Mayo Clinic Health Manager
Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.
Get Started
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're likely to start by first seeing your family doctor or a general practitioner for signs or symptoms of liver disease or another condition that can lead to esophageal varices. However, in some cases when you call to set up an appointment, you may be told to immediately call 911 or your local emergency number to be taken to the hospital for urgent care. There you will be evaluated by a digestive disorders specialist called a gastroenterologist.
Because appointments can be brief, and because there's often a lot of ground to cover, it's a good idea to be well prepared for your appointment. Here's some information to help you get ready and learn what to expect from your doctor.
What you can do
- Be aware of any pre-appointment restrictions. At the time you make the appointment, be sure to ask if there's anything you need to do in advance. For example, you may need to stop eating and drinking the night before your appointment. You also may be asked to stop taking certain medications in the days leading up to your appointment.
- Write down any symptoms you're experiencing, including any that may seem unrelated to the reason for which you scheduled the appointment. For example, your doctor will want to know about changes such as new itching and swelling in your hands, legs and feet, or if you've noticed a decline in your concentration or memory.
- Write down key personal information, including any major stresses, recent life changes or recent travels. Also note your diet and exercise habits, including whether you use alcohol and if so, how much.
- Make a list of your key medical information, including other conditions you're being treated for and the names of the medications that you're taking. Include on your list every prescription and over-the-counter drug you use, as well as any vitamins and supplements.
- Take a family member or friend along, if possible. Sometimes it can be difficult to soak up all the information provided to you during an appointment. Someone who accompanies you may remember something that you missed or forgot.
- Write down questions to ask your doctor.
Your time with your doctor is limited, so preparing a list of questions will help you make the most of your time together. List your questions from most important to least important in case time runs out.
For esophageal varices, some basic questions to ask your doctor include:
- What is likely causing my symptoms or condition?
- Are there any other possible causes for my symptoms or condition?
- What kinds of tests do I need?
- What treatments do you recommend right now?
- What is the risk of my symptoms recurring?
- If I develop bleeding again, what treatments will we try next?
- What are the side effects of the treatments for this condition?
- I have these other health conditions. How can I best manage them together?
- Are there any restrictions that I need to follow?
- Is there anything I can do to prevent a recurrence of this problem?
- Should I see a specialist? What will that cost, and will my insurance cover seeing a specialist?
- Is there a generic alternative to the medicine you're prescribing me?
- 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. Being ready to answer them may reserve time to go over any points you want to talk about in-depth. Your doctor may ask:
- When did you first begin experiencing symptoms?
- Have your symptoms stayed the same or gotten worse?
- How severe are your symptoms?
- What have your stools looked like recently? Have they contained blood or are they black?
- Have you been vomiting blood or black material?
- Have you had symptoms of vomiting blood in the past?
- Have you noticed a decrease in how often you urinate?
- Have you been more thirsty than usual?
- Have you felt fatigued or lightheaded?
- Have you felt more forgetful, confused or less able to concentrate?
- Have you lost weight?
- Have you noticed any swelling of your abdomen or legs?
- Have you ever had hepatitis or yellowing of your eyes or skin (jaundice)?
- Have you traveled recently? Where?
- Have you been diagnosed or treated for any other medical conditions? When?
- What medications are you currently taking?
- Do you or did you drink alcohol? How much?
What you can do in the meantime
If you develop bloody vomit or stools while you're waiting for your appointment, call 911 or your local emergency number or go to an emergency room immediately.
- Dite P, et al. World Gastroenterology Organisation Practice Guidelines: Esophageal Varices. World Gastroenterology Organisation. http://www.worldgastroenterology.org/assets/downloads/en/pdf/guidelines/18_treatment_e_varices_en.pdf. Accessed Aug. 21, 2008.
- Sanyal, AJ. General principles of the management of variceal hemorrhage. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Aug. 21, 2008.
- Runyon, BA. Patient information: Screening for esophageal varices. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Aug. 21, 2008.
- Goff JS. Endoscopic variceal ligation. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Aug. 21, 2008.
- Portal hypertension. Merck Manuals Online Medical Library. http://www.merck.com/mmhe/print/sec10/ch135/ch135d.html. Accessed Aug. 21, 2008.
- Sanyal, AJ. Prediction of variceal hemorrhage. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Aug. 21, 2008.
- Sanyal, AJ. Treatment of active variceal hemorrhage. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Aug. 21, 2008.
- Sanyal, AJ. Primary prophylaxis against variceal hemorrhage in patients with cirrhosis. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Aug. 21, 2008.
- Sanyal, AJ. Prevention of recurrent variceal hemorrhage in patients with cirrhosis. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Aug. 20, 2008.
- Picco MF (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Fla. Aug. 24, 2008.
