OVARIANA®
The essentials first
- Write down what you want to come back to.
- No note does not mean there was no symptom.
- You do not need a complete record to talk to your doctor.
Your own words are enough
to make a note.
Sometimes you notice something new. Other times, a question comes to mind that you want to ask at an appointment. You can save it straight away, in a notebook or a tool of your choice.
Useful details include when you noticed something, how long it lasted and what mattered to you. You do not need medical vocabulary to describe your experience.
Instead of a general “things have been different lately”, you can write down a specific observation. This is not an attempt to make a diagnosis. It is your note about what happened.
A break in recording
does not erase earlier notes.
You can return to taking notes after a break. You do not have to reconstruct every missed day. If you cannot remember the details, leave the information missing or say that you are unsure.
“I didn't record it”, “I didn't have that symptom” and “I don't know” mean different things. A blank space in your notes does not tell us how you were feeling.
You do not have to guess
to fill an empty space.
Three different situations.
Three different pieces of information.
The example below concerns one selected symptom on a particular day. It is fictional and is only intended to explain what a record means.
| Record | What we know |
|---|---|
| “I had no pain today” | There is a record that this symptom was absent on the day described. |
| No entry | We have no information about that day. |
| “I don't remember exactly” | We know that the recollection is uncertain. |
No pain does not automatically mean no other symptoms. Keep your note specific to what you actually observed.
Bring what matters to you
to your appointment.
Before the conversation, you can look through your notes and choose a few topics: what concerns you, what you want to ask and what you need to find out. You do not have to go through every note in order.
If you add something later, mark it as a later entry. The date of the event and the date you wrote the note may be different.
A note is there to help.
It is not a condition for an appointment or a reason to delay one. You can see your doctor without records. A diary alone cannot determine the cause of symptoms.
An editorial sample for assessing the page layout, based on the scope of KN-069. This is not an approved Knowledge article. Sources, author names and medical review will be linked to the relevant edition before publication.
This page does not collect your observations or health information.