Sundaymail Editor
DEALING with the pain and aggravation of a broken bone or burst appendix is not easy. But at least there is an end in sight. Once the bone or belly heals, you are pretty much back to normal.
That is not true for high blood pressure, heart failure, diabetes, arthritis, osteoporosis, or other chronic conditions.
With no “cure” in sight, they usually last a lifetime. You can live with a chronic condition day to day, responding to its sometimes swiftly changing symptoms and problems. Or you can take charge and manage the disease instead of letting it rule you.
Here are some strategies for coping with a chronic condition:
Get some information
The more you know about your condition, the better equipped you will be to understand what is happening and why.
First direct your questions to your doctor or nurse. If you want to do more in-depth research, ask them about trusted sources of medical information on the internet.
Make your doctor a partner in care
Take responsibility for your care, and do not leave everything to your doctor. One way to do this is to listen to your body and track its changes. If you have hypertension, learn to check your blood pressure. If your heart has rhythm problems, check your pulse. For heart failure, weigh yourself every day and chart your symptoms.
This kind of home monitoring lets you spot potentially harmful changes before they bloom into real trouble.
Build a team
Doctors do not have all the answers. Seek out the real experts. A nurse might be a better resource for helping you stop smoking or start exercising. You will get the best nutrition information from a dietitian.
Make a healthy investment
Part of the treatment for almost any chronic condition involves lifestyle changes.
You know the ones we mean –stopping smoking, losing weight, exercising more, and shifting to healthier eating habits. Although these steps are sometimes relegated to the back burner, they should not be.
The people who make such changes are more likely to successfully manage a chronic condition than those who don’t. Investing the time and energy to make healthy changes usually pays handsome dividends, ranging from feeling better to living longer.
Make it a family affair
The lifestyle changes you make to ease a chronic condition such as high cholesterol or heart disease are good for almost everyone. Instead of going it alone, invite family members or friends to join in.
Manage your medications
Remembering to take one pill a day is tough; managing 10 or more is daunting. Knowing about the drugs you take –why you take them, how best to take them, and what problems to watch out for –is as important as learning about your condition. Talking with your doctor, nurse, or a pharmacist can put drug information into perspective.
Beware of depression
Dark, dreary moods plague a third or more of people with chronic diseases. Depression can keep you from taking important medications, seeing your doctor when you need to, or pursuing healthy habits. Read up on the signs of depression. Let your doctor know if you think you are depressed or heading in that direction.
Reach out
Doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals are not always the best reservoir for information about what it is like to recover from open-heart surgery or live with heart failure. To get the real scoop, look for a support group in your area and talk with people who have been through what you are facing.
Plan for end-of-life decisions
If the diagnosis of a chronic condition, or life with one, has you thinking about death, channel those thoughts to the kind of care you want at the end of your life.
Spelling out whether you want the most aggressive care until the very end, or whether you would prefer hospice care and a do-not-resuscitate order, can save you and your loved ones a lot of confusion and anguish later on. — Wires.
Online Reporter