Managing your psoriasis treatment: Informed consent and symptom tracking
If you’re dealing with psoriasis – or any chronic condition requiring ongoing treatment and healthcare appointments – there is a lot of information to take in. Understanding your healthcare team’s recommendations for medications and holistic treatments can be tough, however, there are tools to help. Two of these are informed consent and symptom tracking.
What is informed consent?
Informed consent means understanding the choices available to you, so you can make the best decision possible for your health. As the patient, you are allowed – and expected! – to ask questions of your doctor or Pharmacist. Here are some starter questions when talking about treatments:
Before taking any medicines or beginning new treatment, consider asking your doctor or Pharmacist:
• What is the aim of this medication/treatment?
• What are its side effects?
• What do I do if I experience those side effects?
• What happens if I miss a dose?
• What other treatments and lifestyle choices may support my condition?
• What are my out-of-pocket costs for this treatment?
What is symptom tracking?
Symptoms can change over time but are often difficult to remember. Tracking your symptoms lets you keep a written record to free up your mind to deal with other important things in life. The information is extremely helpful for your healthcare team to identify the next steps in your treatment plan.
Here’s how to get started with tracking your psoriasis symptoms:
1. To get the big picture, track your symptoms in a journal or on your phone's notes app. You may like to use bullet points, or a weekly/monthly layout.
2. Along with your physical and emotional symptoms, note down:
- Your mood
- New and old triggers
- Medications or products you are using
- Any changes that occur
- And anything else that you feel is necessary
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