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Having a chronic problem such as diabetes can be a real challenge. You must watch your diet, exercise regularly, and take your medicine. But suppose you also have cardiovascular disease and suffer a heart attack. You are told to rest, so you cut back on your exercise. Soon you start feeling weak and depressed, and stop eating well. The medicines you take for these different conditions may have side effects or drug interactions, creating still more physical problems. Thus, the effects of having several medical problems at once create more problems than having to cope with each of the illnesses separately. It is difficult to feel hopeful in this situation, and it can be confusing for both patient and doctor in trying to determine whether a new symptom is caused by one of the existing problems or by something new. Is that chest pain due to angina or bronchitis or gallstones? Are the memory problems due to Alzheimer's or a side effect of medication?
Using Health-Minder to Take Charge
People tend to go from specialist to specialist for their different problems, and there's no guarantee that all those different people are communicating with each other. You can help ensure good health care, and at the same time feel in better control of your own health management by using Health-Minder to keep up-to-date records.
Record Your Symptoms. Select DIARY|Symtoms to enter a short description of each symptom you are worried about, and the date of its occurrence. By entering symptoms here and answering questions Health-Minder provides about these symptoms, and possibly adding your own notes, you will be better able to communicate with your doctor about problems you are having. Before visiting your doctor's office,
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