Originally published in the Hideaway Lake News on April 1, 2020
In an effort to minimize all risk from the “c”, I’m concerned that many of us may forget that we are more likely to have problems from our other medical conditions like heart disease and diabetes, if we don’t take care of them in the coming weeks to months.
My own lunch, one day last week, was a bag of Doritos, Andy’s concrete and a McD’s apple pie. Shameful, I know, but one day of such behavior is going to do no harm. However, I can see how it can be easy to slip into bad eating habits while hanging out at home in our PJ’s wallowing in self pity. So I would like to motivate you to get dressed in the morning and stick to your daily good habits of eating healthily and exercising. Make sure you stay in touch with loved ones virtually and with appropriate social distancing in person.
Many primary care doctors are open for restricted hours and urgent patients only, or are working via telemedicine during the pandemic. If your regular appointment was cancelled, please don’t just blow it off. Make sure you learn how to get set up on telemedicine. Your doctor won’t be able to provide the same level of care as they can in person, but it is far better than not going in at all. Even if your appointment is not for another month or so, get registered on their tele site so you can visit them remotely if you are a high risk person or if something urgent pops up.
Remember, since your doctor may be working from home, they may not have access to your full chart which may be in their office. Not all doctors have electronic medical records that are in the cloud. Here’s how to prepare for your next chronic care telemedicine visit:
On the day before your appointment, check that your webcam or phone camera, as well as your audio, are working properly. Also make sure you can get on the telemedicine site and connect correctly with your doctor’s office.
Type out a list of all your medicines with doses ahead of time.
Keep your blood pressure, sugar and any other data record readily available, if you were asked to keep track of them.
Have your most recent blood test results handy if you have them.
Make a list of things that you need to speak with your doctor about. Keep it to three items or less, otherwise there won’t be enough time to thoroughly address all of them.
Make sure you FIRST address any important symptoms such as chest discomfort, difficulty breathing, nausea or dizziness. This allows your doctor to spend the most time evaluating them.
Our lives are going to be quite different in the coming months. These are uncharted waters for us all. The doctors and nurses need time to figure out this telemedicine thing. Let’s be patient, kind and understanding with those who are caring for our health. Practice deep breathing, prayer and meditation to help keep tempers down and anxiety in check. Sometimes anxiety can manifest as irritability, anger or frustration. We all need an inordinate amount of patience right now as we show love and kindness to everyone struggling to get it right, including ourselves.
Good health and good spirits to all!