Chronic Pain and Exhaustion:

[Guest guest]

Dear Friends,

I found this article to be very informative and helpful.

I hope you do, too!

In Christian Love

elaine

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Chronic Pain and Exhaustion:

Any person that has lived with chronic pain for any length

of time knows what isolation is about. It is about the fact

that pain produces fatigue, and this dictates what you are

able to do. The pain and fatigue twist our minds into

making it seem as if there is nothing left to give out to

others, and so eventually it is just easier not to expend

the extra energy it takes to even talk to another person.

Even those that are very close to us may not understand.

What healthy people do not understand is that even talking

to another person is exhausting when you live with pain.

Chronic pain and Fatigue cause our body to shut down and

eventually this can lead to isolation. Unfortunately this

is not a solution! We need to keep contact with the world,

family and friends, but we also need to pick our activities

carefully. Contact with people feeds our spirit, and we need

that to heal. So, how can we find the energy and time to

open up to the world? Keep in mind we DO NOT have ANY

energy to share, so choose wisely!

Here are some tips:

1. Set " Rules To Live By " for yourself, and stick with it.

2. Choose your activities wisely.

3. Pace your activities and give yourself mini-breaks.

4. Rest between activities - even if that means skipping a day.

5. Eliminate people, from your life, who do not understand and

cause you to waste precious energy.

6. Keeping in contact with the world, can be done via telephone,

the internet, fax, a written letter or card, and without the

exhausting draining energy of attending functions.

7. Learn to say ' NO ' to people and activities.

8. Keep appointments and visits short.

9. Forgive yourself when you need to cancel an activity or an

appointment. Guilt causes more pain and anxiety.

10. Keep a variety of hobbies close by, to work on. Hobbies

help take your mind off the pain. Having more than one Hobby

allows you a choice when your body is not functioning to par.

Isolation leads to depression, and depression leads to more

pain. It is extremely important to break this cycle, and

keep our minds busy. Work on creating a balance between

doing too much, and flaring, and just enough to give

yourselves a feeling of accomplishment. Kate Purcell,RN

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

LupusQuestT H E A L T H L I N E

May 2002 Volume 5, Issue 9

Copyright 1997- 2002, Americas MedaKate Organization

http://www.medakate.org/ " > All rights

reserved. May be freely copied and shared with a friend

provided no modifications have been made and no additional

fee for reading this specific work is charged.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

[Guest guest]

Sorry I missed this one in my news article bundle.

--- From another support group:

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chronic Pain and Exhaustion:

Any person that has lived with chronic pain for any length

of time knows what isolation is about. It is about the fact

that pain produces fatigue, and this dictates what you are

able to do. The pain and fatigue twist our minds into

making it seem as if there is nothing left to give out to

others, and so eventually it is just easier not to expend

the extra energy it takes to even talk to another person.

Even those that are very close to us may not understand.

What healthy people do not understand is that even talking

to another person is exhausting when you live with pain.

Chronic pain and Fatigue cause our body to shut down and

eventually this can lead to isolation. Unfortunately this

is not a solution! We need to keep contact with the world,

family and friends, but we also need to pick our activities

carefully. Contact with people feeds our spirit, and we need

that to heal. So, how can we find the energy and time to

open up to the world? Keep in mind we DO NOT have ANY

energy to share, so choose wisely!

Here are some tips:

1. Set " Rules To Live By " for yourself, and stick with it.

2. Choose your activities wisely.

3. Pace your activities and give yourself mini-breaks.

4. Rest between activities - even if that means skipping a day.

5. Eliminate people, from your life, who do not understand and

cause you to waste precious energy.

6. Keeping in contact with the world, can be done via telephone,

the internet, fax, a written letter or card, and without the

exhausting draining energy of attending functions.

7. Learn to say ' NO ' to people and activities.

8. Keep appointments and visits short.

9. Forgive yourself when you need to cancel an activity or an

appointment. Guilt causes more pain and anxiety.

10. Keep a variety of hobbies close by, to work on. Hobbies

help take your mind off the pain. Having more than one Hobby

allows you a choice when your body is not functioning to par.

Isolation leads to depression, and depression leads to more

pain. It is extremely important to break this cycle, and

keep our minds busy. Work on creating a balance between

doing too much, and flaring, and just enough to give

yourselves a feeling of accomplishment. Kate Purcell,RN

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

LupusQuestT H E A L T H L I N E

May 2002 Volume 5, Issue 9

Copyright 1997- 2002, Americas MedaKate Organization

http://www.medakate.org/ " > All rights

reserved. May be freely copied and shared with a friend

provided no modifications have been made and no additional

fee for reading this specific work is charged.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

--- End forwarded message ---

[Guest guest]

Well, Meghan, there you go again... Good Girl (since I am an old woman,I can

say that without fear} Sending this one to my daughter who cannot understand

that I am isolated because of pain, Bless her heart, she flies up from Florida

so often, really worries ...this posting should ease her mind...I hope..E.M.

meghan_e <meghan@...> wrote: Sorry I missed this one in my news article

bundle.

--- From another support group:

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chronic Pain and Exhaustion:

Any person that has lived with chronic pain for any length

of time knows what isolation is about. It is about the fact

that pain produces fatigue, and this dictates what you are

able to do. The pain and fatigue twist our minds into

making it seem as if there is nothing left to give out to

others, and so eventually it is just easier not to expend

the extra energy it takes to even talk to another person.

Even those that are very close to us may not understand.

What healthy people do not understand is that even talking

to another person is exhausting when you live with pain.

Chronic pain and Fatigue cause our body to shut down and

eventually this can lead to isolation. Unfortunately this

is not a solution! We need to keep contact with the world,

family and friends, but we also need to pick our activities

carefully. Contact with people feeds our spirit, and we need

that to heal. So, how can we find the energy and time to

open up to the world? Keep in mind we DO NOT have ANY

energy to share, so choose wisely!

Here are some tips:

1. Set " Rules To Live By " for yourself, and stick with it.

2. Choose your activities wisely.

3. Pace your activities and give yourself mini-breaks.

4. Rest between activities - even if that means skipping a day.

5. Eliminate people, from your life, who do not understand and

cause you to waste precious energy.

6. Keeping in contact with the world, can be done via telephone,

the internet, fax, a written letter or card, and without the

exhausting draining energy of attending functions.

7. Learn to say ' NO ' to people and activities.

8. Keep appointments and visits short.

9. Forgive yourself when you need to cancel an activity or an

appointment. Guilt causes more pain and anxiety.

10. Keep a variety of hobbies close by, to work on. Hobbies

help take your mind off the pain. Having more than one Hobby

allows you a choice when your body is not functioning to par.

Isolation leads to depression, and depression leads to more

pain. It is extremely important to break this cycle, and

keep our minds busy. Work on creating a balance between

doing too much, and flaring, and just enough to give

yourselves a feeling of accomplishment. Kate Purcell,RN

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

LupusQuestT H E A L T H L I N E

May 2002 Volume 5, Issue 9

Copyright 1997- 2002, Americas MedaKate Organization

http://www.medakate.org/ " > All rights

reserved. May be freely copied and shared with a friend

provided no modifications have been made and no additional

fee for reading this specific work is charged.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

--- End forwarded message ---

[Guest guest]

Thanks for sending this one along... I'm one of the folks who scans and hits

delete on most forwarded news articles.... glad I stopped to read this one...

I'm just coming out of a 3 week flare and the aftershocks( up the MTX and

steroid shot causes side effects of thrush and cellulitis then big trouble

with edema - treat the edema, then my potassium bottoms out) - Wheeeee... but

I'm finally feeling more normal, energy is even back!!!

The kicker was a friend who told me today he could tell I was better because

I was talking now.. apparently I had stopped talking... I didn't even realize

it, that's the effect pain and fatigue has on me... I do isolate. I've

started to journal this stuff to see if I can get some more handles on this

mess... I do better when I know what to expect. Flares scare me, they are

so overwhelming, I can't see the end from the middle, when I'm there it feels

like it will never end. I'm terrified that the increase in the MTX won't be

enough to get it under control. And when I'm feeling better, I can barely

remember what it really feels like, just know it stinks!

Anyway, thanks Meghan for passing this one along!!

And the Scleroderma humor site is fabulous!!!!!!!!! We need one of

those!!!!!!