How to prepare for your first appointment

At your first appointment the doctor sees you for the first time. Everything they know about your problem comes from what you tell them or from the results you bring. That is why preparing at home is so disproportionately useful: half an hour of work before the visit often decides whether the appointment ends with an answer or with a booking for further tests.

Write down how the problem has developed. When it started, whether it came on suddenly or gradually, what makes it worse and what eases it, whether it appears at a particular time of day, after meals, after exertion or at night. Add what you have already tried and whether it helped. In the consulting room these details are often forgotten; on paper they stay.

Bring the boxes of your medicines, not just their names. A brand name says less than the active substance and dose printed on the box, and products with the same active substance are sold under different names. Add to the same pile any dietary supplements, herbal preparations, nasal drops and contraception. These are medicines too, and they also interact with each other. If you have recently changed or stopped a medicine, say so as well; the doctor is just as interested in what you no longer take.

Bring previous results, including older ones and those from A&E. For imaging tests, bring the report and the images if you have them, not just the conclusion. The doctor here cannot see a result you received at another institution, and comparison with your previous state is often more important than today’s measurement itself.

Bring your health insurance card and an identity document. When a test requires preparation – for example, you come fasting for an abdominal ultrasound and for a gastroscopy – you will receive instructions when you book, and these take precedence over general advice found online. Do not stop regular treatment before the appointment on your own; if you think you should, ask when you book.

Write down three questions you want answered and read them out at the end of the appointment. If you did not understand something, ask again before you leave the clinic. Unclear instructions are a common reason why treatment does not go as well as it could.

If you are worried you will not remember the instructions, come with someone or take notes during the conversation. After the appointment you will receive a report with the findings and recommendations; read it the same day while the conversation is fresh, and give a copy to your personal doctor, who manages your further treatment.

When you book, say what the problem is. Different reasons for a visit need appointments of different lengths, and sometimes different preparation. Booking is managed by the provider that runs the clinic, and you can also check the price with them when the treatment is self-pay.