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Doctor Discussion Guide for Patients and Caregivers

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Doctor Discussion Guide for Patients and Caregivers my UNDERSTANDING invasive fungal infection IF YOU ARE AT RISK FOR AN INVASIVE FUNGAL INFECTION my UNDERSTANDING invasive fungal infection Doctor discussion guide for patients and caregivers Information to tell your Questions you doctors may wish to ask Emergency your doctors contact information Medication Care team tracker contact information Information to tell your doctors Unfortunately, you (or your loved one) are at risk for an invasive fungal infection (IFI). Your doctors may have already explained why you are at risk. They may have explained that you are at risk of other types of infections too. Many infections show similar signs at the start. So, it’s important to tell your doctors right away if you have any of the following signs of infection. Fever of 100.5°F (38°C) Sores or a white coating in or higher or chills your mouth or on your tongue Cough or sore throat Swelling or redness, Diarrhea especially where a catheter enters your body Ear pain Bloody or cloudy urine Headache or sinus pain Pain or burning when you urinate Stiff or sore neck Skin rash Any other signs of infection ————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————— Explain when your symptoms first appeared or started to get worse. ————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————— Tell your doctor about all of the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. This is especially important if you have been taking medicines for prophylaxis, which are medicines to help prevent IFI or other infections. Complete and refer to the Medication Tracker in this brochure. You should also talk to the doctor prescribing the antifungal medicine if you are thinking about starting any over-the- counter medicines or if you are prescribed any other new prescription medicines by other doctors. They can affect how your prescription medicines work. It’s important not to make any changes to any of your medicines without first talking with your doctors. 2 Questions you may wish to ask your doctors You may have a lot of questions for your doctors. But, it can be hard to remember all of your questions when you see a doctor. Here are some questions you (or a caregiver) may want to ask. Why am I at risk for infection? Why am I at risk for infection from a fungus? ————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————— How will you know I have an IFI? ————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————— What tests did you or will you use to check for IFI? ————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————— What might an IFI mean for my family and me? ————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————— What kind of treatment will I get for IFI? ————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————— 3 Questions you may wish to ask your doctors (cont’d) Do I have to stay in the hospital if I have an IFI? ————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————— If I will be taking an antifungal medicine, what should I know about it? ————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————— How will you know if I am better? ————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————— What can I do to help reduce my risk of an IFI? ————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————— Where can I get more information about IFI? ————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————— 4 Questions you may wish to ask your doctors (cont’d) Other questions: ————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————— 5 Medication tracker Use these pages to help keep track of the medicines you (or your loved one) are taking. IT IS IMPORTANT TO TAKE MEDICATIONS AS PRESCRIBED BY YOUR DOCTOR. BE SURE TO FOLLOW SPECIFIC DOSING SCHEDULES AND DIRECTIONS, INCLUDING WHETHER OR NOT YOU SHOULD BE TAKING YOUR MEDICATIONS WITH OR WITHOUT FOOD. CHECK WITH YOUR DOCTOR OR PHARMACIST IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR MEDICATIONS. Medication: ______________________________________________________ How Much to Take: _______________________________________________ How Often to Take it: _____________________________________________ When to Take it: __________________________________________________ Who Prescribed it: ________________________________________________ Prescriber’s Phone #: ______________________________________________ Other Notes: _____________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ Medication: ______________________________________________________ How Much to Take: _______________________________________________ How Often to Take it: _____________________________________________ When to Take it: __________________________________________________ Who Prescribed it: ________________________________________________ Prescriber’s Phone #: ______________________________________________ Other Notes: _____________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ Medication: ______________________________________________________ How Much to Take: _______________________________________________ How Often to Take it: _____________________________________________ When to Take it: __________________________________________________ Who Prescribed it: ________________________________________________ Prescriber’s Phone #: ______________________________________________ Other Notes: _____________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ 6 Medication tracker (cont’d) Use these pages to help keep track of the medicines you (or your loved one) are taking. IT IS IMPORTANT TO TAKE MEDICATIONS AS PRESCRIBED BY YOUR DOCTOR. BE SURE TO FOLLOW SPECIFIC DOSING SCHEDULES AND DIRECTIONS, INCLUDING WHETHER OR NOT YOU SHOULD BE TAKING YOUR MEDICATIONS WITH OR WITHOUT FOOD. CHECK WITH YOUR DOCTOR OR PHARMACIST IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR MEDICATIONS. Medication: ______________________________________________________ How Much to Take: _______________________________________________ How Often to Take it: _____________________________________________ When to Take it: __________________________________________________ Who Prescribed it: ________________________________________________ Prescriber’s Phone #: ______________________________________________ Other Notes: _____________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ Medication: ______________________________________________________ How Much to Take: _______________________________________________ How Often to Take it: _____________________________________________ When to Take it: __________________________________________________ Who Prescribed it: ________________________________________________ Prescriber’s Phone #: ______________________________________________ Other Notes: _____________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ Medication: ______________________________________________________ How Much to Take: _______________________________________________ How Often to Take it: _____________________________________________ When to Take it: __________________________________________________ Who Prescribed it: ________________________________________________ Prescriber’s Phone #: ______________________________________________ Other Notes: _____________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ 7 Emergency contact information Use this page to help keep track of the contact information of whom you (or your loved one) would contact in case of an emergency. Emergency Contact #1: Nearest Emergency Room: _________________________________ _________________________________ Cell Phone #: ____________________ Phone #: ________________________ Other Phone #: __________________ Alternative Phone #: ______________ Email Address: __________________ Email Address: __________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ Address: ________________________ Address: ________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ Emergency Contact #2: Nearest Emergency Room: _________________________________
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