Common Struggles of Managing Multiple Chronic Illnesses

[randolph-reynolds]

I had to give up a very special event that I wanted to go to because of my PAH and the medication. The only way I cope is to keep my thoughts on other things. It is hard when the side effects of Remodulin is always present in some form. Hope someone has some ideas on how to make the anxiety about this get reduced. Anxiety and medication tire me out.

Cheers
Randy

[brittany-foster]

Hi Randolph,
Unfortunately having anxiety seems like it goes hand in hand when managing a diagnosis of a chronic illness and all the joys of the symptoms that go with it. For my own anxiety, I benefit a lot from talk therapy with a therapist. It helps to talk with someone and I see her once (sometimes twice a week). I also have picked up hobbies to keep myself distracted through the day and have an outlet for my stress and anxiety. I enjoy journaling, writing, reading, baking, and I try to do light physical activity when I can. Do you have hobbies that you enjoy or ones you have found you enjoyed more after diagnosis? I find it is best to always have some type of positive distraction.

[randolph-reynolds]

Hello Brittany,
My only hobby at the moment is writing. I do that a lot with the idea of self publishing. On some days, like today, I have nothing scheduled till the afternoon and I get very bored. Usually its my morning nap time. Thanks for your comments. Staying distracted is a challenge. My biggest distraction is volunteering one day a week at the hospital but that also does other some good. I hope this gets easier as my PAH isn’t quite a restrictive under the new medication. When I was having trouble just before retiring my work was not up to par and that convinced me to take a break. Unfortunately it coincided with this disease.

Randy

[brittany-foster]

Hi Randolph,
I can relate to a lot of what you are saying, especially the part about work. Our bodies have a strange way of alerting us when “enough is enough” and I felt this when I was trying to work full time as a teacher. The demands seemed almost impossible both physically and mentally. I’m glad that you have a love for writing. I hope you are one day able to publish something and I’ll be the first one to read it ! It’s good to still find hobbies and keep a sense of purpose knowing that you are doing something good for others too.

[randolph-reynolds]

Thanks Brittany
I have three books on Amazon one is a niche book about NASA, one is a little vignette covering some flying experiences, and the third is a collection of short stories. I have made some royalties but the fun of writing gets balanced against getting help publishing them.

Take care

[brittany-foster]

Randolph,
It’s great that you are able to talk about your experiences ! I’m sure publishing is such hard work! That’s so great to hear that one of our members is published though! 🙂