#9-COPING WITH THE PAIN

Coping with the pain

Hey everyone!

Here are the ways that I have found to cope with the pain. Usually a person with acute pericarditis like me takes NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) and salicylates to control pain due to inflammation. Unfortunately, I have to avoid these substances because they make me dizzy, tinnitus and even partially deaf. After only 3 weeks of treatment, I had to stop and learn to manage my disease differently.

Some tips that I have discovered over time to manage pain levels without medication:

1/ BODY POSITION

I already talked about this in my post # 6-How to sleep. Go read it if you haven't already.

2/ NON-INFLAMMATORY DIET

I also discussed the impact of what we eat on inflammation and pain levels. Check out my FOOD series and my post # 8-Non-inflammatory diet.

3/ PUZZLE

Puzzle

At first I was so weak and in so much pain that I wouldn't do much. My best option is always to stay calm as much as possible and avoid stress. The challenge was to stop thinking while in such a state of pain. It is frightening to feel that the heart is compressed. Focusing on a puzzle to forget about the pain has become my #1 strategy. A 1000 piece puzzle takes several days. Each piece placed in the right place gives a rewarding feeling of victory. I really needed that feeling of accomplishment to cheer me up.

Choose a beautiful photo with vivid colors and escape the nightmare of pericarditis and chronic pain for an hour every day. A sandy beach, flowers, cute animals, a painting with your favorite colors. Choose what pleases you and makes you happy. Start by the edges of the puzzle, then sort by colors or shapes. I'm not sponsored of course, but my favorite brand is Ravensburger for quality and colors. It is important to take a good brand so that the pieces can be placed easily. Focusing your mind on something other than pain helps relieve flares and decrease anxiety.

4/ SEWING

Sewing

After a while, I was stronger and I was able to fulfill a dream that I had had for several years: to become a seamstress. I started sewing a few months before I got sick. So my desire to acquire new sewing skills was still very strong. When you're just starting out, bags and pouches are quick and easy projects. It allows you to start without spending too much money because you don't need a lot of fabrics and you can go shopping in thrift stores to reuse second-hand fabrics and test as much as possible. It's a great learning process.

Youtube has some fantastic resources for learning how to sew bags. My favorite sewing teacher is called Debbie Shore (again, I'm not sponsored and just want to share my experience). Surprisingly for me, sewing doesn't require a lot of movement and the heartbeat stays very low. I evolved and started sewing clothes for friends, family and myself (on Youtube, see Peggy Sagers, for example, with Fit 2 Stich and Silhouette Patterns). I tend to avoid chemicals. My fabrics are made up of cotton and natural fibers as much as possible. I cannot sew every day because of the extreme fatigue and pain. So on bad days I watch tons of sewing videos on Youtube. It relaxes me and it allows me to escape. I love historic sewing (if you want to learn more check out youtubers like Bernadette Banner, Sewstine, Bella Mae Design, to name a few). Even though I don't sew such great clothes and costumes, I'm still learning something. Focusing my mind on these sewing videos keeps me calm during flares. I'm always in good company and again it helps me stop focusing on the pain.

5/ DIGITAL DRAWING

Credit: this sea turtle drawing is from a Youtube tutorial of tatyworks

I always wanted to draw and paint. I'm probably not a gifted artist in this area. I would love to be a painter, but I don't want the mess… And that takes too much effort given my level of fatigue. My main concern is finding activities that keep my brain and hands busy while keeping my heart below 100 beats per minute. Digital drawing therefore gives me the best of every world. Beautiful colors while remaining calm and mess-free. And it's gratifying to have a nice drawing to look at at the end. I have always been someone who needs to learn something new every day. This is the meaning of life in my opinion. Skillshare and Youtube have great digital drawing tutorials. I started with Cat Coquillette on Skillshare. I'm using the Procreate app on an iPad Air and an Apple pencil 2. It's so much fun. And digital drawing has become my pain killer. I forget everything when I draw. As a bonus, the drawing is part of my plan to create this blog to share my experience and the progress of my recovery from pericarditis. I wanted colors and lovely peaceful drawings to illustrate my website. I can't see sad, dark photos, or photos of sick people when I am facing pain and struggling mentally to stay positive. I have nothing against people who share their stories this way. But we are all different and the harsh reality increases my anxiety. I respect that everyone expresses themselves in their own way and I would like to find a way to share information about the disease without showing what could be scary pictures. I guess I'm not alone in this “beautiful pictures” team and that some readers will feel more comfortable in a peaceful and colorful environment.

This is where I am right now in my evolution of how to manage the pain of my pericarditis. I am happy to share my drawings on this blog and on Instagram. I started only a few months ago and can't wait to see how my style will evolve.

Thank you for reading this very long blog post if you made it until the end. I hope that you found these tips helpful for coping with the pain on bad days.

I leave you with these lyrics (from the song "Cover Me In Sunshine" by Pink and Willow Sage Hart) which I find soothing.

COVER ME IN SUNSHINE

SHOWER ME WITH GOOD TIMES

Pericordially yours,

Vali