How do you tracking your health stuff? I’ve been looking for a good method but I just don’t know where to start. The thing about chronic illnesses is that they’re, um, chronic. Ok, yeah, that’s obvious, but hear me out.
If I had an ear infection and the doctor wanted me to track the pain for a few days, that would be easy. But with a chronic illness, it means tracking things for the rest of my life. Also, with the ear infection, I’d just be paying attention to pain. With chronic illnesses I need to track pain, fatigue, nausea, blood tests, medications, MRIs, and many other things. It’s a lot to keep track of!
A good tracking system could be invaluable. Have you ever gone into the doctor, told them you were feeling better, then later wondered
why on earth you said that? I have. I may have been feeling better at the time, but that didn’t mean I was doing better over all. Oops. It could provide a less subjective-to-the-moment viewpoint. Plus, how great to be able to see how symptoms varied based on changes in medications or menstrual cycles. But wait, stress could be a factor, so I suppose I should track stress levels too. Oh, and climate makes a huge difference, so I should include that. And working plays a huge role, so weekdays vs. weekends vs. vacations should be included. And of course it should be electronic. And it must be searchable, so that I enter a search term and I can see everyplace it occurs.
And based on all of this, I am suddenly spending an hour or more every day filling out information about how I am feeling and possible contributing factors. It’s just too much, right? How are we supposed to do this?
Someone must have a good solution. If you have one, could you let me know? Thanks!
Chronic Rants 