Have you ever been to a medical doctor’s office for a regular appointment or even going in for a new consultation without been handed a prescription of medications at the end of the visit? Medicinal syrups, pills, tablets, injections and even oxygen inhalers have always been associated with a medical doctor’s visit. Each one of these forms of medications triggers a certain experience, for example, if a doctor prescribes a cough syrup that you haven’t ever tried before, first thing that comes to mind is the taste; will it be bitter, sweet  or artificially flavored. Then the issue of the dosage rises up; will it be 5 ml, 10ml or even 7.5 ml which is the trickiest option because more likely than not, you will be directly sipping the syrup from the bottle. After that you will ask yourself whether to have it before or after food and many more other questions comes up to mind. The worst form of treatment expressed by almost every patient I have met in life is receiving an injection; no matter how much you prepare yourself mentally, almost all of us fear needles and the pain associated with it.

It is not only the experiences that concerns patients when it comes to receiving medications; but mostly the fear of developing a side effect or what it seems to be an expected consequence throughout the course of the treatment. Doctors do sometimes warn patients that a certain medication may cause a certain symptom such as drowsiness, or abdominal discomfort … etc but patients are always apprehensive anticipating its occurrence and if by any chance; they have not experienced what the doctor warned them about, which is totally normal; they start to doubt the effectiveness of the medication.

All of that may sound familiar to the reader but what is not; is how we prepare ourselves prior to any doctor’s clinic visit from the perspective of prescription medication. I do encourage everyone to prepare all the questions to be asked to your treating doctor that comes to mind considering that broadly there are 3 forms of medications: oral, inhaled or injected. Write down your questions even if they might sound silly including missed doses and certain dietary restrictions and do not be intimidated to ask them during the visit. Remember, you can always ask your doctor to write down any instructions that you might find is important. Finally, always keep all your doctor’s contacts including emergency contact number handy.

Dr. Sara Al-Dallal