Chronic Pain Today

Well last night was a bad one for me, I was at the race track for two hours and I couldn’t stay. Had to have someone come get me (an hour drive) because of it. I felt horrid to do that, and the guilt led to more stress that just ended up making me feel worse. I really wanted to stay too as both the hubby and the best friend were racing. Alas, it wasn’t to be.

What was the issue? Intense Pain? No. Ironically it seems that hypoglycemia and fibro are very well connected and yesterday I was having serious issues trying to keep my blood sugar up. Eating sweets raised it quicker but it didn’t stay raised hardly any time. I gave up, went home and started in on the sweet tea and peanut butter sandwiches. It aggravates me because I get sooooo tired and headachy afterwards, plus I’m so dizzy and lightheaded. Its an awful feeling and one that I’d rather just be home for.

Then I noticed how frequently I tend to go home whenever I get a bad day. Home is my touchstone it seems, the place where I can more readily deal with my issues and be “in my element”. I’ve heard others say its like that for them. Hubby says “I don’t see whats different if you feel bad here or go home and feel bad”, but there really IS a difference isn’t there readers? I welcome your thoughts.

Fellow readers I am so pleased to be able to wish you a happy holiday season, while we say Grace and tell what we are thankful for this year let me add to the list of thanks with a list of wishes.

I’m thankful:
For friends, family, and those that I love
That I can make a fine living doing what I love to do
That I’ve found a few things to help in the day to day pain of my conditions
That I have readers as wonderful as I have here and elsewhere

I’m wishing:
That my friends, family, and loved ones know how loved they are
That everyone can feel just a bit better through this holiday season
Everyone can have something nice, and thoroughly unexpected, happen to them this holiday season

May you and yours have a very happy holiday, eat too much, have less stress, and prop your feet up at the end of it all and smile, knowing that it was wonderful and you did a great job.

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Many of us in a chronic pain condition that go to a pain specialist here about different meds for different pains. Some of us are on one pain med for the day to day pain and one for breakthrough pain. According to one source 86% of us experience breakthrough pain at one time or another. Most breakthrough pain (called BTP now) is not going to be dealt with taking your normal day to day dose of pain medication.

Especially if you aren’t even on pain meds. Some of us in a chronic pain condition, for one reason or another, decide to forgo taking pain meds. For me, I take nothing for my chronic pain condition but a single dose of Elavil at night to try to sleep and have a little of the pain subside. I have such a low tolerance for medicine in general that it isn’t worth it to me to take more medicine. For BTP I will double up on my other therapies on the bad times, an extra chiro visit, another go around of yoga. And some times just an extra meditation session.

No matter how you deal with it, BTP is a real issue for most of us. How do you deal with yours??

We are nearly into that two month whirlwind where we will go from Thanksgiving to Christmas to New Years. It can be a very stressful time already but in todays economy, especially with the job force so uncertain these days, it is even more stressful than normal. This added stress, the going from hot kitchens to cold air, back and forth with everything else in daily life, well it can be too much for those with chronic pain. Try to keep up all the things that you do throughout the year to keep your pain in check. Don’t start thinking that you “don’t have time” or that there is “too much to do” to do those things. Keep scheduling the chiro visits, go to yoga even if you just HAVE to get that pie made, take those few moments with your eyes closed and breathe deep. Do whatever you need to do, go for a walk. Pet your pets. But whatever is the complete “YOU” thing that you do that puts you in your happy place, well you have to keep doing it. You may have to do it even MORE during this time. But don’t forsake you for the holidays. Its not going to be good for anyone if you do.

Peace and take care of yourselves out there this year

He wrote it down. Fibro. Said that as long as my upped dosage of Elavil was making things tolerable and the chiro visits were working to help that we’ll leave it at that. I’m to go back in 6 months to get a refill and to get a follow up appointment. It really seemed like a rip off even though I in the end got what I wanted. He didn’t look a the xrays, which is why he said six weeks ago he wasnt’ going to call it fibro just yet. No matter, its down, its decried, and I’m tolerating aspects of things much better than I was six weeks ago.

In other news, it seems that there are more clinical trials out there for things that for a chronic pain sufferer I just don’t get. We need newer and better treatments for our multitude of symptoms and yet I saw yesterday a clinical trial for jet lag…. hmmm, isn’t that sleep? I guess old men will continue to pop wood faster than a chronic pain sufferer will find some solace. Let’s hope that in the new year, we can all find a bit more of that solace to each and every sufferer out there. That is my holiday wish for each and all of you.

Take care of you, dear readers.