Living with pain is difficult. The pain can be so unpredictable – a good day (which wasn’t really a good day in the first place) can quickly turn into a bad day. Sometimes there’s a reason for it getting worse. Perhaps I’ve somehow not avoided a trigger, or I’ve not…
Category: Chronic Pain
Chronic Pain
Read more
How to Cope With Dry Mouth (Xerostomia)
Dry mouth, known medically as xerostomia, is something that most people have experienced at some time. If you wake up in the morning with a dry mouth and a quick glass of water solves the problem, then it’s easy to cope with. But a dry mouth isn’t so easy to…
Chronic Pain
Read more
NICE Guidelines For Treating Chronic Pain Could Destroy People
In the UK, doctors follow NICE (National Institure for Health and Care Excellence) guidelines when prescribing medication or treatments. Patients can also refer to the guidelines. However, NICE has drawn up a draft of new guidelines for treating chronic primary pain. These new guidelines are shocking and could, actually, will, destroy some people.
I first read about the planned changes a few weeks ago when I saw this petition by a woman called Claire Swain. The petition will be sent to NICE and to the UK Parliament.
Chronic Pain
Read more
Painful Pandemic Problems for People With Chronic Illness
The pandemic has brought about so many problems for so many people. Obviously, the biggest one is Covid-19 itself and the fear and anxiety attached to it. But some of the other problems have been distressing and overwhelming for people, especially amongst the chronic illness community.
Chronic Pain
Read more
Breathing a Better Way Could Help Your Pain
We all breathe. Obviously, we have to. But did you know that breathing slightly differently might actually help when you’re in pain? When you live with chronic pain, there is normally no quick fix available. There are no magic cures. However, pain management techniques can help people to cope with their pain. One of my most used pain management tools is a breathing exercise called diaphragmatic breathing, also known as belly or abdominal breathing.
Chronic Pain
Read more
The Alternative Body Shop For People With Pain
The Alternative Body Shop – how good would that be? A shop solely catering for people with chronic pain and other health problems where they could pick up replacement body parts. A new spine perhaps? A new head or new knees? I think the Alternative Body Shop would be very popular. Everybody is advised to look after their bodies. In fact, sometimes people are told, look after your body as well as you look after your car. Put in the best fuel you can afford, get it serviced regularly and take if for a good run to keep the battery working well.
Chronic Pain
Read more
Mobility Aids to Help You Enjoy Life Outdoors
Most people take walking for granted. They put one foot in front of the other – it’s as simple as that. But it’s not as simple as that for many people who live with disabilities, chronic pain or illness.
Due to my pain having an impact on my walking ability I often have to use various mobility aids. Initially, I did have a degree of reluctance in using them and I’m sure I’m not alone with that. I felt as though I was ‘giving in’ which was actually a stupid attitude to have because those mobility aids are there to help people like me. But it was hard having to accept that I needed that type of help.
Chronic Pain
Read more
Accepting a New Normal When You Miss Your Old Life
When you live with a health problem, you often have to deal with many changes in life. These changes can be extremely difficult for people to come to terms with. Understandably, people often miss and mourn their old life. Accepting this new normal is far from easy, but often it’s the key to enjoying life again.
Everyone’s normal is different. And everyone’s normal can change from time to time whether through choice or necessity.
Chronic Pain
Read more
Migraine and Trigeminal Neuralgia – Is There a Link?
As you’ll know, I often write about trigeminal neuralgia. But my life has also been blighted by migraines since I was in my early teenage years. I will write more about my own migraines next week, but it’s always interested me that many people in trigeminal neuralgia support groups also suffer from migraines. This has led me to wonder if these two extremely painful and debilitating conditions could be linked.
Chronic Pain
Read more
Review of eBook About Living and Coping With Chronic Pain
As chronic pain patients, we normally have to do a lot of work ourselves to learn coping and pain management skills. There are often no magic answers. We might see a multitude of doctors, try a multitude of medications, but when it comes down to it, we need to try to do what we can ourselves to make life more bearable.
One of my blogging friends has recently written an eBook, “An A-Z of Chronic Pain”, about living and coping with chronic pain and she has very kindly gifted me with a copy so that I could write a review…