Chronic Conditions Management – Living with Chronic Disease

“If you are living with a chronic disease, you require ongoing care from a physician experienced in chronic conditions management. Suffering from arthritis, depression, diabetes or another condition that has changed the way you live your life? I want to help you  achieve the highest level of health so that you can live your life as fully as possible.”

-Dr. Bella Zimilevich, MD

What is a chronic disease?

Chronic disease is an illness or condition that an individual lives with for a long period of time. Almost one out of every two adults (or approximately 133 million Americans) has at least one chronic condition. Almost one-quarter of those individuals living with a chronic condition have difficulty performing one or more activities of daily living, such as bathing, dressing or toileting (CDC, 2012).

Chronic conditions include a wide variety of illnesses that can affect virtually any system of the body. Common chronic conditions include diabetes, heart disease and asthma. You may have developed your condition relatively early in life; if so, this means that you have to learn how to manage and live with your condition for many years. 

What is the impact of chronic disease?

If you live with a chronic condition, you are probably well aware that chronic conditions can affect every aspect of your life. Although the physical impact is important, your emotional, financial and social well-being can also be affected. Let’s use arthritis as an example: If you have arthritis, you may have pain in your joints on a daily basis. Medications and other non-pharmacological methods of pain relief may help with your pain substantially. Along with pain, however, you may find it difficult to manage household activities, such as housekeeping chores. In fact, getting dressed may be a chore some days! Living with chronic pain will also impact your social life (if you are too tired and in too much pain to go out), your financial well-being (if you miss days of work or are unable to work due to severe pain) and your emotional/psychological health if you become depressed because you are virtually housebound and your pain prevents you from enjoying yourself with family and friends.

How I can help

My goal is to work with you to manage your condition and to minimize the impact of your condition on all aspects of your life, not just the physical aspect.

I care about all of you, not just the part of you that may not work as it should!

I believe in being honest and providing you with all the information you need to make informed decisions about your health. If you choose to see me, we will work closely together as equals in making decisions about your health care. And because Mill Basin Medical is a full service clinic, I can order many tests that you might need right here.

Why it is important to see a physician regularly

Most patients with a chronic condition should see a physician every six months if they are relatively stable, and more often if your condition is not stable. Seeing me regularly means that we can monitor you closely for any complications of your disease. Using diabetes  as an example, I will want to see you to determine if your blood sugars are normal most of the time or if they are consistently high. If your blood sugars are high a lot of the time, this may cause a wide variety of problems down the road, including kidney failure and vision loss. High blood sugars may warrant a change in your diabetic medication regimen. Chronic conditions management is key to avoiding complications in chronic disease.

Types of chronic conditions I see 

If you are living with a chronic condition, it is important that you develop a relationship of trust and mutual respect with a physician. I want to be that physician for you. I want to work closely together with you to manage your health and prevent complications of your condition, while also striving for the best quality of life possible.

Tired of not having anyone in your corner medically speaking? Do you want to have one physician who can coordinate your care, someone who knows everything there is to know about you and your health? If this describes you and how you feel about your health care management, make an appointment today. I want to help you live your life to the fullest.

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