Weather, Chronic Pain, Pain Pain and MORE PAIN!

Any and everyone of us here, there and yonder, knows how much the "weather" can effect chronic pain. Other illnesses such as Lupus, RA, Osteoarthritis, Joint replacements, cervical spine surgeries and problems, and many more illnesses are "effected" by weather.

Oddly enough, it was not that many years ago, that I would tell my doctor(s), not that long ago, ONE doctor saw you for just about everything.... that THE WEATHER MADE MY MIGRAINES WORSE! Back then, and as I said NOT that long ago, they would look at me like I was nuts, bonkers, and just needed some reason to "complain", go the the Emergency room for the dreaded Migraines that plagued me from the time I was about 17 years old, until I then began having "Lupus Migraines" about 10 years ago.

Lupus Migraines, as I call them are an entire different "ball game" from regular Migraines. Used to pain medication worked for the other migraines. Even though I had to fight tooth and nail to get it often times, my severe headache, nausea, the grogginess, the feeling of wishing you could remove your head from your body was horrid. Yet pain medications handled the problem, most of the time.

Then when I began having Lupus Migraines, no amount of "regular pain medications" in the world will do a thing for them. I must have a huge injection of corticosteroid, and then 10 to 14 days of Prednisone, the "step down" dose, in order to get rid of that type of Migraine.

Fortunately, getting that help is easier than having to go in for any type of narcotic pain medication. Yet, I still have to have those also, for the other "many chronic daily pains"I dread, must still have my pain pump, and I have pills for "break through" pains, especially during the times when the weather acts nuts, causing it to reek havoc with my entire body. I "had the surgeries" to help rid me of the other pain, from the joints that have just disintegrated over the years. I tried to tell doctors way back in my twenties, that I had "genetic arthritis". Again, although not that many years ago, they just didn't want to accept the fact that "someone as young as I was" could have that bad of joints. Yet, it was true. I tore cartilage out of my knee at 15. But, by the time I was 21 it needed surgery again. Then the other knee, my elbows, my shoulders, all began giving me problems. I had them injected more times than I can count.

After the many, many tests, scans, injections, medications, even was hospitalized for a few days to try a medication that was "dangerous" to my heart, and it didn't do one thing for the headaches.

After having several more joint surgeries by the time I was 35, I began getting through to some doctors, that these problems were not all imaginary, but were truly issues that I probably was born with. I even had double hernia surgery about 4 years ago! The surgeon told me I was probably "born" with those areas "weak" like some infant girls are, and after years of walking, lifting, bending, picking up something heavy and so on, that they finally became fully herniated, and had to be repaired. Even that was a nightmare. I could Feel them, I could SEE them, yet 3 doctors and even a sonogram didn't pick them up. I finally went to a surgeon I trusted and HE could feel and see them. HE knew what to look for, and he also was well aware of some women, were born with those spots weakened. And some went on to develop hernia's that needed repair.

Usually you don't catch me "lying around" or doing basically nothing. I fully believe that laying around, even when you feel like "hammered hell" can just cause you to feel worse, hurt worse, and give you a lack of energy, lack of muscles, an you question, which is better? Am I harming myself worse, by getting up and doing  things? Or am I better off "working through the stiffness, pain, swelling, and all of the side effects that go along with these illnesses?   

What sucks is that although I usually DO feel better up and moving, even if it is slowly, it still at times takes all the energy and will power I can muster these days.  I have people who stare at me when I park in the handicapped place. It's still hard to have "invisible illnesses". As much as is out there about so many of us suffering, with these horrid diseases, yet there are still "uneducated", "mean", selfish people that want to make fun of, or cause us more grief that we already deal with on any given day. Just sitting here trying to type had caused my wrists, my upper back, my hips, all to hurt like hell.

So, me now trying to sit down and write a 3rd book, when I need to spend HOURS typing it out, almost seems as if it will never happen.                                                                                                                                                   

Tips on How to Share your "diagnosis with family, friends, the public and so forth - These tips may help in any type of chronic illness or pain issue, not just autoimmune

www.rheumatology.org/I-Am-A/Patient-Caregiver/Diseases-Conditions/Living-Well-with-Rheumatic-Disease/Sharing-Your-Diagnosis-with-Others

The above link comes from the Rheumatology site and it gives you assistance on whom, how to, what to, say or maybe not say about any illnesses such as RA, Lupus and other autoimmune issues, but many of these same tips, when you have an "invisible illness" especially could help you also.


I know for many, they feel an isolation, a coldness from others, when they explain being "chronically" ill. Some want to try and put it off to you just being "lazy", or to use as an excuse to do or not do something. Others thing you are just faking it, or that it is a way to gain attention... all of which is total bull, but I can attest that even DOCTORS can give you that feeling. In fact just last week, after being ill for months with other issues, and feeling as if I had a Lupus Flare coming on, that ONE DAY after an entire year of not getting to see him, but deal with his PA, and guess what? That is the one damned day, I feel "better"... and I had emailed me on several occasions about how lousy I felt and what all was going on, and yet then he walks in expecting me to look horrible and I look fairly well..... I knew he wondered if a part of me, was just complaining to complain. So, then I spent two entire days, plus even the weekend feeling lousy, a headache, a stiff neck, the mylar rash my throat feeling swollen and raw..and today Mom and I went into see our PCP.. well I did not look all that well this morning, BUT I also once again did not look as "sickly" as I had felt and been over those past 4 days... I did tell him that my Rheumy gave me the flu shot.... and i told him usually I kind of feel lousy or maybe achy a bit, but never have I ran a fever, high enough that again I was almost hallucinating... every joint hurt, my head and neck hurt so badly... and so I thought he would give me a corticosteroid injection to slow down or help this Lupus flare go away... well he said the "new" flu shot this year contains FOUR rather than 3 strains of flu and thus my body may have reacted quite differently due to being autoimmune & if he gave me the injection and the prednisone, then my flu vaccine would basically be "useless" because my body would fight it off if I took that now...

So, I have to wait at least another week, and if I still feel as if I may have a flare THEN I can go in for the injection and medication.... so now I have to I guess just tough it out, which all too often is easier said than done.....