While having sickle cell, I’ve learned to know my limits when going out so my body won’t suffer from over exhaustion, which could possibly cause a crisis. But, depending on what activity I’m doing I try to make sure to stay hydrated and take breaks in between. Because if it’s a full body activity it will leave my body drained and I will be fatigue. So, I combat that by drinking water and Gatorade for the electrolytes. I’ve also learned that I generally don’t like food or drinks below room temperature. People think I’m weird for not liking cold things, but food and drinks, like Popsicle, ice water, or ice cream make me cold and sometimes leads to a crisis. So, I avoid them most of the time. I will eat ice cream or drink a cold beverage, but it must be extremely hot and humid where I’m at for me to eat or drink anything cold. Furthermore, I have learned to dress appropriate for the temperature to keep my body either warm or cool. Since most of my crisis come from extreme temperature changes and different weather conditions, the things that I do to prevent a crisis usually works for me. However, there are times when I have crisis for no reason, but that’s just sickle cell being the unpredictable chronic illness that it is. In those times, I take my medicine, hydrate, rest, and use my heating pad to manage my pain. Having sickle cell can be difficult, but with a good pain management regimen, you can still live a fulfilling life with it.
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