My Fave Free Health Apps for Liver Disease

My Fave Free Health Apps for Liver Disease  

Today’s smart phones have more technology than the Apollo One Spaceship! Have you thought about using your smartphone to improve your health? The applications (apps) can help you get through the ups and downs of the Hepatitis C Virus, Cirrhosis, or Cancer. I’ve even found one for post liver transplant.  I’ve used many of them, and as your best friend, I want to give you the low down on what I consider to be the best apps. Of course the ones I tried are all free! I use an iphone, so the apps may be a little different if you have an android. Just do an app search and if there is not the exact one that I review, there may be one that has similar functions.

Medication monitors can be your own personal reminder service! If you need to take a dose, it will notify you with a ring tone or message.  MediSafe is the free app that adds some coolness to my rejection meds reminder. I picked the Star Wars theme. Yoda warns me that if I don’t take my meds, I will never be a Jedi Master.  Get this: If I don’t turn it off, it messages my brother! By synching with someone you have back up! That’s important with liver disease or HCV treatment. Entering your information is a quick and easy if you are on looking for simplicity. And….. it’s free!

 Lab Value Lite is modern medicine at your fingertips. Loaded with features, it will come in handy. I like the cardiovascular and gastrointestinal categories for my personal use. These are good for all things liver related such as enzymes, ALT, AST, and Ammonia. It also breaks down the norms and values for Common Panels like CBC, Liver Function, and Thyroid. There is a quick menu that makes it like having a lab technician at your disposal. Love this one!! Check out my Lessons from a Human Pincushion blog to learn more about YOUR labs.

Cardio apps are good for pulse and blood pressure records. Heart Rate is my Fave. It works by placing your index finger over the camera lens on your phone. At first I think my hands were shaky or too cold because it did not work for me. I kept playing with it. Maybe I was pressing too hard? IDK, but in the end, this one was the most accurate. If you have Portal Valve Hypertension, you need to keep a low pulse rate. While I was training for the liver transplant, I wanted my cardiovascular system to be strong. Heart Rate is a good way to watch your pulse!

B.P. Tracker stores the information regarding your blood pressure. I thought it was gonna read my blood pressure. Really. (slightly embarrassed) No phone is that smart… yet. Unless you have the Google watch, you do have to take it yourself, and then enter the information. It is handy to watch for rhythms and patterns at a glance.

Stress Check monitors your stress levels by using your pulse. It has nifty trackers for you to input in your mood, caffeine, food, sleep, and even emotions. Quite a lot for a free application! It is a quick way to see an overview of how well you are dealing with the big picture of your life. It’s all about taking care of YOU. On those days when it seems nobody cares how you really feel? You’re phone does.

Another one related to Hepatitis C app is the HCV Care and Guidance app. This one has not been updated in a while. It does have some amazing applications. You can watch webcast videos, read summaries, and even test your Hepatitis C Virus knowledge. It is quick and user friendly.

Diet and Nutrition apps have a lot to offer for those who are trying to adhere to a healthy diet. I hope you are eating to love your liver! Read what foods are good (or bad) for your liver here.

If you want to eat better, install one of these apps. There is a wide range of uses all the way from looking up a simple recipe to joining a community. Yep, you can also get messages from your smart phone asking you how you ate today. Crazy. Just crazy fun. I’m going to list the ones I reviewed and you can check them out for yourself!

Health Tips is just that. Little thoughts delivered daily with healthy reminders. Simple. You can save, copy, or send them to others too!

There is another Health Tips that is by Lisa Best. It has features that archive the tips and also send them to your phone at a chosen time every day.

Eat This Not That is a game that tests your knowledge and speed. Great for kids, but I played it too!

Sodium Tracker by William T Jones is a clean and easy to use app that helps you keep count of salt intake. Sooo very important for liver disease and also heart and kidney health!

The Calorie Counter another one of those apps that is loaded. You can journal, track your progress, and look up recipes. Joining a community of others who are doing the same thing can be helpful. You can even read their tips which are updated like Twitter.

 Sleep Pattern Applications are fun to play with. They also offer some help in looking at how much good rest you get. Hepatitis C tends to ruin sleep patterns, and treatment does not help. Even though I have finished treatment and cleared the virus, sleep still eludes me most nights. I write more on sleep here. Check it out if you’re having those insomnia climbing the walls nights. I have the FitBit and Garmin. I wear one or the other at night to keep track of my sleep patterns. You can PROVE to your doctor that sleep just does not come..  It shows your tossing and turning.

Sleep Time is like a fit bit, but your phone does the work.

Smart Alarm is pretty fancy too. It has a music menu that is loaded with everything from chirping birds to binaural beats or classical music. It will track your statistics of how well you sleep too. And with the touch of a button, you can post your latest sleep patterns to your Facebook friends. I mean, we post everything else, right? 

I had a blast installing and checking out all of the features on the best free health apps for your smart phone. Download some for yourself and lemmeno if you find any cool ones! You can always delete the ones you will not use. I did plenty of that. These are meant to be fun and motivational.

Please do not use an app in place of your doctor’s advice.Some will require an upgrade, but some will remain totally free. I’m all about free, but I will spend the $.99 cents or more on an app if it’s worth it to me. Your technie bff, Karen:)