Checklist

Questions to bring to a doctor's visit

Appointments are short, and it is easy to leave without asking what mattered. This checklist helps you gather what a clinician will probably want to know and lists questions you might ask. It works for a routine check, a visit about balance or a fall, a long-term condition, or a worry about memory. It is for preparing a conversation, not for working out what is wrong.

1. Before the visit: what to gather
2. Questions you might ask
3. At the end of the visit

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Why prepare

Clinicians generally find specific examples more useful than a general statement such as "my memory is bad" or "I am unsteady". A short note of what happened, when, and whether it was a one-off helps them judge whether a pattern is present. If you notice something over a couple of weeks, keep a short diary of it and bring it along. Having a companion also helps, because they may notice things you do not and can remember what was said.

Use it for the topic you have

Cross out what does not apply and add your own questions. For worries about memory, the guide on when to worry about memory changes explains what an evaluation can involve. For balance and falls, see reducing fall risk, and for long-term conditions, how chronic conditions change daily life.

What this page does not do

It does not suggest treatments, doses or medicines, and it cannot tell you what a clinician will find. Do not start, stop or change any medicine because of something on this page. If you cannot get an appointment and your symptoms are worsening, contact your doctor's office or a local advice line and describe what is happening.

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Where this comes from

The preparation items (specific dated examples, onset and course, medicines, other conditions and hospital stays, bringing someone who knows you) follow the advice for memory evaluations summarized in the guide linked above, and the general idea of keeping a medicine list follows US Food and Drug Administration guidance. The questions are general prompts written for this page, not clinical guidance or a quotation from any organization. The stroke warning signs listed in the box are those widely published by public health bodies; call emergency services if you see them.