You’ve visited the gastroenterologist, received a diagnosis and
are either currently undergoing treatment or considering your options.
Now what do you do? Just sit back and wait for the treatment to work?
It’s never that easy. In order for you to get the most from
your treatment, keep a steady and fruitful dialogue going with your
gastroenterologist, and maintain your overall well-being, you’ll
need to be more proactive about your condition and your health.
That means writing things down.
After an initial visit with your gastroenterologist, he or she may
ask you to keep a written record of your symptoms to help determine the
severity of your condition as well as to observe how treatment is
working for you. A simple way to do this is to keep a daily diary of the
symptoms you experience.
Symptom Diary
For each day of the week, record the following:
The number and quality of your bowel movements (e.g., liquid, soft,
firm, bloody)
Whether you suffer from stomach pain or cramps
Your appetite
Your temperature
Indicate when your symptoms are at their worst (e.g., after meals or
when you first wake up), and rate their severity using the following
scale:
0 = not severe
1 = mildly severe
2 = moderately severe
3 = severe
For your convenience, we’ve created a downloadable symptom
diary that you can use to track your symptoms. You can then bring your
diary with you to the gastroenterologist and discuss your symptoms more
specifically.
