Preparing for an appointment

If you have symptoms of acute flaccid myelitis, seek immediate medical care.

Here's some information to help you get ready for your appointment.

What you can do

Make a list of the following:

• Signs and symptoms, including any that seem unrelated to the reason for the appointment
• Any medications, including vitamins, herbs and over-the-counter medicines that you or your child is taking, and their dosages
• Key personal information, including recent illnesses, travel and activities
• Questions to ask the doctor

For acute flaccid myelitis, some basic questions to ask the doctor include:

• Will additional tests be needed?
• What are the treatment options?
• What are the benefits and risks of each treatment?
• Is there one treatment you feel is best?
• Should additional specialists be seen? What will that cost, and will my insurance cover it?
• Are there brochures or other printed material that I can have? What websites do you recommend?

Don't hesitate to ask other questions that occur to you.

What to expect from your doctor

The doctor is likely to ask you or your child several questions. Be ready to answer them to allow time later to cover other points you want to address. The doctor may ask, for example:

• When did you or your child first begin experiencing symptoms?
• Are the symptoms continuous or occasional?
• How severe are the symptoms?
• What, if anything, seems to improve the symptoms?
• What, if anything, appears to worsen the symptoms?
• Did you or your child have a viral infection in the past month?