I have Osteo and Fibromyalgia plus a whole lot of medical problems. Pain is my life. I've had to learn to make changes to accomadate my problems when necessary. I don't do stairs so we moved into a one story house. We have a basement but my son lives down in it and I never go down. Unfortunately the laundry is down there so my son has taken on that job for me. I have learned to enjoy life when I can and to tolerate as much pain as I can when I have to. I went into therapy for the depression and it helped me a whole lot to learn how to cope with pain. Meditation helps and on bad days I find things to take my mind off of it like reading a good book or watching a good movie. The biggest thing I have learned is to not crawl into bed just vegitate. Move as much as possible and turn to friends to cheer you up. That old saying laughter is the best medicine is really true. Laughter and a good attitude will help you survive. Best of Luck to you
The Best You Can Be At Any Given Moment Is Yourself -Elizabeth Alraune sosmegod
I have bone on bone knees and I have SYNVISC-ONE shots in them to keep the pain away and to make life good. It is a gel and it works for me. Orthopedic doctors give them in many ways.......some give one, some give 3 and some give 5 shots. All of them are to give you 6 months to 2 years of being pain free depending on the shape of your knees. IT is only for knees. Physical therapy to strengthen your quad muscles will also give you relief. Those are the muscles that you use when you stand up and sit down. Swimming helps a lot. There are videos on this site to help you strengthen your leg muscles.
I take arthritis Rx for my hands and Tylenol Arthritis over the counter and both work for my hands. I also use Icy Blue and Sombra, both are natural pain relieving gels, and both help my hands and knees daily. I get them at the Health Food Store or PT place.
So being forced to "live spontaneously" (between flare ups) has been a difficult adjustment (over 25 years).
I've given up my own business as a result of arthritis pain (with a side order of fibro), and gone back to work for someone else (at a desk job). (My business involved a lot of travel, which I can no longer handle on a regular basis.) My income and lifestyle have suffered. And my family has had to move from a beautiful home overlooking San Francisco Bay to the flatlands of the Chicago suburbs. (Quite frankly, the lousy economy played into those "decisions," too.)
I attend whatever functions I can, and skip the rest. Sometimes all I can do is make it through the work week and "recover" all weekend. Because I get so much joy from the functions I DO attend, I attend as many as I can. Endorphins are a pretty powerful weapon against pain. I take a pass on some of the stuff that requires prepayment. And sometimes I leave a party early.
Perhaps, most importantly, I say the Serenity Prayer a lot. God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.
I do what I need to do to succeed and to take care of my family. I choose not to say I do what I need to do to survive (which is the attitude I probably had once upon a time).
PS: I've "worked for someone else" at my desk job for over 5 years now, and love the camaraderie of real coworkers vs only clients. (Many of my coworkers, incl. my boss, are my Weight Watchers at Work family.) My joints are lovin' the one-story house instead of 3 stories going down a steep hillside above a faultline. Travel isn't as much fun with all of the post-9/11 security measures and lines. My income and lifestyle... well, I'm STILL adjusting... and grateful I have something to adjust to. And I'm back home in Chicagoland where I grew up.
And that's how I deal with living life between flare ups.Did you make me think or what?????
Pounds lost: 55.0
Fitness Minutes: (12,351) Posts: 1,763 6/9/11 10:47 A
My osteo is just one of several painful muscle, joint and spinal problems I have. When I have a flare-up.....all my 'circuits' fire at once leaving me in agonizing pain and depressed. It can last a few hours, or a few days. I'm on pretty powerful meds, and they help, but not completely.
Just now, however, I'm in 'flare-down' mode, and the relief is wonderful. My energy level rises, my depression lifts and I'm far more active.
Have any of you experienced this phenomenon? I have no way of knowing what will trigger a flare-up....so it always takes me by surprise. I've become commitment-phobic, because I don't know if I'll be up to doing what I commit to.
These muscular-skeleton problems have certainly changed my life. I'd love to hear how some of you cope with the quirkiness of arthritis.....the coming and going.....the good days and the bad days.
I'm eager to share.
Have a great day. Libby
"Finish each day, and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities have crept in. Forget them as soon as you can." Emerson
SparkPeople, SparkCoach, SparkPages, SparkPoints, SparkDiet, SparkAmerica, SparkRecipes, DailySpark, and other marks are trademarks of SparkPeople, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
SPARKPEOPLE is a registered trademark of SparkPeople, Inc. in the United States, European Union, Canada, and Australia. All rights reserved.