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Preparing for your appointment
By Mayo Clinic staffIf your symptoms are severe and make it difficult for you to walk, urinate or feel your legs, call 911 or emergency medical help or have a friend or family member take you to the emergency room.
Rarely, symptoms may develop slowly enough that you would first make an appointment with your family doctor or a general practitioner. However, when you call to set up an appointment, your doctor may recommend that you seek immediate medical care.
If you have time before your appointment to prepare, the following information can 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.
- Write down any symptoms you're experiencing, including any that may seem unrelated to the reason for which you scheduled the appointment. Be as specific and detailed as possible in describing your symptoms, including what part of your body is affected and what adjectives you'd use to describe your discomfort.
- Write down key personal information, including any recent stresses or major life changes.
- Make a list of your key medical information. Your doctor will want to know about any recent infectious illnesses you've had, as well as any other health conditions with which you've been diagnosed or treated. Also write down any recent vaccinations or medical procedures you've had, as well as the names of all prescription and over-the-counter medications or supplements that you're taking.
- 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 transverse myelitis, important 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 now?
- Do I need to be hospitalized? For how long?
- How fully do you expect I will recover with treatment?
- Am I at risk of lasting complications? If yes, what are they?
- Will I need long-term therapy?
- Will I be able to return to work?
- Will I be able to live independently?
- I have these other health conditions. How can I best manage them together?
- Should I see a specialist? What will that cost, and will my insurance cover seeing a specialist?
- 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?
- How would you describe your symptoms?
- Have your symptoms changed or gotten worse over time?
- Where is your pain, weakness or uncomfortable sensations located?
- Have you noticed problems with movement and coordination?
- Has your appetite changed?
- Have you noticed a change in your bowel or bladder control?
- Are you having any difficulty breathing?
- Have you recently had any infections?
- Have you recently had any vaccinations?
- Have you traveled abroad lately? Where?
- Have you had any medical procedures in recent history?
- Have you been diagnosed or treated for any other medical conditions?
- Transverse myelitis fact sheet. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/transversemyelitis/detail_transversemyelitis.htm. Accessed Nov. 1, 2008.
- Eisen A. Disorders affecting the spinal cord. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Nov. 1, 2008.
- Kerr D. Transverse myelitis. In: Johnson RT, et al. Current Therapy in Neurologic Disease. 6th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: C.V. Mosby; 2001. http://www.scribd.com/doc/2581918/KerrCurrent-therapy-chapter-with-figures. Accessed Nov. 1, 2008.
- Petti CA. Molecular diagnosis of central nervous system infections. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Nov. 1, 2008.
- Acute transverse myelitis. The Merck Manuals Online Medical Library: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec16/ch224/ch224b.html. Accessed Nov. 1, 2008.
- Weinshenker BG, et al. Neuromyelitis optica IgG predicts relapse following longitudinally extensive transverse myelitis. Annals of Neurology: 2006;59:566.
- Jacob A, et al. An approach to the diagnosis of acute transverse myelitis. Seminars in Neurology. 2008; 28(1):105.
- Weinshenker BG [expert opinion]. Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Oct 6, 2008.
