How To Prepare for a Doctor’s Appointment When You Have a Chronic Illness
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Disclaimers : This is not medical advice or information and based on personal experience living with chronic illnesses. This site contains product affiliate links. We may receive a commission if you make a purchase after clicking on one of these links.
As a chronic illness warrior, I’ve been to what feels like 486 medical appointments over the last 10+ years. I used to let these appointments totally ruin my day, and sometimes the night before! And since I know I can’t avoid going to the doctor for the rest of my life, I decided I needed to create a system to make these appointments easier on me — and consume LESS of my energy.
Preparing for medical appointments in an intentional way has totally changed the whole vibe around going to the doctor. It’s actually put me back in the driver’s seat of my medical care, which is something I NEVER thought I’d be able to feel again!
In this blog, I’m going to lay out my 5-step process for feeling super confident before, during, and after your medical appointments! It’s the exact system I have in place in my own double-illness life, so I know it’ll work for you, too.
There are 5 steps in my prep process to help you master your medical appointments:
Pain & Symptom Tracking
Before the Appointment Prep
During the Appointment
After the Appointment
The Follow Up
Using this method will help you be your own best advocate on your chronic illness journey, I can’t wait for you to dive in!
Daily Pain & Symptom Tracking
The first thing you need to do if you really want to conquer your fears around medical appointments is to have the information you need to show the doctor once they get in the room. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve tried to remember everything that’s been going on with my body simply by relying on my brain to retain everything. And then once it came time to actually tell the doctor, I’d freeze up and forget everything!
By tracking my pain and symptoms every single day, I can easily pull up the data for the last few weeks and notice any similarities or changes in my body. Not only does this help ME understand patterns in my body, I’m also able to share that information with my doctor or specialist so they have the most accurate data, which helps them support me even better!
This tracking system doesn’t have to be fancy or complicated in order to work, either. I use a spreadsheet in Google Sheets, and have it customized to track the things that matter most to me. Not everyone will need the same data tracked, so just include whatever you want to keep track of!
Before the Appointment Prep
As soon as you have a new appointment scheduled, I highly recommend you write down all the information you need for it! If you’re a digital planner user, or prefer paper and pen, choose a method you’ll actually remember so that no details get lost in the shuffle.
I use a templated document I created, which I just fill out every time I make a new appointment. Then, I’ll fill in details like:
Appointment date, time, and location
Doctor’s name + contact info
Reason for the appointment
Questions/concerns I want to bring up
And of course you can add more information depending on what your needs are! But having this sheet filled out has saved me A LOT of time and mental energy over the years. I don’t have to remember anything on my own, and I can just hand the document over with all my questions on it. Game = changed!
This way, if I get emotional or nervous when the doctor shows up, I know my questions will be answered and I won’t feel like I’ve wasted my time (or theirs).
Remember to account for the time you’ll spend travelling to and from the appointment, waiting in the lobby, AND waiting in the exam room before the actual appointment! If you’re able to take the day off from work or school, you’ll have more flexibility and space in your schedule.
During the Appointment
Now, I’ve already mentioned how my appointment prep document is SO helpful to make sure I get all my questions answered. But what if I can’t remember what the answers are?
I’m a HUGE fan of asking the doctor if I can record the conversation on my iPhone using the Voice Memo app. They won’t always give permission, but it’s worth asking so you don’t miss a thing! If you can’t record the audio, you can always take notes pen-and-paper style.
Another great way to stay present during the appointment is to bring along a friend or family member who can support you. They might even be able to take notes on your behalf so you can just listen!
After the Appointment
Once you leave your appointment, take care to fill out another “Appointment Prep” documents with all the information you’ll need for next time (if they asked you to schedule a follow up appointment).
If you have a new prescription that needs to be filled, set a reminder to go pick it up ASAP. And if there are any new developments in your diagnosis, you might want to update your family or close friends who need to know.
If you’re being referred to a specialist, gather any information you’ll need and find out if you’re supposed to reach out to them or if they’ll be contacting you to make an appointment.
The Follow Up
The first thing you’re going to do is keep tracking your pain and symptoms! Remember that this isn’t just something you’ll do before you have to go to the doctor, it’s a daily practice that’s important for your overall care.
If you haven’t heard back from your doctor or specialist yet, follow up with them! You are in control of your medical care and the people who support you, so don’t be afraid to reach out and make things happen.
The Best Way To Master Medical Appointments
Ready to strut into your doctor’s office with Beyoncé-level confidence?
I’ve created a must-have workshop that’s perfect for anyone with chronic illness who’s spending tons of time worrying about their appointment, forgetting important details they want to share with their care team, and feeling super overwhelmed by all the things they have to remember!
Once you’ve gone through the workshop, Ultimate Guide to Mastering Your Medical Appointments, you’ll finally have the tools you need to be your own advocate in the exam room and beyond. The content is broken up into bite-sized video lessons (with captions), so you can go through it all at once OR here and there as you have time.
And the bonuses I’ve included match beautifully with the 5 steps you’ll need to follow in order to see results with this method — fast! Learn everything you need to know about this self-paced workshop and get instant access ASAP.
