What to expect when you meet with the dietitian
Haven’t seen a dietitian before? This is what to expect when you see me.
At the time of the appointment I will either knock on your door, meet with you in the lobby or give you a phone/Zoom call. At the start of the appointment I try to get to know you and your situation a bit better, some of the questions I ask might not seem related to your health or diet but they help me to understand some of the barriers you face. These are questions such as your living arrangements, interests you have and your own opinion on why you are having a hard time.
Next we get into the more medical questions including any body measurements you have and want to share (I won’t weigh or measure you unless you are being treated for malnutrition), any medical conditions or disabilities you have, recent blood test results, medications that you are taking etc. It might be useful to prepare these beforehand, your GP can likely provide you with a list.
Then we delve into symptoms that you are experiencing that may be impacted by or impact your diet. In this section we do have to discuss poo! Poo is a very useful tool for dietitian’s as it can tell us a lot about what’s going on with your body and diet. No need to be embarrassed, we have to ask every client. Some other things we discuss include gut symptoms such as bloating, any issues with swallowing or chewing, food reactions, reflux and also the ways that your diet impacts your day to day life.
After all that we finally get into your diet! I will ask you to tell me what you usually eat and drink in a day starting from the first time you eat (so if you don’t eat breakfast this might be a late morning snack or lunch). If you would like to be extra prepared for our appointment you could record a food diary for 3-7 days before I see you.
Finally we move onto planning how to address the concerns which have been discussed during the consultation. We will likely go through some relevant information to help with your situation, develop a plan for future therapies, or I may ask you to gather more information before we can develop an effective treatment plan (food/symptom diary, additional medical tests to request from your GP etc.). For NDIS participants, the primary purpose of the appointment may be to gather information to write a report for your NDIS plan review to secure funding for dietetic therapy in your next NDIS plan.