Have you struggled with getting a diagnosis or the right treatment plan from your vulvar lichen sclerosus medical team?
5 Must-Haves to Make Your Next Doctor's Visit the Best One Yet
We want to share five must-have resources to make your next doctor's visit the best one yet. Learn how to prepare for a practitioner visit, from symptom tracking to advocating for yourself to dealing with appointment anxiety.
Have you struggled with getting a diagnosis or the right treatment plan from your vulvar lichen sclerosus medical team? We want to share five must-have resources to make your next doctor's visit the best one yet. Learn how to prepare for a practitioner visit, from symptom tracking to advocating for yourself to dealing with appointment anxiety.
Making Your Next Doctor's Visit the Best, Starts Before Your Appointment
Appointment anxiety can happen anytime, the first doctor’s appointment, a follow-up appointment, or an emergency appointment. It’s not unusual for different emotions to take over before a doctor’s appointment, including fear, shame, anger, or sadness.
Being present at a doctor’s appointment is important for your health. You must be fully engaged to ask questions and voice your needs and concerns. If you are consumed by anxiety, you may forget important details about your care or treatment.
In the podcast “How to Overcome Appointment Anxiety so You Can be Your Best Advocate,” Kathy shares the tips and tricks she uses to help free her from appointment anxiety. She shares techniques such as “Five Senses” grounding and other focusing strategies to help let go of what you can’t control.
Self Advocacy Goes a Long Way to Making Your Next Doctor's Visit the Best
One of the best ways to make your next doctor's visit the best is to be an advocate for yourself at doctor’s appointments. By actively engaging and asking questions, you make the most of your time with your medical provider. It ensures you are clear on the treatment course and your decisions.
In the podcast episode “How to be a Better Self Advocate in Your Healthcare,” Kathy shares her three-stage process to becoming a better self-advocate in her healthcare, so you can apply these techniques and make your next doctor's visit the best.
If you'd like a step-by-step guide on preparing before, during, and after the appointment, our PDF guide, “Preparing for a Practitioner Visit,” can help. In this guide, we included a symptom-tracking worksheet to record your symptoms related to vulvar lichen sclerosus, such as burning, itching, and tearing.
Please note that this PDF includes a vulvar area diagram to help with symptom location labeling. Register below to get access to the guide.
If you prefer a digital symptom tracker, make a copy of our LS Symptom Tracker.
The PDF guide is the perfect companion to the replay of Dr. Jennifer Morgan’s video session from the 2022 Holistic Healing Summit, “How to be Your Own Advocacy Super Hero.” In this session, Dr. Morgan explains how to open lines of communication with your medical team and the insurance company. Doing so will decrease barriers to quality care, eliminate fear, and empower your decision-making today.
Using these five resources together will provide you with an easy-to-follow, anxiety-reducing plan to make your next doctor's visit the best one yet. If you need more support on your journey to living with lichen sclerosus, consider becoming an LSSN member.