Questions for the Doctor...

[WRD_123]

Hey everyone,

I was diagnosed probably a month ago now... and have my appointment coming up soon in May.

Looking back on your own experiences, what are some questions you wish you would have asked your doctor early on?

Or just what are some basic questions that would be helpful for me to ask in the beginning?

I'm traveling a little bit of a distance to this appointment so I want to make the best out of it.

[HereIAm]

Hi WRD!

Welcome to the forums.  I am glad you are here, but sorry for the reason.

Make sure to write down your questions before you go.  I might suggest the following:

1.  Ask the doctor what the doctor thinks you should be reading to educate yourself on the disease.
2.  Ask the doctor how many people with hiv he/she sees and how often. (he/she should probably be following at least 100 patients, otherwise, you may want to find someone else).
3.  Ask for an explanation of your lab work, especially ask about the CD4 count, the %, the viral load and the genotyping.
4.  Ask about exercising, eating and healthy living.
5.  If you smoke, discuss stopping smoking.
6.  Outline the recommended course of treatment over the next year or so for you (lab work, medications, visits, etc).
7.  See if dr will communicate with you electronically, since you live far away.
8.  Discuss the medicine(s) the doctor is prescribing -- everything from side effects to compliance with the schedules, etc.

And, ask anything else you can think of.

I hope that helps.  Those are just my thoughts.

[WRD_123]

HereIAm,

This is very helpful! I appreciate your reply.

I don't smoke.. so I think that is a plus. I try to eat healthy as much as possible too.

Do you think I'll be able to work something out where I can go to a local doctor sometimes... instead of traveling so far? Do you think they'd let me?

Thanks!

WRD

[HereIAm]

WRD,

You are welcome.

Whether you can or should see a local doctor is a great question.   This is something you should discuss with the Infectious Disease doctor.  It may not be a good idea to see someone local, due to lack of experience treating HIV patients.  You will likely need some sort of access to health care that is not too far away.  So, you may need to work with someone closer to you or move closer to a doctor.

Difficult questions.  But, sort this out with your doctor and your case worker, if you have one.  Or, you may want to call and discuss this with the nearest AIDS Service Organization.