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You
experienced
some
strange
symptoms.
You
visited
your
doctor.
She
diagnosed
you and
prescribed
a drug
for you
to take.
You did
all the
right
things,
too. You
asked
questions
about
your
diagnosis.
You
asked
more
questions
about
the
prescription
she
wrote.
When you
got
home,
you went
online
for even
more
information.
…But.
Something
just
doesn’t
feel
right.
Maybe
the drug
isn’t
working
the way
it
should.
Maybe
your
symptoms
aren’t
going
away or
your
injury
isn’t
healing.
Why not?
There’s
no
simple
answer,
of
course.
It’s
possible
you were
misdiagnosed.
It’s
possible
that
particular
drug
won’t
work for
you, or
you need
to give
it more
time to
work.
There
are
plenty
of
possible
explanations.
In this
day of
rushed
doctor
appointments
and
difficulty
getting
appointments,
you may
need to
take
things
into
your own
hands to
figure
out
what’s
really
going
on, and
what
needs to
be done
about
it. Not
that
you’ll
leave
your
doctor
out of
the
equation;
rather,
an
alternative
approach
might
help you
get more
accurate
answers,
more
quickly.
Here’s
how:
Make a
concise
list of
the
symptoms
you are
experiencing,
when
they
bother
you, and
if
possible,
what
triggers
them.
Does
that
drug
prescription
change
them in
any way
– better
or
worse?
Is there
something
you can
do to
alleviate
them,
even if
only
temporarily?
Return
to your
doctor
to
report
the
continuing
problems
you’re
having.
Review
your
symptoms
list
with
her,
then ask
her for
her
“differential
diagnosis.”
Differential
diagnosis
is a
process
doctors
use to
hone in
on the
correct
explanation
for what
is wrong
with us.
It
involves
development
of a
master
list of
possibilities,
usually
just in
their
heads.
Those
possibilities
should
be
whittled
down as
each
additional
symptom
gets
added to
the
list.
Unfortunately,
because
there’s
never
enough
time to
have a
thorough
discussion
with our
doctors,
that
approach
too
often
gets cut
short,
resulting
in
missed
diagnoses
and
therefore,
wrong
treatment.
By
asking
your
doctor
to list
differential
diagnosis
possibilities
for you,
it helps
her
rethink
her
diagnostic
process,
and can
help you
research
information
later,
too.
Best
case –
you’ll
end up
with a
more
accurate
diagnosis
and a
treatment
that
works.
It’s
teamwork
– you
and your
doctor
together.
You’ll
each
gain
respect
as you
work
through
the
process.
It’s
collaboration
that
reaps
real
benefits
to you
both. |
...............................
Learn
more
about
the
differential
diagnosis
process
and how
you can
use it
to learn
more
about
your
diagnosis. |
