Yesterday I attended my second week of the Living Well with Chronic Conditions workshop presented through Tuality Healthcare (in Hillsboro). This is one of the many locations and groups offering this Stanford University-based guided program. The program covers some basics to focus on when trying to manage any chronic health condition (See Working on Facing Change post for more information on classes offered).
As someone who has had lupus for over a decade, I feel that I have lived successfully with it so far- meaning I’ve been able to manage the illness from progressing further in my kidneys, have been pain-free for about fours years and have remained able to contribute in supporting my family. I also know, as a veteran who has witnessed and heard from others how easily our lupus can change, that I need to get off of my self-appointed throne and get more serious about keeping my progress in lupus management relevant. It is good for me to participate in reviewing the routine information and sharing it with other participants through this workshop- because the reality is…I’m not paying attention to any of it on my own. If I knew all there was to know about self-care and lupus, then why aren’t I following through with any of it?
This year will be one for me to address my attitudes about many things and one of them is recognizing the difference between exercise for weight management and exercise for my health. Being thin for the most part, I have hit an age and created a lifestyle where all that glorious work that I put into my youth is now depleted. I can no longer benefit from my athletic and outdoor adventures, which were both a means of exercise for me without me really thinking about it or being conscious of it. I now need to start addressing the fact that my lack of exercise has aged me more than the years themselves have and if I don’t start becoming more conscious of that, I’ll really be in trouble very soon.
So, with February being Heart Awareness Month , I’ve decided red is the color I’m focusing on this year. Not just because of my age or the fact that I’ve become a sloth, but also because individuals with lupus are in a higher risk bracket for developing heart-related problems. I’ve put a huge widget on the site to serve as a reminder for all of us to take notice of our heart health (actually, I couldn’t figure out how to shrink it, but the other reason works better).
Here are some health information links that address heart disease and lupus for all of us to keep in mind during this heart-focused month.
Miscellaneous articles and sites on lupus and heart disease connection
Lupus Foundation of America Heart Disease Risks and Lupus Information about Heart Involvement
For Tools and Articles on Heart Health, here is great problem-focused coping resource to check out through the American Heart Association including:
Heart Attack/Coronary Heart Disease Risk Assessment
Warning Signs (for both men and women)
An additional tracking tool for goals in starting up walking is offered at Womenshealth.org
A good layman source for recipes and general information to use in getting more heart healthy: Better Homes and Gardens Heart Healthy Living – (note: there will be pop ups). Obviously, check out the more medically-based sites like National Women’s Health Resource Center and WebMD
For those of you who are more emotion-focused in your coping, here is a link to a non-profit that offers inspirational and motivational stories about taking care of our hearts: Womenheart.org . You can also find many more people sharing their experiences and suggestions on several autoimmune- or lupus-related websites, blogs and social networking sites.
Wishing all of you some peace in your hearts~ Be Well, everyone
——————————————————–
Be sure to check out the MLWT bulletin boards “Blog Chat” forum for follow-ups on the workshop progress (Tuality Workshop thread). I will also be adding more local information, resources and discussion opportunities in this forum following the blog posts this month.
