How to approach your doctor about your bladder problems

When you visit the doctor, talk about your symptoms; try and explain if you are feeling any pain, and explain the sensations you feel when you go to the toilet. Do you have problems with urgency? Do you need to go to the toilet often? Do you make it to the toilet in time?

It might also be helpful to tell your doctor about how your problems affect your quality of life. Does your problem affect your relationships and social life, for instance do you have to carry spare underwear around with you? Have your problems affected your work or career? Have your problems affected your mental health and self esteem? Do you feel depressed because of your problems?

If you have any questions to ask your doctor or continence advisor, try and write them down before your appointment and bring them with you. Write down any answers that you are given in your appointment. It is also worth considering bringing a friend or companion along, to give you courage, to help you remember what was said and done, and to act as a chaperone during any physical examination that the doctor has to make.

Your doctor will want to know the history of your problems and will also want a detailed explanation of your symptoms. Your doctor may then want to perform a physical examination to help evaluate your problems.  

If your problems have been going on for a long time, and especially if you have been having treatments and investigations for various other medical problems over a period of time, then it is certainly worth making a list of the main events in your entire medical history. Write down when and how you first suffered each symptom, what was diagnosed (if you know) and what was done – investigations, medication etc– each time. Keep each entry short and concise, and consider handing over a copy to the doctor at the start of the consultation. This will save you both a lot of time and will help to ensure that nothing significant is forgotten.