Bring one page, not a folder
Appointments are short. A single sheet with your top three concerns, when they started and what you've tried is read; twenty pages are skimmed.
Before you go
Walk in with a page, walk out with a plan
Appointments are short and it's easy to leave with the one thing you came for still unsaid. Fill this in, copy it, and take it with you. Everything stays on your own device.
Name your top three first
Say them in the first minute: 'I've come about three things — X, Y and Z, and X matters most.' It stops the clock running out before the important one.
Dates beat adjectives
'Since March, most mornings, worse after meals' tells a clinician far more than 'quite often, quite bad'. Rough dates are fine.
You can decline the scale
You may ask not to be weighed, to be weighed facing away, or not to be told the number. Weight is needed for some medication dosing and pregnancy care — you can ask which applies.
Take someone or take notes
People remember under half of what's said in a consultation. A companion, or asking 'may I record this for myself?', fixes that.
Repeat the plan back
End with: 'So the plan is ___, and I come back if ___.' Mistakes surface right there, while there's still time to fix them.
Build your page
Who are you seeing?
When?
Your top three concerns, most important first
Tick anything you've noticed
When did it start, and what's the pattern?
Medicines, supplements and doses
What you've already tried
What would make today a good appointment?
Questions worth asking
If weight comes up
Tests
Understanding
Treatment
Next steps
Comfort
Add your own
Your page so far
Fill anything in on the left and it appears here, ready to copy.
If you feel brushed off
- Ask for your concern and the answer to be recorded in your notes — including if a test was declined. This is a reasonable request and it changes the conversation.
- Try: 'I hear that weight may be part of it. I'd still like to rule out the other causes of these symptoms.'
- You may ask for a second opinion, a different clinician, or a longer double appointment. None of these are rude.
- If you leave upset, write down what happened the same day while it's fresh. It helps at the next visit and with any complaint.
You're allowed to take up the whole appointment. Being organised isn't being difficult — clinicians genuinely prefer it.