Pain

OK, I have pain and a lot of it. Doctors seem to want us to choose on a scale from 0 to 10, exactly how bad our pain is. They usually have a little smiley chart to help you decide. I know this chart by heart. I have been to a 10 (the worst) and beyond a 10, but usually I am about a 6-8. It is hard to determine when each part of your body hurts worse at different times of the day.

I did get a tens unit from my physical therapist. A tens unit is a little machine about the size of an old fashioned walkman. You clip it onto your pants and then there are 2 leads that come out of it that you attach to your pain points. I was told that this is best for muscle pain, and you can adjust it several different ways and move the leads on your body to different parts of your body depending on where your pain is the worst. I have had it two weeks and have already gone through 2 batteries. It helps and I am using it a lot. The PT said that I couldn't use it too much, which is good 'cause I use it a lot!

I have also started physical therapy. THAT CAUSED MY EXHAUSTION, or so I believe. I have gone 4 times and now in the second week I can hardly get out of bed, I am so tired. I haven't even gone to scrap! OR want to watch a movie! These are two of my favorite activities and I'm too tired to do them! I don't like feeling like this!

For Valentine's Day, my mom bought me a book called Dealing with Pain or something like that. It was written by a local Yakimaniac, and surprisingly my first early education teacher I had at college! It was cool to be reading something that someone you know actually wrote! Unfortunately, it wasn't that great. The writing was clear, honest and you could tell that it was difficult for her to write. She offered several suggestions about dealing with PAIN, but most of them weren't practical for me. She did say that no matter what it takes, you should always try to go somewhere comfortably (she brought pillows with her everywhere). I agree with that one! I already did that though...

She recommended water therapy, massage, a jacuzzi tub, temperpedic foam mattresses, specialized and comfy chairs, and computer programs that would dictate your words as you spoke them. Well, I can't afford the computer program, weekly massages, special foam mattresses, specialty chairs or water walking. I have 5 kids! So that was not very helpful. Mind you, if I had the money, I would definitely try those, but it is clearly not in my current budget.

Then she talked a lot about meditation, keeping your mind sharp, and making sure that you have a special advocate (an angel) to be your spokesperson, especially when you have a bad week (like I'm having). I thought that I read that she had found out that pain affects our brains adversely, and can eventually make us lose memory and become quite forgetful. My sister argued that it was probably pain meds causing the memory loss, but I am pretty sure she said it was pain itself. I will do more research on this and get back to you. I did find that there is something called Fibro Fog which is when you start to lose memory from the Fibromyalgia. It was explained that the lack of sleep from insomnia caused this condition. Well, lack of sleep causes more pain too, so it's possible that there is a little truth to it all (pain meds, lack of sleep and pain itself).

In attempt to manage MY PAIN, I have started physical therapy, got a tens unit, and am taking Tramadol for pain in addition to Alleve and Extra Strength Tylenol. Come on! Isn't there just one thing that will help, rather than 4? Guess not! The research I have found states that although doctors are now diagnosing fibromyalgia, they don't know how to cure it, so they can only treat the symptoms. Great!


I will keep scouring the net for more info to share. Oh, I did find that capsacin helps a lot! Unfortunately it is made out of a pepper and although my aches went away temporarily, the pepper stayed in my system to the point I could not wear my contacts, they burned my eyes. If you do not wear contacts, try it out. There are several different types of fibro/arthritis pain relievers out with capsacin in them. Try different things until you figure out what works for you (and it may change from day to day). I will get back to you when I find out something new...until then, stay happy and healthy my friends....