Mens Health Blog. Medical Blog

Another vital source of support is friends—anyone from a partner, lover, or confidant to a person to have fun with, a neighbor, a co-worker, another person affected by HIV infection, or anyone who shares interests. Sometimes, because some of these people feel less intimately connected to you than family, they actually find it easier to be good companions and sources of support. June said that with her son’s sickness, she really needs her friends: “I need all the support and prayers and love I can get from anyone. My friends call and say, ‘I just wanted to know how you were. And how your son is. I’m thinking of you.’ My friends are such a source of strength. They’re there.”     Sometimes friends are also less intimidating to talk to than family. You choose your friends in the first place for what you have in common, and because they will not judge what you say. People commonly say of a friend, “I can say anything to her.” Alan is quiet and not especially talkative, but he gets together with other people who have HIV infection and listens to them talk. “It helps to hear other people talk,” Alan said. “They say your feelings for you. You relate to people who think the way you do.”     Many people affected by HIV infection have found their friends more helpful than anyone else. Their friends bring them food, help them do their laundry, cook meals, clean their houses, pick up medication, bring flowers or books or videos, drive them to the doctor, get them out of the house, and are just generally on call. Dean’s friends brought him a birthday party when he was in the hospital: “Balloons everywhere,” he said, “and cake, cards, presents, everything. I had lost track of the date, and had forgotten it was my birthday. I felt so good I cried.”     If friends honestly offer these services, do not” be shy about accepting. Your friends are certainly concerned about you—and some of them love you—and helping you is a way for them to show how they feel.     Even co-workers can be a support: some people feel the people they work with are a kind of family. When Dean had his second opportunistic illness, a co-worker called his hospital social worker and asked what she and other colleagues could do. The social worker’s answer was a good one to give anyone who asks such a question: “Don’t leave him alone. Give him openings to talk but don’t push. And stick around and don’t head for the hills.”*231\191\2*

Work is the backbone of many people’s lives. It provides some definition of who we are. Work will probably be a key issue as you reenter the “real world.”You may have no difficulty reentering your old profession. If you are an accountant, an English teacher, an editor, or a computer specialist, job modifications may be minor. If you are a dancer, a window installer, or a professional soccer player, you’ll have to think about switching careers. However, before deciding on a change, stop and consider: if you love your line of work, look for a creative way to continue. If you were a professional baseball player, what about coaching or managing a team? And dance companies need choreographers and managers, whose work can be done primarily on computer. You may need additional training to stay in your chosen career in a new, creative way.Jerome Lee’s story is an interesting example of creativity in combining an old career with new limitations and new skills. Jerome worked in construction for twenty-two years before a random shooting injury caused his paraplegia. During rehabilitation, his positive attitude helped motivate and encourage many younger patients. When he left the rehabilitation hospital for a vocational training program, it seemed logical to work in human services. Jerome earned certification as a human services assistant, but although he liked helping people, he hated to throw away all those years of experience and all that he knew and loved about construction work.After many consultations with the business opportunities division of his vocational training program, Jerome worked out a way to combine his old skills in construction and site management with his new skills in human services and motivation. He became the manager of the painting crew for the large outpatient center that housed the vocational training program, recruiting many workers with disabilities. “I bid on jobs, organize the workload, order supplies, assemble the work teams, supervise the jobs – and do a lot of the plastering and painting myself … I teach my crew members a trade they can really use . . . We sometimes surprise people who don’t expect to see individuals with disabilities doing this kind of work. To me, we are proof that no one should be denied the chance to work because he or she has a disability.”
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Older Age Groups. The evidence that lowering cholesterol helps to diminish or at least slow down, the development coronary artery disease in some people provides a strong rationale for advocating cholesterol control beyond middle age. People in their 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s who have coronary artery disease or risk factors already present have the highest risk of problems if the disease progresses. Thus, many doctors believe that it is never too late to institute cholesterol-lowering measures, although at present this opinion remains unproven.WHEN SHOULD YOU HAVE YOUR CHOLESTEROL CHECKED?   The National Cholesterol Education Program recommends that all adults older than 20 years start with a blood test that measures the total cholesterol level. If your total cholesterol is more than 200 mg/dl, then have your LDL, HDL, and triglyceride values checked. Subsequent cholesterol checks should be done at regular medical checkups. If your cholesterol is high and your   doctor   recommends   dietary changes or other treatments, you will probably have your cholesterol re-checked in about 3 months to determine the effect of treatment. At that point, your doctor can decide whether added treatment is advisable.*248\252\8*