Are Medical and Life Issues Getting You Down?

By , SparkPeople Blogger
As I have previously shared, I have thyroid disease like millions of other people. For me, an autoimmune disease led to a subtotal thyroidectomy and a lifetime sentence of medication and battling to maintaining my weight and good health. I can empathize with others who try so hard every day to meet their health goals while living with a medical condition and a busy life.
 
A few weeks ago, I hit a few life and health issues all at one time that just made me want to give up, sit on the couch, eat what I want and feel sorry for myself. Have you ever felt like that? I'm hoping that hearing what I have been dealing with will help you know that it happens to everyone but also that life and medical issues don't have to cause a major setback as you work toward your goals.

Here is a snap shot of what has been going on in my life over the last month or so and how it has influenced my day-to-day life.
  • Allergic responses to thyroid medication - Constant itching and other ongoing allergic responses to the natural thyroid medication I had been taking for several years were making life uncomfortable. Working with my Pharmacist and Endocrinologist, another option was identified that we hope will work better. As anyone on medication knows, switching to a new medication brings hope but also a lot of trial and error and adjustments to find the "sweet spot." During that adjustment, sometimes there are responses that occur which can make you feel like you are taking steps backward before you start moving forward. I have been experiencing some bad with the good for sure.

  • Helping our dog with cancer - Previously diagnosed with a cancerous mass on her leg, our dog began barking and getting up multiple times a night due to increasing discomfort. Although we are glad our beloved 14 year old pet has been able to remain comfortable and at home with us, it has been a process finding the right medication, feeding and care routine. Being up many times during the night (as we used to do with our children) for weeks at a time has been a difficult adjustment. She is part of our family and it is what you do for family but makes the morning alarm difficult to answer.

  • Pop in my neck - I played competitive sports for several decades and upper back and neck injuries were prevalent especially when high jumping and rolling in volleyball. I have made many trips to the chiropractor over the years for adjustments and my neck and back crack very easily. However, on this particular night it was a pop like no other as I turned over trying to go back to sleep after tending to the dog. The stabbing pain in the shoulder blade indicates this is something different. After several weeks of applying ice, stretching, and waiting, I finally broke down and made an appointment to see a specialist to find out what is going on but the pain and discomfort continue.

  • Our oldest child went to college - Our children are supposed to grow up and move away but it does bring emotional highs and lows as a family goes through the process. There are also new adjustments in the daily household to learn as well as new types of worry and different types of stress.

  • Loss of bus service to high school - Changes in the economy have brought tough times to our public school system (like many others) resulting in no high school busing for our younger child. We have a great car pool pulled together but heading out to take my turn three mornings a week at 6:40 AM has been an adjustment.

  • Pulling weeds included poison oak - About twenty years ago, I had a bout with being covered with poison ivy. Thanks to a steroid shot, it cleared up and I have been able to avoid further problems since that time. That is until a few weeks ago when I decided to multi task while cooling down after an early morning (5:00 AM before driving car pool and heading off to work after a night of being up with the dog and suffering with neck pain!) workout. I pulled a few weeds, which unfortunately included some poison oak and then wiped off sweat BEFORE washing my hands. Thanks to the previous exposure and current autoimmune disease, the rash went systemic very quickly requiring a trip to the doctor for a twenty-day high dose steroid taper to heal and several weeks of uncomfortable itching.
 
Add to all of that the day-to-day life of a full time job, family and home requirements and the desire to make time for friends, exercise, and dealing with all the other activities of daily living and I know you get the picture. I was tired, missing my child, trying to fit everything in, dealing with constant pain and itching like crazy. Sweating made me itch more and getting up at 5 AM was not a fun thought. It was very tempting to just rest on the couch, eat all my favorite treats to soothe the emotional and physical pain and tell myself tomorrow is another day and I deserve to do what I want.
 
I am not sharing any of this for people to feel sorry for me because many people deal with much more than my itches, pains, busy schedule and sleepless nights. I am very fortunate because I have the benefit of a flexible work schedule, the support of family, and life experience that allows me to plan for the rough times. However, even if you find yourself in less flexible or supported situations, you can plan for the difficult days that are sure to come. Illness, injury, and tough times are a possibility for all of us. If you face ongoing medical issues, tough days are almost a certainty. Here are some things I have learned that might help you keep moving forward when those days come.
 
I have learned that I can resist temptations because I know how bad I will feel at the end of the journey when life is better but my choices caused me many more setbacks then the stresses, illness or injury itself. Instead of giving in to the temptations regardless of how justified they seem, I keep my focus on following through with as many of my daily healthy habits as I can without beating myself up for the ones I can't muster the energy, time or commitment to fulfill. Instead of running several mornings a week, which caused me to sweat and itch like crazy, I walked. I was still exercising and active even though it wasn't at the same intensity. On the days when I was tired and in pain and didn't want to cook and was tempted to go for the fast food I modified my plan. I asked for help from my family and went with easier meals that didn't require as much time and preparation as what I had planned. The key was having an easy back up ready for those days. When chocolate seemed like a soothing answer to missing my child or being uncomfortable, I was able to resist because I didn't have it in the house and went for dried fruit instead. If the chocolate had been here, it would have been gone and no amount of good intentions would have been able to stop me.
 
Three Keys for Your Success
  1. It is important to plan for busy and tough days. Know your food weaknesses and keep them out of your home, office, and life. We are all human and when we are at our weakest and most vulnerable physically and emotionally, no amount of good intentions is going to pull us through. If the healthy options are what are available with healthy and easy backups on stand-by, you have set yourself up for a win-win situation when the chips (pun intended) are down. If you are relying on willpower and motivation every day to help you meet your healthy eating goals and resist the chocolate, chips, soda or dessert temptations that are all around you, you are sure to meet disappointment when the difficult days come. Treats are treats and they are most enjoyable when you have them only at special times. If they are always readily available, they are just daily options and opportunities for failure at meeting our goals when life is hard and our willpower is down.
 
  1. Be active any way you can every day without fail or excuse. Move what you can safely move for as long as you safely can to get your circulation going and the heart rate increasing. Even if it is less than you usually do. You will be amazed at how you feel physically better but also emotionally better too because you are still able to mark exercise off your list even on a bad day. Who cares if you can't do what you "usually" do or "planned" to do, what matters is that you did something.
 
  1. Commit to sticking to as much of your healthy living plan as you can but accept that you won't always be able to do it all. Life happens, especially if you have medical issues and the all or nothing idea leads to feelings of failure and not measuring up and can lead to giving up entirely because you couldn't do it all. The idea that if you can't fit in a thirty or forty minute workout means you can't work out at all can give way to new ideas of fitting in what you can. If the meal that takes an hour to prepare isn't feasible, fast food doesn't have to be the only other option. Plan ahead, make the plan fit the life circumstances you have and rejoice that some healthy choices are better than nothing at all. This allows you to maintain your momentum of moving forward even if it is a slower pace. Always remember that slow and steady wins the race and keep moving forward.
                                                                                                                                                                    
What do you do when life and medical conditions throw you a curve? What can you do differently?

See more: health issues tips