Pain management

Opioids and NSAIDs are usually always the first things prescribed (very easily) when someone is experiencing pain. They can be life saving for most people as they provide enough comfort for people to be able to continue with their lives.

However, since my lungs don‘t know how to behave normally, I can’t take any nsaids. My oxygen generally drops and I struggle with basic daily tasks, so taking nsaids makes this a lot worse. This is why I’ve had to find different ways I could to help with my pain, which I’ve listed below:

1. Heat patches/Hot water bottles

Absolute life savers! The ones I use are by Deep Heat. They don’t cause any irritation and aren’t too hot. I can wear them for hours on end and still be able to get on with my day, since they are small and don’t get in the way at all.

2. Magnesium spray

My new favourite. I recommend this to literally anyone who mentions any kind of pain they have. I use the Better You magnesium spray and it works wonders. You do need to massage it in for a minute or so and if you have eczema like me, I would recommend asking someone to apply it for you because it does burn if you have any cuts/scratches. There's no smell and it works fairly quickly. 3. CBD Oil/gummies

It doesn’t taste great but I like to apply the oil wherever I have pain, and it just disappears. I like to do this at night, before bed, so that I’m nice and warm in the blanket, since the cold makes all my pains worse.

I have found CBD FX gummies to be quire helpful. The pink ones work especially well for my endometriosis pain which is great! It doesn't impact your mind negatively.

4. Arthritis gloves

These compression gloves were the best things I ever bought. They’re so affordable and comfortable, and they don’t irritate my eczema at all. They provide relief to my finger joints and allow me to keep using my hands without pain.

5. Compression knee sleeve

Another great amazon find. My EDS physiotherapist told me I shouldn’t be wearing knee braces as they are likely to make my knee pain worse and irritate nerves too. I finally found compression sleeves that actually stay put and don’t slide off as I walk, and its super comfortable.

6. Turmeric milk

Okay, so I’ve seen a lot of videos of people discovering turmeric milk and calling it a golden latte. As an Asian, this is one of the oldest tricks in the books for pain relief, so it’s quite interesting that the western world has decided to make it fancy by calling it a latte and making new recipes and things. I love to drink this before bed when I’ve had a long tiring day and I sleep so much better after drinking the milk. Turmeric is a great natural anti-inflammatory but it can also be warm, which irritates my skin, so I don‘t drink it daily.

7. Back massager

I found this by accident when shopping for a present for someone, but I’m so glad I bought it. It’s a small massager you can slide onto your chair, plug it in and enjoy a lovely massage. My back locks up often with stabbing pains to the point where I can’t move at all, and heat patches don’t work for this pain on some days. The massager is super gentle and I focus it around the stabbing pain area and find great relief after a few minutes.

8. Pregnancy U shaped pillow/V shaped pillow

I received this from DSA student finance England before I started university. It wasn’t something me and my advisor discussed but it showed up with all the other equipment because he felt it would be good to sleep with for less pain; and it is! Sleeping with this means I wake up in a lot less pain than I would after sleeping on normal pillows.

Recently I have bought a V shaped pillow to take with me when I travel. It works just as well as the large pregnancy pillow because I use it for my shoulder so the smaller pillow works the same for me.

These are just some of things you could use to help with pain. Personally, I have to be careful with what I use due to reactions and things, which is why I haven’t ventured out to try other products such as a TENS machine.