B Prepared to get the Best Support from your Doctor

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B PREPARED TO GET THE BEST SUPPORT FROM YOUR DOCTOR

Has it ever happened to you, on your way home from the doctor’s office, that you realise you forgot to ask or tell them something? You forgot about a new symptom or to tell them something that might be important, e.g. your sudden acne break-out or headaches. Even just as bad, is when you do remember to tell them about it, but you cannot figure out why you thought it was important.

Improving the effectiveness of communication with your doctor is crucial, not only if you are not feeling well or if you are sick, but also during a routine check-up. When you are at risk of or suffer from a health issue, an effective doctor's visit is important to help you take care of your health. Go to our symptom checker to find out if you are possibly Vitamin B deficient.

Doctor’s visit checklist

The more your doctor knows about your health, the easier it is for them to make a diagnosis or prescribe a therapy.

Here are some top tips to help improve communication with your doctor:

Simplify it:

When describing the symptoms you are experiencing, use simple words and phrases that are descriptive, like metaphors or comparisons, e.g. a stinging sensation can be described as "pins-and-needles"
Use gestures and don’t be scared to point out the problem area
Help your doctor understand that something is wrong, where it is wrong and even what you think the cause could be

Give lots of details:

Providing your doctor with a history of your symptoms is not as hard as you may think. Just jot down:

How long have you been experiencing these symptoms
When you experience these symptoms
Symptoms you experience all the time

Symptoms you only experience lately

Other health-related issues that are bothering you

Be as clear and complete as possible
Try to list all the symptoms that you experience even if you think it might not be related to nerve impairment or it doesn't look like a symptom to you at all

Update your doctor

Some time may pass between your doctor’s visits, so it is important that you remind them of your symptoms – after all, he sees many patients daily and may not recall all your conversations.
Also, between visits, your symptoms may vary, disappear or increase – so you need to update him on that as well, so that if he is aware of your symptoms, you must tell him how they changed (if at all) in the time since your last visit.
He may have prescribed you a treatment during your previous visit, which gives you the opportunity to tell him whether the treatment worked or not; or if you experienced any symptoms from it – this will help him when prescribing future treatments for you.

Your partner in health

Your doctor is there to work with you in improving your health and quality of life, so it is in your best interest to be truthful and to express your concerns clearly.

Do not be afraid to talk to your doctor openly about your life or to share with him weird or embarrassing occurrences or experiences – all the conversations with your doctor are confidential.
Doctors are used to dealing with different people and have learnt how to deal with different personalities, races, genders, experiences and backgrounds.
Sometimes all these elements together can provide them with useful information in making a diagnosis.
So, if you think that adding any information about your daily life might be useful, go for it!