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We all need to get doctor’s appointment every once in a while, right? Be it for a regular check-up or even for a serious health condition that might have been bothering you. But, there are some important pointers you need to sort through when it comes on how to prepare for doctor appointment.
Depending on what you are seeing the doctor for, there are certain restrictions and factors that one does need to keep in mind. There is no point doing things your own way and ending up not getting the needed diagnosis.
In here, we are going to share some of the best things you should never do before a doctor appointment.
How To Prepare For Doctor Appointment?
Given that you could be going in with a serious condition that requires lab testing for better diagnosis, it is quite important that you keep certain important factors in mind before you do end up visiting them.
To help you out, we have sorted through some of the important pointers that you need to keep in mind.
1. Avoid drinking coffee
If you have a doctor’s appointment scheduled to get your blood pressure checked out amidst the other diagnosis, it is very important that you do avoid drinking coffee before the appointment.
Since the caffeine in the coffee has excitatory impacts (R) on the body and the blood pressure, chances are that drinking a cup of coffee before an appointment will end up causing spikes in the blood pressure levels, more than what the normal levels would be.
Additionally, the same goes out for the consumption of tobacco as well, because that can end up interfering with the normal body functions.
Read: How To Wake Up Without Coffee? 20 Amazing Non-Caffeinated Ways!
2. Avoid a high-fat meal before blood tests
If you have a blood test and analysis planned out, how to prepare for doctor appointment? It is best suggested that you avoid consuming a very high fat meal because that does have negative impacts on the final test results.
Eating a high fat meal tends to cause a spike in the levels of the cholesterol in the blood, which can reflect on your final results of the blood work as well and will provide with hindering results. If possible, you should either give the blood on an empty stomach or eat something very light that wouldn’t end up hindering with the results.
This is especially true if you are getting your blood tests done for determining your blood glucose tests and such. For the most part, the doctor will anyhow suggest getting the blood drawn on an empty stomach for better accuracy of the results.
Read: 10 Foods High in Unsaturated Fats That One Needs to Stay Wary Of
3. Avoid alcohol prior to a cholesterol test
If you have a doctor’s appointment and you need to get some blood work done to get an idea about the levels of cholesterol in the body, it is best suggested that you avoid drinking alcohol before the test.
Consuming alcohol can end up altering the triglyceride levels in the blood stream, which is why it is best suggested that you abstain from drinking alcohol at least 24 hours before the final tests.
In addition to alcohol, it is also suggested that one avoid any kind of high fat and high sugar food because that tends to alter the results as well.
Since the main reason why the doctors suggest getting a cholesterol level test is to get a glimpse into the kind of long term impacts that the body has undergone, it is best that you avoid doing anything that can impose short term changes to the results.
Read: 9 Natural Ways To Lower Cholesterol For A Healthier Well Being
4. Go out for a physical test dehydrated
If you have been looking into things you shouldn’t do before doctor appointment or a physical test is to give the blood when you are dehydrated. Any kind of checkup that you are going for, dehydration does have the impacts on altering the vitals.
This is the reason why it is best that you keep yourself hydrated all the time and also keep an eye out on kind of test you are opting for.
Hydration is very important, especially when you are getting blood or urine tests done. The dehydration ends up concentrating the solutes and electrolytes in the blood, giving back wrong results.
Read: 17 Remedies For Dehydration For Immediate Relief
5. Don’t do drastic changes to the diet
Say, you booked a doctor’s appointment five days from now. The last thing that you want to do is end up imbibing drastic changes to your diet before the appointment.
Not only is it unnecessary, it also ends up confusing the body in the long run. The physical state of your body should be the current reflection of what kind of lifestyle that you lead. If you have been eating unhealthy all your life and have just started eating extremely healthy just because of the appointment, it ends up complicating things.
For example, for those who have been eating a standard diet, if they end up eating a high protein diet, the same will reflect on the urea nitrogen levels when or if you get them tested.
Read: 12 Ways To Spring Clean Your Diet – Time To Switch Things Up
6. Avoid taking medicine before an appointment
Say, you are visiting the doctor’s to get the fever and the cold checked out. If you have been taking over the counter medication, chances are that the same will end up affecting the normal symptom of the condition.
This is the reason why it is best that you completely avoid taking any of the medication, especially the over the counter cough syrups and such because those tend to have drastic impacts on the body.
There are also a number of medications which cause elevation in the blood pressure levels, thus making it tough for the doctor to get accurate readings when they are evaluating your symptoms.
If required, you can ask the doctor whether or not it is okay to take the medicine that you have been taking for the condition.
Read: 10 Pros And Cons Of Alternative Medicine – Is Contemporary Medicine Worthy?
7. Avoid getting mani or pedi done
If you have a doctor’s appointment and a manicure and pedicure appointment simultaneously, it is very important that you focus on avoiding getting a manicure or pedicure done.
This is especially important when you are consulting a dermatologist. The reason why the dermatologists check the nails is because they do contain symptoms of an underlying health condition that is otherwise not witnessed on the body.
In addition to that, if you are getting tests done for a skin condition, it is best suggested that you avoid putting makeup on so it’s easier for the doctor to get the accurate symptoms.
8. No need to cancel a gynecologist appointment
If you have an appointment with the gynecologist and you have your periods suddenly creeping in, we would suggest that you don’t cancel it just because.
It is important that you do get the appointment done and even though the doctor might advise to avoid any physical tests done, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you can’t get the other symptoms diagnosed by them.
There are even a number of liquid pap smear tests that are done as an alternative to the natural blood tests to get a rundown of what could be wrong. So, you know for a fact that you wouldn’t have to struggle getting things done even if you are menstruating.
Read: 7 “Must Know” Benefits of Folic Acid Before Pregnancy
9. Avoid using deodorant
If you are to get a mammogram done to get the possibility of breast cancer checked out, it is best suggested that you do avoid using deo, perfumes, or even powders on that day.
This is one of the common instructions that the doctor gives to the patients who come in to get the tests done.
The reason why it is necessary to avoid that is because of the presence of aluminium in the deo which hinders with the mammogram results. The aluminum deposition around the skin often counters as the “fake lumps” and can make the practitioner believe that you have cancer when you don’t have one in reality.
Read:17 Home Remedies For Reducing Body Odor – Ditch The Deodorant!
10. Go empty headed
If you are visiting a doctor’s appointment, chances are that you are either getting your regular examination done or you are struggling from something that made you reach out to a doctor for better cure.
Whatever the reason be, it is important that you don’t sit in the doctor’s office completely blank. Apart from knowing and talking about the symptoms that you are experiencing, it is also necessary that you talk to the doctor about the case.
Ask them questions about the situation and why the same is happening. This helps you get a better idea about the situation so you can plan things for the better, even when you are struggling with the said condition for the worse.
It is completely normal for patients to be nervous about the situation but it is completely on you how you handle the situation and find better cure than being stuck in the situation.
11. Avoid indulging in sexual activity
Yet another important one of the things you should never do before a doctor appointment is to avoid indulging in sexual activity. This is even more important if you have to get routine tests done.
If you have any kind of urine test to be done, chances are that there are chances for your sample to indicate the presence of semen. This can hinder with the overall results in the end, which is why it is best that you avoid indulging in any kind of sexual activity completely before the appointment.
For those who are visiting their doctor to get the complaints about their bladder, prostate and the testicles to be checked out, it is best suggested that you completely avoid any kind of sexual activity.
12. Avoid red food before colonoscopy
If you have a colonoscopy planned out for yourself, we would suggest that you completely avoid consuming red foods before that. The reason why this is suggested is because the red and purple food have the tendency to end up colouring your colon which is the absolute last thing that you want to experience.
Any kind of colouring of the lining of the stomach and the GI tract makes it tough for a doctor to provide with accurate results. In addition to that, red foods also tend to have a high amount of iron in them which further end up staining the lining of the colon as well.
The iron also contributes and promotes constipation, making it tough for people to empty their colon the day of the test. This is why it is best that you practice some caution and completely avoid eating anything heavy during the day of the colonoscopy.
If you have been struggling with how to prepare for a doctor’s appointment, these are some of the most important pointers that you need to keep in mind. Make sure that you have every single factor sorted out, especially if you have any kind of physical tests that need to be done. Don’t rush through and make haste decisions with the diet and the lifestyle. There is no point making last-minute changes to anything because that will end up causing alterations to the final results of the test.