Why you should share all your symptoms with your doctor

It's essential to speak up during your visit to the doctor. What seems like a harmless bit of indigestion, an extra dry spot on your skin, a "floater" in your eye or tingling in the feet could indicate something more serious than you think.

Instead of just telling your doctor, "I've been feeling lousy," try to be as specific as possible.

• For example, "I've been feeling a tingling in my feet for the last two weeks."
• Describe your symptoms as precisely as possible, say what you've been doing to relieve them (if anything) and note whether anything seems to help.
• The more specific your description, the easier it will be for your doctor to figure out a diagnosis and treatment.

Tingling, numbness, burning or painful sensations in your feet, legs, arms or hands can be a sign of nerve damage, or neuropathy.

• The feelings often start in the feet and can be slight at first.
• Tell your doctor if you have any sensitivity to touch, leg cramps, difficulty sensing the position of you feet or feelings of being off-balance.
• Other markers of circulation and nerve problems in the feet are sores, blisters or cracks that won't heal.

It might be helpful to tell your doctor how much pain or discomfort you are in by using a scale of one to 10, where 10 is excruciating pain and one is very mild discomfort.

It's important to share even symptoms you find embarrassing. While you may feel uncomfortable talking about frequent urination or erectile dysfunction, doctors hear about these problems all the time.

Know the signs of both low and high blood sugar and report episodes to your doctor.

• Common signs and symptoms of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) are confusion, hunger, weakness, shakiness, perspiration, rapid heart beat, dizziness, nervousness or irritability.
• Signs and symptoms of hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) include, fatigue, thirst, frequent urination, blurry vision, hunger and sudden weight loss.

You won't necessarily have all the symptoms at the same time, and symptoms can vary from episode to episode. Some people report unusual symptoms, such as their nose going numb or their ears ringing. If you find this to be true for you, let your doctor in on your discovery.

Some of us hold back on letting our doctors know the little details of how we've been feeling, hiding that swollen toe under a sock, or "forgetting" to mention new problems in the bedroom.

Remember, your doctor has heard it all before, and knowing more about you will help them give you the best treatment.