A lot of doctors make you fill out the information in this document as a new patient. A member carries a copy of this in their purse at all times and they bring a fresh copy with them to every new doctor.  They created this template because:

1. Some doctor’s forms didn’t have an area for them to put all of their conditions and having all of that information is important for care.

2. Some doctors do not read the forms you fill out in the waiting room but when you hand them this, they have a highlight of you and understand your history better.

3. They have had emergencies where they were unable to speak for their self and communicate their medical history. This document was known to coworkers and their spouse, the coworkers and spouse were able to hand this to the emergency professionals so they understood this member's medical history better and were even able to contact the appropriate specialist to coordinate care which saved their life.

This document is a template for your medication list. Sometimes, we have so many medications it is hard to keep track of them all. It is overwhelming to remember and list them all for a new doctor or during a follow up appointment. This document allows you to have a quick copy of all of your medications to hand out when needed. It is also helpful in an emergency situation to have this readily available to hand to emergency professionals. 

This is an example document of a patient's recommendations/guidelines for their physicians based on information they have been given by their specialists. This is not specific to all EDS patients, this was put together for one patient based on their different conditions.

This type of document puts all of the guidelines you have been given together in one place that is easily printable to hand out. Work with your doctors to put together a similar document.

This document is an example of a list of warnings/recommendations provided to the hospital for a patient that had hEDS and POTS prior to the patient having surgery. This letter was submitted with the patient's pre-surgery paperwork. 

It is important to know these type of warnings and recommendations before any surgery when you have EDS so you can discuss these with your surgeon and with the anesthesiologist.