About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Preparing for your appointment
By Mayo Clinic staffYou may decide you want to talk to your doctor about memory loss or other cognitive changes, or you may seek care at the urging of a family member who arranges your appointment and goes with you. You'll probably start by seeing your family doctor or general practitioner, who may refer you to a neurologist, psychiatrist or neuropsychologist for further evaluation.
Because appointments can be brief and there's often a lot of ground to cover, it's a good idea to prepare ahead of time. Here are some suggestions to help you get ready for your appointment and understand what to expect from your doctor.
What you can do
- Be aware of any pre-appointment restrictions. When you make your appointment, ask if you need to fast for blood work or if you need to do anything else to prepare for diagnostic tests.
- Write down all of your symptoms. Your doctor will want to know details about what's causing your concern about your memory or mental function. Make notes about some of the most important examples of forgetfulness or other lapses you want to mention. Try to remember when you first started to suspect that something might be wrong. If you think your difficulties are getting worse, be ready to explain why.
- Take along a family member or friend, if possible. Corroboration from a relative or trusted friend can play a key role in confirming that your difficulties are apparent to others. Having someone along can also help you soak up all the information provided during your appointment.
- Make a list of your other medical conditions. Your doctor will want to know if you're currently being treated for diabetes, heart disease, past strokes or any other conditions.
- Make a list of all your medications, including over-the-counter drugs and vitamins or supplements.
Questions to ask your doctor
Because time with your doctor is limited, writing down a list of questions will help you make the most of your appointment. If you're seeing your doctor regarding concerns about Alzheimer's disease, some questions to ask include:
- Do I have a memory problem or other cognitive changes?
- Do you think my symptoms are due to Alzheimer's disease?
- What tests do I need?
- Do I need to see a specialist? What will that cost? Will my insurance cover it?
- If my diagnosis is Alzheimer's disease, will you or another doctor manage my ongoing care? Can you help me get a plan in place for ongoing care?
- Are treatments available?
- Is there a generic alternative to the medicine you're prescribing?
- Are there any clinical trials of experimental treatments I should consider?
- What should I expect to happen over the long term?
- Will my new symptoms affect how I manage my other health conditions?
- Do I need to follow any restrictions?
- Do you have any brochures or other printed material I can take home with me? What websites and support resources do you recommend?
In addition to the questions you've prepared ahead of time, don't hesitate to ask your doctor to clarify anything you don't understand.
What to expect from your doctor
Your doctor is also likely to have questions for you. Being ready to respond may free up time to focus on any points you want to talk about in-depth. Your doctor may ask:
- What kinds of memory difficulties and mental lapses are you having? When did you first notice them?
- Are they steadily getting worse, or are they sometimes better and sometimes worse?
- Do you feel any sadder or more anxious than usual?
- Have you gotten lost lately on a driving route or in a situation that's usually familiar to you?
- Has anyone expressed unusual concern about your driving?
- Have you noticed any changes in the way you tend to react to people or events?
- Do you have more energy than usual, less than usual or about the same?
- What medications are you taking? Are you taking any vitamins or supplements?
- Do you drink alcohol? How much?
- What other medical conditions are you being treated for?
- Have you noticed any trembling or trouble walking?
- Are you having any trouble remembering your medical appointments or when to take your medication?
- Have you had your hearing and vision tested recently?
- Did anyone else in your family ever have memory trouble? Was anyone ever diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease or dementia?
- Middleton LE, et al. Promising strategies for prevention of dementia. Archives of Neurology. 2009;66:1210.
- Preventing Alzheimer's disease and cognitive decline. National Institutes of Health State-of-the-Science Conference Statement. April 26-28, 2010. http://consensus.nih.gov/2010/docs/alz/ALZ_Final_Statement.pdf. Accessed Oct. 28, 2010.
- Rusanen M, et al. Heavy smoking in midlife and long-term risk of Alzheimer disease and vascular dementia. Archives of Internal Medicine. In press. Accessed Oct. 28, 2010.
- Alternative treatments. Alzheimer's Association. http://www.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_alternative_treatments.asp Accessed Nov. 5, 2010.
- Scarmeas N, et al. Physical activity, diet, and risk of Alzheimer disease. JAMA. 2009;302:627.
- Alzheimer's disease fact sheet. National Institute on Aging. http://www.nia.nih.gov/NR/rdonlyres/7DCA00DB-1362-4755-9E87-96DF669EAE20/13991/ADFactSheetFINAL2510.pdf. Accessed Oct. 29, 2010.
- Grabowski TJ. Clinical manifestations and diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Oct. 30, 2010.
- Press D, et al. Treatment of dementia. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Oct. 30, 2010.
- Shadlen M-F, et al. Risk factors for dementia. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Oct. 30, 2010.
- What is Alzheimer's? Alzheimer's Association. http://www.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_what_is_alzheimers.asp. Accessed Nov. 4, 2010.
- Prevention. Alzheimer's Association. http://www.alz.org/research/science/alzheimers_prevention_and_risk.asp. Accessed Oct. 31, 2010.
- Essentials of a diagnostic workup. Alzheimer's Association. http://www.alz.org/professionals_and_researchers_14902.asp. Accessed Oct. 31, 2010.
- Basics of Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's Association. http://www.alz.org/national/documents/brochure_basicsofalz_low.pdf. Accessed October 31, 2010.
- Late stage care. Alzheimer's Association. http://www.alz.org/national/documents/brochure_latestage.pdf. Accessed Nov. 2, 2010.
- Strobel, G. Noisy response greets revised diagnostic criteria for AD. Alzheimer Research Forum. http://www.alzforum.org/new/detail.asp?id=2522. Accessed Nov. 3, 2010.
- Neurological tests and procedures. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/misc/diagnostic_tests.htm. Accessed Nov. 3, 2010.
- Caring for a person with Alzheimer's disease. National Institute on Aging. http://www.nia.nih.gov/NR/rdonlyres/E0F45395-A473-4B26-8F7E-86F4314405CE/0/CaringGuide.pdf. Accessed Nov. 4, 2010.
- Medical foods. Alzheimer's Association. http://www.alz.org/national/documents/statements_medicalfoods.pdf. Accessed Nov. 19, 2010.
- Is it really approved? Food and Drug Administration. http://www.fda.gov/downloads/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/UCM143301.pdf. Accessed Nov. 19, 2010.
Find Mayo Clinic on