Questions You May Want To Ask Your Doctor

Address these questions to your Doctor, Pharmacist or Mental Health Professional.

General

  1. What is my diagnosis? Do you have any information on it for me to read?
  2. What is known about the cause of this particular illness?
  3. How certain are you of this diagnosis? If you are not certain, what other possibilities do you consider most likely, and why?
  4. Did the physical examination include a neurological exam? If so, how extensive was it, and what were the results?
  5. Are there any additional tests or exams that you would recommend at this point?
  6. Would you advise an independent opinion from another psychiatrist at this point?
  7. Who will be able to answer my questions at times when you are not available?
  8. If your current evaluation is a preliminary one, how soon will it be before you will be able to provide a more definitive evaluation of my illness?
  9. Are you currently treating other patients with this illness? (Psychiatrists vary in their level of experience with severe or long-term mental illnesses, and it is helpful to know the background of the psychiatrist who is treating you or your relative).
  10. When are the best times, and what are the most dependable ways, for getting in touch with you?

Medication Questions

  1. What is the name of the medicine prescribed for me?
  2. How is it supposed to help me? How soon will I notice a difference?
  3. What will happen if I don’t take it? Can I be forced to take it?
  4. Can I be treated without medication? Before I begin taking any medicine—or even if I am now taking medicine—can I have a second opinion?
  5. How is it supposed to make me feel? What are the “side effects” of the medicine? Will it affect any other medical or physical problems I have?
  6. Are there side effects that I should report immediately?
  7. Is it similar to or different from the medicine I was taking before this?
  8. How much should I take? How many times a day? What time of day? Before or after meals? What happens if I take too much?
  9. Would I benefit from other treatment besides medicine, like counseling?
  10. Are there other medications that might be appropriate? If so, why do you prefer the one you have chosen?
  11. How soon will I be able to tell if the medication is effective, and how will I know if it is effective?
  12. How do you monitor medications, and what symptoms indicate that they should be raised or lowered?
  13. If I stop taking my medication, when will it be out of my system?

Life Style Questions

  1. Can I drink alcohol or beer when taking this medicine? Is there any food or other drink I should avoid?
  2. Are there other medicines I should avoid when taking this medicine?
  3. Will this medicine affect my interest in sex?
  4. (For males) Will it affect my ability to have an erection?
  5. Should I drive a car or operate machinery while taking this medication?
  6. (For females) Should I take the birth control pill while taking this medicine? If I get pregnant while taking this medicine, could it have any effect on my baby? Should I take it while nursing?

Long Term Effects

  1. (For females in child bearing years) Will this affect my menstrual periods?
  2. Is there anything else I should know about this medicine? How often will you review with me what the medicine is doing? How long will I need to take this medicine? How soon may I take less?
  3. If I take this medicine for a long time, what can it do to me?
  4. What is Tardive Dyskinesia (TD)? Can I get TD from taking this medicine?**
  5. What will happen if I stop taking this medicine? Will my symptoms return?
  6. (For males) Will this medication render me to be impotent?

**Definition: This is a condition that involves rhythmical involuntary movements of the tongue, face, mouth, or jaw.

Treatment

  1. What treatment do you think would be most helpful? How will it be helpful? What will be the contribution of the psychiatrist to the overall program of treatment?
  2. Will treatment involve services by other specialists (i.e., neurologist, psychologist, allied health professionals)? If so, who will be responsible for coordinating these services?
  3. How long will treatment take, and how frequently will you and the other specialists be seeing the patient?
  4. What will be the best evidence that the patient is responding to treatment, and how soon will it be before these signs appear?
  5. What do you see as the family’s role in this program of treatment? In particular, how much access will the family have to the individuals who are providing the treatment?

Some useful questions to ask in special situations:

If you or your relative has manic or depressive symptoms:

Did you perform a thyroid screening? If so, what was the result? If not, do you think it would be appropriate to perform one?

If you or your relative have been taking Lithium for six months or more:

Have you performed an assessment of the kidney function? How frequently do you think there should be reassessments of thyroid and kidney function in connection with the ongoing Lithium treatment?

If you or someone you know would like more information on mental illness or wish to request an educational presentation, please contact:

NAMI IOWA (Alliance for the Mentally Ill of Iowa)
5911 Meredith Drive Suite E
Des Moines IA 50322-1903
Phone: (515) 254-0417 or (800) 417-0417 IOWA ONLY
Fax: (515) 254-1103
Email: info@namiiowa.com