Going to the doctor can be daunting. Whether you’re feeling fine and just going for a regular checkup or you are feeling under the weather, you may feel a little anxiety at the thought of that appointment. It’s only natural.
The older you get the more chances you have of certain illnesses and issues, like high blood pressure and high cholesterol. While you don’t want to be a hypochondriac and think that every appointment will mean a new illness, you also want to make sure that you are prepared.
Take Notes
If you are experiencing problems at home with your health you may want to take notes on the issues that you are experiencing so that you can go over them with your doctor. You may think that you’ll remember the details of the pain you had in your arm two weeks until your appointment, but something could happen that would make you forget.
You may also want to start keeping a journal of these things, depending on how often you are experiencing pains, upset stomach, or other problems. You may find a pattern that could help you and your doctor.
Write Down Questions
If you have any questions you want to ask your doctor then make sure that you write them all down. It can be easy to let your nerves take over when you are at the doctor’s office, which can make it easy to forget even the most important questions.
They could be questions about your current medications, questions about strange pains, or even questions about how to lose some of the weight around your middle. If you have a lot of questions to ask it’s even more important to write them down.
Don’t Forget Your Medication List
Even if you are visiting your regular family doctor you should make sure to take an updated list of your current medications with you. If you see specialists or take over the counter medications it can be easy for your doctor’s records to miss some of your meds.
You may also want your doctor to check that none of your medications are affecting the usage of other pills that you are taking. Sometimes even the things you take from your herbal cabinet can have counter effects on your prescriptions.
Don’t Be Afraid To Follow Up
Even after you leave the doctor’s office you may come up with new questions or questions that you forgot to ask. Doctors are prepared for this, so don’t be afraid to call them up and follow up on the things you forgot. You can also request an actual follow up appointment if you are getting a new script or lowering a current one, even if they don’t suggest the appointment.
Your doctor and their assistants are trained to help you with your health issues. Make sure that they can give you the help that you need by giving them all of the possible information needed for a diagnosis, and asking questions so that you can do everything you can to stay healthy.