Week 22 - Regular as clockwork
I realized last week that I have been doing my interferon injections absolutely like clockwork – Very responsible and consistently. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday I take a couple of tablets around 6pm, and do the injection about an hour later. I give this priority, and try not to allow other events to impact on the routine.
Having said that, I have shifted things around a bit: For example, sometimes I do a lecture on a Wednesday evening, and in that case I move the injections to Thursday and Saturday. But I always get back onto schedule by the next Monday evening. Sometimes I have to plan carefully ahead to allow me to do the things I want.
I know that many people are not nearly as consistent or reliable when taking medicine. A few examples: A fairly large proportion of people on antibiotics stop taking them or neglect to finish the course… This can be a serious problem, as the benefit of the course may not be achieved. Or even worse, it can give rise to the spread of resistant strains which are not clobbered properly at the start. In the case of HIV/Aids there are other problems: Some people do not feel they are getting any benefit. Without a positive goal they tend to neglect the medication, and so it becomes a vicious cycle – They don’t improve, so they don’t see the need to take the meds, and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
I suppose interferon is a good example: I am not actually ill from any visible disease at this time. Taking the medicine (injections) just makes me feel bad, and limits my ability to live a full life. It has no visible benefit, so it takes a lot of faith and positive thinking to continue with the regime.
In my case I am concentrating hard on all the things I need to do to make it a success, and keeping a positive attitude is no small part of the task. It takes a lot of conscious effort and positive thinking to continue week after week. I recognize that some people may have difficulty with this, and wonder how the differences between individuals affects the general statistics?
By the way: Next week we are going away to a timeshare resort in the bush. Five days in a warmer climate, some game viewing and walking, and time to just chill out and relax. I will post some pics when we get back.
Having said that, I have shifted things around a bit: For example, sometimes I do a lecture on a Wednesday evening, and in that case I move the injections to Thursday and Saturday. But I always get back onto schedule by the next Monday evening. Sometimes I have to plan carefully ahead to allow me to do the things I want.
I know that many people are not nearly as consistent or reliable when taking medicine. A few examples: A fairly large proportion of people on antibiotics stop taking them or neglect to finish the course… This can be a serious problem, as the benefit of the course may not be achieved. Or even worse, it can give rise to the spread of resistant strains which are not clobbered properly at the start. In the case of HIV/Aids there are other problems: Some people do not feel they are getting any benefit. Without a positive goal they tend to neglect the medication, and so it becomes a vicious cycle – They don’t improve, so they don’t see the need to take the meds, and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
I suppose interferon is a good example: I am not actually ill from any visible disease at this time. Taking the medicine (injections) just makes me feel bad, and limits my ability to live a full life. It has no visible benefit, so it takes a lot of faith and positive thinking to continue with the regime.
In my case I am concentrating hard on all the things I need to do to make it a success, and keeping a positive attitude is no small part of the task. It takes a lot of conscious effort and positive thinking to continue week after week. I recognize that some people may have difficulty with this, and wonder how the differences between individuals affects the general statistics?
By the way: Next week we are going away to a timeshare resort in the bush. Five days in a warmer climate, some game viewing and walking, and time to just chill out and relax. I will post some pics when we get back.
posted by Peter | 9:21 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home