Advice needed.. what to say to my doctor. - Fibromyalgia Message Board

Dee74 · 08-23-2004, 08:44 AM

I'm the world's worst when it comes to mentioning ALL of my symptoms to my doctor. I think it's because A) she doesn't ask alot of questions, B) because I'm pretty darn spacey, and C) because I get so focused on a certain pain at that time that it's pretty much all I can think about.

I found a few medical questionnaires online.. some are about pain (where it's felt, how you would rate it, etc.), some are just about other random things such as dry skin, hair loss, sleep, dry eyes, the list goes on and on. Actually, these are VERY in depth questionnaires that you are to print, fill out, and carry to the doctor with you. I also found a REALLY in depth one that pertains to women's gynecological health as well. If I knew I could link these to you without getting banned, I would do it in a heart beat. I feel that they could be extremely helpful, especially if you're as forgetful as I am when it comes to remembering ALL of your problems.

My question is.. since I have so many of these, should I bring them with me when I go, or should I maybe just mail them ahead of time and send a nice little note with it explaining WHY I'm doing it? What are the chances of my doctor being offended? I'm not worried at all about the one for my gyno.. she's terrific and will sit and discuss anything with me in detail. It's my regular MD that I'm concerned about. I would just take them with me when I do go and attempt to go over them with her, but like I said, they are so in depth.. I don't think she'd be for that at all since there's so much to go through.

How would you go about this?
Thanks in advance

brend · 08-23-2004, 09:26 AM

I believe this is a difficulty we all have. I found that I used to come away from the doc and be so angry with myself for not mentioning various symptoms. I tended to focus on the particular symptom that was the worst on that day.
I have found a solution that works for me and my doc. I keep a diary of "my illness", together with a list of all the symptoms I ever have or had and when I have an appointment I print off a copy and bring it with me. At first I wondered, Like you, if the doc would be offended, Quite the opposite, he says it gives him a comprehensive history of my illness and he can look back at any time and see improvements and trends. He has told me that he has been asking other patients to do the same. If there is a long gap between apointments he has asked me to post the diary and symptom list to him.
I can only say it works for me. Good luck if you try something like this.

Brend

taurus3 · 08-23-2004, 11:28 AM

Both my Mom and I have fibro and we used The List contained in the post in here to take to our doctors letting them know which symptoms we have. I marked mine with D=daily, W=weekly, M=monthly and Q=quarterly. Luckily there are some I don't have thank goodness. But both docs appreciated having the list and found some things they had been mising in both of our cases. I would just take whatever list or worksheet you think best tells your story. If you're doctor is in a rush, ask her/him to read it and follow up with you via phone. I would fill it out ahead of time and highlight with a highlighter pen the most critical or plaguing items you have that need their attention.

So far it seems that most of us have had good results doing this. I can only imagine how much information dr's have to keep track of with all of their patients so this probably makes their lives much easier. And they can also see how proactive you are in your own case management.

Good luck and if you're doctor is offended or has a problem with it, it's probably time to find a new doctor that really cares abou you as a patient.

Love - Andy

Copper · 08-23-2004, 04:21 PM

Hi,

Print out "The List" I just bumped it forward, so it SHOULD be real close to this post.

Good luck

tkgoodspirit · 08-23-2004, 10:38 PM

Totally in agreement here. Us Fibro's have to rely on lists for most anything. Especially when we go to the doctor. When I go to my pain doctor I have a list ready, and I ask the receptionist to put it in my file so he sees it even before he comes in the room. He's so busy, I want everything covered in the little time I have to spend with the man!

So, advice: Make a list. Make another list, and then, oh yeah, make a list! LOL

Peace!
tk