Routine Follow-Up English for Diabetes, Hypertension, and Asthma

Chronic-disease visits work differently from acute ones. The doctor isn't trying to figure out a new diagnosis — they want to know how stable you've been, how you're doing with your medications, and whether anything new has come up. A follow-up has three fixed slots: recent numbers, symptoms / quality of life, and medication adherence. Cover those three plus your questions, and a quarterly follow-up can wrap up in fifteen minutes.

This article teaches English communication for healthcare situations. It is not medical diagnosis or treatment advice. All decisions about medication changes, self-monitoring goals, or exercise should follow your local clinician.

Core Vocabulary

Must-Know Phrases

General follow-up openers:

1. "I'm here for my [BLANK] follow-up."
   • blood pressure follow-up
   • diabetes follow-up
   • asthma follow-up
2. "Things have been [BLANK] since last time."
   • mostly stable
   • up and down
   • better
3. "I've been taking my medications as prescribed."
4. "I missed a dose [BLANK]."
   • once or twice this month
5. "I have a few questions about my treatment."

Hypertension:

6. "My blood pressure has been around [BLANK] in the morning."
   • around 130/85
7. "It's been higher when [BLANK]."
   • I'm stressed at work
8. "I check it [BLANK] times a week."

Diabetes:

9. "My fasting blood sugar has been around [BLANK]."
   • around 110
10. "My A1C was [BLANK] last time."
    • 7.5
11. "I've been more careful with my diet, but I miss exercise."

Asthma:

12. "I use my controller inhaler [BLANK]."
    • twice a day, morning and night
13. "I used my rescue inhaler [BLANK] this month."
    • three times
14. "My main trigger seems to be [BLANK]."
    • cold air / dust / exercise / pollen

Awkward vs Natural Phrasing

Situational Dialogue 1: Hypertension Follow-Up

Doctor: How have things been since last time?

You: Mostly stable. My morning readings have been around 130/85. A few times last week they were closer to 145/90 — I think work has been stressful.

Doctor: Are you taking the lisinopril every morning?

You: Yes, every day. I've missed one dose this month, that's it.

Doctor: Any side effects — dizziness, dry cough?

You: A mild dry cough sometimes, but it's manageable.

Doctor: Let's keep your dose the same and recheck in three months. Keep logging your numbers.

Situational Dialogue 2: Diabetes Follow-Up

Doctor: Let's review your numbers. What does your meter show?

You: Fasting has been around 110, post-meal mostly under 160. My last A1C was 7.5; I'm hoping today's is lower.

Doctor: That's good progress. Any low blood sugar episodes?

You: Once last month, around 4 p.m. I felt shaky, ate some juice, and it went away.

Doctor: Make sure you're not skipping meals. Are you still walking after dinner?

You: About four nights a week. I'd like to add weekend exercise — could you suggest something safe?

Situational Dialogue 3: Asthma Follow-Up

Doctor: How has your asthma been?

You: I use my controller inhaler twice a day, morning and night. I used my rescue inhaler three times this month — twice during a cold, and once after running outside in cold air.

Doctor: Any nighttime symptoms?

You: I woke up coughing twice last week. Otherwise sleep is fine.

Doctor: Let's review your inhaler technique and consider a small step-up before allergy season.

Replaceable Sentence Templates

1. "My [BLANK] has been around [BLANK] [BLANK]."
   • blood pressure has been around 130/85 in the morning
   • fasting blood sugar has been around 110 most mornings
2. "I used my rescue inhaler [BLANK] this [BLANK]."
   • three times this month
3. "I haven't missed any doses [BLANK]."
   • this month
   • since the last visit
4. "My main concern this visit is [BLANK]."
   • the cough
   • the side effect
   • the morning numbers
5. "Could we [BLANK]?"
   • adjust the dose
   • try a different inhaler
   • revisit my targets

Quick Practice

Say each of these in natural English.

1. Open the visit by saying you're here for a diabetes follow-up.
2. Report that your blood pressure has been about 135/88 recently.
3. Say you missed your medication twice this month.
4. Mention that you used your rescue inhaler three times this month.
5. Ask whether you can adjust the dose.

Sample Answers

1. I'm here for my diabetes follow-up.
2. My blood pressure has been around 135/88 lately.
3. I missed a dose twice this month.
4. I used my rescue inhaler three times this month.
5. Could we adjust the dose?

Copy-Ready Summary Sheet

Fill this in ten minutes before each follow-up. Walking in with data makes the visit ten times more productive than small talk.

Chronic-disease follow-up summary
Condition(s): __________
Reason for today's visit: routine follow-up / new symptom / medication question

Numbers since last visit (averages):
- Blood pressure: ___ / ___ (morning)  ___ / ___ (evening)
- Fasting blood sugar: ___ mg/dL
- Post-meal blood sugar: ___ mg/dL
- Last A1C: ___ on [date]
- Peak flow / asthma symptoms: __________

Symptoms / quality of life:
- Better / same / worse since last visit
- New symptoms: __________
- Sleep affected: yes / no
- Activity affected: yes / no

Medication adherence:
- Missed doses this period: ___
- Side effects noticed: __________
- Refills needed: __________

My questions today:
1. __________
2. __________
3. __________

Related Reading

• To fill in family history: see Family Medical History in English: Heart Disease, Cancer, Diabetes, and Other Common Phrases
• For routine test English: see Medical Test English: Blood Work, Urinalysis, X-ray, Ultrasound, MRI

Reminder: This article teaches English communication for healthcare situations. It is not medical diagnosis or treatment advice. All decisions about dose adjustment or self-monitoring goals should follow your local clinician.