Questions for Your Doctor
If you or a loved one is suffering from chronic or acute pain and desires pain treatment, you may consider talking to your doctor or a health professional at a pain rehab center. Before you do however, there are some important questions you may want to think about. The following is a list of questions you may want to ask your doctor upon arrival. As you look through the list, determine any further questions you may have.
- What is causing my pain?
- Is there anything I should know about this cause of my pain?
- Am I allowed to take any medications?
- Are there any serious symptoms I should be watching out for?
- Do I need to cut back on exercising?
- What specific activities should I limit?
- Will I need surgery?
- Am I still allowed to work?
- Do you recommend any specific therapies or treatment programs?
- How long will this pain continue for?
- Will my pain come back again?
- Can I prevent my pain from coming back again?
Questions Your Doctor May Have for You
After you have asked the doctor your series of questions, he will also probably have some questions for you regarding pain treatment. Take a look at the questions listed below to get an idea of what may be asked. Think about what type of a response you might give.
It is very important for you to tell your health care provider or pain treatment facility the details of your pain. If you skip an important detail, you may be diagnosed incorrectly and you will not receive the proper pain treatment needed. Only you know what your body is experiencing enough to find ultimate relief.
- How long have you been experiencing this pain for/?
- Where is the pain located?
- Is the pain located in more than one area?
- Does the pain seem to shift?
- What level of pain are you experiencing?
- What type of pain are you experiencing?
- Is the pain continuous, sharp, burning or aching?
- Are you taking any medications or involved in any treatment programs?
- What types of activities make the pain worse?
- What activities make the pain better?
- Is this the first time you have experienced this type of pain before?
- How is this pain interfering with your life?
- Can you think of any circumstance which may have triggered this pain?
Your doctor will probably need to give you a physical examination to identify how this pain affects your body and may also wish to have an x-ray, MRI or CAT scan performed. It may also be necessary, depending on your specific complaints, for blood and urine samples to be taken.
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