As I sit and start typing this I have been in a week of what those of us with chronic pain conditions call a pain flare. What is a pain flare? Well, there are several variations of official definitions, but in essence, a pain flare is a sudden increase of pain in a person who already has chronic pain from a medical condition. A pain flare could last for hours, days, or at times a week or more. They can be very hard to settle, and can limit a person’s functions even more than what they usually experience. Sometimes a pain flare is called breakthrough pain, because it breaks through our normal chronic pain experience and causes exacerbation of our symptoms, both pain and other symptoms. There are several things people with chronic pain of some type have in common: 1) we all live with pain that is constant and we must find a way to deal with it daily, 2) Those of us with severe chronic pain, live with an amount of pain that would essentially cripple other people, while we still must find a way to function and live our lives 3) we all know what a pain flare is- whatever we choose to call it, and we all must find our own ways of dealing with them, and 4) no ones pain and pain flares are the exact same, even if their diagnosis is the same, so what may help one person, may not help another, and we may even find that what may be helping us at one point, may stop helping, so we must always be aware of our pain, and find healthy ways to deal with it.
So with all that now being said, let’s get back to what I have found that helps me to function the best I can through the 24/7 constant pain, and through a pain flare. As I stated in an earlier blog, I live with a condition called CRPS. On the MaGill pain scale, CRPS (formerly known as RSD) is listed as the highest pain condition known. On the image below, you can see where the most common pain (both acute and chronic) fall on the scale. The pain from CRPS is higher than childbirth, and the more common conditions of arthritis, and fibromyalgia, among others. Finding a way to deal with such constant, chronic pain and the other symptoms it brings with it, can be challenging, but it is something those of us with CRPS must attempt to do each and every day so that we can live as normally as we possibly can with this condition.
So what do I do to cope with my daily pain and my pain flares? Increased rest is the first thing that I know I will need to do for my body. One thing that I do is to try to focus my mind on something else instead of the pain. I may call a friend, or if my brain fog isn’t too bad and I can tolerate sitting and holding the book, I try to read. If the pain in my feet and legs are bad, I try to elevate them, remove any socks or shoes that may be causing increased pain, and try to move the affected part in small motions so as to help with the pain and stiffness of my feet and legs. Another thing I may do is apply warming mitts if the flare is in my hands, or a soft, warm, and lightweight blanket if it is my feet in a flare in order to keep the circulation going and warm my extremities. Often times, my flare fluctuates between the icy stages of CRPS (where I would use the warming mitt) and the fire stages of CRPS. Unlike what you’d think though, using ice is a big no no for most of us with CRPS, so if I am in a fire flare, I just have to do other things until it passes. Another thing I have to use in times of increased pain is a different pain medication than I take on a normal daily basis, and I will use it. Let me insert here that. pain medications (opioids) of any kind are a tool to use just as all the other methods I use to get through each day and flare, and are not a fix all, so they really need to be closely monitored by a physician to make sure that addiction to them doesn’t happen. My physician does testing on me at every visit to make sure my levels are the therapeutic amount he expects based on what is prescribed.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is another technique I use not only daily, but especially when I am in a pain flare, to try to just gain control over my brain and mind so that my fight/flight response doesn’t get out of hand, causing an even worsening flare. Another thing that really helps me, not only with the daily pain, but also to get through the flares, is to listen to music. For me, that is usually a mix of Christian, Country, 80’s, and jazz. When in a flare, I will usually choose either a quiet jazz (because it is soothing to the nervous Sytem) or Christian music because both help to settle my brain and bring a calming presence to my body. Prayer also is a tool that I use to bring myself through a pain flare. I’ll just close my eyes and try to focus on talking to God instead of focusing so much on my pain flare. Praying is a daily part of my life, as I have a personal relationship with Christ, and it is like talking to someone I know loves me and helps me, no matter how rough my day is, and he doesn’t care how badly I feel or how grumpy I am from the pain right at that moment. He loves me in spite of it.
I recently fell, pretty much face planting it in my front yard because I was trying to grab up my brand new puppy who had run out the front door. Landing on my face, knees, and hands I knew I would need to really get my nervous system calmed down, as I already could visibly see a flare starting in my hands. So once, I got back inside, and of course had tucked the puppy into her crate and checked myself and cleaned my wounds, I immediately started streaming some quiet nature videos with relaxing music to them. I just sat for at least the next hour just soaking in the calming presence of the video so that my nervous system would settle down and not cause my body to go into a full out flare. (I did end up having to have x rays of my hands and wrists, but was able to keep the flare down to a minimum by immediately doing this, and reminding myself that I was ok).
Lastly, if I am in a flare, and I need something more than I’ve already done, the next thing I will do is to just go lay down and take a nap. By doing that, it gives my nervous system time to settle itself down. I have found when this is the option that is needed, that I cannot put a time limit on how much I lay down or how long I sleep even if it is in the day. I just leave it up to my body to decide, as it is in those times that I will actually sleep as opposed to my normal fitful and sleepless nights. Giving myself grace for having to do these things to take care of myself helps to alleviate the feelings that I am somehow failing my family by needing to lie down. I know they understand, and they want me to rest and be my best, but sometimes I fight those feelings of inadequacy because of having to deal with all of this. But I remember that God gives me grace, and I try to do my best to extend that grace to others, so why not extend that to myself when needed as well?
These are many of the ways that I have learned to cope with a CRPS pain flare. Others may cope differently, depending on the source of their chronic pain and what works for their bodies. But one thing I can say is that I must do what works for me if I don’t want to stay in a flare, because any length in a flare is too long!
Until next time! Wishing you health and happiness. Elizabeth
Hebrews 4:16 NIV Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Grace for Every Season 