🩺 Preparing for a doctor's appointment

You get about ten minutes and you will forget half of what you meant to say. Writing the first group down the night before is the whole trick.

35 items

1. Write down before you go
2. Your top three concerns, most important first
3. When the symptom started, and what makes it better or worse
4. How it affects sleep, work and daily life
5. What you have already tried
6. Anything that has changed since last time
7. The one question you most want answeredLead with it. Appointments end abruptly and the important thing is often said at the door.
8. Bring
9. A written list of all medication and doses
10. Supplements and anything bought over the counter
11. Allergies
12. Relevant test results or letters
13. A symptom diary, if you have kept one
14. Glasses and hearing aids
15. A pen and paper, or someone to take notes
16. During
17. Say the most important thing in the first minute
18. Ask for anything you did not understand to be repeated
19. Ask what the likely cause is, and what else it could be
20. Ask what the options are, including doing nothing
21. Ask what to watch for that would mean coming back sooner
22. Write down names of conditions, medicines and tests
23. Before you leave the room
24. What happens next, and who does it
25. When and how you will get results
26. Whether to book a follow-up now
27. How to take any new medicine, and the side effects to expect
28. Whether it interacts with anything you already take
29. Who to contact if things get worse at the weekend
30. Afterwards
31. Write it up while you still remember it
32. Book the tests or the follow-up the same day
33. Collect the prescription
34. Set a reminder to chase results if they do not arrive
35. Tell whoever needs to know