Phlo digital pharmacy how to#

This is just a little snippet of insight into one experience of navigating a relationship with chronic illness.īut if you’re in a place where you’re feeling as though a relationship is out of the question for you, you’re just starting out in a new relationship and wondering how to navigate all the tricky parts, or you’re the partner of someone with chronic illness, we both hope that you find this chat helpful and hopeful.The UK’s first digital pharmacy which offers a same-day medication delivery service is launching in Birmingham – its first pharmacy hub outside of London. Obviously, we can only talk about our personal experiences, and we’re not claiming that we have the answers, or that our experiences will be universal. And, most importantly, how you find joy, humour and happiness, even in the most challenging times. To navigate the emotions and fear and the “burden question”. To see someone you love in pain and not be able to stop it. and I learned that even if I can’t do a lot of the things healthy young people are “supposed” to do, it doesn’t mean that I don’t have a huge amount to offer in a relationship.Īnd from Sebastian’s side, we explore what it’s like to be with someone who can’t do a lot of those things. I learned that my conditions are just a part of me and they’re not going anywhere.

I learned to accept that I am worthy of love and can be in a happy and healthy relationship. I didn’t even want to be with myself, so how could I expect someone else to want to be with me?īut it turns out I was wrong. Whether we like it or not, chronic illness changes us, and changes the way we interact with the people around us.Īnd since we just got married, I thought that this would be the perfect time to sit down with Sebastian and reflect on what it’s been like dating with a chronic illness - from both his perspective and mine.Īs you’ll hear in this episode, there was a time in my life where as much as I wanted a relationship, I didn’t think that it would really be an option for me. One of the most frequent topics I’ve been asked on Instagram over the years has been how to navigate relationships of all kinds: romantic, familial, friendship, medical, employer. If the medications don’t work (and we’re not given the right tools and support) we’re often left feeling abandoned and alone, dealing with the consequences of a life that feels like it has been blown up from the inside.

I’ve spent a fair amount of time over the last year writing about how treatment for chronic illness so often neglects the fact that it can impact every single aspect of our lives. I’ve also shared personal essays about my own experiences living with chronic illness, like how I’m learning (over many years) to not be so scared of my own body, and the fear of disappointment and the pain that comes alongside the hope of new treatment. Things like why we need to rethink what we mean when we’re talking about recovery, and the problem with how “self-management” is currently thought about in the NHS. That’s why I love working with experts to create resources on topics like pacing for people who would rather be doing other things and an exploration of what actually is brain fog, as well as wider discussions of issues relating to the care and treatment of chronic illnesses. In a comment on one of our discussion threads, a lovely reader said that: “You have created something valuable in that space between what is said/not said at a doctor's clinic and how life happens,” and I think that really sums up exactly what I’m trying to do here. I didn’t really get it when I needed it, and when I finally did, it changed my life. There’s so much simple advice that most patients do not receive that could help them better understand their health, their body, and how to safely and sustainably find ways of living with often challenging and debilitating conditions. Through my work as a BBC journalist, health writer and consultant, I’ve had access to some amazing experts and have worked with and advised companies and medical professionals around the world on how to translate medical advice to patients. Secondly (and most importantly) I wanted to be able to write in-depth content and take the time to explore, learn and reflect, away from the demands of feeding an increasingly demanding algorithm.īut beyond Instagram, my purpose here is deeper.Ī diagnosis is supposed to open up doors to treatment and support, but for so many people that simply isn’t the case. I’d wanted to get off of social media for years, but wasn’t sure how. Firstly (and if I’m being honest) I was having a bit of a tantrum about Instagram. When I joined Substack, I did it for two reasons.

Phlo digital pharmacy