Pain is ruining my life!

Post your questions about pain management for our experts here.

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by Guest Posts on Mon Oct 03, 2016 10:38 am

Pain is ruining my life!

On behalf of our guest visitor, Julian:
My chronic pain is having a terrible effect on my life. I’m depressed and isolated, what help is out there for me?
talkhealth team on behalf of a guest visitor

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Arthritis Care
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by Arthritis Care on Mon Oct 03, 2016 2:30 pm

Re: Pain is ruining my life!

Hi Julian,

Thanks for your post. It can be a really important step to say that you are finding something difficult. I hope you will find that folk on the forum will have suggestions that can help.

Often you will have techniques that you use to manage a difficult time. You might try to keep doing some of those, while asking around and exploring other options.

If you are having a difficult day it can be useful to alternate periods of rest with some movement - either in your home or to get out briefly if possible.

I wonder whether your GP knows what's going on for you at the moment - because they may be able to offer some options.

https://www.arthritiscare.org.uk/managi ... -with-pain

I hope that's helpful

Guy
Arthritis Care Helpline
Tel 0808 800 4050 10 am - 4 pm weekdays

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wendygreen
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by wendygreen on Tue Oct 04, 2016 12:56 pm

Re: Pain is ruining my life!

Hi Julian,

I'm sorry to hear that you feel that pain is ruining your life. I myself suffer from herniated discs in my neck due to osteoarthritis, so I can speak from experience when I say that there are practical things you can do to help yourself.

Exercise can help with pain tremendously because it takes your mind off it, releases pain-relieving endorphins, increases strength, mobility and flexibility and relieves stiffness. It also helps you to manage your weight, which reduces the strain on the joints and inflammation - thus reducing pain.

The first place to start might be to ask your GP for a referral to a physiotherapist, who will be able to show you the best gentle exercises to help ease your particular pain. You could also ask your GP/physiotherapist for advice on other types of gentle exercise you could do to improve your symptoms, such as walking, yoga, swimming and Tai chi. Another benefit of doing these types of exercise is that it would get you out of the house and meeting people. The combination of exercise and socialising would also help to boost your mood - so you would gain numerous benefits from participating in gentle exercise.

Other things you could try to help relieve the pain is eating an anti-inflammatory Mediterranean diet - which focuses on fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, fish - especially oily fish, and using spices in your cooking such as ginger and turmeric. Some people also get some relief from taking a supplement like glucosamine, chondroitin, turmeric, ginger or green-lipped mussel.

The most important thing is for you to take positive steps to help yourself, so that you can feel more in control of the pain - instead of it controlling you.

Good luck!

Wendy
Wendy Green
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Nicola Footman
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by Nicola Footman on Wed Oct 05, 2016 8:16 pm

Re: Pain is ruining my life!

Hello Julian

I'm so sorry to read that you are struggling. Having chronic pain is exhausting and can make you feel very isolated, as you say. Many patients suffering with chronic pain have depression, so you are certainly not alone!

Physiotherapy can help. The correct advice with regards to exercise, pacing of activities and education with regards to what happens to the body in cases of chronic pain can reassure and positively affect an individual's experience of living with these chronic symptoms. Keeping a pain diary is a good start; it's important to document the level of activity you are experiencing and then the symptoms you are feeling at that time. This gives you a good start as to what your baseline is with regards to how much activity your body can cope with. An experienced physiotherapist can then discuss this with you and devise a plan to gradually increase your levels of activity within manageable levels of pain.

Chronic pain sufferes often feel like their pain 'controls them'. Strategies like the one mentioned above can enable you to feel as if you have 'control over the pain' which can make you feel more positive, less isolated and hopefully gain some more enjoyment out of life, despite not necessarily finding a 'cure'.

I hope this information is useful and good luck!
Nicola
Nicola Footman
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Stephen Kelly
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by Stephen Kelly on Thu Oct 06, 2016 12:43 pm

Re: Pain is ruining my life!

Hi Julian. I'm sorry to hear that are struggling with chronic pain. Firstly have you had any investigations into what is causing the problem? If not I strongly recommend that you do so.

Please don't think that just because your pain is chronic there isn't any hope for you. Indeed the majority of new patients I see have chronic rather than acute pain and in the main there are many things that can be done to help.

Try to set yourself some achievable goals every day. For example going for a walk, or a swim. By setting goals, you will begin to take back control from the pain. It is also a good idea to get involved in some sort of group exercise, as spending time with other people is a great way to lift your mood.

I wish you all the best.
Stephen
Stephen Kelly
Registered Chiropractor (BSc Hons, MSc, DC)
http://www.talkhealthpartnership.com/on ... _kelly.php

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