Medication routine & finding balance
For the past 6 years since I was diagnosed and was put on my lifetime medication, there has been a lot of trial and error trying to strike the right balance. Firstly, and probably most importantly, is getting the doses right to make sure my body has everything it needs to function on a daily basis. Secondly, it’s the timings of taking the tablets to make sure they are most effective. Then lastly, it’s remembering to blooming take them on time, which can be more of a challenge than you would think.
Anyway, as I am sure a lot of you can relate, over the years we have countless conversations with our specialists, undergo a lot of tests (some that I wish I could forget) and try many variations of the drugs we are taking. However, in my experience I still haven’t to this day been able to find an explanation for some of the daily symptoms that I have or why my body just doesn’t feel quite right.
With every new ailment, you do your research (the dreaded google) and you approach your specialist with a list of possible causes (which I think is me being helpful) and you hope to get to the route of the problem. However, most of the time you come away from your appointment with the usual “Your blood results are within the right range, for YOU. So there is no need to make any changes to your medication at this time”. Now you’d think that’s what I’d want to hear but in all honesty you want something to show up so that you can take action and make it better. Take nausea for example, I have really suffered with this for years now and it has had a huge effect on my everyday life. A bad bout can last every day for more than a week and there’s no sugar coating the fact that it’s debilitating. Yes, I have learnt to live with it now and have accepted that it’s ‘part of my condition’ but that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t be nice to find the cause. A girl can dream, ay?
I’ve come to the conclusion that you have to do a lot of the figuring out for yourself because at the end of the day, you know your body best. That doesn’t mean you start tweaking your meds, best leave that to the professionals but you can try to look at your routine and see if there is anything you could be doing to help your symptoms. For example, I have had a lot of stomach related issues over the years and again, I’ve been through so many tests trying to find a cause but no such luck yet. However, recently I was reminded of how harsh steroids can be on your stomach, something that I have always known but didn’t really look into. I realised that like an absolute idiot, I was taking my morning steroid without food and before taking the medication to line my stomach. I know what you are probably thinking, what a plonka but the truth is you focus more on the taking of the tablets and not forgetting them than focusing on how you are taking them. It’s safe to say I felt very frustrated at myself for sticking to this routine for so long before realising it probably is not helping.
Of course, I don’t actually know if this is the cause but it’s a little tweak I can make that gives me some hope that I will start to feel better. Sometimes I feel that’s my best way of trying to cope, holding onto that little glimmer of hope that you’ll try something new or make a small change in your routine and that it’s a success. Trust me, those 1% improvements make such a huge difference when you have a chronic illness. It makes you feel like superwomen and that you can take on the world! Or at least get out of bed and make a cuppa…
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