You've received a life-altering health diagnosis and you've done research and you think you know exactly how things will proceed.
Unfortunately illness doesn't work that way.
Each person and their experience of their illness is unique.
There are a few things you need to do at the start of your journey to wellness that will keep you ahead of the healing curve.
Know Your Body Most of us don't pay attention to our bodies.
As we age we try and distance ourselves from the mirror, especially when we're wearing nothing.
When diagnosed with an illness this is the time to become very familiar with your body.
Taking an inventory of your physical body will provide you with a baseline to use for comparison as your proceed with treatment.
Becoming familiar with your body is important even though your doctor will often inspect you from head to toe for the same reason.
The difference is the doctor is not with you on a daily basis.
You need to know if something is different so you can report the change to your doctor.
This can be everything from a rash to a sudden loss or gain of weight to a new lump or bump.
Don't wait for your doctor's appointment to report these changes.
You may not speak directly with the doctor but the doctor will be informed and a decision can be made right away about the proper course of action.
Don't Rely on the Masses Remember as a kid when you did something wrong and your excuse was everyone else was doing it? Do you remember the next line...
"Well if everyone else jumped off the bridge would you do that too?" The same is true when facing a life-altering illness.
Just because someone responded to a certain medication doesn't mean it's a given that you will do the same.
If someone didn't experience side effects and you do don't take that to mean that something is wrong.
We want to live in the world where things are predictable and nothing is predictable when dealing with an illness.
If you've ever looked at pharmaceutical ads in magazines or seen the commercials they list a host of "possible" side effects.
They are required by law to provide you with what's possible; it's not set in stone.
Everyone's tolerance to medication is different.
Every bacteria is sensitive to different types of antibiotics so don't ever, ever take anyone else's medication.
It's amazing how complex the human body is and how we each respond differently to similar treatments.
It's for that reason that knowing yourself physically, emotionally and spiritually will offer you the best chance at a favorable outcome on your journey to wellness.
Unfortunately illness doesn't work that way.
Each person and their experience of their illness is unique.
There are a few things you need to do at the start of your journey to wellness that will keep you ahead of the healing curve.
Know Your Body Most of us don't pay attention to our bodies.
As we age we try and distance ourselves from the mirror, especially when we're wearing nothing.
When diagnosed with an illness this is the time to become very familiar with your body.
Taking an inventory of your physical body will provide you with a baseline to use for comparison as your proceed with treatment.
Becoming familiar with your body is important even though your doctor will often inspect you from head to toe for the same reason.
The difference is the doctor is not with you on a daily basis.
You need to know if something is different so you can report the change to your doctor.
This can be everything from a rash to a sudden loss or gain of weight to a new lump or bump.
Don't wait for your doctor's appointment to report these changes.
You may not speak directly with the doctor but the doctor will be informed and a decision can be made right away about the proper course of action.
Don't Rely on the Masses Remember as a kid when you did something wrong and your excuse was everyone else was doing it? Do you remember the next line...
"Well if everyone else jumped off the bridge would you do that too?" The same is true when facing a life-altering illness.
Just because someone responded to a certain medication doesn't mean it's a given that you will do the same.
If someone didn't experience side effects and you do don't take that to mean that something is wrong.
We want to live in the world where things are predictable and nothing is predictable when dealing with an illness.
If you've ever looked at pharmaceutical ads in magazines or seen the commercials they list a host of "possible" side effects.
They are required by law to provide you with what's possible; it's not set in stone.
Everyone's tolerance to medication is different.
Every bacteria is sensitive to different types of antibiotics so don't ever, ever take anyone else's medication.
It's amazing how complex the human body is and how we each respond differently to similar treatments.
It's for that reason that knowing yourself physically, emotionally and spiritually will offer you the best chance at a favorable outcome on your journey to wellness.