Medical Journal Tip

I think sometimes the doctors think I am strange. But I can't remember without this little book. I bought it at Office Max (you have to put the tabs on the pages yourself). And it keeps me sane.

This is my medical journal. I have a section for each person in my family. A section that lists all the names and addresses of every doctor we have ever been to. With the flip of a page I can tell you when my child last went to the doctor, why I took them, what the diagnosis was, if any prescriptions were written and the dosage, if any shots were received, and the person's weight and height.

Camie had enlarged tonsils. I was able to tell the specialist that she had strep throat three times in the last year and exactly when. I knew when the last time I did dentist appointments.  It comes in really handy with so many children to keep track of. Sometimes I forget which child had which ailment. This book helps me remember. I keep the insurance cards in the front pocket so that I have to take it with me to the doctor. And while I am sitting in the waiting room, I make the date entry, why I am there, and which doctor we will be seeing. When I get to the car before I drive away, I write down what the doctor said. It only takes a few moments, but it has saved me many times.

 I keep a hard copy because I used to keep a digital copy and then my computer crashed and I lost it all.

I was only embarrassed once that I kept this journal. It was back when Spencer was having all those problems with his eye and the doctor really didn't know what that thing was on his eye and we had to have surgery. It was at a follow-up visit that the doctor was trying to remember what prescriptions he had given to Spencer, was waiting on his computer to boot-up, and I pulled out my medical journal and had the information for him right there. Then he started to read what I had wrote of my interpretation of what the doctor had told me. I was embarrassed a lot, until the doctor told me what a great idea it was to keep track of all the medical happenings of my family.

My personal medical section is quite lengthy because I seem to always be pregnant and putting on weight. That's not something I want to share with just anyone, but it is pretty cool to go back and see that I usually loose weight in the first trimester and end up taking Zofran and then the weight comes on after that. And to see what was normal for real instead of what my mind made up. Can be pretty cool..

Anyways, thought I would share. It has been very helpful for me.