To best care for you as you manage eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), your health care team needs as much information as possible about your symptoms, health history, goals, and other helpful details. They’ll do tests and exams as they plan your care, but they’ll have lots of questions for you, too.
Before You Go
You can help your appointment go well by preparing for it. Here are some tips that’ll ensure you’re ready for possible questions from your doctor:
Bring important health information. If you’re seeing a new specialist after you've had an appointment with another provider, bring any test results or information they should know.
Write out your symptoms. Your symptoms are a key piece of the diagnostic puzzle. They can also help your doctor understand how treatment is working. Keep track of what’s been going on, including any symptoms that may not seem related to your EoE.
Note key life changes. Have you had other recent diagnoses? Changes in your living situation, work life, or relationships? Major stressors? All these details are good for a whole picture of your health.
Know your meds. Make a list of all medications, vitamins, or supplements that you're taking.
Consider taking a loved one. It can be hard to remember everything you hear at an appointment. Having an extra set of ears – or hands to take notes – can aid your memory.
Bring your own questions. By actively engaging yourself in the process, you can work with your care team to help manage your EoE.
Questions Your Doctor May Ask
As your doctor takes your medical history and prepares to examine you, they’ll want to know many things. Think through the answers to the following questions before you check in for your appointment to ensure that you’re ready.
Questions about your health history. As your doctor asks you questions about other conditions you live with or have dealt with in the past, they’ll be looking for risk factors for EoE, as well as other things that could affect your disease.
They’ll want to know:
- Do you have other allergic disorders?
Around 70% of people with EoE also have one or more other allergic disorders. Many people with EoE also deal with eczema, asthma, and chronic respiratory diseases. Your doctor can be sure all of your issues are addressed, or refer you to an allergist.
- Do you have any allergies to foods or to anything in the environment, such as pollen?
In some people, EoE is triggered by food or by environmental allergens such as pollen and mold. Food allergies are a major trigger for EoE. You can work with a doctor to identify which foods may be the culprits.
- Does anyone in your family have allergies or EoE?
Although experts aren’t exactly sure what causes EoE, they think genes may play a role, so you may be at higher risk of having EoE if someone in your family has it.
- Are you currently treating other health conditions?
Your doctor needs a snapshot of your whole health to treat you best.
Questions about your symptoms. Before doing any tests, your doctor will want to hear what symptoms you’ve been having. Because EoE affects your esophagus, many of your symptoms will be related to eating, swallowing, and other digestive processes.
Know the answers to the following:
- What are your symptoms?
In addition to the type of symptoms you have, they’ll also want to know how often you have them and how severe they are. They’ll be interested to know if your symptoms wake you up at night, for example, or if they’ve helped cause weight gain or loss.
- How has your eating been affected?
Let your doctor know if you have a hard time swallowing or if food gets stuck while you’re eating. They’ll want to know if food comes back up your throat when you eat, if you have nausea or vomiting, or if you ever have chest pain or stomach pain.
- How often do your symptoms happen?
Patterns are good to identify. Are your symptoms worse after meals or after lying down? Are they worse at certain times of year? Does anything make your symptoms better or worse?
Questions about your treatment preferences. Setting up your treatment plan for EoE will likely involve more than one doctor or specialist. You’ll need tests to confirm the extent of your disease and how it’s impacting you.
There are medication options, diet therapy options, and procedures that can help, depending on your circumstances. Your doctor will take into account your symptoms, your health history, and test results to recommend a treatment course.
Questions to start the decision process for your treatment plan may include:
- What treatments have you tried already?
Because EoE is a relapsing disease, they’ll want to know what treatments, if any, you’ve tried in the past, and what effect they had.
- What diet changes have you tried?
A common treatment plan for EoE involves diet therapy. An elimination diet cuts the major allergy-related foods out of your diet (wheat, milk, egg, nuts, soy, fish, and shellfish) and a doctor monitors your reaction as you add each back in.
- What lifestyle changes have you tried to help treat your symptoms?
Tell your doctor if you’ve tried any shifts in your eating or other behaviors to help with your EoE symptoms.
Show Sources
Photo Credit: FatCamera/Getty Images
SOURCES:
Mayo Clinic: “Eosinophilic Esophagitis,” “Use of dietary strategies in treating eosinophilic esophagitis.”
American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology: “How can an allergist help treat EoE?”
Allergy Asthma Network: “Eosinophilic Esophagitis.”
