medical history

11 November 2013

10 Things to Tell Your Doctor

The list below comes from things I’ve heard from doctors and patients, as well as studies that have been done on the topic. Please share this list with others who are struggling with communication with their doctor.

Other Symptoms: Symptoms that you may not have connected to your headache condition.
Headache Diary: Which includes symptoms, treatments, and possible triggers.
Specific Treatment Questions: Have you researched other possible treatments? Ask your doctor about them.
Your Medical History: Make sure your doctor knows about past and present conditions/treatments. Family history is also helpful.
Your Medications / Supplements / Treatments: Have a detailed list of supplements, treatments, and meds you’re taking, including doses.
Satisfaction with Treatments: Be prepared to say how satisfied you are with treatments/meds you’re using.
Other Headaches: Tell your doctor if you get other headaches, even if they are mild.
News from other Health Professionals: If you go to other health professionals (eg chiropractor, physiotherapist), what would they tell your doctor?
Impact on Life: Specifically tell your doctor the impact your condition has on life. Missing events? Loss of productivity? Be specific.
I Appreciate You: Tell your doctor you appreciate them. A little thanks helps both of you.

20 January 2011

1% Thursday: Family Medical History

James Tips 2

This week, compile your relevant family medical history. I’m not talking about the history of your immediate family, but medical history of other family members that may impact you.

We’ve talked about doing a family medical history when we organized our medical records. But that was enough to do without the family history aspect, and I want to make sure we don’t miss this, because it’s important.

You’ll want to especially consider parents, siblings, grandparents, uncles and aunts, and great-grandparents. Try making a spreadsheet with this basic information:

Gender
Date of birth
For deceased relatives, age at death, date and cause of death
Ethnicity
Diet and exercise habits
Relation to you

Now, obviously, you’ll be interested in medical information. Here are some things you’ll want to focus on, particularly as a migraine/cluster headache/chronic daily headache/etc sufferer.

Cancer
Heart Disease
Migraine/Cluster etc (any kind of headache – remember, headaches were understood differently even 20 years ago)
Diabetes
Depression/anxiety
Dementia
Asthma
Arthritis
Mental illness
High blood pressure/high cholesterol
Stroke
Kidney disease
Substance abuse (alcoholism, smoking, drugs)
Vision/hearing loss
Infertility or miscarriaged
Epilepsy

In many cases, finding out this information can be challenging. I highly suggest you read the Mayo Clinic’s article Medical history: Compiling your medical family tree to get you thinking before you start talking to family members.

As challenging as it may be, it’s very worth it to have an organized medical family tree. Not just for your benefit, but for your other family members as well!

What is 1% Thursday?

Every Thursday at Headache and Migraine News (weather permitting) we’ll talk about one measurable, practical thing we can do to make our lives just 1% better. Usually it will be something very easy, sometimes it will be a challenge. Let us know if you try it, or share an idea of your own – and maybe a year from now we’ll see that things have really changed for the better!

24 June 2010

1% Thursday: Your Medical History

James Resources 0

This week: Organize your Medical History.

I’m always reminding you that you need to work with a doctor or specialist who knows your medical history. Great, but in this modern world you may have several doctors at one time, or several over the years as you move, change doctors, deal with different conditions, etc.

It’s critical that we be responsible for our own health information. We need to have a handle on it before we can expect our doctors to. After all, it’s more important to us. That key to finding treatment may be something your doctor doesn’t even think to ask you.

There’s lots you can do to organize your medical files. The more organized you are, the better. However, it’s better to do something than nothing.

So if you don’t do anything else, grab a box and start throwing all your medical information in there. Simple, yet effective. A great place to start.

But again, the more organized you are, the better. For example, do you have a record of all the drugs and supplements you’ve taken over a lifetime? Doses? Time taken? Start now. What about family medical history? What conditions and diseases did your grandmother have? Grandfather?

There are many tools online to help you organize, and many insurance companies have tools to help you as well. However, be cautious about putting everything in an online system that could be obsolete in a few years. Keep hard copies.

Ready to get really organized? Here are a few online resources to get you thinking:

How to Organise Family Medical Records
For a Complete Medical History, Compile Your Own Health Records but be Cautious about Storing Them Online
A host of links from MedlinePlus here. Mostly related to the USA, but lots of great ideas for anywhere: Personal Health Records

What is 1% Thursday?

Every Thursday at Headache and Migraine News (weather permitting) we’ll talk about one measurable, practical thing we can do to make our lives just 1% better. Usually it will be something very easy, sometimes it will be a challenge. Let us know if you try it, or share an idea of your own – and maybe a year from now we’ll see that things have really changed for the better!