If you want your MD doctor to make the right diagnosis, read this carefully.

You are the one who gives the right diagnosis to the MD doctor!

Yes, that is true. You are the most important source of your own diagnosis. Your every word makes a difference. When you are describing your symptoms to your MD doctor, every single detail could literally make the difference between life and death. If you are able to describe how exactly you felt when you had the symptom, you will greatly increase the chances of getting the right diagnosis. If you think that MD doctors rely upon blood tests and x-rays to make the diagnosis, think again. Yes, blood tests and x-rays help the MD doctor in reaching the correct diagnosis. But, how does the MD doctor decide what tests and what x-rays to order? It is what you tell the MD doctor.

MD Doctors are trained to ask you the right questions to try to get the right answer. But if you do not understand the reason behind the questions, you might not tell the right answer. Believe it or not, you are the most important diagnostic tool that your MD doctor has. The details of the specific question and the reason behind those questions are described in the book. I will give you an example here that will illustrate the point.

When you visit the emergency department with the symptom of chest pain, the MD doctor has to make some quick and important decisions. There are certain types of chest pain that can kill you instantly if not diagnosed and treated right away. On the other spectrum, certain types of chest pain are self-limited and insignificant. When you are visiting an emergency department with a chest pain, you are anxious to be tested for a heart attack. You want to get the x-rays and other heart tests done right away. What you do not understand is that not all heart attacks can be detected by x-rays and heart tests. Then, how does the MD doctor find out which patients can be safely discharged home and which ones need surgery right away?

Yes, it depends on the description of the chest pain that the patient gives the MD doctor. Let us suppose you are a 55 year old male with a habit of heavy cigarette smoking and have been struggling with high blood pressure for many years. If you develop a sharp chest pain in the middle of your chest that started all of a sudden, the exact description of your chest pain could give your MD doctor the information that could save your life. The pain is located right in the upper middle area of your chest. It is a very sharp tearing type pain. The pain started abruptly and is getting worse. You took some pain pills without any relief. You feel like you are stabbed in your chest with a knife and the pain goes all the way to your back. You are starting to feel very weak and almost fear that you are going to faint. If you describe your pain like this, you will be rushed to the CAT scan machine right away. You are telling the MD doctor that one major blood vessel coming right out of your heart could have been torn. It could be getting worse and it could kill you within a matter of minutes to hours. Your blood vessel needs to be looked at right away and once the diagnosis is confirmed, it needs to be patched and fixed in the operating room in order to prevent eminent death. This condition is called Aortic Dissection and is a life threatening medical emergency that presents with chest pain.

How does the MD doctor find out if you have Aortic Dissection? Well, you have to tell him exactly how your pain is. It is as simple as that.