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Many men don’t want to bother a doctor with trivial or potentially embarrassing problems and just keep putting off a visit to a GP. Don’t be one of them! Don’t bury your head in the sand – delaying treatment or ignoring symptoms can lead to serious and preventable conditions developing. Planning ahead will help you make the most of your visit to the GP, and here are a few pointers to make your visit as useful, easy and quick as possible. 


Booking the appointment

Find a GP you are comfortable talking to. If you don’t have one, ask a friend or family member to recommend one. If that doesn’t work, have a look at www.healthengine.com.au to find one in your local area. If you are not happy with your GP, don’t give up, try another one. Book a long consultation if you have a number of things to cover with your GP, so you are not rushing through your visit. You might want to find one with after hours opening times so it doesn’t conflict with work commitments. 


On the day of the appointment 

Call ahead to see if your GP is running on time. Take all your medications with you to the GP, including herbal remedies and vitamins. Write down a list of things you would like to discuss with the GP, this will help you cover the essentials in your visit.


At the appointment

If you take drugs such as marijuana or heroin, it is important to let your GP know. These drugs can interfere with other medications you may need, and your GP can make sure you get help to quit if you want to.

Start your appointment with the thing that is most important to you, or causing you the most concern, you won’t want to find you have run out of time before you get to cover off on your major issue. Be really honest with your GP, the best way they can help you is if all the facts are out in the open. There is nothing your GP hasn’t heard before, no matter how strange it sounds to you. 

Tell the GP about your family history of disease and illness. That means your parents, brothers and sisters, and any condition that effects other family members. Ask about any screening tests you should be having, such as for bowel, prostate and skin cancer. This is also the time to tell your GP if you have been feeling down or depressed, your GP can help with a referral to a counsellor.

Ask all the questions you want, this is the time to get the information you need from a 100% reliable source.


After the appointment

If you need a follow up appointment, make it on the way out, otherwise it can be easy to forget. Book in as soon as you can for any blood tests, x-rays, scans etc that the GP has ordered for you, same as before, they can be easy to forget!! And make sure you follow up the results of these tests with your GP.

Keep all your results in one place so they are easy to find. Keep a record of any readings, such as blood pressure and cholesterol.


Have an annual check up

It is a great idea to have an annual check up at the same time each year. Maybe around your birthday or Fathers’s Day, these dates could be a trigger for you. At this appointment talk to your GP about lifestyle choices that will maximise your health, such as weight control, quitting smoking, blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose readings.


  
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