One of the biggest tools that several health care professionals use to help track progress is a diary of some sort. It all depends on what exact problems a patient is having - it could be a food diary, a pain diary, a sleep diary, a medication diary - basically any and all information gathered on a daily basis to help figure out why a patient might be dealing with the specific problems they are dealing with.
I agree whole-heartedly with this method. Yes, it is tedious. Yes, it is pretty annoying sometimes. I fought it for a while - but having a diary for a short while can help figure out why certain symptoms are occurring, and to take a microscopic look at my life and figure out where I can make changes that might help my situation.
I still use medical diaries all the time. I have this specific notebook, and every couple of days and AT LEAST once a week if I get too swamped, I take some time to sit down and write down every appointment that I have. Sometimes I go into great detail, sometimes not. Every single appointment - ranging from diagnostic tests, doctor's appointments, treatments, consultations with dieticians and kinesiologists, etc... Any appointment that deals with my medical situation gets written down in this book. I also make sure to write down the date, the doctor's name, and any new meds or new dosages.
It seems a little overboard, maybe. My mom truly started it when I was younger. After several years, we had applied to get copies of all of my records. I quickly found out that after dealing with anything for more than a short while, you can forget things. Situations and reactions that were HUGE I could only vaguely remember. If my mom hadn't written down the dates of when things went on, I would have forgotten.
This way - keeping a good, concise record absolutely helps with dealing with any other health care professional. I find it is better with dates, with doctors' names, and even with photocopied results/records if need be. The better prepared I am, the more efficient things seem to run.
Long story made short: diaries for medical purposes are extremely helpful. I recommend them!
I agree whole-heartedly with this method. Yes, it is tedious. Yes, it is pretty annoying sometimes. I fought it for a while - but having a diary for a short while can help figure out why certain symptoms are occurring, and to take a microscopic look at my life and figure out where I can make changes that might help my situation.
I still use medical diaries all the time. I have this specific notebook, and every couple of days and AT LEAST once a week if I get too swamped, I take some time to sit down and write down every appointment that I have. Sometimes I go into great detail, sometimes not. Every single appointment - ranging from diagnostic tests, doctor's appointments, treatments, consultations with dieticians and kinesiologists, etc... Any appointment that deals with my medical situation gets written down in this book. I also make sure to write down the date, the doctor's name, and any new meds or new dosages.
It seems a little overboard, maybe. My mom truly started it when I was younger. After several years, we had applied to get copies of all of my records. I quickly found out that after dealing with anything for more than a short while, you can forget things. Situations and reactions that were HUGE I could only vaguely remember. If my mom hadn't written down the dates of when things went on, I would have forgotten.
This way - keeping a good, concise record absolutely helps with dealing with any other health care professional. I find it is better with dates, with doctors' names, and even with photocopied results/records if need be. The better prepared I am, the more efficient things seem to run.
Long story made short: diaries for medical purposes are extremely helpful. I recommend them!