Making Sound Healthcare Choices and Decisions in your Lupus Battle

Making sound healthcare choices as you battle lupus can be difficult. With the constant pain physically and emotionally, it can be your least favorite thing to think about. Oftentimes as we fight through lupus issues, we rarely have time to really give thought to the healthcare choices we make. We are looking to get to a doctor and feel better so we can live beyond that lupus issue. But there is so much more to our healthcare as we fight. There are even decisions we must make in case of our death.

Hard conversations

Now I must admit, discussing healthcare choices and decisions is not my favorite subject. It can bring on some serious emotions and can leave you drained. It’s a hard conversation emotionally to have with yourself. That emotional strain can make it difficult to put everything in place. Nonetheless, the hard discussion of proper healthcare choices while battling lupus and sound healthcare decisions when you can no longer fight is important.

Healthcare choices

We have the right to have proper health care. You have a duty to yourself to make sure you are making healthcare choices that help you in the most effective way to keep your lupus under control. Healthcare choices like health insurance and health care directives are important.

Health insurance

Health insurance or medical insurance is coverage that pays for your medical expenses. As you search for health insurance It’s important to look for affordable coverage that can handle your lupus needs. Unfortunately, we know finding affordable health insurance can be difficult and is not even across the board. We have to work to get what we can and be hopeful that it will be sufficient care as we battle lupus.

Health care agent directive

Choose a trustworthy individual to make health care decisions for you. This is just in case you can not make them for yourself. With this directive, you can choose alternative agents if your first choice is not available.

Advance medical directive

This legal document is signed in advance and is instructed to the doctor treating you. As a result, if you become terminally ill or unconscious, it directs the doctors if you want or do not want extraordinary life-sustaining treatments to prolong your life.

Get ready to start the conversation

What conversation is that you ask? The conversation about end-of-life care. This conversation is particularly hard because it brings your own mortality into full view. End-of-life care is rarely talked about because we don’t want to worry our loved ones and we really don’t want to face the reality that dying is a possibility. Hopefully, we won’t die any time soon. Ultimately, it is important to plan in case it does happen suddenly.

Planning for end-of-life care

Planning your final days is never easy, but it can be so helpful to those you love. You can make the conversation very intimate and it can really help your loved ones understand your lupus fight better. Having this conversation can relieve stress and guilt that can come from your loved ones when you do the transition.

Put things in order when you are living so when you transition your family is not stressed out trying to decide. Your health care decisions today will create peace of mind for you and your loved ones tomorrow.

In our next article let’s talk about the important things you need to have in place NOW to make your transition seamless for your loved ones.