Welcome to the board! I am sorry that your pain is making it difficult for you to enjoy the time you spend with your 10 month old grand daughter. I am sure you are feeling both distressed and disappointed at how adhesions are affecting your life.
We all understand what you are saying Lynn, and I am glad you have found the board. After years and years of dealing with adhesions many of us have tried various methods and exercises to help reduce the impact of the pain on our daily lives. While ever you have pain, you shouldn't become addicted to pain meds. However, if your pain has decreased at all and you continue to take the same levels of medication that was required for more severe pain then my instinct tells me that yes, you MIGHT become addicted. Please be aware that this is my personal opinion, you would have to research that topic to be sure. You asked for ideas of what to do to help you cope with the pain as alternatives to pain meds. I am going to give you some of the things I do BUT Lynn I do use them in conjunction WITH pain meds. What dose I take depends on how bad my pain is and how affective my other strategies have been.
The problem is that even though the common thing to all of us is adhesions. They do at the same time affect us all in different ways. This depends on a number of factors including number of surgeries, what part of our body is involved, endometriosis, burst appendix, ovarian cysts, heavy blows during a car accident (trauma alone can cause adhesions in some people) and a number of other things.
Women tend to suffer in greater numbers purely because we have a considerable amount of abdominal surgeries for delivering babies, dealing with endometriosis and other "female" related problems.
We have all developed pain associated with adhesions throughout a varying age range and circumstances and so we all have different ways and different levels and abilities to help us cope with pain.
I for example have lived with pain my whole life and have learned different ways of coping as different "layers" of pain have developed. I call them layers because I have gradually had various things or diseases occur since childhood and have learned to absorb and cope with these new layers as they were added.
I started experimenting and finding ways to help me cope with it at a very early age and I will give you a few ideas on some of the things I use to help me cope and how it helps me. Now as I have explained, each of us is different and what works for one may not work for another. It is up to you to try different things and decide which feels more comfortable and helps alleviate your pain more.
The earliest of my coping skills developed through "fantasy" as a small child, I learned to create "movies" in my head in which I had the starring role. I could be anything from an Indian princess to a world champion racehorse jockey (heavily influenced by movies shown on TV! LOL…. Like National Velvet & I Dream of Jeanie). I have continued to develop that technique and now lay in bed at night thinking up different "scenes". What this "make believe" does is to help me ignore my pain (I usually take a mild pain tablet before going to bed). These days my movies consist of scenarios of what I would do if I won millions of dollars with lotto. By creating these movies I become more relaxed as I go deeper into the story and I continue the "movie" until I fall asleep.
The next one is a "visualisation" technique. I have always loved the ocean and the beach; I have visited many over the years and spent most weekends as a child on one beach or another. I do have a favourite called Bombo, which is on the south coast of New South Wales on the eastern side of Australia. (Most of Australia's population lives on the eastern side of our country) I have spent so much so much time on that beach I know it as well as I know the back of my hand. I refer to it and this "visualisation" method as My Beach. I call on it often, as it is my MOST effective pain relieving strategy. I can call it up no matter my surroundings or the time of day, I simply close my eyes and picture my feet and take it from there.
I will explain it to you, and then if you decide to try it think of a place that you love and feel safe and comfortable in and then pick a part of your body that "feels" the sensation of that place first and comes to you easily. Example: you might have a river that you enjoy; you might put your hand in the water and feel the force of the fluid movement as it continues to flow down river…. OR it may be a park, there maybe a bench under a tree that you like to sit on, and the first thing that you are aware of is the sound of birds whistling. Have you got the idea? Great, now I will take you to Bombo:
Closing my eyes I look down and see my feet, with my funny shaped toes and then I start to feel the sensation of hot dry sand under them and I can feel the pull on the muscles on the back of my legs as I walk across it to get to the surf. The sand is getting between my toes and I can now see the yellow colour of it and I am blinded by the sun reflecting off it, I pick up my pace because the sand is getting hotter starting to burn the soles of my feet, then I feel the wet cooling hardness of the sand at the waters edge and I can smell the salt and fish around me. I start to be aware of other sensations, the booming and crashing of the waves, the sizzle and popping as the waves creep up over the wet sand, fizzing out as less and less of the wave continues up and over the sand. I can feel the heat of the sun on my back; it's very warm and makes my whole body feel warm and comfortable. The sky is so bright and blue that I have to shade my eyes with a hand and I am walking along the edge of the water towards the ships graveyard end of the beach. The seagulls are getting noisier; they are fighting over a dead fish that has been washed up on the sand. The tide must be coming in because the waves keep getting closer to me and I start to splash through the water and it sprays up on the back and in between my legs making them wet and sticky.
So that is Bombo J! Breathing is another handy one when you are away from home, perhaps at work, shopping or visiting friends etc. There are several Breathing exercises you can do and most of them rely on you taking controlled and measured breaths. The one I find works best for me includes counting to 8. Breathing in through your nose while slowly counting to 8 in your head. Then holding that breath for the same measured count to 8. By then you are ready to let that breathe explode out of you BUT don't do that! LOL Now slowly breathing out through your mouth again to the measured count of 8. Repeat that several times until you become aware of your heart rate slowing a little and you feeling more relaxed. Most of these exercises work on the principals of relaxation, because when your mind and body are relaxed you will discover that your pain level will drop significantly and will allow you to continue with your activity (At work, at a party etc).
Meditation is another good relaxation tip. I use the same principals as the beach BUT I start at my toes and imagine them going to sleep, then my feet, legs and so on until you get to your head. By that time you will have slowed your breathing without realising it and you will feel very relaxed and your pain should feel a little remote if you have managed to get your technique right.
Other things to try include hot wheat packs or heating pads, extended (length of time) showers - use a sponge or one of those net things to rub over your skin, take notice of the sensation it creates on your skin. This combination will also relax you.
My favourite is a bath! There are lots of variations on this theme, BUT make sure there is someone to help you out of it if you have limited movement because of your adhesions or physical limitations. Sometimes I fill the bathroom with vanilla scented candles and pick a CD that I like, I love Celtic music as well as folk, because it has a soft "lament" style to it, sometimes I might choose Celine Dion or so on….I put bubbles in the bath, have a glass of wine and the light off (who needs it when there are candles!). Sometimes when I am feeling extravagant I will add some aromatherapy oils to the bath & sprinkle rose petals on the water! Who said we couldn't be self indulgent with this illness? (Get hubby to come in & scrub your back, it feels divine! ;-) )
The last of my bag of tricks includes writing and reading. I keep a journal and include funny things the children have said, or my husband…. the animals antics etc. I also include my feelings for the day… perhaps I am having one of my "pity party" days or I have found something a challenge and found the solution to be this or that…. I am also writing a book, and I love to come here to the board read your posts and answer a few. Reading is a wonderful way to ignore pain for me, I often get myself lost deep in whatever world I am reading about and I can enjoy hours of self indulgence snuggled deep in my bed surrounded by soft fluffy pillows with the blind open so that I can see the wonderful view.
Well Lynn there it is! LOL I hope that something in this mini novel is helpful to you, once you start to experiment you may even think up something that will work even better than my suggestions! If you do … please tell us here, so we can try it too! I hope you are able to continue spending your Friday's with your Grand Daughter.
Love & gentle warm hugs Jo (Australia)
P.S. Please note that I am writing a book and anything that I post here on the board may not be copied or reproduced in any way without my written permission. I am happy for you to print this out so that you can try some of my suggested ways of dealing with pain. Please do not make additional copies for friends. I thank you in advance for respecting my request. Thanks & hugs Jo
-- P.S.S. I'm not a doctor or medical person, just a fellow adhesions sufferer who really wants better treatment for us all.