Ready, Set, Go
- Name and birthdate
- Blood type
- Person to be notified in emergency, phone # and address
- Telephone # of pharmacy
- Date of your latest health screenings (mammograms, pap test, PSA (males),colonoscopy, lab work)
- Immunizations – flu, pneumonia, tetanus, etc
- Allergies
- Recent illnesses or surgeries
- Many illnesses have similar symptoms
- The doctor is not a mind reader
- You are paying (or your insurance is) for this visit. You are entitled to the doctor’s time and attention
- Medical jargon can be confusing.
- Even if something may not seem related to you tell the doctor about it anyway. (For instance gall bladder pain can occur under your shoulder blade. A heart attack in women may only be felt as extreme fatigue.)
Most people are a little nervous when they see a physician – in fact some people have such a fear of doctors that there is a name for the condition – white coat anxiety. It can elevate blood pressure, cause faintness, dizziness, heart palpitations – in it’s most extreme. While most of us don’t react THIS severely we may be anxious enough to not remember everything we want to ask or tell the doctor until he is out the door and we are on our way home in the car.
- What are your concerns?
- What are your symptoms?
- When did they start?
- When do they occur?
- Are they constant or intermittent?
- Are they getting worse?
- Anything that you do/eat/take make the symptoms better or worse?
- Have you changed any of your routines, started new exercises, eating anything differently, had changes in your life, stresses, changes in moods or memory?
Answer all the doctors questions completely and honestly. If you haven’t been following your diet admit it. If you don’t take some of your medications as they are prescribed tell the doctor that and why – maybe you don’t think they are helping, maybe they make you feel nauseated, maybe you forget . Whatever the reason – be honest. The doctor can only work with the information you give him.