Whatever the cause of chronic debilitating pain, it is a silent epidemic in the world today.
Chronic illness, chronic pain that has no obvious cause, apparently can usually be traced back to some kind of trauma:
A physical injury
Abuse
A loss
A shock
A virus
Whatever the cause might be, the reality is depressing and exhausting. There are whispers of a promise of a future cure, but those whispers might easily fade away before help arrives.
In the NOW we still need to manage the pain and illness so that we can live as full a life as possible.
Through discussions with others, I’ve come up with a few helpful things that take and edge off, and these are things that we can do ourselves until we are able to seek medical attention.
I caution though:
The things we can manage alone are things we often neglect telling our doctor about. And what the doctor doesn’t know about, the doctor can’t immediately help us with when everything eventually becomes too heavy and too complicated for us to manage on our own.
With that caution in mind, let us look at some common symptoms, how they affect us and what some promising home remedies are.
Full Body Pain
We feel the throbbing in our bones, our joints, our muscles, and our skin.
The pain feels like we had a major workout yesterday – remember those days when we could enjoy the full body burn the day after a major workout? Only we didn’t have a workout and the body simply always feels that way. Always. Some days the pain is worse than other days and the worse days are called a Flare Up.
Keep in mind that these are HOME REMEDIES and not necessarily approved for use on pain by the medical establishment.
EXERCISE
If we are able, then the long-term damage of feeling like we have exercised when we haven’t can be lessened with stretching, walking, or a gentle workout. However, many of us are not able to do this right now. Instead, we might listen to some kind of sound therapy that uses sound to ease the pain in our muscles, our whole body, or our joints. It is suggested that we drink a litre of water after each sound treatment. I have been surprised and pleased with how much this kind of thing helps. Again, it’s not a cure, but it takes an edge off. If our ears are sore or sensitive we might not be able to listen to sound therapy as often as we’d like.
SOAK
A nice warm soak in an Epsom Salt or Magnesium bath can really help, however many of us do not have ready access to a bathtub, myself included. I created a Magnesium Spray that works well. The caveat is, it must not be sprayed on to mucous membranes or broken skin because it stings badly. It feels sticky and oily on the skin, so that can be a deterrent to using it.
MASSAGE
A massage with special oils can help, but we have to have someone to massage us, and we don’t always have someone like that at hand.
TENS MACHINE
We can use a TENS machine to send painful but mild electric jolts into our bodies in the area where the pain is worst. The pads will not stick to skin already covered in oil, or sweat, or the residue of magnesium spray.
SUPPLEMENTS
Some supplements are good for the pain caused by inflammation. I usually add to my pill regime: Magnesium Citrate, Garlic, Omega 3-6-9 Capsules, Vitamin D, Vitamin C. These supplements ease the inflammation which, in turn, eases the pain. Other pills to swallow include over the counter medicines like Acetaminophen, Ibuprofen, Acetylsalicylic Acid, and Naproxen. These can take an edge off the pain and though the OTC meds do have side effects with regular use, some days it is just worth the risk.
CANNABIS
One other pain reliever that is legal in Canada but maybe not legal elsewhere is the careful use of Cannabis. I make sure to read the reviews people write about the affects of each strain, because some strains are better than others as far as touching the pain. Also, some strains can cause anxiety or paranoia or headaches, which is not the kind of help I need.
The nice thing about using Cannabis use for our pain is that even though it also can only take an edge off the pain, it can make us either sleepy or productive. So if we have insomnia, the right strain can take an edge off our pain AND help us sleep. But if we have things to do and the pain has stopped us, the right strain will take and edge off the pain AND help us get a bit of work done.
Another nice thing about using the right Cannabis strain, is that it makes a person happy. Maybe we will get the giggles, or maybe an all encompassing contentment for the good things in our lives. I was a lot crankier from my pain before I met Cannabis and my family appreciates this change.
EDIT JANUARY 13, 2022
My chronic pain will probably always be a struggle for me, but recently I have been given tools to help me overcome the debilitating effect chronic pain has had on my life for the past fifteen years. Today I find myself in much less pain than I was half a year ago, and I find my body has become extremely weakened. What happened?
1/ Good medical care. My professional medical helpers started saying things like, “I believe you.” “Your pain has no obvious cause, but your pain is real.” “We can teach you how to manage it better.” After we cancelled out immediate life threatening reasons why I was in so much pain, I was referred to mental health, a dietician, a physical therapist, a pain specialist, and an allergist. All of them are helpful in their way. Dietician is teaching me to eat again. Physical Therapist is coaching me back into physical strength. Pain specialist is teaching me not to fear the pain, just to manage it. Allergist confirmed that my respiratory symptoms are not allergies, presecribed for asthma. But mental health. That’s where the big change happened for me.
2. A good therapist who understands trauma, nuero plasticity, anxiety and learning new nuero-pathways to overcome physical issues.
3. Extended time off work, even if it means poverty. I really needed the time and space to rest and to look and to see and to feel. I kept applying to new jobs, cuz, my credit cards can only help me until they are full, I need an income. Every time I did not get the job, I was given more time to focus primarily on acceptance and recovery.
4. Humbleness. If this means that I am crazy, then I accept that. I am a mess, and my mind is a mess, and I am learning to accept and embrace the mess that I am.
5. The Curable app. A good coach and a good teacher, available to guide me any time I need help, any day, any time. I can only see my medical professionals every 4-8 weeks. They are a good influence, but they can’t always be here with me. The curable app can always be here with me. I needed to remember though, my most important lessons are acceptance of my reality, fluidity of expectations, and trying to not fight against the pain.