Self Care and Long Term Pain
- Laura Resurreccion, not a doctor
- Apr 11, 2016
- 2 min read
Happy Monday! I've been suffering from chronic long term pain for many years now and about 5 years ago I was finally diagnosed with arthritis and Hashimoto's Thyroiditis. Both are caused by inflammation and managing pain/ reducing inflammation are my top priorities. I've introduced anti-inflammatory things into my diet and eliminated wheat and sugars, but still I have days or even up to a full week where I have limited mobility. Just last night I had a hard time going up and down the stairs. My hands, knees, and ankles were very loud with the grinding soundtrack of my bones.
I often use Aleve liquid gels but sparingly. I only use them when it is really bad. I soak in Epsom salt and hot water, I use ginger and garlic and cinnamon often in my cooking, I use apple cider vinegar often as well. But I find that my pain is the most severe before a drastic change in the weather or the two-three days before my period begins.
I have a Doctor's appointment on April 4 so we shall see if it's just going to be more of the same or if anything can be changed in my routine. I have scaled back my workout routine in mid-February because my left knee, right wrist, and right ankle have been pinching. My right hand has been the worst of it. I do use my left hand to draw in Adobe Illustrator with the mouse using the pen tool, this leaves me the right hand free for key commands. But over the past month my right forefinger and thumb being brought together brings a sharp pain into my wrist. I'm hoping that this pain can be better managed if it's a carpal tunnel I would be so mad! If I have to have surgery that would mean I wouldn't be able to work for a while.
I will keep you all posted. In the meantime, I've been scaling back my tea and coffee consumption. Just because it is more difficult for me to hold a larger cup now, so I've switched to smaller dainty tea cups. I plan more things like work-related tasks in the morning so I have more down time during the rest of the day.
Here is a small gallery of photos from my Instagram feed. Come follow me there, it's where I'm most active. Enjoy!
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