Managing Our Day with Chronic Illness

It can be difficult to manage our day with chronic illness. It's important that we find ways that work for us that allow us to function as best as we can while managing our symptoms and resting when we need to. 

Some days we make plans and we may have to cancel them and that's okay. We have to be okay with that no matter what others may say or think of us. It's our lives and we have to do the best thing for us and our health. We have to constantly think about our health. Although it may not be fair, it's our reality. 

Some days we may feel better than others and that's something we have to accept. Our symptoms may come out of nowhere or may linger around for weeks, months, or even years depending on the illness. We have to push ourselves as well as know when to pull back. It can be difficult to balance.

Here are some things that I do to try to manage my day with chronic illness as much as possible:

• I try to plan out my week with work, errands, etc. as much as I possibly can. This allows me to know from one day to the next what my responsibilities are for any given day during that week. If I wake up not feeling well, I can look at my calendar and see what my plans are and cancel if needed. If there's something I can't cancel, that will most likely be all that I do that day and that's okay.
• I make lists for everything. When I was taking medications, I made a list of medications I needed to take in the morning, afternoon, evening, and at bedtime for each day. For the pills, I used a weekly pill case to help me manage my medications so I would be less likely to forget to take something and kept the case in the same spot.
• I give myself time to rest most days in the afternoon whether it's laying on the couch watching TV or taking a nap.
• I start getting ready for appointments and planned activities about two hours before I have to be there so that I don't feel rushed when it comes time to leave as this adds to my stress. 
• If I'm not feeling well, I have my heating pad beside me in case it's needed, Netflix, my laptop, a book, or something to keep my brain occupied while I'm resting in case I feel up to watching a show or reading.
• If I have new symptoms come up, I make sure to add them to my list of things to talk to my doctor about. If I'm still experiencing the same symptom, I try to note how often.

There are some responsibilities that we have to do like take care of family, work, doctor appointments, take medications, etc., but it's still possible to manage your day with a chronic illness. Please know that it's okay to say no to people and cancel plans when you need to.

I hope you find this information helpful.

Do you have things that help you manage your day with chronic illness? Let us know by leaving a comment below!

​Take care,
💛Samantha 

Image from Amazon.com