New member tips for pain management generally needed

Kyla

Hi all, I have arthritis in my hands, elbow, hip and knee and I work long hours at a desk. I have resisted going to GP so far for pain management but it is getting me down and I need to look after myself better. I can hardly move at the end of my working day and struggling to sleep now. Any tips of what people do generally to help with the pain/movement would be a help!

Kyla

Tom

Welcome to the forum, @kyla. I see that you have arthritis effecting your hands, elbow, hip and knee. Sleep is becoming difficult and after a day at a desk you are nearly unable to move.

Here is some general information from our website:

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/conditions/arthritis/

tips for managing pain: 

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/managing-symptoms/managing-your-pain/

This next one addresses the issue of arthritis and work:

 

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/living-with-arthritis/work/

 

You have so far avoided consulting your GP. Do so, a reference to a consultant or a pain clinic may result.

 Good luck, take care of yourself and let us know how you get on.

 

Tom, Moderator

Lilymary

Hi @Kyla , I'm sorry this is becoming so hard for you. While I understand how people might want to resist prescription drugs, sometimes they're a necessary part of the formula to keeping any sort of quality of life going. You say you need to look after yourself better - pain management is part of that. Being in constant pain results in your body tensing up or getting into odd positions around the injured areas and just transfers or amplifies the discomfort. If it's affecting your sleep as well, that will also impact on your general physical and mental health.

You may find the tips in the links that Tom has provided helpful, I certainly did. But pain relief medications often become an essential part of that package. I'm often surprised how long people are prepared to struggle on with awful pain before finally caving in. The pain meds may not give total relief (sadly they rarely do) but it may be enough for you to improve your overall health, mobility and quality of life. It's up to you how many you take, but keeping a steady dosage is more effective than "as and when" pills. I used to fluctuate mine a bit for more physically demanding days, and allow some quality rest and recovery time after (days, rather than hours). Part of looking after yourself can also mean learning the word "no". I was slow to learn this, but eventually I found it to be essential to getting by on a day to day basis, learning what my body could cope with and allowing it to recover. it may help if you tell close friends and family what you're going through, so they can help, or make allowances if you're really not feeling up to a lively meet up.

I hope this helps a bit. Keep posting on here, we all know how rubbish this can get, and there's lots of friendly advice and experience on this forum.

jamieA

Hi @Kyla

I agree with Tom - if you can get referred to a pain management consultant by your GP that might help. I know it has for me.

Skinny Keef

Drugs!!

Lol.

seriously though, see your doctor, explain in detail. I always write down what I want to say (I actually type it into my phone notebook) before the appointment because I’m always aware of how short the appointment time is and always end up getting flustered and forgetting something I want to say.

when I saw the pain clinic years ago one of the questions was what makes your pain less, and I always answered ‘drugs and alcohol!’

I no longer drink because of my current pain meds but I honestly am in agony if I don’t take them and can hardly move. It’s a fact of life that I need something to lessen my pain in order to function.

if you cut yourself you’d stick a plaster on it if needed. Same with pain, you just have to take pills.

My elderly mum is very frustrating. She often is in obvious pain and can’t move but refuses and paracetamol saying oh No it’s not that bad I don’t want to resort to pills!

I’ve been on prescription pain killers for over ten years now.

vand

Pain management for my gp was there isn’t anything that will work that isn’t opioid and or addictive. Take tramadol and oramorph when in a flare then wean yourself off it slowly. I’ve been doing that for over 10 years, I had to take early retirement due to I’ll health from the nhs as I kept having to take time off work because of flares or infections.

so at 55 am stuck on the flare, fibro, infection merry go round i exercise either at the gym or by riding a trike daily if I can and lost some of my pip last assessment as I got out my phone to show pictures of how my hands swell apparently that showed dexterity.

what’s the point of going on? I really don’t know