THE CONSULTATION

I judge a first appointment by what you can repeat afterwards, not by how thorough it felt at the time. There are five things you should be able to say when you walk out.

One: what I think is going on, in plain words, and how confident I am. Two: what I propose — the part I do and the part you do, which is usually the more important half. Three: how many sessions before we should know whether this is working, which is generally four. Four: what that will cost in total. Five: what would make me change the plan or send you elsewhere.

To get there, the hour goes roughly: history in detail, including the systems that seem unrelated and usually are not; examination, with movement testing for anything musculoskeletal and pulse and tongue for anything internal; treatment if it is appropriate; then a re-test, so we are both looking at something measurable rather than at how you feel after an hour in a quiet room.

What I ask you to bring, and it genuinely changes the appointment: imaging reports and specialist letters, recent blood results, a written list of everything you take including vitamins and anything bought online, and three months of cycle dates where relevant.

If the answer turns out to be that you need your GP and a specific test rather than me, that is what I will say. The clinic is in Lane Cove, opposite the library.