My Personal Medical Journal
and Health History

Companion to the full guide at renalcarematters.com/guides/personal-medical-journal-health-history.html — the guide explains how to fill each page; this booklet is where you write.

A record that admits what it is unsure about is treated as more reliable, not less — the reader knows which lines to verify and which to act on.

List only the conditions a stranger must know about within seconds.

Blood thinners, insulin, anti-rejection drugs, anti-seizure drugs, steroids, and heart-rhythm drugs belong here. Missing a dose of any of them can change a hospital course within hours.

A dated previous creatinine lets an emergency team tell a new kidney injury from a long-standing one. It is the single most useful number on this page.

Where this booklet, the paper originals, and the digital backup are kept — and who else can reach them.

Describe what you observed before what you concluded. “Both ankles swelling since June 2026, worse in the evening” is more useful than “my kidneys are failing”.

Status: active · controlled · improving · under evaluation · in remission · resolved · uncertain. Absence of symptoms is not the same as resolution.

Walking, stairs, bathing, dressing, cooking, working, sleeping, and continence are the ones clinicians ask about most.

What matters most to you — and what you are most afraid of. Clinicians use this to choose between reasonable options.

Prescription medicines · over-the-counter painkillers · vitamins and minerals · herbal and traditional remedies · protein, sports and weight-loss products · injections · inhalers · eye and ear drops · creams, ointments and patches · as-needed medicines.

The same brand is often sold in three strengths that look nearly identical. If you are unsure, bring the container or a photograph showing the whole label, including the strength and the expiry date.

Notes: benefit noticed, side effect, missed doses, cost or supply problem.

Example (fictional). Co-amoxiclav — widespread itchy hives over the trunk and swelling of both lips, about two hours after the second dose, 2019. Needed an injection at the emergency room and overnight observation. Category: confirmed allergy.

Allergy or serious reaction · kidney injury · bleeding · blood pressure dropping too far · abnormal potassium or sodium · liver injury · pregnancy · treatment failure · interaction with another drug · cost or supply · a deliberate change of plan by your clinician.

Without this page, a future clinician cannot tell whether a medicine is missing because it harmed you or because someone forgot to renew it.

Major diagnoses · admissions and emergency visits · operations and procedures · pregnancies and complications · serious infections · blood transfusions · fractures and major injuries · start of dialysis · transplant · stroke, heart attack, clots and stents · cancer and its treatment · serious drug reactions · large unexplained weight change · any stay in intensive care.

If a date is uncertain write “approximately 2019”. An honest estimate is usable; invented precision is not.

Example (fictional). Approximately 2019 — admitted five days for severe dengue. Platelets fell to 28,000; given fluids only, no transfusion. Creatinine rose to 2.1 mg/dL during the stay and returned to 1.0 mg/dL the following month. Source: discharge summary, ABC Medical Center. The exact admission date has not been recovered, so the year is written as approximate.

Example (fictional). 24 Aug 2026, 8:00 PM — burning on urination began gradually. Passed urine seven times overnight with urgency, no visible blood. Temperature 37.8 °C. Took paracetamol 500 mg at 10:00 PM; the fever settled but the burning was still present next morning. Nothing new eaten; no new medicine started.

Sit quietly for five minutes first, back supported, feet flat, arm at heart level, cuff on bare skin. Record the reading you dislike as faithfully as the one you like — a log containing only good days is worse than no log, because it will be believed.

Creatinine · eGFR · urea · urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio · urine protein · urinalysis · potassium · sodium · bicarbonate.

Laboratories differ, and a value stripped of its unit and range cannot be compared to anything. Copy the normal results too — a normal potassium recorded the week a new medicine started is exactly what proves the medicine was safe to continue.

Example (fictional). 15 Aug 2026 — creatinine 1.8 mg/dL (laboratory reference range 0.6–1.1), non-fasting. Two weeks after a hospital admission for pneumonia; a diuretic was increased on 2 Aug. Previous value 1.2 mg/dL on 11 Mar 2026 at the same laboratory.

HbA1c · fasting glucose · total cholesterol, LDL, HDL, triglycerides · hemoglobin · white cell count · platelets · ferritin and transferrin saturation · albumin · liver enzymes.

Calcium · phosphorus · parathyroid hormone · vitamin D · thyroid tests · uric acid · drug levels · anything your clinician repeats on a schedule.

Bring one older result alongside the newest one. A clinician can interpret a direction far more confidently than a point.

Ultrasound, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and biopsy reports all carry a formal impression written by a specialist. That sentence is the finding. Photographs of the images themselves are of very limited use without it, and reinterpreting them yourself is how a benign result becomes a frightening one.

Anything the table above cannot hold — a pattern across several relatives, an inherited condition confirmed by testing, or a family member whose diagnosis was never confirmed.

A treatment plan you cannot reach, afford, or read is not a treatment plan. Saying so allows your clinician to choose a different one rather than assuming the first one is working.

YYYY-MM-DD - Document type - Facility or doctor - Topic
Example: 2026-08-15 - Laboratory - ABC Medical Center - Creatinine and Urinalysis.pdf

Sorting by name then sorts by date automatically. A photograph is acceptable only if the whole page is visible — your name, the date, the units, and the reference range. A cropped screenshot of one abnormal line is the most common unusable document a patient brings.

Write it out and say it once before you go in.

Example (fictional). “I am here because my leg swelling has been getting worse for two weeks. I have high blood pressure, diabetes, and kidney disease. My creatinine went from 1.2 to 1.8 after my hospital stay in June. Here are my current medicines and my complete laboratory reports.”

Anything else to remember to bring or to ask about.

Anything you want to say but are afraid you will forget once the consultation starts.

What brought you in today? · When were you last at your usual state of health? · Which symptom came first? · What changed just before it began? · Has this happened before? · What treatment helped or failed? · What are you actually taking? · Which doses have you missed or changed? · What allergies or serious reactions have you had? · Who else manages your care? · What admissions or procedures have you had? · Which diseases run in your family? · Do you smoke, vape, drink, or use other substances? · What supplements or herbal remedies do you take? · How have appetite, weight, sleep, activity, bowels, and urination changed? · What is your main worry? · What are you hoping for?

A medicine is started, stopped, adjusted, or taken differently · after any admission or emergency visit · after a new diagnosis, operation, or procedure · after a serious reaction · after any result that changes the plan · before a major consultation · at least every six months when stable · monthly while treatment is actively changing.

Ask your clinician which medicines to pause during vomiting, diarrhea, or fever — and when to restart them. Write their answer here, in their words.