Dawn Shaw, RN, SelectHealth care manager, helped a member, who was struggling just to get up in the morning, be more proactive about her health. Dawn listened to her concerns and addressed some misconceptions. The member recently told Dawn, “I feel like I’ve got my life back.”
The member had been sleeping too much and struggling when Dawn first met with her. The member, a mother with young kids, was experiencing extreme daytime fatigue, weight gain, and the inability to do normal daytime activities with her kids.
“On most days, she’d no energy and often couldn’t wake up until the afternoon,” says Dawn. “Our conversation started with talking about a better routine for sleep and wake times, but then I realized a few other problems were under the surface.”
Dawn says the member hadn’t taken the time to understand the side effects of her medications. In addition, she needed someone to listen and talk to her about what she was taking. The member had been working with multiple providers in different specialties, and she’d decided to no longer work with the provider who’d been managing her medications.
“She was frustrated and needed someone to take a closer look at everything,” says Dawn.
Dawn pulled up the member’s health record and noticed two sleep medications had been prescribed, though one of them had been discontinued. These medications can make you tired, plus contribute to weight gain, says Dawn, who has a family member who takes a similar medication.
“When I asked the member to clarify what she was taking, I was surprised when she told me she was still taking both sleep medications. I said, ‘Oh my goodness, that’s a lot of medication. No wonder you’re sleeping so much and are so tired.’”
Dawn shared the importance of educating yourself and being proactive with asking questions to your provider, as well as looking through the reading material that’s included with prescriptions.
“I helped remind her it’s important to talk to your provider about exactly what you’re taking and understand how different medications interact together,” she says.
Overtime, the member was able to wean down her medications and has learned to be more proactive about her health.
“She’s taking her kids to the park and getting those connections back with family that she hasn’t had for a long time,” says Dawn. “The quality of her life has changed.”
The member recently commented, “I feel like I’ve got my life back. I’m not tired and sleeping during the day. I can’t believe it took my SelectHealth care manager to notice all of this and bring it to my attention.”
Dawn says her collaboration with Fay Funaki, behavioral health care manager, helped connect her to this member.
“We work together to try to help as many members as we can,” she says. “I think the collaboration with working together is huge. We want our members to feel like they can get the help they need. I’m grateful to be on this team.”