LIVING WITH CHRONIC PAIN PART III
- Janet Bauer
- Jan 12
- 2 min read
What I Do
Managing chronic pain is a full time job.
After years of living with it, my ability to manage it and continue to work full time came to an end. ‘It’ then became my full time job.
Education
Being diagnosed with fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, osteoarthritis and degenerative disk disease forced me into a whole new world. I had to educate myself. For me, this was the first step to understanding, managing, being able to cope and move on.
Be careful with what you read and believe
There are many people out there trying to profit from those living with pain. I only rely on trusted web sites and organizations. There are many resources out there.
Here are a few:
The Canadian Pain Coalition
Dedicated to supporting people living with pain and also a reliable source for current research and data.
The Fibromyalgia/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis Network
Support for people with Fibromyalgia.
The Mayo Clinic
One of the best, reliable sources for health information.
One of the best things I ever did were to attend a ‘Fibromyalgia Management’ course
Support
Finding reliable and compassionate support while living with chronic pain can be VERY difficult.
Sometimes even the people closest to us can’t (or won’t) support and/or believe us.
I gained support through the courses I took and friends I kept in touch with afterwards.
I became a facilitator of the Chronic Pain Management course, which allows me to support others, maintain connections to the ‘outside’ world and receive support from others.
I’m also very fortunate to have caring doctors who I can work with effectively.
Self-Care
Nothing is more important than taking care of myself - mentally and physically.
I use the three P’s - Planning, Pacing and Prioritizing.
Everything I do, every activity and action, every minute of the day –from before I get out of bed to getting back in, is carefully thought out and considered. If I don’t, I’ll ‘pay for it’, sometimes for days.
I’ve had to learn to say ‘no’.
This was a real hard one for me. Sometimes saying ‘no’ is to an outing or activity. Sometimes it’s to a food or drink I’d love to have knowing how it might negatively affect me. And, unfortunately, sometimes it’s to people in my life who I know I have to distance myself from to be sure I’m taking the best care of myself that I can.
Self-care also means moving.
Often it’s the last thing I want to do! Who wants to exercise when they already feel like they’ve been hit by a bus? But, I know I must keep moving and exercise (as little as it might be) in order to help manage my pain.
Attitude
I do the best I can.
Trying to stay positive and upbeat also helps me to survive and beat the feelings of depression that can come when living with chronic pain.
It’s not easy, but taking one moment, hour and day at a time is what keeps me going.
By Janet Bauer . First Published in Island Gals Magazine . 2013 . Volume 3 . Issue 3
