the time for questions

[tammyscholey]

im back to see my hepatologist this week and cant wait, i have lots of questions, im not good at medical jargon and retaining it so do you think they will give me a printout if i ask?

have a good weekend everyone x

[AyrshireK]

Have you got someone who can go with you? I accompany my hubby to every appointment and we go with a written list of questions which we make sure we go through and I jot down answers. Since hubby has confusion and memory difficulties we often spend a lot of time after appointments going over the hospital discussions repeatedly.

Two pairs of ears are better than one. Ask your doctor if you can be copied into the report/letter they share with your GP (we've never been successful in getting access to those but some people manage it) and that way you'll have written notes of their findings at consultation.

Best wishes for your appointment

Katie x

[tammyscholey in reply to AyrshireK]

hi x think i might ask my sister and definately take paper and pen, i usually just sit there like a nodding dog, then when ive left , think, what was she going on about? so yes thankyou, actually never thought of asking someone to come with me, thankyou

[AyrshireK in reply to tammyscholey]

I find that the doctors often ask me more than they ask hubby and certainly if they ever phone the house (as one consultant did a couple of times) they always talk to me because they know that hubby isn't taking it in.

During his transplant assessment we made sure that I could be there practically the whole time (barring the scans and physical tests) and I was there all day, every day so could help him with all the consultations, discussions etc. etc.

It is best to have someone with you then you both hear what is being said and can discuss it later, we often find that hubby has miss heard or got confused with the medical jargon. You want to get the best out of your appointments - no good leaving and on the journey home saying "I wish i'd asked this or that!".

Hope your sister can come with you, will help to have someone in the family 'in the loop' as to what's going on etc.

Best wishes, Katie xx

[Bermuda1]

I always take a paper and pen , and have some pre prepared questions. I expect complete and satisfactory answers to them , and will not allow the consultants to dismiss them , fob me off or give less than indepth explanation. As I have said to them before its my story and I hold the pen , to be proactive in my approach I need to have all the information possible and this enables me to take an very active part in my maintainance of as healthy a liver as still possible. I also insist upon full written reports on every blood test and scan , including ultra sounds possible. The top consultant has agree this , and actually sent a very complimentary report about me to my GP. I think he thought about my consultation after the event , as he was desperately trying to fob me off at the time and I was quite firm with him. Its your body and you can only control what you can , but knowledge is an essential tool in this. Good luck, firm but friendly , it works.

[Hidden]

I remember one time when. My H.E was bad enough for my wife to call for an ambulance and I ended up on the Dementia ward with the doc' asking me how much I had been drinking, I couldn't write, remember any part of the conversation or use the voice recorder on my mobile.

My point being that we do really need someone to be there with us at these sessions, if that person is your carer, they really should be there anyway.

To be honest, you don't need that additional stress.

Good luck

Mike x

[gamesmaker]

Everything has been said already -I would agree with what has been said. Kings always sends a copy of the GP letter to the patient - other hospitals have different policies. Do take a friend, do take notes and do not be afraid to refer immediately back to the doctor along the lines of 'as I understand it, you have just explained that xxxxx' - have I got that right. It gives a chance for everyone to be clear about what was said. Good luck!

[Catfishjumpin]

They have to give you a copy of your blood work. Ask for it. Take it, go to google and one at a time look up the normal score for all on your list then compare that to your scores. I then research what I can eat or not eat or do to make my scores more normal. Its a shame they have no one doing this for us but I have been doing it myself for 12 years now. I hope that helps.

[Raksha1964]

I agree with everything said, at QE Birmingham they will always send a copy of everything sent to GP, by post or can access via Internet if signed up. We also asked for them to explain things didn't understand simply, in foul proof English, they always happy to do this. Good luck. Also found the British liver trust good at answering questions & have loads leaflets can download etc

[Hidden]

😘😘 just a little add in - some hospitals/consultants won't give you blood test results 😫😫😫 I have asked at every appointment and the best one (at Kings) is 'the printer doesn't work' - which makes things awkward as you can't really demand them there and then 😢😢 the printer never seems to work but hey ho - they do send a follow up letter about a month later with minimal blood results on xxx you can ask for them to tell you blood results - I often do that and ask for 'AST-Billirubin-platelets-GGT-alp/alt??-albumin and neutrophils' don't ask me why 😂😂😂 but those are the ones I understand from pre-transplant days xxxx good luck hope you get the info you need ❤️❤️❤️