Podcast Ep 23: My Plan – The Fear of Ageing With a Chronic Condition

Do you have a retirement plan especially if you’re battling a chronic condition? I share my fears, and my plan in this podcast – there’s now a video version to this too so you can watch, or Listen here to know more, but if you can’t have a watch or a listen, then you can read what I’ve said too – just scroll down for the transcript:

My Plan: The Fear of Ageing With a Chronic Condition

“Helloooo, I’m Shruti and this is my podcast space where I speak about life lessons, chronic conditions, mental and physical health tips and experiences.

Please note that this podcast is available in text format on my website allthingsendometriosis.com in the podcast section. And very importantly, this podcast does not aim to substitute any medical advice because I am not a medical professional. I’m just sharing what I’ve observed and learnt over time.

I don’t fear ageing.

But when you add “chronic illness” to ageing, my thoughts change and it makes me think.

Recently, I read a post by Sheryl Chan on her blog, AChronicVoice.com – the piece was titled: ‘Why it Feels Like Suicide is Always an Option’

In this post, she speaks of death by suicide and explains, and I quote “Death by chronic illness is a real problem that needs addressing, not brushed aside and undermined. If you truly care about someone who lives in permanent pain, then listen to them beyond the surface. ” End quote.

Reading the whole article made me wonder – how am I going to handle my old age? Am I doing what I can to be well equipped for it?

In reality I won’t really know whether I am well prepared or not until I’m not at that age and stage of my life.

But it’s like when you make retirement savings based on what you earn today when we all quietly know that our projections are based on a hypothetical cost of living. Hypothetical health. Hypothetical emergencies. And a hypothetical expectation that our earnings will grow steadily enough for a decent retirement.

Bottom line is, life is unpredictable and more so when you live with chronic illnesses and earning inconsistencies.

How does one then look to improve their future retirement without overwhelming their body and mind today…?

I have been giving this a lot of thought because I want to soften the blow for me whenever old age does hit. Again, I won’t really know if I’ve done a good job at it until I don’t get there, but I wanna give it a sincere go.

So, I thought I’d share my current plan and usually for me, like many, plans don’t work out so I haven’t made a detailed one. It’s a general idea to help me on my path.

First thing is, money.

I worked out what my expenses are today.

I then looked at the possible health issues I could progressively face with my current condition and realised that over the next five years it’s very possible that my ageing will be at its slowest. It could all hit me more rapidly after that because there will be menopause – which tends to be more difficult with those who have endometriosis and adenomyosis, which then means I have these five years to pick up my pace and look to work on my finances where even if my involvement reduces, I am still earning.

And earning money that is growing in value.

I already have health insurance, but it will mean that every year, over the next five years, I should aim to increase the value I am covered for so that it meets growing healthcare expenses.

Now, with money on my mind, I should not forget that to help me age with self-sufficiency and dignity, I need to maintain eating right, exercising based on my health condition, taking mental and physical time off from work, indulging in regular laughs, to meditate, to basically take care of what I have.

And all of these things will evolve based on my needs. So for example, my diet, based on my exercise, metabolism and again, my current health conditions which will change and I need to keep on top of that.

I need to keep up with doctor’s appointments and see my physio.

So I’ve made a long list of my essentials and these are some of mine and of course everyone’s essentials are different.

Also, most importantly, I need to enjoy this journey, this process and not forget that anything can happen at any time and I need to be willing to adapt.

That’s one thing that most people who face bad health or various adversities are able to do – they’re quicker to adapt because I guess they’re used to it too.

So while I do wonder how I’ll manage ageing with a chronic condition, I’m also comfortable knowing that I have this simple plan in place. A plan that can adapt.

Umm.. I’m wondering now… Have you made any such plans? Do such thoughts come to your mind as well?

If you’d like to share then please do get in touch either through email – my email address is [email protected] or through Instagram DM and my Insta handle is @footprintsnoboundaries.

Thank you for listening. Take care everyone. B-bye”

Relevant Read:

• Podcast Ep 16: Beginners Guide – How I Meditate Even With Chronic Pain
• How I Accepted My Mobility Aid. The Steps I Took.
• My Yoga Challenge: Can Yoga Help Treat Chronic Illnesses?
• My Experience: Treatments to Manage Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome
• 7+ Things I Learnt From Endometriosis

I’d love to know what you thought of today’s podcast. Please do share your thoughts in the comments section below…

Previous: Podcast Episode 22 – How do You Talk to Yourself?

Up Next: Podcast Episode 24 – “You being single makes me uncomfortable.”
(text version will be posted next Sunday, but if you would like to hear it on Spotify, then you can here)

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Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional. I am a patient and have created this platform to share my experiences. This is all purely informative and in no way am I providing medical advice. Please consult a medical professional.