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NHBPM Day 1: “There’s always an app for that…”

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It’s November which means only one thing – it’s time again for the National Health Blog Post hosted by WEGO Health! And once again I am determined to take part and write a post everyday regarding my experiences with chronic illness.

As a member of the Chronically Ill community or a ‘spoonie’ as we are more commonly referred (see my post regarding spoonies and the spoon theory here) I need a number of different apps for a variety of different reasons – those apps to remind me to take my medications throughout the day; apps to help keep track of my personal health conditions such as the frequency and severity of the symptoms I am experiencing.  But I also have a number of apps that I use regularly that although not health-related, they do help me through bad times due to chronic illness such as Twitter and Facebook to help me keep in contact with all of the friends that I have met during my personal  journey with illness.  And there are some games that I play to keep me entertained whether it be in bed when I am too weak to get out of bed, or whether it be for the long waits at hospital waiting for my appointment to begin.  My personal favourites are ‘Candy Crush Saga’ and ‘Pet Rescue Saga’, and fun word games such as ‘4 Pics 1 Word’.  I also use Instagram to not only document in pictures life with my neurological condition but also to help document successes such as going somewhere new or simply as reminders for fun times to look back on when things are bad.

 

There's an app for that!
There’s an app for that!

 

However, those are the apps that I have on my smartphone, but now technology has developed, I also have apps on my tablet computer which I use when I am stuck in bed or when I am pottering around the house to distract myself from the horrible symptoms.  The apps that have made it on my tablet are more entertainment based for the reasons that I have given.  For example, I have ‘Netflix’ so that I can watch films or TV programmes from the comfort of bed; and especially convenient as it saves a trip out of bed to put a DVD on as my legs are sometimes too weak to be able to do just that.  As well as ‘Netflix’ there is also ‘Sky Go’ and catch-up services such as the ‘BBC iPlayer’ and ‘ITV Player’ to allow me to catch-up on programmes that I have missed.  I also have a jigsaw puzzle game that helps distract me from the pain, trembling and dizziness  which helps, and finally there is ‘Skype’ that I have just downloaded to my iPad that I intend to use to speak to my friends during times that I cannot get to my computer.

As both my smartphone and tablet computer are Apple Products I use the Apple App Store to find the apps that I own.  But for those that are health-related such as ‘Pillboxie’ that I use to alert me to take my medications and the ‘Symple’ app to track the symptoms I experience it may also be useful to talk to other spoonies suffering from a similar conditions as yourself to find apps that they find useful.  And always try the free app first and then if the app is right for you and your needs then purchase the full version.

 

Links to Apps that I have found useful:

  • Symple:  An elegant symptom journal for your iPhone. Easy to use, and flexible enough to meet any set of symptoms, regardless of condition or disease
  • Pillboxie: Pillboxie is the easy way to remember your meds. Other med reminder apps are either too complicated or just downright boring. Pillboxie is easy because it lets you “visually” manage your meds. Scheduling a reminder is as easy as dropping a pill into a pillbox

 

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HAWMC 2013 Day 23: “There’s an app for that!…”

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Welcome to the Health Activist Writer’s Month Challenge brought together by WEGO Health – a social network for all health activists.  Again, I am participating in the annual Writer’s Month Challenge in which I will be writing about my health activism and health condition based upon prompts given.

Today’s prompt reads as follows:

“I wish this gizmo could track my condition!”  Write about which device, application, program, etc, you wish helped to track your health 

I have an iPhone, and there are an overwhelmingly large number of applications available for the phone; many of them health related.  There are applications to remind you to take medications; to track fitness and nutrition, as well as keeping a record of symptoms and possible triggers.  There are also diaries and journals that you can download to the phone in order to take detailed notes of what is happening to one’s health.  For example, on my iPhone I have the following applications to help not only track my health but also keeps me entertained through illness itself:

  • Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube and Instagram – love these as it keeps my spirits up; entertains me as well as allowing me to keep in contact with all of my friends and be up-to-date with all the latest goings on. 
  • WordPress – this is to keep up with my blog
  • Symple – this is a fantastic tool in order to track symptoms associated with your condition as well as all the factors that affect them.  If one has started a new medication then it really is a great tool in order to see whether it has been effective in managing pain, for instance. Find out more about the application by visiting their website
  • Games such as 4 Pics 1 Word, The Chase, etc – purely for entertainment value and excellent at keeping my mind off my pain and keeps me occupied whilst at appointments

 

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However, if I were to invent an application that could track my health condition; what features would it include?  For starters, I would love a way to track the number of falls that I experience.  During doctors’ and hospital appointments, I am always being asked how many times I have experienced falls in a given period, however, the truth is the number is so great that I lose count!  Therefore, an app which record the times I fall would be extremely useful; even more so if it could be done with one press of a button.

I would also find use of an app, that could send an alert to someone whenever one occurs.  This could be useful as a way of recording times when falls occur but also will be useful for getting help when a fall does occur, especially as I am often unable to get back up by myself.  It may also be useful in gaining a little independence when out and about with my parents, or carer – I could go and have a look at what I wanted to by myself without needing someone constantly with me, but then if a fall did occur, they would be alerted and come and assist me when necessary.

Because of the recent attacks, I have been experiencing of complete vision loss, the doctors advised to keep a diary of when such attacks occur and to record the time that the attacks last for.  However as my vision completely goes, I am unable to see the time, and therefore cannot record how long the attacks last for.  I searched and searched for an app that could assist be in doing so without needing my vision; perhaps through voice assisted technology, however I was unable to do so. So, an application which could do just that for me, would really help in keeping track of this particular troublesome symptom.  Even recording the times within the app, would also be useful, so I could instantly share it with doctors’ or consultants.

But most of all, the most helpful apps would have the option to be able to send all the data that has been collected could be sent to your doctor or hospital consultants and could then be added to your records.  This would make it much easier than, for example, keeping a written record and then remembering to take them to appointments.  Wouldn’t it be easier to be able to send data to our doctors between appointments so we can keep them up to date on our progress?  Especially if new medications have been introduced to our treatment regimen.  If doctors could keep-up-to-date by seeing data such as these between our appointments, and became concerned over deterioration in symptoms perhaps then they would be able to invite us for an appointment before a flare or relapse in our conditions occur.  Wouldn’t that make it easier for both doctors and patients alike?

If you could invent an application to assist you in your daily struggles with chronic illness what features would you like to see?  Share your thoughts and comment below!

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A new dawn for Health Care…

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Hello Everyone

Time for another blog post.  As my regular readers know that I have taken part in the WEGO Health Activist Writer’s Month Challenge back in April and since then I have still been an active member of the WEGO Health Community, taking part in chats via Twitter, posting on their Facebook page and so on.

And for June as the above picture describes, WEGO Health is talking technology – how technology is shaping and has shaped healthcare.  Most of us know by now that technology has played a significant role for some years within the medical field – from the introduction of a wide range of medical devices such as the MRI, a scanner which has significantly improved the diagnostic process for a wide range of conditions, firstly making it a lot easier to diagnose conditions as well as speeding up the process.

Technology has also made it possible for doctors to shy away from the old paper medical records and instead opt for Electronic Health Records – – all out health records now stored on computers, at the touch of a button or the press of a few keys, doctors can bring up your entire medical history to help them identify the best course of treatment for your condition.  There are even computerised robots that can perform some surgical procedures on patients, one such example is the da Vinci Surgical System which can perform complex and delicate surgical procedures with increased vision, precision, dexterity and control.  The machine has even been featured on medical TV dramas such as Grey’s Anatomy.

The da Vinci Surgical System, Image: http://www.intuitivesurgical.com/products/davinci_surgical_system/

Now, however not only can new technologies has changed how healthcare is practiced it has also given patients the tools to be able to take charge and have a more active role in their healthcare and subsequent treatment.   Now, patients are able to buy equipment such as home blood pressure monitors – but not only this but the introduction of ‘smartphones’ has enabled patients worldwide to be able to download a wide variety of applications for everything from being able to take notes to tracking sleeping patterns, there really is “an app” for just about everything.  So, I thought I would take this opportunity as part of the WEGO Heath ‘Health Technology Month’, to share some of my favourite apps which I use daily on my own iPhone.

One of my two favourite apps, has to be for the popular social networks, Facebook and Twitter – these applications keep me up to date with the latest news, views and whatever else from my family, friends, favourite brands and so on, wherever I am, whether it be on my sick-bed on those very bad days where the dizziness is so intense and balance is so very poor that I can barely stand or on the frequent occasions where I can walk or stand due to the severe weakness in my legs, or when I am on the move!  They keep me occupied and entertained reading what is going on within my social circle and family, the ability to rant on them and gain support from others is so helpful and can lift the spirits when living and coping with a chronic health condition.  They also provide me with the opportunity to network with other health bloggers and get the word about my latest blog post!!

Another app that I have recently discovered, and have been raving about as it so useful for those of us who may be battling with a chronic condition, one which like mine is completely unpredictable, not knowing what today is going to bring, whether it will be a good or a bad day.  So, one option would be to keep track of each day – the severity of the symptoms experienced, and keeping a note of activities or possible triggers which may have contributed to the worsening of symptoms.  And now I have found the perfect app to do this – introducing the Symple Health Tracker, which is advertised as a daily symptom diary.  It’s so quick and easy to fill in, only takes a few seconds to complete.  In the full application (which you have to pay for) the user is able to track up to 20 symptoms at a time, and can even set up reminders so you never miss a day completing the diary.  In addition you are able to set up custom tags to record possible triggers or perhaps the medications that you are taking or other therapies a person may be undergoing.  There is also the options to jot down notes about the day or how you felt, and can even upload photographs for a visual history of rashes or swollen joints.

All this makes it so much easier to keep track of the symptoms experienced with your specific condition, illness or disability and with the ability to add ‘tags’, it may be that you are able to spot specific patterns to the symptoms experienced, if medications are effective or not, or even whether there triggers that you didn’t even know existed so you are able to change your lifestyle and help you gain more control over your health – and hopefully improve your over all health.   Here is a link to the app for the iPhone: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/symple-symptom-tracker/id479818115?mt=8


So, I don’t know whether or not any of you are like me, but I am constantly forgetting to take my medications – and now patients are able to download an app to remind them to take the medications at specific times, for example, I have to take 3 doses of one of my medications, and I like to take it at regular intervals – I usually take 1 dose at 9.00 a.m., then again at 3 p.m. and the last one at 9.00 p.m.. however I was finding that at times I was so busy or engrossed in what I was doing that I kept forgetting to take them.  So, I decided to download an app to remind myself when to take them – and lo and behold I now never forget to take any of my medications.

Now there are many different options for this specific type of application, but the best that I have found is called the Pillboxie – an easy and visual way to take your medications.  There are many different medications out there, all in different shapes, sizes and even colours.  With the Pillboxie you simply add the name of the medication you want it to remember and select the appearance of the pill (selecting what shape and colour the specific pill is) and the times which you want to take it and it’s done!!  And you never have to forget to take your medications again!  And for those who may have to inject themselves or use drops there is also an option for these too if again you need to remember when to use these.

Link to the app for iPhone: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pillboxie/id417367089?mt=8

And the last app, that I am going to talk about is Evernote – now, it isn’t a health app but I find it extremely useful in saving any information, web pages, links or even a specific passage that I might come across regarding anything to do with my health, symptoms or condition so I never have to forget where I found the information. Or even if I for an appointment with my GP or consultant and he says something which is important, I can even create my own note and type away.  With Evernote it’s not only text that you can save but you can even save photographs, or even an audio clip!!  And there are even different options to access the things that you have saved – it has been said that it works with nearly every computer, phone and mobile device out there.  Here is an image of how it works:

Image take from: http://johnkendrick.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/evernote.jpg

So there are some of my favourite apps for my iPod and iPhone, do any of you have any recommendations on any other health related apps that are available? – I would love to know what some of your favourite apps are.  So get involved and let us all know the best  health apps that are out there!!

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