While I still struggle with occasional health issues from my past, I've found it helps to recognize that they won't last forever. Here are five strategies that have helped me cope with my ongoing challenges.
Use the right treatment for the right condition
Many chronic illnesses don't respond well to any kind of medication, but some respond really well to specific treatments. For example, high blood pressure doesn't typically respond to beta-blockers, but hypertension with organ damage will respond to them.
Take control of the symptoms
As a rule, the more symptoms you have, the worse your quality of life is likely to be. For example, when you have low testosterone, you may have low energy, muscle loss, and reduced strength. However, with aggressive treatment, you can often restore normal function.
Get regular check-ups
Chronic illness requires consistent monitoring and management. In fact, most patients will need a doctor visit or two a month to make sure all the problems are being addressed.
Track your progress
If you know how to record your symptoms in a journal, tracking your progress can be invaluable. This is particularly true when you're dealing with chronic conditions like cancer. You'll be able to see exactly where you were before starting treatment, where you are now, and where you hope to be next month.
Take advantage of technology
There are plenty of apps out there that can monitor your health. My iPhone has helped me keep track of my exercise, food intake, medication intake, and sleep patterns. I can even track my progress over time so I have visual evidence of my successes and failures.
That said, technology is only as good as the data it collects. For me, the most important factor is that I have to be actively doing something myself to capture that data. In that sense, I think it would be much harder to track my progress if I wasn't exercising, eating healthy foods, and managing my medications.
I ,have a chronic cough