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Preparing for your appointment
By Mayo Clinic staffYou're likely to start by first seeing your family doctor or a general practitioner. However, in some cases when you call to set up an appointment, you may be referred immediately to a lung disorders specialist called a pulmonologist.
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 on what to expect from your doctor.
What you can do
- Note any symptoms you're experiencing. For interstitial lung disease, it will help your doctor to have as many details as possible about when your symptoms first appeared and how they may have changed or worsened over time.
- Write down possible occupational exposure to lung irritants. Consider every job you can remember since you started working. Your doctor will be especially interested to know if any work experiences, even many years ago, involved exposure to dusts, gases or chemicals.
- Write down possible environmental exposure to lung irritants. It will help your doctor to know if your symptoms appeared after contact with common bacteria-harboring culprits such as hot tubs, humidifiers or water damaged carpet. Also tell your doctor about exposure to pets, especially birds.
- 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 currently using or have used in the last two years. Include on your list prescription drugs, over-the-counter drugs, vitamins, herbs and supplements. Be sure to tell your doctor if you've used laxatives or nose drops containing mineral oil.
- Take film from any chest X-rays you've had in the last 10 years. It will help your doctor make a diagnosis if he or she can compare an old chest X-ray with the results of a current scan. The actual X-ray film is more important to your doctor than is the report. If your primary care physician had a chest X-ray done as part of your initial evaluation, bring that with you when you see a pulmonologist.
- 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.
During your first visit with your doctor, he or she will be focused on gathering information about your symptoms and medical history and ordering tests. You'll likely return for a later visit to review test results and talk about treatment options.
For interstitial lung disease, some basic questions to ask your doctor at your initial appointment 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?
- How will you monitor my condition over time?
- Will it help if I stop smoking now?
- If the people I live with smoke, will it aggravate my condition?
- Can I continue to work?
- I have these other health conditions. How can I best manage them together?
- Are there any restrictions that I need to follow?
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. Think about your answers ahead of time. Your doctor may ask:
- When did you first begin experiencing symptoms?
- How quickly have your symptoms gotten worse?
- Are your symptoms persistent, or do they seem to disappear and then reappear?
- Have you had a fever or chills?
- Have you ever coughed up blood?
- Have you ever done any of the following types of work: mining, machine tool grinding, sandblasting, working with granite, welding, working in a shipyard, working in the aerospace or electronic industries, or farming?
- Have any current or former colleagues been diagnosed with lung conditions caused by irritants in the work environment?
- Have you recently had new contact with the following: air conditioners, humidifiers, pools, hot tubs, or water-damaged walls or carpet?
- Have any close relatives or friends been diagnosed with a related condition?
- Do you come into contact with birds through your work or hobbies? Does a neighbor raise pigeons?
- Do you have any family history of lung disease?
- Do you or did you smoke? If so, how much?
- Have you been diagnosed or treated for any other medical conditions? When?
What you can do in the meantime
If you smoke or share a home with people who smoke, try to cut back on your exposure to smoke while you wait for your appointment. The symptoms of any lung condition are made worse by inhaling smoke. No matter what your diagnosis, if you smoke, work with your doctor to make a plan for stopping.
- King TE, et al. Approach to diagnosis and management of the idiopathic interstitial pneumonias. In: Mason RJ, et al. Murray & Nadel's Textbook of Respiratory Medicine. 4th ed. St. Louis, Mo.: W.B. Saunders; 2005. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/138709448-3/0/1288/473.html?tocnode=51472932&fromURL=473.html#4-u1.0-B0-7216-0327-0..50056-2_2996. Accessed May 20, 2009.
- Raghu G. Interstitial lung disease. In: Goldman L, et al., eds. Goldman: Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/138709448-4/843693028/1492/374.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-2805-5..50097-5--cesec72_3869. Accessed May 20, 2009.
- King TE. Approach to the adult with interstitial lung disease. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed May 20, 2009.
- Interstitial lung diseases. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec05/ch055/ch055a.html. Accessed May 20, 2009.
- Aggarwal N, et al. Interstitial lung disease. In: Nilsson K, et al. The Osler Medical Handbook. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2006. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/142440259-3/850406526/1387/103.html#4-u1.0-B0-323-03748-8..50092-0_1514. Accessed May 20, 2009.
- Possible side effects of radiation therapy. American Cancer Society. Accessed May 20, 2009.
- King TE. Treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed May 20, 2009.
- Rosenow EC (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. May 31, 2009.
