@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?