It has been a long time since I have posted. Things have been a little crazy. I lost my insurance-provided long-term health insurance and then got it back after a lot of tests, doctor visits, paperwork, and phone calls. I got married. Then, a fibro flare hit around Christmas and brought with it a headache and parasthesia on the top of my head. It hasn’t let up yet, and while I miss teaching deeply, I have finally realized that I just cannot teach anymore. I think I will always grieve that loss.
Anyway, I have seen a lot of posts in the chronic illness community about positive thinking and more, but I have not seen as many about how to manage our illnesses. As a former teacher, I know about having to manage a lot of things all at once, and thank goodness, we have technology to help! These last several months, I have tried one app and tech thing after another with varying success. Some of the ones I tried for my last post just don't work for me any more.
Tech I Use Now for Managing My Fibromyalgia:
Smartwatch!
First of all, if you have to take a lot of meds or have trouble remembering things, get a reminder watch or a smart watch. I have tried the Martian Notifier smartwatch and the Samsung Gear S2. The Martian watch is more of a man’s style watch, but boy, is it handy. Its “find my phone” feature is really helpful considering I misplace my phone several times a day, but the little readout screen is just big enough to read reminders, see who’s calling (for when I leave my phone in another room), and more. It’s a really nice piece of equipment, and the vibration is just enough to really get one’s attention. We got one for my stepson who is on the ASD spectrum, and it seems to be helping him remember things. We’ll see how that goes once the novelty wears off.
The Samsung Gear S2 is a godsend. My son wanted to switch to the Apple Watch after switching to an iPhone, so I got his Gear S2, and I love it! I keep track of my sleep, steps, water intake, reminders, texts, and more on it, and I’m really not sure how well I would do without it. It does more than the Martian watch, though the vibration feature isn’t as strong and is a bit easier to miss. It is my fitness tracker, reminder, and more all in one thing on my wrist that isn’t too heavy. The Martian watch is bigger and heavier, and it was starting to bother my wrist a bit, but the Gear S2 does not.
Memory Assistance Apps!
For apps, I have whittled it down to the few I really use and trust now. Trello is still in the running since I have a card with all of our stores and running shopping lists on it that I shared with my husband. That way, he can add things to the grocery lists, as can I, so it doesn’t matter who goes to the store. I keep track of goals and more on there, but I love it for the shopping lists.
Evernote is still a top contender. I tutor, so I keep all my lesson plans and tutoring notes in there, which is helpful when it can be weeks in between sessions. It has helped with the novel I’m writing, with kids’ appointments, and I use Penultimate connected to Evernote for all of my doctors’ appointments and disability paperwork. With WebClipper, it’s even better for researching supplements, new medications, and new fibromyalgia research. It better never go away! My stepson is starting to use Google Keep, though, and for those who don’t want to mess with managing lots of notebooks, that’s a really clean, easy-to-use app.
On my phone, I use Healthy Routine, a great app for reminding me to take my supplements and medications, exercise, and get to sleep. It works with my watch, too, so I never miss a reminder there. I’ve tried others, but this one is the simplest to use and easiest to manage.
Data Tracking Apps!
For tracking food and weight, I still use LoseIt, though I’m thinking of just switching to S Health with the watch. LoseIt has years of my data, though, and it shows how I’ve struggled and where I’ve done better. S Health seems to do a bit more, though, so I’m putting it through a trial to see if it’s as good or better. LoseIt is really easy to use, tracks all sorts of health indicators, and has a large food database. Personally, I think it's worth the premium price for all the extra tracking data.
Another important tracking app for anyone still dealing with a cycle is My Calendar. I don’t use it to track my pain since that’s pretty much constant now, but it is a comprehensive app that can track a woman’s cycle and all the symptoms that go along with it and more. It even has great ways to show your symptoms on charts and calendars. It is the best one I’ve seen and very easy to use. It sure is handy at doctor appointments!
Google Calendar!
Google Calendar gets a spot all its own, as I don’t know what I’d do without it. First of all, it doesn’t matter if I’m on my phone, my laptop, or my iPad (for when the laptop is too heavy or difficult to deal with, pain-wise), I have my calendar right there. Google even recently added reminders and goal-setting reminders within the Calendar app itself, which totally rocks! I love that I can set a quick reminder for a certain time right on my calendar and know that I’ll get it on my watch. It helps with accountability and just plain memory problems.
I also love that I can color-code events. For my daughter’s driver’s training classes, I found that I was forgetting them even with them on my calendar and getting reminders, but changing their color so they stood out made the difference. I have all the kids’ school calendars, activity calendars, parenting time calendars, and the myriad appointments all in one place with reminders set so that I have time to get ready and get there. While I still use a paper planner and make myself sit down and review it every few days at the least, Google Calendar has saved me more than once.
For those of us with memory problems, too many medications to keep track of easily, and symptoms we need to track, technology can help. If you have any favorites you like to use, post them in the comments!
