Here is a master list of 37 questions for your doctor.
I stand firmly on empowerment.
The goal now, more than ever, is to get you to the place where you feel nothing less than 100% empowered on your healing journey.
One way this happens is through a deep desire for constantly asking questions; never being content with an answer or diagnosis that doesn’t feel right.
Health Research Questions
In the gut healing journaling SYSTEM I created for you, you’ll notice many areas for questions.
In particular:
- Doctor’s Visit Log
- Doctor’s Notes
- Research Questions
All three sections were included intentionally.
They each serve a different purpose, which you’ll see in the full journal.
Anyways, here is an example of what the Research Questions page looks like.
3 Reasons to Prepare Questions
Here are my top 3 reasons why I believe you must prepare questions:
Save time
As you know, your time with the medical practitioner today is highly limited.
To get the most mileage out of the visit, be prepared.
Show that you’ve done your research
Show up to the appointment confident.
By having the questions prepared, you’ll prove that you’ve done your research and are not there to take standard answers.
Decide if the provider is right for you
Being prepared with questions is the best way to decide of the provider is going to be right for you.
If his/her answers are short and cold, it might not be the best match for you.
Now, I want to help you fill this page.
Note: Some of these are condition specific. If it’s not clear which condition, I have put it in parenthesis at the end of the sentence.
Master List of 37 Questions for Your Doctor
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- Do you recommend further testing to understand more about any co-existing infections, overgrowths, or illnesses that might also be present? If so, what?
- Which supplements would be best for me while healing leaky gut syndrome?
- How should I take those supplements recommended?
- Are there any other specialists you might recommend for my (acne, fatigue, low-functioning thyroid, diabetes, etc.?)
- What do you suspect could be causing my IBS?
- Do you see any signs of nutritional deficiencies present due to malabsorption?
- Since I have IBS, do you think there is any reason to have a colonoscopy and/or endoscopy done to make sure there isn’t any tissue inflammation present?
- What other tests (blood, urine, stool) do you recommend to check for possible ailments/deficiencies that can be causing or contributing to my IBS?
- Is there a specific diet/types of foods I should be eating/not eating to alleviate my symptoms?
- How often do you recommend I have follow-up colonoscopy and/or endoscopies? What sort of follow-up care do I need?
- What are my treatment options?
- Which stage of disease progression am I in? And how can I ensure it doesn’t progress anymore?
- Am I Hydrogen or Methane-dominant? Or is there a combination of the two? (SIBO)
- Are there different treatment protocols depending on my bacteria dominance?
- How are my stomach acid levels? Can we test them to verify?
- Do you have any idea what my underlying cause of the SIBO is?
- Do you think it’s best to go the natural antibiotic way or Rifaximin and/or Neomycin route? (SIBO)
- How severe does the villi damage look? (Celiac)
- How long until I stop eating gluten do you think it will be until I’m feeling better? (Celiac)
- Because a PPI (proton-pump inhibitor) is intended to reduce stomach acid by inhibiting certain stomach cells from “pumping” acid into the stomach, it can actually do more harm than good, because we need acid in the stomach. Therefore, if a PPI is recommended, are there any alternatives to taking a PPI? (Heartburn, Reflux, GERD)
- Have we exhausted all options for what could be going on?
- What can you tell me about probiotic strains and species? And which one(s) do I need in particular?
- Do you think I’m ready for both probiotics and prebiotics?
- Are there more symptoms I should be watching for?
- I read xyz about this condition. Can you please tell me more about that?
Question Prompts
- What is your approach for/to____?
- What can you tell me about_____?
- Where can I find out more information about____?
- Do you know of a specialist who works with____?
- What are your thoughts on____?
- How will I know if____?
- Is there anything about______that’s not very commonly known, but that you see from time-to-time?
- What is the short-term and long-term prognosis for____?
- When will the results be back?
- How do you spell the name of_____?
- What are the side effects of____?
- What is your philosophy on____?
There you have it.
Any questions?!
I sure hope you feel empowered to ask all the things.
If you want all my resources for your gut healing journey, grab the Master Gut Healing Resources HERE.
If you liked this post, you might also enjoy:
- Beginner’s Guide to Digestive Health Testing
- SHOP all things Gut Health + Gut Healing
- Top supplements for healing your gut
Xox,
SKH
You will heal. I will help.
