Pacing

Pacing.....anyone with chronic pain will probably be sick of hearing it ,however it's one of the most important words when you have chronic pain.

I've pulled back heaps since I got injured, and you know what I reckon I need to pull back even more.

Having a routine is so important. Making sure you find the right balance of resting and moving about is crucial.

For me a typical day looks like this:

Wake up, put dishes away, take my meds, feed dogs , make my breakfast and rest. Normally starting to flare at this point so I turn on my heat blanket and chill. Next I get showered, dressed, put my make up on, this causes a flare up so rest time it is.

Off to work I go.  I work part time hours. Work can be tricky however the mental stimulation and interaction is important. I have a mat at work where I stretch if I need to. Often I'll do reduced hours, get to work and not be able to finish however other times I do my best at pushing through. Listening to my body is the most important thing to do. I'm always in pain however when the pain is incredibly intense I know it's time to go home. When I reach my 18 hour goal at work for the week I actually feel good. That's a huge accomplishment for me 😄 You wouldn't hear me saying his 6 months ago however I've accepted my disability a lot more then I have to this point. I want to move forward and I want to be grateful for what I can do.

I tend to not exercise in the morning as it causes to much pain and by work it's just too much. We are all different so it may work for you to exercise before work.

At night I rest, I try one night a week after work to go the hydro pool. I do a gentle exercise routine. It varies based on my pain levels. I try to also play some piano or paint however it can't be a long period. This can get frustrating as creating as a long process but life is different now. Pacing and doing things in small chunks is my life now.

Wednesday's I don't work. It's a rest day in between my work days. I'll normally do a couple tasks, as doing nothing isn't beneficial to your/my body. Even if it's a small house task. I'll either attend appointments, go to the pool, work out at home, catch up with a friend for a coffee or rest. It's usually two of them however varies on the day.

I cook normally Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Tuesday as I work mornings, and have time to rest and Wednesday nights as I don't work that day. If I am too sore, my darling husband will cook. It's nice to be able to contribute to house tasks.  My husband now does the cleaning, I'll normally do the laundry so I feel like I'm helping and contributing to the house duties.

Weekends are so different now. We do  go out however we really have to think about whether it's worth it. We know no matter what I'm going to do is going to cause me pain however I don't want to be sitting at home all the time. Mentally it's not good. We normally now drive into the city. If it's a festival event i.e. Chilli festival , I'll rent a wheelchair which enables me to stay a bit longer. I've only rented a chair twice so that's pretty good considering I've had the disability for as long as I have.

I used to be as busy and active as a bee. Buzzing around everywhere. Exercising hard, walking everywhere however I'm now a very different person leading a very different life. I still get angry from time to time however no where near as much as I used to. I'm not happy right now as the pain is coming out the top of my head and my back is flared however that means I need to lay down, stop typing and rest!!