How to Live Happy With an Autoimmune Disease

This article is about how to balance an autoimmune disease with the rest of your life. Find out easy ways to help live happily with an autoimmune disease.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. So you got diagnosed with an autoimmune disease? Well welcome to the community of nearly 23.5 million people who have one or more autoimmune diseases. There are over 80 types of autoimmune diseases with one common link, no doctor or scientist knows what causes the diseases in the first place!! It's hard to think that with all of the advancing technology doctors are still baffled as to why it even occurs. But, that being said, you're still left to deal with the harshness of living with something that, for the time being, cannot be cured, just managed.

2. To begin with, take your time to come to grips with what you just learned about being diagnosed. Everyone is allowed some time to feel sorry for themselves, with why me questions swarming around for a bit. It's normal with any diagnosis to need some personal time to mentally deal with the cards you have been dealt. Each person responds to a diagnosis differently, but please understand that it is normal to feel upset. These initial feelings will eventually pass, so just stay strong throughout the process.

3. After coming to grips mentally with having an autoimmune disease, it's time to take charge of the things you can control in your life. While none of us can control the autoimmune disease that we have, we can control our thoughts, diet, exercise, sleep, medicines, and lifestyles. The first area that you can control is probably the most difficult, your daily thoughts. I found the best way to start each day is to face my autoimmune disease each morning before I get out of bed. Try to lay in bed for 1 minute before you start your daily activities and have a conversation with yourself. You can get up and chose to have a positive attitude about living with your autoimmune or you can choose to be upset and let the disease control you. While there are many pains and problems throughout the day caused from the disease, if you make a point from the first moment you get up to not let it effect you, it's easier to make it all the way through the day. You'd be surprised the difference this step makes in living with an autoimmune. When I started doing this routine every morning I did notice a difference in the way that I had felt all day.

4. The next thing you can control is your diet. While each autoimmune has it's own specific requirements for dieting, it is one aspect of the disease that people can control. Eating meals that are well-balanced and high in protein seem to be the best combination for feeling healthier. The right combination of foods always seem to make people with autoimmune diseases feel better. People who live with an autoimmune and skip meals and eat poorly always report not doing as well as those who just eat healthy and have three meals a day. Make the healthy choices when eating and it will pay dividends in the way you feel all day.

5. Exercise! Even without being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease this is something a lot of people struggle to accomplish in their lives. The best way to exercise with an autoimmune disease is to just listen to your body. Your body will tell you immediately what kind of exercises you can do and which ones you will have to stay away from. However, you should incorporate some form of exercise into your DAILY routine. Many people with an autoimmune disease find that fatigue is a constant problem, but there has to be some balance in your daily routine of fitting in exercise. Everyone experiences 'bad' days with the diseases and you should not force yourself ever to work out if you are not feeling good. But on those days where you just feel fatigued, get your butt to the gym. The inherent nature of the diseases is that you will feel tired, so accept the fact that you are just going to be tired, and go get your heart rate up. You do not need to push yourself extremely hard or have a work-out that leaves you out of breath for an hour, just get your heart-rate up for thirty minutes. Fitting in 30 minutes a day of getting your heart-rate up will make you feel better and help manage the disease. Since many autoimmune diseases effect your muscles, it's important to incorporate a weight strengthening program into your normal routine. Just remember, every little bit helps so pick up those 5 lbs. weights and get your muscles moving. Lifting will help you be able to control your muscles for longer and will help keep your bones strong.

6. Since we already talked about fatigue being an issue with autoimmune disease it is important to get 7-8 hours a sleep a night. There is a vast difference in the way you will if you get less than the required amount of sleep. While people without the disease may be able to mess with their sleep lengths more than we can, it is essential to let your body re-charge at night. At night the immune system is able to build itself back up and repair damages that have occurred during the day. The more sleep you get, the more your immune system will stay strong throughout the day. If you do not get the required amount of sleep you will be able to tell and not feel as well throughout the day. Trust me, get the 7-8 hours EVERY NIGHT.

7. Most people are required to take some form of medicine after being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. It may take a while to get each person on the right meds, but eventually there should be something out there that helps you feel better. It is hard to get used to taking a bunch of pills at first, but the medicine is only there to make you feel better. Any change you are considering with your medicines should be taken up with your doctor before you go altering them yourself. Along with the prescribed medicines I have found it beneficial to take fish oil, a daily vitamin, and calcium+Vitamin D pills.

8. As you can see there is really no secret to living happy with an autoimmune disease. It's all about living an overall healthy lifestyle and having control over the aspects of your life that you can control. While each disease will take a different course on each individual, it is something that can be managed with the right choices and right medicines. I have no longer let the disease come to define who I am, but have taken a step forward to controlling the disease as best I can. I hope these steps work out as well for you as they did for me.

[kaydolsey]

on 11/3/2009 Well wishes for Luke!