Management of Chronic Conditions

Chronic conditions are those diseases that will be with you for the rest of your life. Conditions such as arthritis, hypertension, or diabetes (to name a few) are conditions that can be managed but may not go away. Even when you receive a diagnosis for more than one chronic condition, you can still live a full life. There will just be a few modifications you will need to implement into your daily living routine. 

Your provider will work with you to establish a baseline of where your health is currently and will help you set challenging yet achievable goals in improving your health. In working with your provider it is important that you attend your monthly scheduled appointments. It is at these monthly visits your provider will reassess your health and how you are doing with the lifestyle changes you have agreed to implement. 

Chronic diseases must be professionally managed, whether your diagnosis is hypertension, epilepsy, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), or something else. The most important aspect to living a fuller, healthier, and more productive life is to show up to your monthly check-ups with your provider and to follow your provider’s recommendations. Remember, your provider wants you to live your best life and when they make recommendations they do so in order to help you achieve a better quality of life. 

Showing up for your monthly provider visit is one way you can take control of your health. Another way you can take control of your health is to do your part in implementing the suggested lifestyle changes. You and your health care provider are a team. As such, it is important that you follow through with the recommended lifestyle changes. If you don’t understand the changes you and your provider have discussed it is important that you ask your provider to clarify the changes. 

Some of the changes you and your provider may decide are right for you could include: changing the food you eat, adding daily movement, learning stress management techniques, and quitting smoking. These things sound daunting, however, your provider will work with you to make incremental changes. Over a period of a single month, you may not have too many changes, but over the period of a year, with changes implemented a bit at a time, you may surprise yourself at what you are able to do! 

If you have questions, please give us a call at 409-655-2770 or schedule your appointment using our online scheduler.

Author

Kairos