On My Latest Doctor’s Visit: Five Tips for a Productive Monthly Check-up

I had my latest doctor’s visit last Tuesday. Overall, it was pretty good. My routine lab numbers are great, particularly my creatinine and BUN (Blood Urea Nitrogen) – both are very important measures of kidney health. My blood pressure has stabilized, although it is still a bit on the high side. And, I am back to my extra-curricular activities, even though it is not as often. Overall, I am in good shape.

I am writing this post not just to update you on my current health status, but also to offer some tips on a successful doctor’s visit. Since I’ve been back to work for two months now, I have regular meetings with my manager, associates, and some of our clients. On my last doctor’s visit, I treated it like a meeting with my boss.  Here are some tips based on my observations:

1. Be prepared to say what’s new and how are you feeling. I was actually unprepared for this, but was able to share the state of my health, from my own perspective, of course. Think of it as a status of what you’re working on. Focus on both the good and the bad. 
2.  Prepare questions ahead of time and prioritize them in the event that you do not have time to ask them all. Some of these may not be related to your current status, but rather about something down the road - still important. One of my questions was whether I can now travel. This is important because I may need to travel for my new projects at work. I wanted to know if there were any concerns or precautions that I should take.
3. Do your homework before your doctor’s visit. If something is troubling you, do not hesitate look it up on the internet or other resources you have. I believe that the more informed you are about your condition, the more productive your visit will be. Fortunately, unlike your manager, you do not always need to be pro-active and have solutions ready for your physician; although, often times, it can help. As an example, for this visit, we called ahead to request for another ultrasound because of my high blood pressure and some weight gain again. Physicians see hundreds of patients weekly, so they do not necessarily memorize each patient’s history until the actual visit.
4. Review your notes before the meeting. This is important so you know by heart what your main concerns and questions are. Also, if your physician does not have enough time, you may need to ask them as fast as possible. As an example, this time, the medical clinic was running about 30 minutes late. If I did not have my notes and, for that matter, knew them, I would not have been able to cover all of my questions. I think I covered one question per minute!
5. Lastly, your caretaker should be as familiar with your questions and your concerns, at the very least, the most important ones. If you are too sick to share your questions and/or concerns, your caretaker should be able to represent you. Fortunately for me, my husband can and would do a very good job for me.

In my last visit, I think I did well on most of the items, but need to work on 1. As is with all things, practice makes perfect!