Advice on dealing with pain?

[balsamandash]

So -- people who have issues with pain; what do you do to get yourself through bad pain periods? Particularly when you have work/physically demanding responsibilities that you can't skip or put off until pain is gone?

I have chronic/reoccuring pain of some kind in... practically every part of my body -- feet, legs, back, stomach, chest, hands, arms, shoulders, neck, jaw, temples, headaches, wow this list is worse than I expected when I actually write it out. It's been a particularly bad couple of weeks for it; I'm bad at quantifying pain but I'd say my average for this month is quite a bit worse than my average in general. I work on my feet all nigh, picking up and moving around heavy boxes and then doing repetitive motions that cause pain in my arms even on days there previously wasn't any.

And I am terrible at coping mechanisms or finding things to make the pain better. (Massage generally helps but is not something I have daily access to or anything right now. Being warm helps so I'm picking up something long-sleeved I can wear during work to keep myself from getting as chilly, but that only does so much good.)

So if you deal with anything like this, share what works for you? Either for getting through the period of having to do things or ways to help ease the pain after getting home/before leaving/when I happen to have a decent chunk of time? I would really appreciate the advice.

Comments

[petra]

Chemical heating pads that strap on have gotten me through some very bad times.

Muscle relaxants, if you can get a doc to give them to you, might be useful for recovery time.

My favorite recourse: marry an affluent person who doesn't mind that you can't contribute income, so long as you keep trying to get back on your feet. But I really, really got lucky on that.

[mdlbear]

1. I have chronic back pain and occasional muscle cramps; heat, NSAIDs (I prefer naproxen, but YMMV), and on bad days prescription muscle relaxants all help. Also ethanol. The heat mainly comes from an electric heating pad, but a hot bath will get to things that the pad doesn't go near. For the occasional neck and shoulder pain I have a heating pad that kind of drapes over your shoulders and fastens in the front with a snap. This is all muscle stuff, so massage also works wonders.

2. My sister has fibromyalgia, but manages to hold down a job as a massage therapist. Partly that's because she can get massages herself at half price, and partly because she has some pretty awesome drugs. But also it's because on most days, as she puts it, "it's not going to hurt any more if I get up and do stuff." So she does.

[thefairymelusine]

here via thebonesofferalletters. I have chronic pain in my joints (especially ankles, knuckles and wrists, which is currently being investigated, but one of the lead suspects is Some Form of Arthritis.) I also have bound my chest regularly for six years, so I have upper back pain related to that

Thinks I have found helpful-

a combination of NSAID painkillers (mostly ibuprofen in my case) and topical painkillers on the areas that hurt worst. (I use isopropryl gel, which apparently is mostly used for sprains/sporting injuries but it is a good and I have been told by my GP is fine to use regularly. Set reminders to take painkillers on your phone if you have problems with that. (In my case, if pain is quite bad I will be less functional and therefore forget to take them)

Hot baths during a pain flare, if it's at a point when you have access to a bath. (And would second the wearing long sleeves/being warm)

Heating pads can be really useful, although you can't use them on an area on which you've also used isopropyl gel.

In my case, pain is either worse when I have done a lot with the areas that hurt, but also first thing in the morning. If you are going to a doc about it have as much detail about stuff like that as possible.

I use a stick when walking most of the time now, and I do find that that reduces the level of pain I'm in later, but I know that might not be an option (and is still an option about which I feel sad)

Oh, if in bad pain before going to sleep I find resting on a comfortable chair/sofa for a while, while sort of dozing off, and then going to bed when pain has died down a bit better than just going straight to bed and lying flat

[senmut]

Take your anti-inflammatory medicine of choice at least one hour before shift, NOT when the pain intensifies after you are already working. For body pain, I do prefer Aleve (naproxen sodium).

Use the therma-care type 'bandages' that are self-sticking heat pads on your larger muscle groups. OR, if you get relief from them, rub down with Aspercreme or Icy Hot or whatever muscle rub that you prefer. Never put a heat pack over an area you recently used the muscle rub on; it can cause chemical burns.

Take time for recovery after work. Hot bath/shower, alternating ice and heat on worst areas, or self-massage at the areas you can reach.

I worked third-shift merchandising and inventory control for several years. These are things I did to manage (S.I. joint dysfunction plus permanent disalignment of pelvic girdle and sacrum with lowest vertebrae affected, plus micro tears in both rotator cuffs). It never stopped hurting. But these things made it a little more bearable. And mostly I tended to bullshit myself that it wasn't killing me, so I could pretend to my staff that I was fine.

[dancing_serpent]

I'm currently at home sick because I was badly cramped up and couldn't even move my head and arms a few days ago, and my doctor prescribed me anti-inflammatory pain meds and heat, especially most heat. Hot shower/bath or even a wet hot towel wrapped around my shoulders.

I'm usually in pain after work, because it involves mostly heavy lifting, as well. I try to rest as much as possible, go to sleep early to relax my muscles. Sometimes I take an electric heating pad into bed, too.

[worlds_of_smoke]

If you're up on your feet all night, you might want to consider getting a kickass pair of shoes. One thing that helped me before my hip became the main factor in dictating how long I can stand: cheer shoes. I fell in love with them in HS, when I was a cheerleader. I usually used Kaepa shoes.

Cheer shoes are amazing because they have assloads of cushioning to compensate for the fact that cheerleaders are obviously not easy on their feet and knees. And, since you're just walking around, you may find them super effective at reducing your pain. You can order them online or check out some shoe stores. Some of them are a bit expensive, but if you don't want to chuck out a buttload of money, I know there are some $20 pairs floating around and they'll at least help you decide if you want to chuck out a buttload of money.

[untonuggan]

seconding the shoes.

also, I sometimes need "fancy feminine shoes that won't kill my feet" shoes, and for there I look to what nurses and teachers are wearing for their standing all day 12 hour shifts. Dansko seem to be popular? But they have more of a heel and less ankle support.

also hiking shoes are such a blessing omg, and running shoes although I have found they don't last as long.

[bookblather]

I'ma point my friend Kelly at this post, if that's okay? I don't suffer from chronic pain but they do and they might have some good advice.

[aldersprig]

If you have a Big Box Store of some sort, NSAIDs are SO MUCH cheaper in bulk. (So are allergy meds, when all the suckiness in the world collides).

My favorite unobtrusive heat-source is a hot ceramic mug of tea, which I wrap my sore hands around until I can stand to move them again.

I second good shoes; mine made a world of difference.

[untonuggan]

if you are able to go to a doctor and get prescriptions, topical Rx meds that don't alter my mental state and help immensely are Lidocaine patches (which is a nerve blocker) and Voltaren gel (an NSAID gel that doesn't have to go through your gut so that's a plus). Lidocaine used to be ridiculously expensive but in the US they recently came out with a generic. I'm not a dr, discuss with your dr, etc, but. They help me on days when otherwise I would not be able to move.

I have a foam roller that hurts a loooooooot when I use it and so I don't always use it, but it really helps roll out some of the myofascial tension. I'm not sure what the source of your pain is, but it may or may not help and mine was $15 on Amazon for a giant one. Or you can use a tennis ball in a pair of hose or a sock and roll it under your shoulder muscle. OR if you're at work on break, you can kind of massage your shoulder on the corner of a wall. It is one of the less skilled more painful massages I have ever done, but I do it sometimes when my muscles are getting super tight.

How is your set-up not at work? Does the pillow you sleep on exacerbate your pain? Does your bra dig into your shoulder muscles? Do your socks cut off circulation in your ankles? Do you carry a heavy bag or backpack? Do you have lumbar support in your car and chairs at home, if that helps? These things may be more in your control than your work schedule, and if you can change them incrementally it can help lower baseline pain.

I also cope with pain through dark dark humor. Um, but not dark snarky humor can be good too? A lot of the Facebook Meme advice is all "it's all about your attitude" and I want to HULK SMASH that shit, but it helps me feel less sidelined by the Fates if I can laugh about what the fuck is happening. YMMV. (Sometimes these are in the form of "where is my bionic body, is it on backorder, I ordered it ages ago" or "clearly Professor Xavier needs to recruit me already because I obviously have enough genetic mutations, now when does the superpower kick in".)

Distraction is also highly underrated, IMO. I don't know if you can listen to music at work or if that is something that would help you? Or podcasts/podfics? When I had data entry job I would do music, and also bribe myself with how soon I could stretch with my coffee break, and also change the desktop background to something cheering.

anyway sorry for the wall of text. hope some of this helps.

[untonuggan]

I saw something somewhere also maybe on Captain Awkward that was HULK SMASH haikus, and I keep meaning to write HULK SMASH poetry about my pain. when I'm in the ER with my partner (more often than I would like, but less lately) and waiting forever sometimes we take over the white board and write limericks about how much the ER wait sucks or pain sucks or whatever. So, if say composing HULK SMASH poetry in your head is something that would help with distraction or dark humor, that is also an option? IDK. I have a possibly unique sense of humor...