Advice.
Here are my top 10 tips and tricks:
1:Baths
Who knew that I would find relief in a bath? This was probably where I spent most of my time when I was in severe pain. Now I wouldn't just turn on the hot water and call it good, I would put a couple things in the bath to help soothe my muscles and help my body relax a little.
-Essential Oils
-doTERRA's Clary Sage (X 5 drops)
-doTERRA's Lavander (X10 drops)
-doTERRA's Serenity (X3 drops)
-Epson Salt (1 Cup)
This is my secret recipe for relaxing my sore body in a bath.
PS. I always love to turn on a good TV show to take my mind off of things.
2: HEAT/HOT PACKS
Yeah to me this is an obvious one but here are some of my favorite hot packs that I've used that provide some temporary relief.
-Rice Bag, now these are pretty easy to make. Just grab an old big sock, fill it with rice, tie the top off really well and warm it up for about 3-5 minutes. Now rice bags are great but they are a pain in the bum to keep reheating, so keep that in mind but in a pinch, this is a great option
- Hot water bottle packs . Now I have one of those electric tea kettles, so I start that baby up and then fill the boiling water into a hot water bottle pack and the pressure of the water and heat always feels nice.
-Heating pads , this is quite possibly my favorite thing to use. You plug this sucker in and you have instant heat. I use one of the ones that you can adjust the heat on it, so that way it doesn't get too hot and burn my belly.
-Hydroculator Heat Packs , I feel so fancy saying this out loud. These are amazing! You boil a big pot of water throw this clay heat pack into it and then when its been in the boiling water for about 10-15 minutes, take it out and then let it dry, put a towel around it and it is amazing relief. I think the reason I love this one so much is it has some weight to it, I used this in physical therapy a lot!
3: Essential oils:
These babies are my life savers. I use them every day. My favorite brand is doTERRA, I also love their book on how to essential oils.
-Clary Sage,"Clary Sage is known for its calming properties and benefits to the skin" I use this in the tub and I also use it in a roller-ball and put it all over my abdomen. You can also put this all over your pillow to help you sleep and feel relaxed. If I just dump it out of the bottle, I use about 3-5 drops.
-ClaryCalm , "ClaryCalm offers cooling effects for the skin and balance for emotions". I'm all about balancing those emotions! But quite frankly I love this because of how cooling it is on the skin, my mom had a hysterectomy and she was in a ton of pain, so she rubbed this all over her abdomen and her back. According to doTERRA this is the best blend to use on your menstrual cycle, especially to help with emotions.
-Serenity, "This perfectly balanced, tranquil blend can be felt immediately, transporting the user to a state of blissful repose." This is one of my favorite scents from doTERRA ever! I use this one to help me relax and sleep. One thing when I am in major pain is that I need sleep so my body can rest. This oil can be diffused in the air or put into a roller ball to be put onto your neck forehead or even abdomen.
-Basil,"The spicy, yet herbal nature of Basil makes it a versatile oil that can be used to promote focus and alertness." after lots of research, I found that this oil really helps me! This helps relief so much pain. I usually take a big roller ball and fill it with coconut oil 2/3 of the way up and then put 10-15 drops of basil. I roll this all over my abdomen and back during my hard days.
4: Your diet
This is a tricky one because everyone's diet is going to be very personal to them. Something my physical therapist advised that I try is the FOD maps diet. This is "A low FODMAP diet, or FODMAP elimination diet, refers to a temporary eating pattern that has a very low amount of food compounds called FODMAPs." This diet helped me determine what foods cause inflammation or can cause abdominal pain, or digestive issues like a bloated stomach or gas, which all of those can make the endo flare up and be more painful. What I did was eliminate everything on this list, http://www.ibsdiets.org/fodmap-diet/fodmap-food-list/ for two months and then one week at a time add these foods back into my diet. This was a tough one! However, I discovered that; red meat, soy, and dairy make my endo pain a lot worse! SO even though this was tough eliminating everything at once, I was able to discover what foods made it worse so I could take those out of my diet all-together.
5: do something for you
When I am in pain I am physically, mentally and spiritually miserable. Something that really truly helped me through the really tough days was taking time for me. This could include lots of different things but for me, it was putting on makeup. My mom is the one who always encouraged me that even if I wasn't leaving the house to take time for myself. She would say, "Whitney, you should take time, to comb your hair and put on some makeup, you'll feel better". This took me a long time to learn that taking time for just you is vital. I did always feel better after playing with makeup. Yeah, you don't feel good enough to go anywhere or leave the house but take some time to take care of you! Do your makeup! Comb your hair! or it could even be something as simple as today I'm taking time, to brush my teeth. I had days where that was all I could manage. It doesn't need to be something crazy extravagant but something to help you will lift your spirits and help you recognize that even though you don't feel well your important enough to take care of yourself. Remember, it's not about the makeup or your hair looking put together, it's about caring for yourself and taking time for you.
6: Have a support system
A good strong support system is super important during your high pain days. The people in your life that are around you need to be able to understand your needs during these rough days. Communicating your wants, desires, and needs with them is important. This doesn't just include your family and friends, you need a support system medically and if you work or go to school you'll need your support system there as well. This all ties down to your open communication with them about your struggles and what you can handle and what you can't. It's hard to feel good about yourself when you truly don't feel well. People who can lift your spirits up and help you through the dark times are the ones who will help you the most during your most painful days. I had to let go of the people in my life who weren't part of my support system. They weren't helping me feel empowered or good about myself so I needed to let them move out of my life to allow room for the people who were truly and who still are truly there for me. Communication is key here.
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7: Research for the right medical doctors
This is vital. I had a bad experience with a doctors that that really hurt the beginning of my journey with my diagnoses of endometriosis. Had I done the proper research I could have avoided this. Now I was young and didn't know where to turn so I took everything this doctor said to heart. My advice to you would be to get a lot of different opinions from different doctors! Research good questions to ask them before you go in or ask them over the phone before you meet with. Start with searching for "specialist". I had to pay out of network on my insurance so this was expensive finding the right person but once I did things really started falling into place. If the doctors don't seem like they are passionate about trying to get you help or won't look at alternatives besides pain meds, then I would find someone else. Don't just accept the first suggestion they give to be the best one for you. Do your own research because you know your own body better than anyone else!
Questions you should ask:
-Are you a specialist in pelvic pain?
-Will you cut off the endo or burn it off?
-What else would you suggest besides lupron shots?
-How do you feel about lupron shots?
-Am I comfortable with this doctor?
To clarify on something, I am highly against the lupron shot. A dear friend of my advised me not to go down this route and this is something that I am so thankful for. I've only heard terrible things about lupron but because of lack of research sometimes doctors don't know what else is out there. So keep asking for alternatives.
Also find a physical therapist for pelvic pain. This is what truly saved my life and helped me manage my pain with zero pain meds. They need to be specialized in women's pelvic pain.
8: Express your needs
"I need this..." is something you will want to practice a lot! This all comes down to open and honest communication with those around you. One thing that is difficult for me is to express exactly what I need to others. Here are some of my needs on my worst pain days:
-Sleep
-Heating packs
-Emotional Support
-Someone to help me with the basics;
-Food
-Getting me my oils
-Day off from usual activities; school, work, plans with friends/family
Expressing these needs to others is important, they are trying to how to best help you on days that you are struggling the most. If you can clearly communicate your needs with them, before these bad pain days then people can be more understanding. This includes talking with you job about your pain management and what it means when you are at your worst pain, you'll probably have to call into work sick, and that is okay. This also includes communication with your school about how they can best help accommodate to your needs. Lastly your friends and family deserve the same level of communication, if you need a "day off" then you express that, that is what your body needs. Sometimes on these bad days I would feel guilty for having certain needs, and for canceling on people. This is something that comes with chronic pain, and it is not your fault. It is your body and your health and that comes before everything else. You have to put you first.
9: know your limits
This is incredibly difficult for me. Still is. On days that I am feeling well I tend to push my limits because I think to myself, "man I feel really good today, I can get all this stuff done." Then the next day I end up paying for it because I pushed myself too much. This one takes practice to help you understand what you can and can't do. Some advice I once received was to write a pain scale 1-10 and write down what I could do if I was having a certain number pain day. For example if I was at a 3 on the pain scale then I could get cleaning done, homework, work, hang out with friends ect. However if I was having a 6 pain day, I would limit myself to doing things that weren't too strenuous to keep my pain management under control, like homework, rest, watch a movie ect. This pain scale helps me determine what kind of day I'm having and how to handle that pain day.
10: Yoga
Every specialist, physical therapist, and good doctor I've had that has helped me with my pelvic pain has suggested yoga. Nothing too crazy! There is a ton of research out there on how yoga helps with relaxation and pelvic pain. According to Womens.Health.co.uk "Breathing exercises are used in yoga to help minimize pain since deep exhalation promotes relaxation, while reducing tension. Increased awareness of breathing also helps alleviate pain associated with endometriosis while promoting calm and overall mental and physical health.". I need to do this more often. Days that I am diligent and truly practice yoga, I have a lot more control over my pain management. I have taken a couple classes but I do prefer to do yoga in the comforts of my own home. Someone that I love is, "Yoga With Adriene". She has a very soothing voice and a lot of great videos on relaxation, breathing and videos for beginners, digestion and anxiety. Check out her channel!