Tried and Tested

When you're suffering with pain, you begin to get creative with your coping mechanisms. I've tried many things over the years to help keep that little pain monster at bay. The go to's are usually prescriptions when you're first learning. For me it's tramadol. At the moment I take a 12 hour release dose which means I can just take one and be good to go for the day or the night.  I can take strong pain killers and function normally.  They no longer make me drowsy or knock me out.  I get minimal side effects now; though the itching that sometimes comes with taking tramadol can be a bitch.  Being able to tolerate strong pain killers is good in the fact I can have some form of relief and can function relatively normally. However I also find this quite frightening. Being able to tolerate them now means my body is building up a tolerance to the drug its self. I don't want to take the medication so often that they begin to be so ineffective that I have no more relief or I have to go down the rout of increasing the doses over and over; my body is screwed enough without adding stronger and stronger drugs to the mix. To help keep my painkiller taking to a minimum,  I only take them when the pain is too much to bear on its own. When the pain is at a more bearable state, I take other measures to try reduce the pain  just to be able to get through the day.

The first method I've talked about already: water. Water in its self has a lot of healing effects. From personal experience I'm in least pain when I'm submerged in water. Saying this, I am a huge fan of adding things to my water to make the whole experience that little bit more beneficial. You can read another post I wrote 'The Mermaid Life' that goes into a little bit more detail about the essential oils I add into my bath water, as well as other things such as the best way to run your bath for best effects and bath bombs and all that lovely business. Something I have tried since that post is epsom salts and magnesium flakes. The ones I tend to go for are the Dr. Organic range in Holland and Barrett.  Magnesium is beneficial for things like muscle aches, joint pain, and apparently improving circulation and sleep. Seen as magnesium is responsible for around 300 biochemical reactions in the body, absorbing magnesium through your skin in the bath just helps these processes along.  A quick piece of advice, though, if you are wanting to try using magnesium flakes / epsom salts is to stick with them. Please don't make your mind up on them after one or two uses as the benefits aren't all that noticeable from the get go.  I did not receive results from the products until I have had bathed in them 3 times a week for around 3 weeks. Like most things, it takes time to kick in.

I have a drawer overflowing with air activated heat pads. These are little pouches that adhere to your clothing and heat up as soon as you take them out of the packet. You can get products that last for 12+ hours and 24+ hours, though I have found that the 12 hour pads can often last me from the moment I get dressed in a morning to me getting back in bed on an evening. Most people will know the benefits of adding heat to an area that is aching for relief. The pads I'm talking about specifically, I have found in all pharmacies I've entered around the north of England, but even better, in Pound Land / Pound Word and Home Bargins. They are a great product that work and they’re not too harsh on the bank balance. These pads are great if you have pain in specific areas of the body as you can stick them anywhere and they wouldn't restrict movement if applied behind the knees ect as they are relatively flexible. A tip for back pain that I found quite useful is to pop a hot water bottle into a backpack/rucksack if you're going to be traveling or walking.

Heat in its self is great for those achy pains but when pain is caused or results in swelling around the areas effected, I have found it best to alternate heat and cold pressure to the area. For example, apply heat for two minutes, then cold for a further two minutes and repeat for as long as necessary. A good idea for something cool if you don't have any ice-packs around the house and don't really fancy something as cold as those frozen pees in the freezer is to fill a freezer bag/zip lock bag with water (preferably an airtight back), double bag (triple bag if you're a little worried) to prevent leaking and keep it in the fridge before use. Another alternative is to saturate a sponge with water, put this in an airtight bag and freeze overnight. The sponge then acts as an icepack, and the bag it’s in will collect the water as it melts.

Ibuprofen gels and anti-inflammatory gels are helpful for those joint aches. I tend to use gels mostly around my knees and fingers for relief. An issue I find with the gels, as good as they are, is that they leave a sticky residue on the skin even after they have soaked in. To combat this I often use talcum powder on top to just get rid of that sticky layer that's been created on the skin. It is a little messy so I tend to only do this on an evening or when I have time to spend getting ready; never in a rush! Using talc in a rush always ends up in a white hand print on your arse from pulling your pants up or something along those lines, very unfortunate. A gel I have found that doesn’t leave you so sticky, as long as you let it soak in completely before putting clothing on top, is Volterol Gel. This gel includes Diclofenac which ‘ is a medicine that works by reducing substances in the body that cause pain and inflammation.’ It’s not recommended to use this gel if you already take diclofenac orally, or at least ask your doctor first and be aware of how often you are using it.

Supporting your body in any way will help with the aches and pain, big time. What you sleep on is extremely important. To say you spend at least a third of your life in bed (well I could quite easily), its best invest in something that is going to support you correctly and allow for better sleep – as well all should know, the more decent sleep we get, the better. Along with that, make sure if you’re in an office on the day to day, have the correct chair and desk set up so your back and legs and correctly supported for as much of the day as possible.

My final point is not a product or tip really, just a bit of friendly advice. I find that my pain is much worse after I’ve been immobile for a period of time, so this would be first thing in a morning or if I’m sitting in meetings or on the computer etc. try to keep mobile and active as much as you feel comfortable with. It’s a difficult one to keep up with as ‘what makes us better? Exercise. What makes us worse? Exercise’. It’s a difficult balance to reach but simple stretches first thing in the morning and throughout the day. I’m also a megger fidget. I tend not to sit in the same position for more than ten minutes if I can help it so that my muscles and joints have less chance to cease up or start to become painful.

Just a note that these methods that I use to try keep my pain to a minimum are what I do on the day to day. If I am experiencing a ‘flare up’ where everything intensifies then I do revert back to the medications. As always, if you would like to try anything, please do so with caution. Especially when using products, please make sure you’re not allergic to any of the ingredients, and if needs be, please check with your doctor first to make sure nothing interacts with the medication you are currently on. Hope anyone reading this is experiencing a low pain day!