dealing with it?

How do others deal with there pain? Im 23 and I have a form of RA...the doctors are not sure exactly what it is. My joints on the left side of my body are being effected mostly. I have alot of swelling in my left knee which never goes away, both hips will have to be replaced when im in my 30's Right now im on methotrexate, prednisone, and lortab for the pain. Sence I started the methotrexate and prednisone my pain is steadly getting worse...its at the point now where im taking alot of time off of work and im not sleeping much at all... 4-5hrs a night. How do others deal with it? I just want to give up.

Hi. I'm sorry to hear of your suffering. As you may know, I also suffer with chronic pain.

I couldn't manage without my therapy sessions with a pain and stress management psychologist.

Even though depression usually accompanies chronic pain, it's important to not allow myself to fall into the dungeon of despair. It's also important to manage my stress, as that does exacerbate my pain.

Sleep is a priority, imo. So it's a constant struggle to adjust my schedule so I have enough hours to sleep AND prepare for sleep and not be deficit if it takes longer to fall asleep. A regular routine (mine is a long one) preparing for bed helps me (my body) realize it's time to go to sleep.

I hope you work on a good sleep routine, and also get whatever help you need to succeed at this. Without restorative sleep, imo, you can't win any other battles.

TC

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I strongly agree with _sky's recommendation to seek specialized pain counselling. There's a whole lot to be learned about pain management techniques. One skill is to learn to separate the pain from the suffering. It may seem incomprehensible to you, right now, but the suffering is optional.

I've got a severe chronic neuropathic pain syndrome called CRPS. Trust me, I understand your burden. Moreover, I had a toxic reaction to the opiates (oxycodone, specifically), and I'm doing it without painkillers right now. One of the most important skills is mindfulness. Just to get you thinking, here's a link to a simple explanation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mindfulness

Because it is now impacting on your day-to-day affairs, I think it's time to seek out a pain rehab program. Many pain clinics offer training in biofeedback, meditation, and classes to help you understand more about the body, and the mind/body connection. Pain doesn't exist without your brain, despite the fact the pain is in the periphery. You can train yourself to respond differently to the pain stimulus. There are aslo a couple of medications (Neurontin and Lyrica) which are capable of reducing the spinal cord's ability to transmit the raw pain stimulus. A pain clinic would give you customized advice.

Don't forget.....coping rhymes with hoping. Keep a positive outlook, and the coping is much easier.

Lar

WOW Larry, I do know about CRPS (and know it has a new name ) and I also had terrible reactions to pain meds.. in fact, I can't take generic demerol, but can take brand name. So there's plenty of ways to keep trying on that...it's worth finding something. (I went the first 8 years after my accident without any meds and nearly was bezerk with pain.)

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Actually CRPS is the new name, for what used to be called Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy, or causalgia.

Anyway, I was on a stable dose of oxycodone for a long time, but somehow I started to have all the symptoms of withdrawal and loss of pain control. It got worse and worse, and I ended up just having to do a full withdrawal. I lost 60 lbs. Many doctors simply do not believe this happens, but at least one doctor was brave enough to write about it. It's called Downhill Spiral Syndrome.

I really have had to make decisions on my own, as my family doctor has no real understanding of what I'm going through. And I have to wait weeks and weeks to see my pain specialist. I haven't had a chance yet to even talk to him about alternatives.

I hadn't taken any oxycodone since December 7, but I took a little bit the last couple of days. I had to drive three hours in a snow storm yesterday just to get in to the hospital for some tests. There's no way I could drive home again without a little "help". Mindfulness only goes so far.

Anyway.....

Lar

i have a technique that i call "leaning into the pain"....i hurt 24/7, due to a botched reconstruction after a mastectomy, and i first concentrate on the pain and then i start dismissing it for whatever reasons that i need to use right then.........i decide what is more important........what i need to do or the pain......i also have a very high tolerance for pain and that helps me a lot.

i also perfected the technique of sending "help" to a painful area when i did marathon walking.......i can "zone" my body to eliminate areas that are hurting......

i'm like Larry in that pain meds aren't the best way for me to go. i also use heat. and i'm like Larry in the respect that i'm not superwoman and i will use a med if i absolutely have to.

try to find a pain clinic and learn some behaviors that wil help you put the pain in "it's place".......good luck, pat

Thank you for all of your advice. I do work threw my pain every day. I work construction and put in 60+hrs a week to make my ends meet. Alot of people have said well its your job that is making the pain worse...I dont really believe that. I have taken a month off of work and just relaxed and didnt really do much of anything...just tried to enjoy my time off. From my month off I didnt feel any better or any worse...pain in some places went away while pain in others poped up. I do have a high tolerance to pain as well. Over the past month the pain has been getting worse, I feel as if my whole body is swelling, getting horrible headachs and while that is going on I notice that my teeth and jaw are hurting...reason being is that I find my self gritting my teeth threw out the day because of the pain. I did find that zoning the pain away works...but only when im home not doing much, its hard to do that on a construction site....you have to be awear whats going on around you. I guess my biggest problem is not knowing exactly whats wrong with me. The doctors say I do have symptoms of RA but I have alot of other ones that do not follow RA. For about 5 years I have been tested for everything they could possibly think of and nothing. I guess my main problem is my age. I feel like my life is coming to a end fast...where I seem like I cant do alot of things a normal 23 year old could do. I just wonder if there is anyone out there my age with a similar problem?

I wouldn't be so afraid of pain medication for chronic pain. I think it's a myth that the more pain you go through, the more pain you can go through... and also those about getting high and such.

Your tolerance for pain goes down the longer you suffer with pain. The body seems to run out of natural pain killer, and it can't replenish enough to cover the pain. It is a good "chance" that the pain med will only fill in the missing naturally occurring chemicals. IDK I'm not a medical doctor.

For me, if I ever focus fully on my pain, I would crumble. In fact, it is those times of pain flare that become more difficult because I do have to address more of the pain than normal in determining what else I need to do to get through it Routine and denial can be friends to me.

bryan, you mentioned your jaw, and yes, you probably are clenching. Why not try a TMD specialist (DMD,DDS)... if your teeth are worn unevenly or even a lot, this throws the TMJs off and can cause not only jaw pain, but head, neck and even more troubles... as everything is connected (funny how well we learn this the older we get As we suffer with pain in certain parts of our body, we have the tendency (as humans) to give in and change our posture to "aid" that area..and thus throw even MORE off kilter.

I hope you figure it out soon.

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