My grandmother for a start. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) made her life , pretty much, hell. Though I’m sure the second world war didn’t help.
Anyhow when I came across this great overview of of Rheumatoid arthritis. So please do have a look and share with anyone you think may find it of interest.
Pain – is it getting worse?
Of course there are many conditions which cause severe pain such , as rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, migraines, POTS, fibromyalgia, cancer and ankylosing spondylitis. But today we are interested in focusing on pain management in general.
We would like to use today’s blog to ask our readers if you feel your pain is worse today than it was a year ago.
Sadly in my case it is much worse.
Also it would be great if you could share how you feel your pain management is working in the comments section below. In particular it would be great if you could tell us why your pain is getting better or worse over the last 12 months.
But before that we would invite you to take part in the poll below.
As many of you know by now I’m a sucker for a decent infographic.
I think they are a great way of sharing health information and providing medical education to a wide range of people.
So I was delighted when Jaime got in touch telling me about this infographic she and her team have put together!
In fact it is really three infographics rolled into one.
The first looks at the impact of chronic illness in general. The second and this is really useful for people with conditions like fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis – a guide to an anti-inflammatory diet . Why not compare it to our earlier guide here.
Finally she gives a great ten pint plan for dealing with chronic illness.
What do you think?
Why not use the comments section below to add your thoughts?
Thanks very much in advance.
“Lifestyle Management With a Chronic Illness” on Health Perch
Dr Rob Hicks on sleep disorders
Over the last week or so we have been publishing interviews with Dr Rob Hicks on the subject of sleep and related issues. The first , which you can read here, looked at the relationship between diabetes and sleep. The second deals with some of the issues surrounding sleep routines for younger children!
In this interview with Dr Hicks we explore sleep disorders, fatigue and relaxation. Vital to such conditions and multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia among others.
PatienTalk.Org: Ok and moving on from there how would you describe or what is sleep apnoea?
Dr Hicks: Well sleep apnoea is a situation which is often associated with snoring. It is a situation where many, many times in the night for short very periods of time the person stops breathing so a bed partner may notice that the person has temporarily stopped breathing for micro seconds and then the person themselves has a bit of a cough or a bit of a deep breath and they may wake up or they may roll over and go back to sleep. One of the problems with obstructive sleep apnoea is actually that it leaves a person not just tired the following day and at greater risk of accidents but it can actually put somebody’s blood pressure up so it is a contributing factor to heart disease and indeed strokes.
PatienTalk.Org:- Are there other major sleep disorders?
Dr Hicks: Well the main sleep disorder that we come across in general practice is insomnia. A lack of good, refreshing sleep and the underlying cause of that can be a physical problem. It might be arthritis causing pain. It might be a side effect of medication that is being taken for a health problem. It might be noise. It might be too much light. It might be an uncomfy bed or it might actually be an awful lot of worry and that is why the “Good night everyone” campaign from Dunelm is working towards trying to help people find the best way for them as an individual and for them as a family to get a good night sleep and so they can work up refreshed in the morning ready to face the challenges of the day.
PatienTalk.Org: I’ve noticed that you have mentioned fatigue and insomnia go hand in hand. Why do you think that is?
Dr Hicks: What we understand by the process of sleep is it’s a way of regenerating and repairing the body. It’s certainly a time where memories are laid down. It’s a time where basically we give the body a chance to get ready for the next day but if you’re not getting an adequate amount of sleep, and the amount of sleep people need varies from individual to individual so for example for adults it ranges on average 7 – 9 hours a night. For someone in a school, a child in school it’s about 10 hours. For somebody in pre-school so before the age you go to school it’s about 10 – 12 hours. If you are not getting adequate amounts of rest and relaxation than a knock on effect is your body is going to be exhausted.
PatienTalk.Org: Finally, can you suggest any relaxation techniques to help you get to sleep?
Dr Hicks: There are lots of good relaxation techniques. There is deep breathing exercises. There is stretching exercises. There is meditation, visualisation lots of different ways of helping the body relax and unwind and get to sleep but the important thing is that an individual person finds something that is relevant and works for them because it’s not a case of one size fits all. Sometimes you have to try a few things before you come across the one that really works for you as an individual.
PatienTalk.Org: Thank you very much for your time Dr Rob Hicks.
A tip for cooling down in the heat
Said TS Eliot at the opening of the Waste Land.
But is that true?
For many people with painful conditions the height of summer or the depths of winter are the worst times of the year for pain.
In fact there does seen to be a correlation between climate, temperature and pain levels. In fact one of the most popular post on the blog has been how to cool down in the summer.
But temperature change is not the only part of the equation.
One of the first things I was told, as a child , by my grandmother was that her rheumatoid arthritis enabled her to know when it was going to rain. Which would suggest humidity can also play a part.
The aim of this blog is to explore the whole area in a bit more detail.
Firstly it would be great if you could take the poll below. The question is “Looking back at the last year which season has been the most painful?” Secondly it would be fantastic if you could answer a few questions about pain and climate. These question are only a guide and we would love to hear from you about any part of your story you may think is of interest.
a) What is your main medical condition which causes pain?
b) What is the main change in weather which affects your pain levels?
c) How do you treat seasonally related pain?
d) Have you moved because of your pain levels? If not would you consider it?
e) Do you have any advice for somebody who has just been diagnosed with a painful medical condition such as multiple sclerosis, arthritis or fibromyalgia?
Thanks very much in advance.