Lupus and Doctors: Asking Questions to Get the Answers you need

I have an appointment with my rheumatologist coming up. 

So, as I often do,  I started making a list of the questions I have for her.  It helps me get in "appointment-mode" by thinking about anything health related that's transpired since the last time I saw her. It also ensures that I fit in everything I want to in the short time I have.

One of my first questions was about hormonal imbalance. And yes, we are at that stage in my life where I'm talking hormonal imbalances. (You should have seen it coming with my mention of being of age for a colonoscopy!) 

When I was thinking about how to pose the question. I planned to launch into a story about my daughter's softball tournament one weekend about two months ago. The event wasn't meant to be an all day affair. But it went from a 3 hour commitment to an eight hour commitment, which resulted in a skipped nap, fatigue, stress because of the fatigue, and a day of irregular meals and poor food choices. (Think chocolate cookies for breakfast and waffle fries for lunch. It went downhill from there!) 

From that day forward until now, I have been experiencing new symptoms weekly that all point to a hormonal imbalance consistent with perimenopause. 

And I'm wondering if a hormonal imbalance can be triggered like that. Can it happen overnight? Where one day I feel fine, and the next, my body starts rebelling? 

But I realized, as captivating and enthralling as my story is (wink, wink), I should probably just lead with the question: 

Can a hormonal imbalance be triggered? 

From there, I can cite examples, if need be. But probably best to begin with a simple and straightforward question.  

Don't get me wrong. I LOVE using examples to illustrate a point, or more specifically, to explain how severe or disruptive my symptoms are. My first rheumatologist (who I saw for over 20 years) learned quickly that I gauged my joint pain on whether or not I could use my cell phone or buckle a seat belt, and my chest pain by how difficult it was to walk up the stairs to my bedroom. And when I was caring for my dad, I remember citing examples for the oncologist to make sure we were on the same page with how severe my dad's confusion was following his resection. (Turns out the doctor had not understood fully, and he immediately made a medication change because of it. Read about how citing specific examples really helped here.)

So while examples do help, I think getting right to the point, without providing a backstory this time, will have its benefits. It'll give the doctor the chance to answer the question, without having to wade through the details of what I think could be contributing to the issue. 

I'll keep you posted on the imbalance. But I'll tell you this - getting old is, well, getting old!