12/23/2017 0 Comments everyday pain, everyday routine.Chronic - Basically means it lasts forever.
So when you have Chronic Pain and Chronic Illness, you eventually fall into an Everyday routine of trying to manage your pain. Usually you have an Everyday routine, and an In Case of Emergency routine, when the pain is more horrible than usual. This blog is all about my routines I have acquired over 9 years of having severe Chronic Pain. EVERYDAY ROUTINE My Everyday Pain Routine is back pain, mostly sharp pain in my upper back, but a lot of throbbing pain in my lower back, I also have pain in my neck and it's really hard to hold my head up, I have permanent nerve damage in my right hip and that's a sort of throbbing sharp pain, I also get these weird dull aches behind my eyes. So, my everyday routine consists of a lot. First of all I have to have MY bed, I sleep in MY bed for pain management, I have a cooling gel Mattress Pad, and a Memory foam with cooling gel pillow, they are absolute necessities. If I have to stay somewhere without my bed, I will ALWAYS bring my pillow. I've been using a memory foam bed/pillow since my pain began. So, I start in the morning by taking pain medications, I take 10+ pills every single day, 6 of them being just for pain. When I first started my journey with Chronic Pain, I didn't even know how to swallow a pill. Now I can swallow all my meds at the same time. Some won't agree with my choice to take prescription medications, but that's okay, you don't have to agree, you aren't the one swallowing the meds. Especially now with there being a huge nationwide 'crisis' over Narcotics. I get it, people overdose, addicts get prescriptions, but don't punish the rest of us that actually NEED the meds. I honestly can tell you that I would NOT be able to function without my Medications. If I have to live with pain, I feel blessed that I have doctors trying to manage it. I think the most important part of managing Chronic Illness is rest. You have to know when to let your body REST. It can be hard for an independent, do-it-all person, to make themselves rest. At first, and even to this day, I have a hard time "justifying" rest, but its a must for people who live with pain everyday! It's hard to explain how it feels to require so much rest, I feel guilt when I need to rest, because "other people don't need this much rest to function." But I shouldn't feel guilty because other people don't have to live inside a painful body! Ever since my pain started 9 years ago, I've been using a heating pad everyday. When I go to bed, I turn my heating pad on, it's set to turn off automatically after 2hrs, and I can't explain how amazing it feels, it doesn't take away much pain, but it does relax some of my muscles. Another must for me is distractions, distractions, distractions. One of my biggest distractions being Netflix, to most people Netflix is just a commercial free way of watching TV, but for me, and many other Chronic Pain Warriors, Netflix is so beneficial. Instead of laying in your quiet room, thinking about your pain, you have Netflix. I don't even know that I watch it the majority of the time, I just like to have the sound in my room so I'm not constantly thinking about my pain throughout my entire body. Another thing I started as a pain distraction was Instagram, when I had my 3rd surgery and my nerve was damaged, leaving me with extreme pain, Instagram was a wonderful distraction, and it still is! Another element to Instagram is the bond you make with other people who are going through the same thing as you. One of my biggest distractions/things that help my pain - are my big snuggly black labs! They ALWAYS know when I don't feel good and they always snuggle and comfort me! I.C.E - IN CASE OF EMERGENCY - PAIN ROUTINE My IN CASE OF EMERGENCY - PAIN is all of my usual pain symptoms as listed above, but to the extreme, with an added Migraine. But usually when my pain gets to a point where I can't handle it anymore, it's in my back. In the case where my pain is too horrible, I will REST ALLL DAY, in my bed, with my heating pad going. I will Max out all of my usual Pain Medication, but I will add in an 800mg Ibuprofen and a Muscle Relaxer, usually when I have an excess amount of pain, it will make me very Nauseated, in which case I will take Zofran! On a normal day I HATE showering, it uses so much energy, it just wipes me out and it hurts so much. So on an ICE pain day, Showering is my last resort, but if I'm reduced to tears and really struggling I will just go SIT in the shower and let the HOT HOT water run down my pain riddled body. After I've taken meds, had a hot shower, I will turn on Netflix and get on my phone (if I don't have a horrible Migraine.) My Netflix list right now consists of: Jane the Virgin, NCIS (I freaking love Gibbs), I also watch Criminal Minds, and my Go-To movie would have to be the original Bring it On. I couldn't tell you why, I just love it! If I can play on my phone, (meaning if I don't have a headache) I will play Disney Emoji Blitz (this is pretty much the only game I will play.) It's a VERY good distraction. If none of this aids in managing my pain, I will make a trip to the ER for Break-thru pain medication. Not going to lie, living with this daily pain that requires a daily routine, it is not easy. But somehow, someway, we get through everyday and keep going, somehow you eventually get to know your body and what you need. Don't ever feel guilty for listening to your body and doing what is best for YOU. Nobody has to live in this body but you, so take care of it, do what you need no matter what anyone else says.
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AuthorMy name is Madison, I have quite a few rare diseases and chronic illnesses. Archives
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