{"id":2054,"date":"2016-06-08T19:27:19","date_gmt":"2016-06-08T19:27:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/?p=2054"},"modified":"2016-06-07T19:41:49","modified_gmt":"2016-06-07T19:41:49","slug":"chronic-illness-waiting-to-call-the-doctor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2016\/06\/chronic-illness-waiting-to-call-the-doctor.html","title":{"rendered":"Chronic Illness: Waiting to Call the Doctor?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Image
Image Courtesy of dan at FreeDigitalPhotos.net<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At some point, it happens to each of us who has a serious chronic illness. We feel something “off,” and it doesn’t go away.<\/p>\n

Perhaps it is a dull pain. Or a sharp pang. Or a rash. Or a sudden swelling. And we think, “Oh, no. Not again. Really?!”<\/p>\n

We might have just been through a bad flare or medical procedure and are simply sick of seeing our doctors, making the effort to get to the docs’ offices, or adding “one more thing” to our long list of ills. Or, perhaps, our condition has been fairly quiet and hope has crept up so softly that we are comforted, optimistic that we’re embarking on a long stretch of relative calm. Maybe we have an appointment coming up, and we don’t want to have to call and ask an over-worked medical assistant to wiggle extra space for us so we can get in earlier than scheduled.<\/p>\n

Whatever the back-story, sometimes we wait to call the doctor and wait for the “thing” to go away.<\/p>\n

But, it doesn’t. It remains and, perhaps, gets worse.<\/p>\n

Even those of us who have lived with illness for a long time have felt the frustration of that new, “one more” thing. And we’ve hesitated to call in the complaint (such a troublesome word for describing our symptoms – we’re not really “complaining,” we’re “reporting!”)<\/p>\n

Yet, we don’t do ourselves any favors by hesitating or waiting to call our doctors. As we develop good, working relationships with our docs and their staff, we should at least call in and explain the new “thing” so that a more objective pair of ears can hear and determine if it warrants further investigation. We are sometimes embarrassed that, when all is said, done, and tested, nothing untoward is found. But that’s no reason to think that we shouldn’t report the new “thing,” even if it, too, leads to an “all clear!”<\/p>\n

In the coming summer months, many people will vacation, travel, and enjoy activiites outside a normal, calmer routine. It might be reasonable to feel more tired than usual, or have something else “off” crop up. \u00a0But, to be on the safer side, the time we take to check in with our docs could help us enjoy more and flare less!<\/p>\n

Joy and peace,<\/p>\n

Maureen<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At some point, it happens to each of us who has a serious chronic illness. We feel something “off,” and it doesn’t go away. Perhaps it is a dull pain. Or a sharp pang. Or a rash. Or a sudden swelling. And we think, “Oh, no. Not again. Really?!” We might have just been through…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":548,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,360,1242,4,1047,578,379,1245],"tags":[2147,29,511,2149,2148,1591],"class_list":["post-2054","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chronic-pain-and-illness","category-determination","category-food-for-thought","category-words-of-encouragemnent-and-info-for-all","category-good","category-goodness","category-lupus-2","category-positive","tag-calling-the-doctor","tag-chronic-illness","tag-flares","tag-sick-of-being-sick","tag-tired-of-being-sick","tag-waiting-to-call-the-doctor"],"yoast_head":"\nChronic Illness: Waiting to Call the Doctor? - Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chronic Illness: Waiting to Call the Doctor? - Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"At some point, it happens to each of us who has a serious chronic illness. 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She expected to be writing scripts. God had other plans. A few years after her graduation, Maureen was diagnosed with a life-threatening case of organ-involved lupus. Her life turned upside down as she grappled with the effects of the illness and other health conditions that ensued. She was no stranger to serious health challenges; even as a child, Maureen had survived numerous bouts of pneumonia, flu, and other infections. But lupus made her take a fresh look at her life goals - and took herlifelong, strong Catholic Christian faith and writing in a direction she'd never imagined. Today, Maureen writes and speaks about walking with the Lord while living with chronic pain and illness. Her most recent book is \"Don't Panic!: How to Keep Going When the Going Gets Tough (Franciscan Media). She is also the author of, \"Peace in the Storm: Meditations on Chronic Pain & Illness\" (Image Books\/Randomhouse), \"Beyond Pain: Job, Jesus, and Joy\" (Twenty-Third Publications), \"The First Year: Hypothyroidism, Second Edition\" (Perseus) and \"Taking Charge of Lupus: How to Manage the Disease and Make the Most of Your LIfe.\" She writes the syndicated column, \"Living Well,\" for Catholic News Service, and has also written for Saint Anthony Messenger Magazine, Journey for Women Magazine, The Upper Room Magazine, LupusNow, and Arthritis Today. Maureen's health continues to be a challenge, however she feels honored to be able to bring her perspective, from experience and knowledge, to others. \"Good Days...Bad Days with Maureen Pratt\" is a new way for Maureen to reach people who carry the burden of illness and pain in their lives, or who care for someone who does. Through the blog, she hopes to bring issues of health, wellness, and spirit into focus and, especially, inspire others that, no matter what health challenges, illness, or hardships they endure, each person can find a good way to realize the wonderful potential God has placed within each heart and soul.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.maureenpratt.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/author\/mpratt"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2054","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/548"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2054"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2054\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2055,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2054\/revisions\/2055"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2054"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}