Taking an active role in managing your own care in 2020 is very important to understanding what your own treatment options are and could be. Setting health goals for yourself if you are living with sickle cell will help you monitor your health care and manage your disease.
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To do this effectively, first it would be a good idea to put together what the CDC calls a 'Care Notebook' for yourself that you can take wherever you go like to doctors appointments, emergency room visits and on trips. A Care Notebook is equally useful to help organize all of your sickle cell related medical information in one place to keep track overtime. Other than your doctors' details, medication, treatment and any test results, your Care Notebook should also include your health goals.
For instance, some health goals for you could include the following:
1. Getting regular checkups.
2. Incorporating healthy habits like drinking about 10 glasses of water a day and eating healthy food.
3. Having a plan for when to see a doctor immediately if there is a problem.
4. Planning ahead for stressful events that can't be avoided.
5. Having a moderate exercise routine because being physically active helps overall health.
6. Planning ahead for any possible exposure to extreme temperatures.
7. Staying updated with studies related to your disorder & discussing them with your doctor.
8. Having open and honest discussions with family, friends and caregivers about your mental and emotional health.
Setting clear health goals for 2020 as a sickle cell patient means you are taking control of your health and because there are unfortunately still doctors who are unfamiliar with SCD, these health goals could mean the difference between getting life saving treatment or a possible misdiagnosis.
Have you set any health goals for the new year? Visiting the link below can help you get started:
https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/sicklecell/documents/livingwell-with-sickle-cell-disease_self-caretoolkit.pdf
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