PAIN IS A PAIN: FIBROMYALGIA AND ARTHRITIS

I woke up this morning with a headache, neck pain, and a backache. It’s rainy and cold. Pain is really a pain. I fumbled through the medicine cabinet until I found a bottle of Vicodin left over from hand surgery a couple of years ago and took one. Then I went online and made an appointment for a massage.

     I have all kinds of inflammatory issues. I’ve had them my entire life. I’ve learned to live with it and it’s better now that I’m older, post-menopause, and only working part time. I used to have migraine headaches. I have arthritis. I have fibromyalgia. I had, and still have a bit of ulcerative colitis. I have nasal allergies and sinusitis. Bronchitis. Tendonitis. I really wish someone would figure out how to get rid of inflammation. You can’t live on anti-inflammatory medications. They do too much damage to your liver and kidneys, so I limit how often I take them. The only time I’m pain free is when I take prednisone for something severe. But you can’t live on prednisone, either. It causes way too many problems long term.

     Here’s what I have learned over the years. Rest is extremely important. Eating well is, too. There are foods that cause me pain. Sugar makes my entire body hurt. Refined carbohydrates do, too. I avoid both. Alcohol helps. I certainly don’t want to become an alcoholic, but wine every day cuts down on my pain and I sleep better at night. Exercise helps, but too much exercise hurts. Balance is important. Depression makes the pain worse, and then the pain makes depression worse. It’s a vicious cycle. My happy pill helps. I’ve learned to be kind to myself, which helps.

     Probably the most important thing I’ve learned is to “act as if”. What I mean by that is, act as if I’m fine. Act as if I’m not in pain. Act as if I’m the healthiest person I know. It helps me to believe it and it ultimately helps to lessen the pain. It’s also important to remember that other people are not deeply interested in my misery; they have enough problems of their own. So, I try not to moan, groan or complain, and if it gets bad enough I do what I can to make it better. If it’s still bad and I’m truly miserable, then I hibernate until it’s better. The only reason I’m whining now is to let others out there know they’re not alone in dealing with pain issues.

     Oh, and I just returned from having a 1 and ½ hour relaxation massage. It’s helped tremendously! I feel like myself again. Oh darn, now I have to do laundry. On second thought, I think I’ll work on my next book. That’s way more fun. The laundry can wait for another day.