Tips For A Productive Telemedicine Visit Regarding A Potential Hormone Imbalance
These days, doctors and medical professionals are performing an increasing number of telemedicine visits. This saves you, as the patient, from having to commute to the doctor's office, sit in a waiting room, and then drive all of the way back home again. It also allows doctors to maintain smaller offices, which helps keep costs down. With most patients still adapting to telemedicine, however, it is important that you take the time to think about and prepare for your visit beforehand. Here are some things to ponder and plan in preparation for your telemedicine visit regarding a potential hormone imbalance.
Keep track of your symptoms for at least a month.
If possible, keep a diary of your symptoms for at least a month, or for as long as possible before your appointment. This is especially important if you are a female, since hormone-related symptoms may fluctuate throughout the month, and the timing of your symptoms can go a long way towards helping your doctor make a diagnosis. Keep this diary in a digital format. You can write it up in a Word document or in Google Docs, and then just email your doctor a copy before the appointment, allowing them to reference your notes directly. If it is easier for you to keep the diary on paper, you can just snap a picture of the diary and send that to your doctor.
If you have any physical symptoms to show, dress in preparation for doing so.
Sometimes hormone imbalances result in physical symptoms such as bumpy skin, blemishes, or dry patches. If you have any physical symptoms like this to show, make sure you wear clothing that allows you to easily show the affected body parts to your doctor, via camera, during your visit. For example, if you have dry patches on your upper arms, wear a tank top — with a zip-up sweatshirt if it is cold — so you don't have to try and roll up your sleeves to show your arms to the doctor.
Write down a list of questions and symptoms beforehand.
Telemedicine visits often seem to fly by, and since you won't have that waiting room time to prepare, it is easy to forget something you wanted to mention. This can especially be the case with hormonal imbalances since there are usually many unrelated symptoms and problems to bring up. Make a list on a sticky note or in a document you can easily pull up and reference during the visit. Put a mark next to things as you bring them up so you don't forget a thing. You don't want to forget to mention a symptom that could be the thing that allows your doctor to arrive at a clear diagnosis!
Telemedicine visits can be convenient for the diagnosis of hormonal balances. Just make sure you follow the guidelines above for a productive visit. To learn more, contact a doctor like Dr. Lori Mancuso.