The short explanation
Your last three or four period dates, a list of every medicine and supplement you take including anything bought over the counter or traditional, any previous reports and scans, your ID and any health scheme card, and your questions written down in the order you want them answered.
What depends on your situation
The parts of this that change from woman to woman. Uncertainty is stated, not hidden.
- Period dates are the single most useful thing and the hardest to reconstruct in the room. Even approximate dates for the last few cycles change what a clinician can say.
- The medicine list matters more than it sounds. Interactions are real, and a clinician who does not know what you are already taking is prescribing with one eye closed. Photographs of the strips are as good as a written list.
- Take old reports even if they are years old and even if you think they were normal. A previous normal result is information; a repeated test because nobody could find the old one is a wasted afternoon and a wasted fee.
- Write your questions in priority order, not in the order they occurred to you. Appointments end sooner than expected, and the question you most needed answered should not be the one you were about to ask.
- Practical things that people forget: a sanitary pad if you might bleed after an examination, and money for tests that may be ordered on the day.
What this answer cannot determine
The boundary of online education. These need a clinician who can see you.
- This cannot tell you what documents a particular hospital or scheme requires. Only that facility can tell you what it needs.
- This is not a list of tests you should ask for. What is worth doing depends on your symptoms.
- This explanation was written by AskHer's editorial team from the guidance listed under Sources. A clinician registered in India has not signed this version off yet — that is why no clinical reviewer is named at the foot of this page, and it is why nothing here is a diagnosis.
Questions for your clinician
Take these with you. You can add any of them to an appointment card.
- Here are my last few period dates and everything I take.
- Here are my old reports — is any of this useful, or should we repeat something?
- These are my questions, most important first.
- What will today cost altogether, including any tests?
When to seek help
Clinician-approved guidance for this topic. When in doubt, being seen is never the wrong choice.
Get help the same day
- you have severe pain, heavy bleeding or fever — go now, without waiting to assemble any of this
Book an appointment soon
- you have an appointment booked and have not written anything down yet
- you have reports at home that nobody has ever looked at
Sources
The evidence this explanation is built on.
- Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Government of India
- Patient information leaflets Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
- Family Planning guidelines National Health Mission, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
Who wrote and reviewed this
Every AskHer answer names its author. A clinically reviewed answer also names the clinician who signed it off — if no clinician is named below, it has not been clinically reviewed.
- Author
- AskHer Editorial AskHer's editorial team — not an individual clinician Works in English, தமிழ், हिन्दी
- Clinical reviewer
- Nobody yet No clinician has signed this answer off. That is what the “Editorially reviewed” badge means, and why it does not say “Clinically reviewed”. It was written and checked by AskHer’s editorial team against the sources listed above, and it is queued for a clinician who works in this area.
- Review status
- Editorially reviewed
- Last reviewed
- Last reviewed 25 August 2026
- Version
- 1
Correction history
Substantive changes are listed, not quietly edited away.
No corrections have been made since this answer was first published.
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