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Questions for your appointment

Most consultations are decided in the first two minutes, by how clearly the problem gets described. This page is built to make those two minutes count — and to make sure the questions that actually change your care get asked.

Older hands writing a list of questions in a spiral notebook before an appointment

The first two minutes. Clinicians work from patterns. “My feet hurt” fits a hundred of them; “burning in both feet, started in the toes about two years ago, worst at night, and I have started catching my toe on kerbs” fits about three. The four specifics below do more work than any test you could ask for.

Describe it in four specifics

Question	Your answer
Where did it start, and where is the edge of it now? Toes first, creeping up, is a different story from all-over.
Both sides, or one? Symmetric points to a systemic cause; one-sided points to a compressed nerve, the spine, or circulation.
What time of day is it worst? Worse at night and at rest is typical of small-fiber damage; worse with walking suggests something else.
What has become physically harder? Stairs, kerbs, standing with your eyes closed, buttons. This is the question people never think to answer.

The details people forget to mention

Tick anything that applies — each one changes what should be tested.

☐ How much alcohol you drink, honestly. It is dose-related and partly reversible. Why it matters.
☐ Every supplement you take, including anything with vitamin B6, which causes neuropathy at sustained high doses. The B6 trap.
☐ Whether you take metformin, or a long-term acid-reducing medicine — both lower B12.
☐ Any chemotherapy, however long ago.
☐ A family history of foot problems, high arches, or difficulty walking.
☐ Any recent weight loss, or long periods kneeling, squatting or with legs crossed.
☐ Falls, near-falls, or new unsteadiness in the dark.

Questions about the cause

What do you think is causing this, and how confident are you?
Which blood tests have been done — glucose or HbA1c, B12, thyroid, kidney function? Are any still worth doing?
Has prediabetes been excluded, not just diabetes?
Could any of my medicines or supplements be contributing?
Do I need nerve conduction studies, and what would the result change? If mine is normal, what then?
If no cause is found, what happens next?

Questions about my feet

Do I still have protective sensation, and how was that tested?
How is the circulation in my feet?
What is my risk category, and how often should my feet be examined?
Is my footwear suitable, and would I qualify for therapeutic shoes? The Medicare benefit.
Who should be cutting my nails and managing any callus?

Questions about treatment

Is this treatment aimed at the nerve damage or at the pain? The difference matters.
What would a good result look like — realistically, in numbers?
How long before we judge whether it is working, and at what dose?
What are the side effects that matter for someone with numb feet — particularly dizziness, falls and ankle swelling? Why those two.
If this one does not work, what is the next option?
Is there anything I should stop taking?

Questions about daily life

Is it safe for me to drive?
What exercise should I be doing, and is there anything I should avoid?
What should I do about the balance problems?
Is there anything that would help at work? Accommodations and documentation.

Questions about what to report

Exactly what changes should I report?
How quickly — same day, within a week, at the next visit?
Who do I contact, and what do I do out of hours?
When is this an emergency department problem rather than a phone call?

What to bring

☐ Every medicine and supplement, in the box · ☐ The shoes you wear most days · ☐ Recent test results · ☐ This sheet, filled in · ☐ Someone to help you remember the answers

Notes from the visit

What we decided	Who is doing it	By when

What I should report, how fast, and to whom:

Next appointment / review date: ______________________

Before you leave the room, try to be able to answer three things: what we think is causing it, what we are doing about it, and what I should report and how quickly. If any of those are still blank, that is a fair thing to say out loud.

Bring this sheet
to a real examination.

Sensation testing, circulation, skin, footwear and a written plan — the appointment this sheet is designed for. Howell and Bloomfield Township.

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Everywhere else, take it to your own clinician.