Doctors & patients are saying about 'A-Fib.com'...
"A-Fib.com is a great web site for patients, that is unequaled by anything else out there."
Dr. Douglas L. Packer, MD, FHRS, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
"Jill and I put you and your work in our prayers every night. What you do to help people through this [A-Fib] process is really incredible."
Jill and Steve Douglas, East Troy, WI
“I really appreciate all the information on your website as it allows me to be a better informed patient and to know what questions to ask my EP.
Faye Spencer, Boise, ID, April 2017
“I think your site has helped a lot of patients.”Dr. Hugh G. Calkins, MD Johns Hopkins,
Baltimore, MD
Don’t Take Any Medication Without Asking These 10 Questions
Before taking any prescription drug to treat your Atrial Fibrillation, you should educate yourself about the drug. We’ve prepared the top 10 questions you should ask your doctor. As a service to our readers, we offer the questions as a free PDF worksheet you can Download. It has convenient spaces to write down your doctor’s replies for later review.
Print as many as you need and take a copy to every doctor appointment (you never know when you’ll need one). Download our worksheet (and don’t forget to save to your hard drive).
Before Starting a Prescription Drug, Ask These Questions
Use our worksheet as a guide as you ask these questions of your doctor or healthcare professional, and note their responses:
1. Why am I being prescribed this medication?
2. What are the side effects of this drug?
3. Are there any precautions or special dietary instructions I should follow?
4. Can it interfere with my other medications?
5. What should I do if I forget a dose?
6. How long before I know if this drug is working?
7. How will I be monitored on this drug? How often?
8. What happens if this drug doesn’t work?
9. What if my A-Fib symptoms become worse?
10. If I don’t respond to medications, will you consider non-pharmaceutical treatments (such as a Pulmonary Vein Isolation procedure)?
Your A-Fib Binder or Folder
When completed, file the worksheet in your A-Fib binder or file folder to use for future reference and follow-up.
Your A-Fib binder is where you should file and organize all your A-Fib-related treatment information: printouts of information from the internet and your local public library or medical center library, notes from phone calls with doctors’ offices, and answers to “interview” questions during doctor consultations.
Research Any Prescription Drug
To determine if the prescription is the right one for you, do your research. An excellent prescription database is the U.S. National Library of Medicine Drug Information Portal. (For an example, see the page on Warfarin [Coumadin].)
Also see the free worksheet: Keep an Inventory List of Your Medications
Worksheet from Chapter 6 of Beat Your A-Fib: The Essential Guide to Finding Your Cure, by Steve S. Ryan, PhD
