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Preparing for your appointment
By Mayo Clinic staffYou're likely to start by first seeing your primary care doctor, although he or she may eventually refer you to a hand surgeon.
To get the most out of your appointment, it's a good idea to prepare for it. Here's some information to help you 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 medical conditions you have, injuries you're recently experienced or jobs or hobbies you have that might involve stress on your affected hand or foot.
- Make a list of all medications, as well as any vitamins or supplements, that you're taking.
- Write down questions to ask your doctor.
List your questions from most important to least important in case time runs out. Some basic questions you might want to ask your doctor include:
- What is likely causing my symptoms or condition?
- Other than the most likely cause, what are other possible causes for my symptoms or condition? (Although there's no clear cause for ganglion cyst, there may be factors that contribute to it, such as osteoarthritis, overuse of the affected area or injury to it.)
- Do I need any tests?
- Is my problem likely temporary or chronic?
- What is the best course of action?
- What are the alternatives to the primary approach that you're suggesting?
- I have these other health conditions. How can I best manage them together?
- Are there any restrictions that I need to follow?
- Should I see a specialist? What will that cost, and will my insurance cover seeing a specialist? (You may need to call your insurance provider yourself to get some of these answers.)
- Are there any brochures or other printed material that I can take home with me? Do you recommend visiting Web sites?
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 spend more time on. Your doctor may ask:
- When did you first notice the lump?
- Do you have any pain or tenderness?
- Is it interfering with your ability to use your joint?
- What, if anything, seems to improve your symptoms?
- What, if anything, appears to worsen your symptoms?
What you can do in the meantime
If you experience worsening of symptoms with certain activities — for example, repetitive hand movements — you might want to minimize or avoid such actions, if possible. To relieve pain, consider an over-the-counter pain reliever, such as acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) or ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, others).
