What a Pain!

It has been a while since my last post, I just haven’t had the umph needed to write. I have had plenty of things rattle around in my head to write about, but I just haven’t sat down and started typing. So, here we go today, I am sitting down, typing…

I hesitate to write about pain, for many reasons but I keep coming back to it so I think it is something I need to write about. There are so many levels and types of pain, it is a challenge to write about ones experience without fully understanding another’s.

I have recently been diagnosed with Adenomyosis and finally have a diagnosis for pain I have been experiencing for three years. Fortunately the pain has been manageable with just the last year being the most intense. Chronic pain differs from acute pain (in my experience) because chronic pain is nagging where as if you have acute kidney stone pain, there is no managing that, you just take the pain meds or get to the hospital as quickly as possible.

So, here I am in my 30’s and experiencing pain of some sort 3 out of 4 weeks a month, sometimes I have only one week with “bad pain” but other months it is more. How do I deal? Ah, that has been my journey these last months. You face so many emotions, anger, frustration, confusion, and even depression if you aren’t careful.

Please do not think I am some pain expert, my pain really isn’t as severe as many many others. With that being said, I have had to alter some things in my life and with my kiddos I have felt just awful to have to tell them no “because Mommy doesn’t feel like it” or “Mommy’s hurting today.” It is a really low feeling to have to sit on the sidelines and watch your children play knowing that you just can’t.

Ah, but my story is no sad one to tell! You want to know why? Because of HIM!! Oh, how he is teaching me and growing me up in Him through this time. So, as I wait out a couple more months of medicine and look toward a surgery that is heading my way, this is how I plan to deal.

·         Thankful Heart – I mean when the pain is bad, just start thanking the Lord for anything and everything you can think of. I can testify this works, there have been times when I couldn’t fall asleep and didn’t want to take pain medication that I would just start Thanking Him and fall asleep before I knew it. What a blessing this has become in my life!

·         Focus on Others – Ach, I am still working on this one because when you are in pain, you are thinking about the pain!! However, with three children, if I can just get the focus off me and on them or someone else, the pain is less debilitating (because I’m not thinking about it so hard).

·         Get a Hobby – Now, I confess I haven’t done this at all yet. Outside of reading a good book, I don’t have any hobbies. But when my pain is giving me a fit and I am just sitting down, I feel so frustrated with nothing productive to do. I am hoping to learn to crochet or something soon, but you could do all sorts of things that don’t require exertion.   

·         Natural Remedies – There is a ton of information on the internet about Herbal remedies and beyond. I use Ginger (as an herbal extract) for the pain, it doesn’t eliminate but definitely seems to lessen it. I am just not a fan of popping a pill with every pain. I do understand some pain is so acute that pain meds are required but I am not in that place yet.

·         Pray Through It – This seems obvious and similar to the first one. But be honest with the Lord, tell Him how you hurt and how frustrated it makes you, how sad you are because you feel like you are missing out on life. He understands!! And, He wants you to bare your heart to Him.

Pain has many faces and comes in many forms, beyond the physical pain there is emotional and more. Whatever pain you are facing today, I hope my own experience can be an encouragement to you. You are not alone, HE is always with you!