Ways I De-Stress Pre Doctor's Appointment

Every time I have a doctor's appointment scheduled (diabetes or otherwise), I have to amp myself up mentally for a few weeks before my appointment. 

Stressing over a doctor's appointment

Why? Going to the doctor to discuss my diabetes health stresses me out and makes me anxious. I worry about my impending blood work and test results and what they mean. I worry about being judged and scolded regarding my diabetes and diabetes management. I spend so much time worrying about what could go wrong and the things I didn't do right, that I forget to focus on the positives. 

How to get ahead of the stress

Instead of sitting in my anxiety, I’ve been doing my best to be proactive before and during my appointment. First, as of late, I've been keeping a list of health positives in my trusty notebook - little and big positives that I've been working on for both the short and long term.

Keep a list of positive things

My "positive health list" includes the following:

1. Drinking more water in the cold weather.
2. Flossing twice a day.
3. Successfully switching from half-and-half creamer in my morning coffee to oat milk and I think it’s helped my post-breakfast blood sugars.
4. Finally sharing and uploading both my Omnipod Remote Meter and CGM via the cloud to my healthcare team so we can make changes during the months leading up to my actual appointment. It's helped me reduce my daily insulin intake. It took me forever to actually upload my info. Which was silly because it took less than 5 minutes and my CDE never judges.

Keep a list of struggles

On the same page, I also keep a list of things I'm struggling with.

1. Exercising
2. Successfully practicing mindfulness
3. Inflammation
4. A slower metabolism
5. Bouts of diabetes burnout

Keep a list of questions

And I keep a running list of questions/things I want to ask/discuss with my doctor at my appointment. Current questions include:

1. Thoughts regarding me embracing a more plant-based diet?
2. A reminder for me to ask him about getting my iron levels checked out.

All of the above helps me to stay calm and more focused when I'm actually at my appointment.