Managing RA (or Any Chronic Illness) Is a Full-Time Job
No one ever tells you just how much work it is to have a chronic illness. Just how many roles and tasks does it include? I tell all in my new Made with RA column on HealthCentral:
“I am exhausted. My doctors would tell me this is due to the stress of living with a chronic illness; to the fatigue factor of rheumatoid arthritis (RA); to potential side effects from medication; and to poor sleep (thanks, chronic pain). But none of that is the whole story.
No one tells you that living with a chronic illness is also an added workload, a sudden full-time job. Just thinking about it will make you dizzy, and it can feel really urgent, as if you’d better hustle on that learning curve, because your health depends on it.
Managing my RA and everything that comes with it is a constant juggling act. I wear so many hats I need an extra head (or three). Here’s what a typical day looks for me:
Managing Meds and Planning Food
Every day, I let my inner nurse come out to play, making sure I get multiple medications at the right times, including injecting myself with chemo drugs and safely disposing of needles. My condition is unpredictable, changing what I feel every day, and I oversee this with an eagle eye, adapting treatments and actions (and naps) accordingly. I’m also a dietitian, monitoring my gastrointestinal system and assessing which foods help and which hurt. Creating an optimal diet to support my health means learning about nutrition, reviewing recipes and ingredients, and learning new dishes.”
Read the rest of my column about the full-time job called chronic illness on HealthCentral.
Tag: .disability, chronic illness, coping, rheumatoid arthritis, rheumatoid disease
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I used to say, look I have a job, you insurance company are a very poor employer. I seem to do lots of work, it is meaningless, and I do not get paid. So how do you keep anyone employed? Wait what you are getting paid? Hey man how do I get in on that deal. Right now my employer wants reimbursed. Wait thy are paying you ? Damn, I want that job. No not yours, I want to go the top of the company. I want to be a lobby sitter.