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Preparing for your appointment
By Mayo Clinic staffYou're likely to first see your primary care physician or possibly an emergency room doctor, depending on the severity of your signs and symptoms. However, you may then be referred to a doctor who specializes in infectious diseases.
If you have time before your appointment to prepare, it's helpful to have certain information available. Here's what you can do to help get ready for your appointment, and what to expect from your doctor.
What you can do
- Write down any symptoms you're experiencing, including any that may seem unrelated to the reason for which you scheduled the appointment.
- Write down key personal information, including any recent travel to areas where ticks might be common.
- Make a list of all medications, vitamins and supplements that you're taking, along with dose information.
- Write down questions to ask your doctor.
Your time with your doctor may be limited, so preparing a list of questions can help you make the most of your time together. For erhlichiosis, some basic questions to ask your doctor include:
- Did a tick bite cause these symptoms?
- Are there other possible causes for my symptoms?
- What kinds of tests do I need?
- Does this infection have any lasting effects?
- What treatments are available, and which do you recommend?
- What types of side effects can I expect from treatment?
- Are there any alternatives to the primary approach that you're suggesting?
- I have other health conditions. How can I best manage them together?
- Is there a generic alternative to the medicine you're prescribing me?
- Can I get this infection again from another tick bite?
- What can I do to prevent this type of infection in the future?
- Are there any brochures or other printed material that I can take home with me? What Web sites do you recommend visiting?
In addition to the questions that you've prepared to ask your doctor, don't hesitate to ask questions during your appointment at any time that you don't understand something.
What to expect from your doctor
Your doctor is likely to ask you a number of questions, such as:
- When did you first begin experiencing symptoms?
- Have your symptoms been continuous or occasional?
- How severe are your symptoms?
- Have you traveled recently?
- Have you been hiking, golfing or participating in any other outdoor activities recently?
- Have you found any ticks on you? If yes, when?
- Have you had any problems with antibiotics in the past?
- Sexton DJ. Human ehrlichiosis and anaplasmosis. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Jan. 29, 2010.
- Prevention and control. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/ticks/prevention.html. Accessed Feb. 24, 2010.
- Questions and answers. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/ticks/diseases/ehrlichiosis/faq.html. Accessed Feb. 24, 2010.
- Stone JH, et al. Human monocytic ehrlichiosis. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2004;292:2263.
- Ganguly S, et al. Tick-borne ehrlichiosis infection in human beings. Journal of Vector Borne Disease. 2008;45:273.
- Walker DH, et al. Rickettsial diseases. In: Fauci AS, et al. Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine. 17th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Medical; 2008. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=2898577. Accessed Feb. 25, 2010.
- Elston DM. Tick bites and skin rashes. Current Opinion in Infectious Diseases. In press. Accessed Feb. 24, 2010.
- Other tick-borne diseases. American Lyme Disease Foundation. http://www.aldf.com/Ehrlichiosis.shtml. Accessed Feb. 25, 2010.
- Removing ticks. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/ticks/tick_removal.html. Accessed Feb. 25, 2010.
- Prevention of tickborne infections. American Academy of Pediatrics. http://aapredbook.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/2009/1/2.13?maxtoshow=&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=prevention+of+tickborne&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&volume=2009&issue=1&resourcetype=HWCIT. Accessed Feb. 26, 2010.
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