While the UK government has a plan in place to reduce waiting times for doctor’s appointments, it can still take a lot of time, effort and stress to get yourself in the surgery.

This can be even more difficult when you have a chronic illness that you’re struggling to manage without the care and support that you desperately need.

Women are especially affected by this, with the UK government’s 2022 women’s health strategy report stating: “This country’s health and care system belongs to us all, and it must serve us all. However, sadly, 51% of the population faces obstacles when it comes to getting the care they need.

“There are also far too many cases where women’s voices have not been listened to – indeed the responses to our call for evidence found 84% of respondents felt that this was the case.”

If this rings true to you, NHS surgeon and TikTok creator Dr Karan Rajan has some helpful advice for your next appointment.

How to advocate for yourself during medical appointments

Referring to a video from health educator Alexandra Wildeson that mentions women are being told they are “just anxious” when they go to the doctor’s with health concerns, Dr Rajan said: “If you’ve been told that your symptoms are ‘just anxiety’, here’s how you can advocate for yourself.”

Ask the right questions

The doctor said: “Ask the right questions because you deserve a proper work up. For example, [ask] ‘what tests have been done to rule out other causes of my symptoms?’”

The medical expert explained that this puts the responsibility back on the doctor to explain their diagnostic process.

He added that another question you can ask is: “Can you explain why you’re confident that this is anxiety and not a physiological condition?”

Dr Rajan also revealed that the dreaded “blood works are fine” response actually isn’t enough and if you doctor responds with that, you should ask if they have ruled out conditions that can mimic anxiety.

He explained: “Many conditions can cause symptoms that look identical to anxiety. For example: hyperthyroidism, dysautonomia, mast cell activation.”

If your doctor is insistent that you are ‘just’ experiencing anxiety, Dr Rajan urges that you should ask what the treatment plan is beyond treating anxiety symptoms, and if there are other options that can be explored.

Be specific about symptoms

Dr Rajan advised that instead of saying something like “I get dizzy a lot” it can be helpful to really hone in on the specifics. For instance: “I get dizzy when I stand up, especially in the morning. It’s worse after eating or after I’ve been sitting for a long period of time.”

He explains that being this specific means that, in this instance, your doctor could identify a condition such as PoTS instead of generalised anxiety.

“The more specific and data-driven you are, the harder it is for a doctor to wave it away as generalised stress,” he said. 

The doctor also recommended keeping a symptom diary because “data talks”. He recommends tracking what you ate, what time of day symptoms appear and what makes it better or worse.

Lastly, note any patterns 

Finally, the NHS surgeon recommends noting and reporting on patterns. Do your symptoms correlate with standing, eating, sleep or hormonal changes? Note it down!

He added: “Bring this log to your doctor. Hard data makes it harder for them to dismiss you.

“There’s a huge difference between saying ‘your condition is causing anxiety’ and ‘your symptoms are just anxiety’. The first acknowledges your experience, the second erases it.”