As we head into warmer weather and travel season ramps up, I thought I’d share some tips on how to manage Lupus so that you could fully enjoy “travel season”.
It is easy for healthy people to boast about how simple it is to travel the world, as long as you just TRY. But the truth is, not everyone is in a situation health-wise that permits them to travel. I was at that place before, so I completely understand. That was probably one of the most challenging time of my journey with Lupus. The treatments include immune suppressants, so a small infection can be life-threatening. Now that my Lupus is being well-managed, I can share tips to help manage my autoimmune disease so that I could be in a better position to travel more – the thing I love to do most.
*Not all lupus patients respond in the same way, these are the things that help me.
Notice and Know your Stress Triggers
A lot of people say stress causes much of our illness – and I totally believe it. We all experience stress and experience it for different reasons – one situation that stresses an individual may not be stressful for someone else. Stress can trigger and exacerbate your flares. Knowing what your stress triggers are is an important step in understanding and managing your flares. Begin eliminating those that are within your control.
Here are some common strees triggers
- School
- Work
- Finances
- Relationships
- Social Life
- Tragedy
- Emotional
- Change
- Death
- Lack of sleep
- Pregnancy
- Addiction
- Other Health Conditions or Injury
Be your own health advocate
Long gone are the days where the doctor’s word is final!! YAY!!!
Today patients understand they also play an important role in their health care. By advocating for yourself you not only gain a greater sense of control, but also an increased confidence over your decisions, greater medical literacy, better treatment adherence, and even better health outcomes.
Here are some ways to be your own advocate:
- Don’t be afraid to ask questions
- If you are not satisfied, get second, even third opinions
- Maintain your health records
- Know your body, your condition, symptoms and medications
- Understand how your health insurance works
- Take advantage of resources, especially the free ones, that are avaiblable to you
Notice what does and does not work for you
A few years ago I had what I consider my worst Lupus flare to date. For almost a whole year, I was going about my business with a little bit of a shadow of feeling that something was not quite right but I could not name it so I ignored it for far too long. In the end, I almost went into kidney failure and found myself on high-dose mediations for the following three years. Since then, I’ve become a big believer in listening to and knowing when my body is telling me something. It’s more than a nagging feeling. It’s physical, mental, emotion, and cumulatively, it’s clear that something’s up.
It is always a good idea to keep track of the things that give you relief and those that you are not responding to, as well as those things that stop being effective. This includes your medications, your routines, your care team, your diet, your exercise routines, everything.
For instance, a few years ago I realized that I’d begun have an allergic reaction to a medication that I’d previously not reacted to. This was scary and confusing, after all up until then I’d no problems with that particular medication. In this case, I immediately had to stop taking the medication. However, there are some that should only be stopped under the supervision of your medical care team.
An allergic reaction is pretty serious but there are some less subtle reactions it could be increased sensitivity to certain weather conditions or increased intolerance to certain foods, your sleep patterns or even certain types of exercises. Take note of these things. In fact, the success of managing your Lupus greatly depends on your active involvement.
Live and laugh
It all comes down to being smart about your health.
- Follow your treatment plan more closely and with less trouble.
- Monitor and attend to your symptoms.
- Learn when you should seek immediate help for your Lupus symptoms.
Understand your limits but don’t use them as an excuse to stop you from exploring the world. See the world in spite of them. Laughter is indeed good medicine. Have fun and laugh a lot. Now get to planning and book that trip!
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