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Pain And Changes In Weather...Am I Alone????
Chronic Pain | Last Active: Oct 21, 2023 | Replies (149)Comment receiving replies
@colleenyoung this is SO strange. I'm sitting here in such intense pain that I decided to give a search one more try on Bing regarding intense nerve pain. Low and behold I found this post that I wrote 5 long years ago. I will say that not much has changed except the nerve pain is more intense these days, especially in my neck and shoulders. I checked your profile and see you are still active with the Mayo Clinic. If you have any guidance as to articles here I could read that might give me at least some reassurance that I'm not crazy. I still think that weather has a profound effect on the pain I experience. We've had some really nasty rain events in the Pacific Northwest this last week. Not getting much sleep. The doctor has me on Hydrocodone/Acetaminophen and or Acetaminophen with limits set for a 24 hour period of time for both medications. Sometimes it helps and sometimes not so much. As for the weather theory, I get the feeling the doctor is humoring me and doesn't really think weather makes much difference. As far as getting more opinions from other doctors, I've pretty much had it. I'm getting too old for doctor hopping and, to tell the truth, I hate leaving the house. I live strictly on SS so money is tight and I've been dealing with medical issues most of my life starting with RA when I was just a child. I think I've had my fill of more doctors. I'm now in a wheelchair and using oxygen so exercise is limited but I move around as much as I can. So why am I here? Just looking for little self help tips that might give me some kind of pain relief if only for a few hours at a time. Even a good night's sleep would be wonderful.
Replies to "@colleenyoung this is SO strange. I'm sitting here in such intense pain that I decided to..."
The weather does make things worse. When it's about to rain and while it's raining my pain kicks up. So you are not alone.
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@cahnny Hello, I'm Rachel its nice to meet you. I'm so sorry to read of your health issues. RA since childhood is quite the journey. I'm curious of your age... as you say you are getting too old.
I commend you on looking for self help tools. Sometimes the road leads us to using our own strengths and abilities to take control over of our health as best we can. Unfortunately your sleep disruptions may be affected by hydrocodone. You mention sometimes it helps sometimes it doesn't. I took hydrocodone for pain and realized that it was causing additional problems called hyperalgesia. Hyperalgesia is induced pain which of course is counter productive in the quest for relief. Opiates are double edged swords. May I ask how long you've taken hydrocodone?
Ok, enough about that. Lets talk self help! Yes, weather has a definite impact on our bodies but not much we can do about the weather except move to a different climate, and I don't know about you, but that is not happening for me! I'm bound to the great northeast. There are many self help tools. I learned a ton from attending the Mayo Clinic Pain Rehabilitation Center. Here's some good ones:
Pain/stress management:
- speak with a psychologist or therapist
- physical activity/exercise (even from a wheelchair)
- keep a gratitude journal
- replace negative thoughts with positive thoughts
- socialization and distraction, humor, movies, books
- practice relaxation techniques, meditation, breathing exercises
- manage the day with structure and a schedule
- ask for help and delegate when needed
- healthy diet, low sugar, protein, veggies
- drink plenty of water
- set small daily goals and hold yourself accountable
- give yourself grace
I'm more than happy to elaborate on any if you'd like. It takes hard work to implement these self help tools with consistency but there are rewards if you persevere.
@cahnny What self help tools do you currently use? Do they help you and can you see yourself using them more?