A Writer's Life Interrupted #crohns #ibd #pain #uc

My Top Five Pain Relieving Tips

 The last time I had an endoscopy which was a year ago or so I had aphthous ulcers in my stomach and duodenum and inflammation in my ileum. I'm on Remicade which has been absolutely a godsend, but I am thinking it is not working as well. Part of it might be stress. My daughter has UC and was scarily ill for awhile. She's doing much better, thank you for asking.  Today, those pesky ulcers are back. Same symptoms, same miserableness, same stupid pain. I'd make an appointment to see my doctor but my MIL is having surgery next week and I have to be there. I figure if it gets really bad I'll just go to the local ER. At least that's the plan.

Last night I hummed myself to sleep. If I've done a blog like this before please excuse me for the duplication. This hasn't been the greatest week for me. I figure I had almost a full year without much complaint until this started up several months ago. A week ago, I thought I'd beat those painful creatures back, but damn it if I didn't have another flare up yesterday. Stress? I think so, but my doc would not.

So, here are my top five pain relieving tips that do not include drugs.

1. I hum myself to sleep. Yep I do. I hum and rock. A gentle rocking motion so as not to have my husband jump out of bed, grab the baseball bat, and well, you can imagine the rest.

I think it works like hypnosis. I've found humming to be a great pain reliever.

2. Having the grandkids over. Not all seven, just one or two. They will distract me into baking chocolate chip cookies and popcorn.  Or garlic noodles. Or heaven which is my littlest granddaughter's description of my chocolate pudding. Hearing their laughter makes me smile and almost immediately I feel better.

3. My trusty heating pad. It lives under my bed amid the dust bunnies ready for duty at a moments notice.

4. A good back rub really helps.

5. I roll up a soft pillow and lay across it stomach down. This works really well for cramps, but if you are swelling it might not be a good idea. Check with your doctor first.