5 Months and Counting!!!
Soooo yesterday marked 5 months since my last sickle cell crisis!!! *milly rocks*
Meaning 5 months without hospital admissions, 5 months without the need of life saving blood transfusions, 5 months without using pain killers.
5 months may seem like a very short period of time but for someone who is used to falling ill at least once a month and frequent hospital admissions this is a serious milestone, and a day doesn't go by without my prayers being filled with thanks.
There are many things I could have been doing much earlier in my life to improve my health. However, it has only been until recently that I started to make real conscious steps in ensuring that I am in the best possible health. I truly believed that using my medicine was the only way I could ensure this. I have learnt that this is not the case at all and there are actually so many things that can be done in addition to improve my general health and prevent a crisis.
I’m sure my fellow sickle cell warriors would know that there are a number of contributing factors that can trigger a crisis and it's definitely to difficult to manage them all, but with the factors I can control I try to manage to the best of my ability.
Below I have listed a range of things that has really helped me to stay healthy and all of these things have significantly contributed to me being crisis free for the past 5 months!
*Disclaimer: it's not guaranteed that by following these steps you'll be crisis free, everybody is different, I'm just sharing what has been working for me.
1. Friends
Over the last year I have been blessed enough to make friends that prioritise and take an interest in my health and I have to give A LOT of credit to them when it comes to the maintenance of my health.
From days where they'll force me to stay awake until I finish drinking my minimum 2 litres of water, to sending daily texts to let them know that I've used my medicine.
These may seem like small things but they've made all the difference and it keeps me on track.
I highly suggest that if there's anything you struggle with in regards to maintaining your health, let you loved ones know and they'll hold you accountable. Having people that care and understand can help you in times when you are stressed and I have noticed the difference it makes having supportive friends around.
2. Water Water Water
I cannot stress the importance of water enough! Water is actually key!
For people with sickle cell it is recommended that we drink 2-4 litres of water a day as dehydration increases the likelihood of cells sickling.
Also, as I am not a frequent recipient of blood transfusions, jaundice (the yellowing of eyes and skin) is a symptom that is very noticeable on me (I'll probably elaborate on how it links in a later post) and the only way I can tackle this through drinking water. So the more water I drink, the less yellow my eyes and skin looks which is incentive enough.
I'm not gonna lie though, drinking 2-4 litres a day is a chore for me and it's something that I'm still getting used to doing consistently. Really and truly water is something that everyone should drink more of, irrespective of their health and I've had friends who've accepted the challenge of matching, and sometimes exceeding the amount of water I drink. I find this very encouraging and it shows me that I have no excuse when it comes to doing what I need to do.
I've also realised that I find it easier to drink large amounts of water when it is divided into smaller amounts, so instead of trying to back a 2l bottle I'd pour it into 500ml water bottles and carry it around with me wherever I go.
I plan to gradually increase my daily intake because there's no such thing as too much water, especially when it comes to sickle cell and you guys can hold me accountable for this.
3. Use Your Medicine!!!
This may seem like such an obvious point but I can admit that I've had quite a few phases in life where using my medicine was a burden to me and I would go weeks or even months without using it as opposed to the needed daily doses...big mistake! The medicine I use has a cumulative effect, so if I stop using it I wouldn't notice the difference immediately and by the time I see the effects of not using it I'd probably be on my way to the hospital in severe pain.
I've become way more consistent when it comes to using my medicine now (again through the help of friends) and I'm better for it.
4. Keeping Warm
One of my biggest triggers for a crisis is the temperature. Mainly being exposed to cold weather but also a quick change in temperature can result in severe pain. To combat this I make myself more conscious about my surroundings and dress accordingly to my environment, drink hot water and use my hot water bottle basically 24/7 (these mainly apply to the colder seasons).
There are so many other tips that can be given but for the sake of the length of this post I'll stop here and probably do a part II.
And for those who reading this post and do not have sickle cell I ask that you take note of the points and that you apply it to people who you may know that have sickle cell.
In the meantime stay healthy,
Tito
Meaning 5 months without hospital admissions, 5 months without the need of life saving blood transfusions, 5 months without using pain killers.
5 months may seem like a very short period of time but for someone who is used to falling ill at least once a month and frequent hospital admissions this is a serious milestone, and a day doesn't go by without my prayers being filled with thanks.
There are many things I could have been doing much earlier in my life to improve my health. However, it has only been until recently that I started to make real conscious steps in ensuring that I am in the best possible health. I truly believed that using my medicine was the only way I could ensure this. I have learnt that this is not the case at all and there are actually so many things that can be done in addition to improve my general health and prevent a crisis.
I’m sure my fellow sickle cell warriors would know that there are a number of contributing factors that can trigger a crisis and it's definitely to difficult to manage them all, but with the factors I can control I try to manage to the best of my ability.
Below I have listed a range of things that has really helped me to stay healthy and all of these things have significantly contributed to me being crisis free for the past 5 months!
*Disclaimer: it's not guaranteed that by following these steps you'll be crisis free, everybody is different, I'm just sharing what has been working for me.
1. Friends
Over the last year I have been blessed enough to make friends that prioritise and take an interest in my health and I have to give A LOT of credit to them when it comes to the maintenance of my health.
From days where they'll force me to stay awake until I finish drinking my minimum 2 litres of water, to sending daily texts to let them know that I've used my medicine.
These may seem like small things but they've made all the difference and it keeps me on track.
I highly suggest that if there's anything you struggle with in regards to maintaining your health, let you loved ones know and they'll hold you accountable. Having people that care and understand can help you in times when you are stressed and I have noticed the difference it makes having supportive friends around.
2. Water Water Water
I cannot stress the importance of water enough! Water is actually key!
For people with sickle cell it is recommended that we drink 2-4 litres of water a day as dehydration increases the likelihood of cells sickling.
Also, as I am not a frequent recipient of blood transfusions, jaundice (the yellowing of eyes and skin) is a symptom that is very noticeable on me (I'll probably elaborate on how it links in a later post) and the only way I can tackle this through drinking water. So the more water I drink, the less yellow my eyes and skin looks which is incentive enough.
I'm not gonna lie though, drinking 2-4 litres a day is a chore for me and it's something that I'm still getting used to doing consistently. Really and truly water is something that everyone should drink more of, irrespective of their health and I've had friends who've accepted the challenge of matching, and sometimes exceeding the amount of water I drink. I find this very encouraging and it shows me that I have no excuse when it comes to doing what I need to do.
I've also realised that I find it easier to drink large amounts of water when it is divided into smaller amounts, so instead of trying to back a 2l bottle I'd pour it into 500ml water bottles and carry it around with me wherever I go.
I plan to gradually increase my daily intake because there's no such thing as too much water, especially when it comes to sickle cell and you guys can hold me accountable for this.
3. Use Your Medicine!!!
This may seem like such an obvious point but I can admit that I've had quite a few phases in life where using my medicine was a burden to me and I would go weeks or even months without using it as opposed to the needed daily doses...big mistake! The medicine I use has a cumulative effect, so if I stop using it I wouldn't notice the difference immediately and by the time I see the effects of not using it I'd probably be on my way to the hospital in severe pain.
I've become way more consistent when it comes to using my medicine now (again through the help of friends) and I'm better for it.
4. Keeping Warm
One of my biggest triggers for a crisis is the temperature. Mainly being exposed to cold weather but also a quick change in temperature can result in severe pain. To combat this I make myself more conscious about my surroundings and dress accordingly to my environment, drink hot water and use my hot water bottle basically 24/7 (these mainly apply to the colder seasons).
There are so many other tips that can be given but for the sake of the length of this post I'll stop here and probably do a part II.
And for those who reading this post and do not have sickle cell I ask that you take note of the points and that you apply it to people who you may know that have sickle cell.
In the meantime stay healthy,
Tito
Comments
I wish good health always