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here is so much information on the internet. And so much misinformation. How to find good answers to your questions?
This is a very selective list of resources that we have found helpful –
Medications
UpToDate – This is an online medical textbook that is updated continuously. It is the resource we use when we have questions. It also includes a lot of free resources for patients, including medication information. All of the information is well balanced and based on the clinical literature.
Medline Plus – This is a resource for patients from the National Library of Medicine.
CrazyMeds – A very irreverent and sometimes wrongheaded but often useful source of information. This is based on patient experiences, so more likely to reference bad results than good, but it is still helpful when you are trying to sort out whether what you are experiencing has ever happened to someone else.
Mood Disorders
McMan’s Depression and Bipolar Web – John McManamy is a journalist who developed a mood disorder and since then has devoted himself to collecting information for other folks wrestling with depression and bipolar. He has a distinct style which not everyone will connect with, but the information is generally excellent, and he maintains the website regularly.
Psych Central – Lots of information about everything under the sun. Most of it is quite good, but not all of it. There are so many folks contributing, some of them have distinct biases that mean that what they have to say may not reflect the clinical literature. But almost all of it is excellent.
HealthTap – A newcomer that has been getting a lot of attention for information about all kinds of health questions. It is sort of the Twitter of health questions – doctors only have 200 characters to reply. But that means that almost every question does get a reply, and often several. And they seem to be reasonably good. Also you can ask private questions (for a fee) and they really do seem to pay attention to health information security.
Support Groups Online
Yahoo Groups – There seems to be a group for every kind of problem. They are, of course, as varied as the hundreds of people who moderate them and the thousands of people who contribute to them.
Patients Like Me – A compilation of what patients with various chronic health conditions, including mental health conditions, have to say. Better than most such resources because the people who put it together really care about fostering support.
MedHelp – The world’s largest health community. Lots of good stuff. However we can say that the technical aspects of this site have not always been that great. For instance, we are supposed to be moderating a forum on mood disorders but the site never seems to be able to let us know when people post questions….
DBSA – The Depressive and Bipolar Support Association has a pretty fancy website. The information is good, although sometimes a little bit too medical model. They have online support resources that we have not heard much about. But worth trying. And they have in person support groups throughout the United States.