SYMPTOMS OF HEART DISEASEScertain types of pain (a sharp or squeezing pain or tightness sensation in the chest; sudden severe pains, substernal (midchest) discomfort; a dull pain that may radiate to the left arm or lower jaw; chest tightness; upper abdominal pain radiating to the back, tightening and fatiguing pains in the muscles during exercise, pains in the back of the neck, pains between the shoulder blades, stabbing pains, needle-like pains; chest pain on exertion); shortness of breath (while at rest; upon exertion; while lying down at night; while lying flat); fatigue; weakness; general malaise; palpitations (slow, fast, irregular heartbeat); light-headedness; dizziness; fainting or faintness; fainting on exertion; sweating; nausea; vomiting; leg swelling and/or abdominal swelling; swelling of the feet and ankles; swelling of the liver; productive cough resulting in frothy, pink tinged sputum; fever; mild fever; high fever; pallor; cyanosis; feeling heart beating when lying on the left side; unpleasant palpitations or chest discomfort; heart failure, shock; a stroke; rapid, visible pulsations of the chest; stop eating well; lethargy; the perception of a strong or skipped beat; convulsions; a slow pulse; tiredness and weakness when performing physical activities; tiring easily; murmurs; migraine headaches; a plum-colored flush in the cheeks; discomfort in the right upper part of the abdomen; pulsations in the neck; a fluttering discomfort in the neck; abdominal discomfort; weight loss; anemia; an enlarged spleen; very small spots resembling tiny freckles on the skin, and similar spots i the whites of the eyes or under the fingernails; stomach pain; chills; joint pain; pale skin; painful nodules under the skin; confusion; blood in the urine; yawning; blurring of vision; a pins-and-needles sensation; sleepiness; cold and sweaty skin; a bluish network of lines under the skin; rapid breathing; headaches; nosebleeds; flushed face; pains or cramps during exercises or while walking (leg cramps);
SYMPTOMS OF DIGESTIVE DISORDERS a “burning” upper central abdominal pain (just below the rib-cage); early satiety (feeling full at the beginning of a meal); weight loss; nausea; vomiting (blood); bloating; a rigid, board-like abdomen; GI cramps; diffuse abdominal pain; diarrhea; constipation; fever; chills; weakness; lightheadedness; fainting upon standing; indigestion; difficulty swallowing; heartburn; upper abdominal pain; lower chest pain; belching; GI bleeding (blood in the stool, black stools, black tarry stools); lower abdominal pain; a change in the shape, frequency, or size of the stools (“pencil stools”); anemia; dysphagia (sensation that food isn’t progressing normally from the throat to the stomach or that it has become stuck on the way down); chest or back pain; pain during swallowing; a burning sensation or a tightness under the breastbone; severe, squeezing chest pain that occurs with difficulty swallowing hot or cold beverages; difficulty swallowing both solids and liquids; regurgitation of the contents of the enlarged esophagus; coughing at night; a burning pain behind the breastbone which rises in the chest and may extend into the neck, throat, or even face and which usually occurs after meals or while lying down; regurgitation of stomach contents into the mouth or excessive salivation; indigestion and discomfort in the upper abdomen; pain when the stomach is empty; a skin rash; gnawing, burning, aching, soreness, an empty feeling, and hunger; pain develops by midmorning; swelling; patients look sick and sweaty and have fast pulse, shallow, rapid breathing; high temperature;
SYMPTOMS OF BONE, JOINT AND MUSCLE DISORDERSjoint pains; joint swelling; joint warmth; joint heat; redness; a generalized red rash; joint tenderness; joint enlargement and deformity; stiffness (stiff joints); numbness, tingling, weakness or even paralysis in the extremities; fatigue (tiredness), weakness; fever; chills; back pain; bone pains (deep, aching); bone enlargement and deformity.
CLINICAL MANIFESTATIONS OF LIVER DISEASEjaundice ( a yellow discoloration of the skin and the whites of the eyes, dark urine); pale stools and general itching from cholestasis (a reduction of stoppage of bile flow); liver enlargement (a tender, painful, enlarged liver); portal hypertension; ascites (the accumulation of fluid in the abdominal cavity); confusion from liver encephalopathy; gastrointestinal bleeding from varices; anemia and blood clotting abnormalities from liver failure (or dysfunction); feeling of illness; fatigue; weakness; malaise; weight loss; poor appetite or loss of appetite; nausea; vomiting (occasionally with blood); fever; abdominal discomfort; abdominal pain and swelling; right upper quadrant abdominal pain; muscle weakness.
SYMPTOMS OF GALLBLADDER DISORDERSsharp and intermittent right upper abdominal pains extending to the lower part of the right shoulder blade; abdominal discomfort; tenderness to palpation; nausea; vomiting; fever; chills; jaundice; loss of appetite; weight loss.
SYMPTOMS OF BLOOD DISORDERSfatigue; faintness or fainting; exertional shortness of breath; palpitations; pallor; absence of red blood vessels in the “whites” of eyes and clearly defined red lines on palms; black tarry stools; vomiting of “coffee grounds” appearing material; weakness; easy bruising; bleeding gums; nosebleeds; weight loss; swollen lymph glands.
SYMPTOMS OF HOMORNAL DISEASESincreased frequency of urination; increased thirst; increased hunger; weight loss; increased fatigue; blurred eyesight; numbness or tingling in the hands or feet, frequent infections; slow healing of cuts or sores, impotence.
SYMPTOMS OF KIDNEY DISEASEweakness and lack of energy; dry and itchy skin; peculiar odor to the breath (urine-like); weight loss (muscle and fat); pale appearance from anemia (low blood counts); shortness of breath particularly upon exertion or when lying flat; total body swelling (edema), worse in the lower extremities; confusion, lethargy, dementia and coma in the late stages; the sudden onset of a sharp, agonizing pain that starts in the back and radiate to the groin; a red or pink tinge to the urine, nausea with vomiting.
SYMPTOMS OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES“cold” symptoms (fever, low grade fever, runny nose, sore throat, slight dry cough, pinkeye (conjunctivitis), malaise, headache, weakness); chest pains, chills, swollen glands (lymph nodes), frontal headache, muscle and body aches, joint pains, shortness of breath, wheezing; painful throat, pain upon swallowing,, a whitish pus on the back of a very red throat; rash
SYMPTOMS OF BRAIN AND NERVE DISORDERSmuscle tension headaches; migraine headaches (migraines - recurring, throbbing, intense pains that usually affect one side of the head but sometimes affect both sides); cluster headaches; vertigo (a sense of moving or spinning); loss of balance; insomnia; hypersomnia (an increase in sleep); narcolepsy (recurring, irrepressible attacks of sleep during normal waking hours; cataplexy; sleep paralysis; hallucinations); sleep apnea (snoring; episodes of gasping, choking, pauses in breathing, sudden awakening); parasomnias (vivid dreams and physical activities that occur during sleep): leg jerks, restless legs (akathisia), furious teeth clenching, sleepwalking (somnambulism), head-banging, night terrors, nightmares); depression; irritability; restlessness; nausea; loss of appetite; tingling or weakness in an arm or leg; muscle weakness; muscle enlargement; muscle spasms; shortening of the muscles (contractures); tight, contracted muscles; drooping eyelids; difficulty raising the arms; difficulty rising from a sitting position; cataracts; small testes; premature balding; irregular heartbeats; mental retardation; muscle stiffness (rigidity) (stiff hands, legs and eyelids); an inability to relax the muscles; immobility; difficulty in initiating movements; muscle ache and fatigue; difficulty swallowing (dysphagia); difficulty breathing; difficulty articulating thoughts; sudden attacks of muscle weakness and paralysis; tremor (action tremors, resting tremors, intention tremors, essential tremors, senile tremors; muscle cramps; tics (hitting, kicking, grunting, snorting, humming, eye blinks); anxiety; loss of memory; writer’s cramp; photosensitivity; dementia; incoordination; disturbances in sensation (double vision, partial blindness, pain in one eye, dim or blurred vision, loss of central vision); emotional or intellectual changes; disability; constipation; diarrhea; loss of sensation; jerky (spastic) leg movements; a change in gait; painful neck; sudden back pain; loss of bowel or bladder control; an inability to feel heat, cold or pain; tenderness; pain in the lower back; pain may travel along the sciatic nerve to the buttocks, thigh, calf, and foot; loss of feeling; pain may travel down the shoulder, arm, and hand or up the back of the head; leg weakness; difficulty lifting the front part of the foot (footdrop); the pain of a ruptured disk is usually worse with movement and aggravated by coughing, laughing, urinating, or straining while defecating; numbness and tingling of the legs, feet, and toes; pain in the shoulder blade; difficulty in speaking (dysarthria); odd emotional responses, switching from expressions of happiness to those of sadness quickly and without reason; inappropriate outbursts; excessive, specific muscle fatigue after exercise; weakness of the arms and legs; weakness of part or all of a leg; total leg paralysis; swelling of the hands, arms, and shoulders; cyanosis (a bluish tinge); pain in the first three fingers and the thumb side of the hand; paresthesia (a burning or tingling sensation) in the arm or shoulder; odd sensation and weakness in the hand; wristdrop; an inability to sense vibration or the position of the arms, legs, and joints; pain is often worse at night and may be aggravated by touching the sensitive area or by temperature changes; sexual impotence; low or high blood pressure; low blood pressure upon standing; pallor and dryness of the skin; excessive sweating; abnormal heart rhythm; difficulty walking; wasting of the calf muscles (stork leg deformity); foot deformities (high arches and hammer toes); repeated bursts of closely separated lightning-like flashes of excruciating pain in the lower portion of the face (most often in the cheek adjacent to the nose or in the jaw area); weakness of the facial muscles; pain behind the ear; numbness or heavy feeling in the face; difficulty closing the eye on the affected side; brief, vivid, unpleasant smell sensations (olfactory hallucinations); dysgeusia (a distortion of taste); seizures (noticing an odd smell or taste; convulsion - jerking and spasms of muscles throughout the body; brief attacks of altered consciousness; loss of consciousness; loss of muscle control or bladder control; intense turning of the head to one side; clenching the teeth; unusual sensations of smell, taste, or visions or an intense feeling that a seizure is about to begin; auras; a headache; sore muscles; unusual sensations; confusion; profound fatigue); twitches in a specific muscle; hallucinations of flashes of light; hallucinations of images and complicated repetitive behavior - for instance, walking in circles; chewing movements, lip smacking; intense hallucinations of a smell, either pleasant or unpleasant; abnormal sensations; abnormal movements; psychic aberrations; loss of or abnormal sensations in an arm or leg or one side of the body; weakness or paralysis of an arm or leg or one side of the body; partial loss of vision or hearing; double vision, dizziness; slurred speech; difficulty in thinking of the appropriate word or saying it; inability to recognize parts of the body; unusual movements; imbalance and falling; fainting; an ability to control emotions; edema or swelling in the brain; loss of speech; inability to move (paralysis); nausea; vomiting; facial pain; a sudden severe headache, often followed by a brief loss of consciousness; feeling sleepy; frequent fluctuations in the heartbeat and breathing rate; difficulty in concentration; forgetfulness; lack of feeling and emotion; anxiety; trouble working, studying, and socializing; puzzling; worsening headaches; increasing sleepiness; falling into a coma; memory loss; a deep coma; increasing confusion; collapse; apathy; inattention; indifference; incontinence; euphoria; personality changes (humorlessness, unusual degrees of religiosity, obsessiveness, and loss of libido); disorientation; paranoia (believing that strange things are happening (delusions)); delirium; inability to think logically or perform simple calculations; forgetting recent events; fears; decreased emotion; difficulty with abstract thinking (such as working with numbers).
THE MOST COMMON PATTERNS OF MEDICAL INTERVIEWINGHave you ever had...? Have you ever suffered (from)...? Have you ever been turned down for...? Have you ever been hospitalized for...? Have you had your chest x-rayed? Have you had your blood tested lately ? Do you have any skin (heart, stomach...) problems ? Do you have...? Are you having...? Do you have trouble breathing (stopping bleedings)? Do you have a tendency to...? Are you sensitive or allergic to...? Do you find it hard to concentrate? Is it difficult for you to concentrate? Do you have difficulty swallowing ? Do you always seem to be hungry? Do you usually feel...? Are you a regular user of...? Do you suffer discomfort in...? Do you have a constant feeling that you...? Are you troubled by...? Are you bothered by...? Are you disturbed by...? Do you suffer pains when you...? Are your finger joints often painful? Is your hearing getting worse? Have you had any trouble with ...? Has your doctor (ever) told you that you...? Have you ever been told that you...?
