"I'm only being an informed patient"

You might object that doctors want patients who take an interest. They do. A patient who understands their condition is easier to help, and nobody wants to go back to the days when patients were told nothing.

I think the phrase covers two different activities, and only one of them is what you've been doing at midnight.

An informed patient, in the useful sense, is usually informed about something they've been told they have. They've been diagnosed with asthma or an underactive thyroid, and they read about how the inhaler works, what the blood test measures, and what to ask at the review. They read this from sources the clinic recommends. It's bounded by a real diagnosis and it leads to better questions. In my observation it leaves people calmer, too. If that's what you do, carry on.

The midnight search is a different thing. It starts from a symptom without a diagnosis, and it tries to do the doctor's part of the job with none of the doctor's tools. You can see the difference in what it leaves you with. After reading about your own asthma, you know what to do on a bad day. After the midnight search, you have a list of frightening words and no instruction at all.

There's a version of being informed that does help with a new symptom, and that's arriving at the appointment well prepared. A doctor can do more in ten minutes with a patient who can give a clear account. It's worth writing a few lines beforehand. Say what you've noticed, in plain words, and when it started. Say what makes it better or worse, and what else has changed lately, including sleep, stress, caffeine, new medicines and new exercise. Note anything in your family that's relevant.

Then add one more line, which people often leave out from embarrassment. Say what you're afraid it might be. "I read that twitching can be a sign of a nerve disease, and I've frightened myself" isn't a foolish thing to tell a GP. It tells them what you need from the consultation. They can examine for that in particular and tell you what they found. If you hide the fear, you may leave with your real question unasked, and chapter 11 described what tends to happen the following evening.

What a doctor finds less helpful is a patient who arrives with the diagnosis already made and a list of tests to order. That's the midnight search brought into the surgery. You'll get more out of the appointment if you describe what's happening and say what worries you, and leave the diagnosis to the doctor.