I’ve been getting a grip on this diagnosis. I understand if you’re out of breath. It’s such a frightening thing, isn’t it? The average person won’t understand what you’re going through. You look fine, yet you feel so awful.
There’s so much information out there? Even with a doctor’s education it’s hard to wade through it all and make conclusions based on what you read. Try not to over react to the most disturbing things you might read. Instead inform yourself so you can tell if the doctor you choose knows his stuff. Then focus on the positive lifestyle changes you can make during this difficult time of discovery. Here are some of the changes I’ve implemented in my life so far.
First I’ve accepted that I am in the fight of my life…FOR my life. No matter the outcome of the testing, if something doesn’t change, my life will surely be shortened. I will not be the reason that I have a shorter life, meaning something I do or fail to do. I might as well get busy doing all the things that are obvious, the things I’d recommend to any patient facing systemic malfunction.
As I mentioned before, people won’t understand for the most part. Surround yourself with people you can trust and people that will respect this condition without treating you like an invalid. You need to laugh and smile and feel worthwhile. Choose companionship in a healthy way.
Without becoming neurotic, I’ve been keeping a journal of the times I am short of breath, dizzy, or any other symptom that may lead us to a define cause in the long run.
Write a list of at least 5 blessings each and every day.
Exercise twice a day, 20-30 minutes of gentle constant movement, only stopping to regain breath. When I first started to exercise I had read not to exercise the arms and legs at the same time. But, I’ve found that as long as I exercise in water, I can gently exercise all motions with both arms and legs. I am doing many of the same exercises that I designed for Mother after her stroke, moving arms and legs in all the positions to remain independent and strong. The water is so helpful and you can do so much more in it. Just be careful not to go too long and exhaust yourself. You’ll feel incredibly heavy when you get out. Start with 10 minutes twice a day and work yourself up to 30-40 minutes twice a day. I feel very blessed that I can handle 20 minutes twice a day at this point.
Journal–My journal is my direct connection to God and to my inner self. At this point, my head is spinning with emotion…sadness, anger, helplessness, fear, along with anxiety and denial and probably some things I haven’t thought of, yet. In my journal I’m working my way through each of these emotions, describing why I feel this way, understanding and accepting the feeling and then writing the obvious responses to those feelings, responses that a best friend would offer…responses that I truly believe are answers from God through my intuitive self. I’ll give myself at least 30 minutes to write in my journal each day and more if I need it.
The trip I’m on right now I have a lot of alone time, time to research, reflect and to write about it. Give yourself time to consider this thing and how it will effect your life. You’ll cry. I sure have. And it will make it harder to breathe, which will make you want to cry more. Respect your grief. You are grieving a loss. Once you accept where you are, you’ll be able to love where you are. That IS the ultimate goal, to love each moment we’re given, find the purpose in it and cherish it. It seems unlikely now. But, if that is a goal you’re committed to, with God’s help, you’ll find the answer.
I either play my music or work on art as a meditation for at least 30 minutes to an hour each day. I personally don’t listen to a lot of music. If listening to music is your special way of meditating, then plan it and do it. Whatever makes you feel closer to God, calms your fears, allows you to breathe more easily, makes you laugh…plan it and do it regularly.
I am consciously making an effort to physically laugh and smile whenever I have even the smallest of urges to do so. Laughter has been known to be good for the heart and lungs for years. I may even incorporate some laughter yoga into my daily routine once I get into a groove.
I’ve made some changes to my diet and will talk about those in another blog, since this one is getting so long. One thing I’ve done, though, that has helped with nighttime shortness of breath, is I’m not eating and drinking very little aft 7:00pm.
I figure that these additions to my life will probably take me 2-3 hours each day. That seems like a lot, but it would sound ridiculous to say that it isn’t worth it, wouldn’t it? It’s funny the things we can find time for at different stages of our lives, isn’t it?
Thank you for reading and I hope this has been helpful. I’ll pray for you if you’ll pray for me. Kind of a new version of the back-scratching trade off. :0) Breathe easy tonight and sweet dreams.