If you feel a symptom was brushed aside, the most useful next step is often to write down how it affects your daily life. Then bring a short list of clear questions about what happens next. The National Institute on Aging (NIA) suggests asking yourself whether a symptom affects your daily activities, which ones, and how. That kind of detail gives your clinician something specific to respond to. This guide turns that advice into a worksheet and a step-by-step plan.
If you think you may be having a medical emergency, call your local emergency number now. This guide is for preparing for a regular follow-up conversation. It is not for urgent situations.
Terms to Know
- Symptom: Something you notice or feel, such as pain, dizziness, or tiredness.
- Function: What you are able to do in daily life, such as walking, sleeping, working, driving, or taking care of yourself.
- Pattern: When a symptom happens, how long it lasts, how often it comes back, and whether it is getting better or worse.
- Next step: Any agreed action after a visit, such as a test, a follow-up date, or a plan to watch and check back.
- Prioritized list: Your concerns ranked in order. NIA’s Concerns worksheet asks you to list them “Most Important to Least Important.”
Three Ways to Describe a Symptom: How They Compare
The same symptom can be described in three ways. Each one gives your clinician different information.
- Describing the feeling
- Example: “My back hurts a lot.”
- What it shows: That something is wrong and how it feels to you.
- What it leaves out: When it happens, whether it is changing, and what it is stopping you from doing.
- Source basis: NIA suggests starting with “What exactly are my symptoms?”
- Describing the pattern
- Example: “It started in March, happens most mornings, lasts about an hour, and is getting worse.”
- What it shows: Timing, how often it happens, and which way it is heading.
- Source basis: NIA says doctors will ask when symptoms started, what time of day they happen, how long they last, how often they occur, and whether they seem to be getting worse or better.
- Describing function
- Example: “Since March, I have stopped doing my morning walk and need help carrying groceries.”
- What it shows: What the symptom is doing to your daily life.
- Source basis: NIA suggests asking, “Do the symptoms affect my daily activities? Which ones? How?” It also notes that doctors may ask whether symptoms keep you from going out or doing your usual activities.
Using all three together gives the fullest picture. NIA also states, “Being honest about what you are experiencing doesn’t mean that you are complaining. The doctor needs to know how you feel.”
What the sources do not tell us: Neither source says how often symptoms are dismissed, or promises that more detail will lead to a particular test, diagnosis, or result. A clear description helps the conversation. What happens next is up to you and your care team.
Step-by-Step Field Guide
Step 1: Write down what was said at the last visit
Editorial suggestion: While it is fresh, note what you described, what you were told, and any plan, even if the plan was “wait and see.” This helps you ask a clear follow-up question instead of starting over.
Step 2: Track the pattern
Use the questions NIA says doctors commonly ask, plus NIA’s self-check questions:
- When did it start?
- What time of day does it happen?
- How long does it last: seconds, minutes, hours, days?
- How often does it happen?
- Is it getting better or worse?
- Does anything you do make it better or worse?
Step 3: Document function, not just feeling
NIA’s Changes to Discuss worksheet includes these everyday areas and leaves space to note the date you noticed each change:
- Daily functioning: Tasks you now do differently, more slowly, or not at all.
- Physical activity: Exercise or movement you have cut back or stopped.
- Mobility and driving: Changes in getting around.
- Accidents, injuries, or falls: What happened and when.
- Sleep: Changes in how you sleep.
- Memory and thinking: Changes you have noticed.
NIA’s guidance on what to tell your doctor also mentions whether symptoms keep you from going out, so note any plans, work, or social activities you have skipped.
Example format: “Since early March, I stopped walking to the mailbox because of this. I used to do it daily.”
Step 4: Rank your concerns
NIA’s Concerns worksheet asks you to list concerns from most to least important. NIA’s appointment guidance also suggests asking about the most important ones first. Put the dismissed symptom at the top if it matters most to you.
Step 5: Prepare your next-step questions
These questions come from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) starter list:
- What is the test for?
- When will I get the results?
- Why do I need this treatment?
- Are there any alternatives?
These are suggestions from our editorial team, not from the sources. Change them to fit your situation:
- What do you think may be going on, and what are you still unsure about?
- Based on what I’ve described about my daily activities, does anything change your thinking?
- If this does not improve, when should I contact you again, and what changes should prompt me to call sooner?
- What is the plan we are agreeing on today?
Step 6: Bring support and take notes
NIA notes that it can help to bring a family member or close friend who can take notes and help you remember what the doctor said. NIA also advises telling the doctor, your interpreter, or staff if you do not understand your diagnosis or instructions.
Step 7: Leave with a clear next step
Editorial suggestion: Before the visit ends, repeat the plan back in your own words, such as a test, a follow-up date, or when to call. If no plan was stated, ask what it is.
Your One-Page Worksheet
Copy this list onto paper or into a notes app before your next appointment:
- The symptom: What exactly am I experiencing?
- Start date: When did I first notice it?
- Pattern: Time of day, how long it lasts, how often, better or worse?
- What helps or hurts: Anything that makes it better or worse?
- Function: One to three daily activities it affects, with the date of each change.
- What I was told last time: What was said and what the plan was.
- My top concern today: One sentence.
- My questions: Two to four questions from Step 5.
- Today’s plan: Write it down before you leave.
NIA offers free printable worksheets, including Concerns, Changes to Discuss, and Medications, on its Talking With Your Doctor Worksheets page.
Where to Go From Here
If you are new to Better Health Questions, our Start Here page explains how the site’s guides are organized. To learn how we choose and check sources, see our How We Research page.
Sources
- National Institute on Aging. Talking With Your Doctor: Worksheets. Last reviewed June 10, 2021.
- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The 10 Questions You Should Know. Last reviewed November 2020.
- National Institute on Aging. What Do I Need to Tell the Doctor? Last reviewed February 3, 2020.
- National Institute on Aging. How to Prepare for a Doctor’s Appointment. Last reviewed February 3, 2020.
About This Guide
This article is general educational information to help you prepare for conversations with your healthcare team. It is not medical advice. It does not diagnose conditions, recommend treatments, or replace care from a qualified healthcare professional. Better Health Questions is an independent educational publication. It is not a medical practice and is not affiliated with any organization that used this domain before. If you think you may be having a medical emergency, call your local emergency number.