Your Medical History
Fri., March 6, 10:04 AM
Yesterday U.D. and I went to yet another doctor, this one an otolaryngologist experienced in treating HHT patients. He took pictures (in full color!) of the inside of my nose, which almost looks as if it has a rash. He believes he can treat it — lasers are available now — and it will certainly make a difference to me if he can.
Meanwhile, I was once again reminded of the value of having one’s own written medical history. I keep mine on the computer and update it regularly; not every doctor needs the whole thing every visit. For my regularly doctors, who already have the first page, I usually print out just the medications page.
Although I knew that other doctors had contacted this one, I brought along not only my complete medhist, as I call it, but also the notes from the doctor at the HHT center. Somehow, that had not gotten into my chart, so they copied it and added it, along with the medhist, which impressed the doctor very much. (Even though I will have to have a brain MRI, just to rule out lesions there, my brain still seems to be working very well.) When the doctors catch up with me, I won’t print it; I shall keep it on a thumb drive.
[It is unfortunate that the HIPAA laws, which were supposed to protect your privacy, among other things, give some doctors an excuse to neglect sending your primary physician updates on your treatment. The other effect of HIPAA I’ve noticed is that, even though doctors say they’ll notify you when you need a new appointment, they don’t do that. When no one called about my next mammogram — which has to be at the center where I had my radiation therapy — I phoned the radiologist’s office. The airhead I spoke to didn’t know what I was talking about. When push comes to shove, you are your own advocate, so it really pays to keep your own chart. (I have even caught the medical aides in errors, when they’ve picked up the wrong chart. Common name.)]
Recalling the questionnaires you get at a doctor’s office, I tried to follow a similar format, and you can do the same. You can ask your doctor for a blank form to use as a guide if you can’t remember what they ask. Because Microsoft Word, my word processor of choice, has a simple table system, I set up my medhist, like my résumé, in a table. Top of the page is my full name, including my maiden name. Next is my birth date; I do not include my Social Security number/Medicare number. Maybe I’m paranoid, but my identity was lifted a couple of years ago, and the only people I had given that information were medical clerks.
Chronic conditions come next, bullet points. Do you smoke? Do you drink alcohol? List that too.
I used to list hospitalizations, because they asked; I can go back to 1946. But I added procedures to that, because many procedures that once required hospitalization are now done as outpatient surgery. Seven real hospitalizations and four outpatient procedures in sixty-eight years; I think I’m pretty fortunate.
I list allergies next, and that includes all kinds of sensitivities. Adhesive tape. Commercial antiperspirants. I list penicillin first, because it’s the first one I knew about; I don’t bother to mention that that allergy goes back to 1946. If I’m conscious, I can tell caregivers about allergies and not to constrict my left arm, but what if I’m not conscious?
They will ask, so you had better include your “female” history. Do you know at what age you started your periods? Most of us have a better recollection of when they ended, and they ask that too. (I remember sitting in a doctor’s office where a nurse asked an older lady when she had her last period. “I don’t get them any more because I had a hysterectomy,” said the patient. And the nurse repeated the question. They would want to know about the hysterectomy too, but first they needed that date.)
[In case you didn’t notice, I am a nosy woman. You never can tell when something you hear can come in handy. The difference between me and a gossip is that I try not to spread it around.]
You need to list the dates of your last medical exams — complete physical as well as other exams — and diagnostic procedures like mammograms and bone scans.
Finally, list your doctor’s name, address, and phone number. Fax number is good, if you know it. (And if you get it once and put it on the medhist, you always know it.) That’s about a page worth. My second page is medications. I always include the current date on the medications page, because I may change them, especially the supplements. Prescriptions are listed first; I have discovered that if you list generic names, doctors may not know what they are. Our pharmacy routinely substitutes generics for name brands if possible (so that I can pay less). Next I list over-the-counter medications — not many of those — which may interact with prescriptions or cause other symptoms, like elevated blood pressure. Finally, vitamins and supplements, which you may have to explain because doctors don’t believe in herbs.
Because I often bring only the second page to doctors I’ve visited before, I list all the current doctors on that page too.
In two pages I have just about all the information they can request. In the same file but never printed out, I have details about some of the chronic conditions. These are not for my doctors as much as for my family’s curiosity.
Be aware of your body.
Be aware of your perceptions.
Keep in mind that not every physical sensation
Is a symptom of a terminal illness.
(from “The Jewish Buddha”)
Remember, you are the expert for your health. It’s your body, and you know how it feels from the inside!
