Important Questions For Your Doctor

When managing your chronic hives, it is crucial to know what questions you should be discussing with your doctor. This way, you can have a collaborative relationship, and work together to reduce and prevent your discomfort as much as possible. Just as your doctor is the medical expert, you know your own body best and can help them to fill in the blanks.

In asking questions, you are taking an important step to getting answers on your chronic hives journey. Just as importantly, we wanted to find out if our health leaders have questions for their doctors that have gone unanswered.

Questions for your doctor

Reply from Andressa

I believe that there are different questions that we need to ask the doctor because every person deserves the best care. I would ask these questions:

• What triggers my hives? (especially when you are in a similar situation like I am. I've never experienced hives before, and at the age of 33 my body just started to develop the hives. What could have triggered it? Is it something that I could prevent? Is it something that is based on a family history of hives?)
• What are the different treatment options that I have?
• What if my insurance does not cover Xolair injections? (I know that not all insurance companies cover the injections because it is a very expensive injection. When I started it was more than $2000 per month. (for 2 injections)
• Can we do different tests? (food allergy, skin allergy, sun allergy, fragrance allergy, soap allergy, etc)
• Is there a way to get better? (can you share some stories of other patients?

And yes I do have unanswered questions:
What triggered the outbreak of my chronic hives? And is there any type of treatment that can help me to get better for good? Are there clinical trials where I can participate so I can support research and help find answers?

Reply from Ambre

I remember asking my doctor if they’d ever go away. Or if the itching will ever stop. I’ve asked a lot about how we can get it better under control, that question seems to go unanswered lately. I think asking your doctor about treatment plans, prognosis are important. Also any potential side effects of medications trialed. These are important things to know about. Also could the hives complicate another condition, or could the treatment complicate or impact the hives.

Reply from Lynn

It is important to ask, “what are the most common triggers for hives, and may I be tested for them?” If you are still symptomatic, after eliminating triggers from the first testing, ask, “is there any further testing for allergies… Even from other types of doctors?”

Reply from Christy

Talking to your doctor about your hives is very personal and will vary greatly from person to person. The most important thing you can talk to your doctor about is how your hives affect you. If your doctor doesn’t know the impact chronic hives have on your day to day living, they won’t know how to treat you properly. Try to be as open and honest as possible. If a medicine isn’t working for you, if you are unable to keep a job due to symptoms, or if your mental health is suffering because of your hives, those are all important things to discuss.

I would also recommend writing out a list of questions before you get to your appointment. Keep a running list between visits so you never forget something you want to ask. A list of questions will also ensure that you cover everything during your visit and make the appointment much more productive.