, your eyes feel dry, your joints ache, and your fingers are swollen. When you finally get to that coveted doctor's appointment, it can be difficult to quickly recall your symptoms in detail: when they happen, if there seems to be a trigger, how you can get your symptoms to subside, the list goes on.
How bad a headache feels is subjective depending on how the individual with the headache perceives pain. There are various types of pain assessments such as the Numerical Rating Pain Scale and the McGill Pain questionnaire. Using a pain scale is a way to quantify a subjective measure - so instead of saying your headache is “bad”, you could rate it on a scale of 1 to 10.
You can also use alternative scales for your own understanding, maybe not being able to go on your daily walk means your joint pain is at a 7. No matter how you get to the rating on a scale of 1 to 10 on the Folia platform, you are attributing a number to this experience. Once you track on a scale of 1 to 10, you can graph your data to see if your symptoms occur in patterns, or in a constant state.
Even though the data on these graphs can be subjective, it does not make it any less important to use as a tool when finding a diagnosis. While you are on your diagnostic odyssey, we recommend tracking your symptoms on a scale of 1 to 10, rather than a yes or no basis because this can help you to build a more comprehensive graph. Then, you can use this information as you would any other data set, because your experiences are a key part to figuring out the correct diagnosis.