Hey My Salty Cyster Friend!
I’m super excited to share some of my helpful tips through my personal experience with cystic fibrosis.
I really hope you can benefit from any one of these tips, and if you have any tips to share through your own experiences please feel free to share it in the comments, so our other C.F. Cyster’s can benefit from it as well.
Cystic Fibrosis is a genetic lung disease that affects both the lungs, and digestive system. C.F affects the cells that produce mucus, sweat and digestive enzymes. Therefore, the body produces thick, and sticky mucus that can clog these organs.
Due to this, the disease requires daily treatments, and medications.
These treatments can sometimes feel overwhelming, and time consuming. Without this proper care we would be in severe trouble that could otherwise lead to fatality. (although I even hate to say that out loud.) For more of an in depth guide to Cystic Fibrosis Click HERE.
1. Stick To Your Darn Treatment Plan!
The most important tip of them all!
I advise you to adhere to your treatment plan your Doctor has provided to you. In doing so you will create a much more abundant life for yourself, and the longevity of it as well!
You’re too amazing not care for yourself properly, and you have so much to accomplish in this world!
Make it a habit to do your vest therapy, breathing treatment, and take your medications daily.
Block time for your treatments in your calendar. In doing this you are more likely to commit to it!
Along with sticking to your treatment plan, keeping up on the inventory of your medications and/or your prescription refills is also a necessity.
Those medications can become overwhelming. After all, there are so many we take on a daily basis. The last thing you want to do is run out of any of your medication supply.
In my experience with not having health insurance, I personally need assistant programs to help cover my expenses toward my medications I’m prescribed. So making sure I’m on top of my annual paperwork updates is a must in order to refill my prescriptions.
I make this point, because in the past I have personally missed deadlines in getting information over to the assistant programs, and I have suffered the consequences for it.
So please don’t follow my mistake, learn from it!
2. Exercise Regularly.
Get out those workout clothes, and let’s get sweaty, and salty! Haha.
I have found such great benefit with exercising. In doing so my body is stronger all around, my bones are denser, my breathing is deeper, and my moods are elevated.
It’s truly amazing what exercise can do for us.
Health, and fitness has always intrigued me since I was a little girl. Learning about the body from the inside out was an obsession I had growing up. I knew that it was going to be the field I studied in college.
I’ve studied many different programs in fitness, and nutrition. There is not one size fits all program for everyone. Especially if you also suffer from C.F.
In my journey I found great benefit in just focusing on one training method for 4-8 weeks, followed by a different method once I finished that program. I would determine the program I chose based on how my body, and lungs felt.
For instance, if my body felt strong, but my lungs were a little congested (not sick, just more of a cough) then I would choose strength training. Which consists of slow tempo, heavier weights, and allowing the body long rest periods to breathe in between each exercise.
Another method could be to focus on yoga. Plus Yoga offers great breathing methods to practice which is super beneficial for anyone with C.F.
Lastly, another exercise method that offers great benefits is called Interval Training. Interval training involves alternating between high intensity or a challenging exercise, paired with a period of time where you recover while doing a lower intensity activity.
An easy example of Interval Training would be Running for one minute (high intensity), then slowing down to walk for a minute or two (low intensity). Then repeating until you hit 15 minutes or so. (depending on your fitness level.)
Overall choose a program that is best suited for you, and your health goals!
3. Eat A Healthy High Calorie Diet.
Let’s be optimistic here.
A slight upside to having C.F. would be that we can eat a higher calorie meal plan, and actually benefit more from it compared to the average person!
Now I’m not trying to take away the severity of the cystic fibrosis disease by any means..(Let’s be clear here!) I’m just simply trying to shine a little positive light into our world.
Those with C.F lack pancreatic enzymes, it makes it allot harder to absorb much nutrients from food. Which is why anyone with C.F must take prescribed enzymes with every meal or snack, specifically foods high in fat.
Fat malabsorption has a huge affect on anyone with C.F. The thick, sticky mucus that our body produces makes it hard for us to absorb fat. So taking more enzymes when we eat fatty foods is also a must in some cases.
Not all fat or calories are created equal. Although it sounds amazing to know you can eat high calorie foods, you should still be mindful of the quality, and the nutrients or lack there of that the food has to offer.
Although a greasy cheesy pizza sounds good to eat every night, it’s actually doing your body a disservice. Too much saturated fats actually can create inflammation in our bodies, thus overtime can cause other health issues. (still enjoy your pizza, and unhealthy foods, just limit them!)
The majority of the time stick with nutrient dense foods that will fuel your body, and immune system.
Overall it seems having a diet plan high in calories helps to maintain our weight, fight any infections, and keeps the lungs strong!
So Eat Up Salty Cyster!
4. Practice Self Awareness.
OMG YES!
Self awareness is also a key practice to add into your daily habits.
Why? Because when you’re self aware, it’s easier to avoid depression, and you’re also more aligned with your body, and whats going on with it.
Having Cystic Fibrosis can take it’s toll physically, mentally and emotionally. Having awareness of when these feelings come up will save you from being down and/or sick for too long.
When we are aware of what’s going on with our bodies, it’s easier for us to be vulnerable, and reach out to someone close, or take the self care protocol that we need.
Having resources for when these times creep up is always good. For instance, I love to use guided meditation, this not only helps me to quiet the noise, or stress in my mind, but also aids in breathing methods.
It’s also nice to get out in nature, and ground yourself with the earth. It’s very soothing for the soul.
So practice slowing down, and becoming more self aware, I guarantee it will help.
5. Avoid Smoke of any kind.
It makes me want to cough just looking at it!
Smoking is not cute, it’s not cool, and it’s deadly to the C.F community.
Please keep clear of any type of smoke that may affect your lungs. This not only includes cigarettes, but also vaping, second hand smoke, and even certain candles or campfire smoke can affect anyone with cystic fibrosis.
Now of course I’m not saying you can’t light a candle or enjoy a good campfire out in the woods. I would just advise to be careful, and aware of how close you are when the campfire smoke blows your way.
I understand you can’t always control your environment, but just be mindful of the places you go, and the people around you who choose to smoke.
Not everyone understands what cystic fibrosis is, so in some cases we just have to excuse ourselves from certain places that are smoky or people who are smoking.
If you do happen to be in an environment where there is smoke of any sort, I highly recommend doing extra treatments the following day or days depending how your lungs feel.
Stay safe, stay healthy, and stay smoke free!
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P.S If you found this article helpful or can help another woman in any way please share, and comment below what you loved most!
I love to hear from you!
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