{"id":51041,"date":"2019-10-09T12:07:53","date_gmt":"2019-10-09T18:07:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/?p=51041"},"modified":"2021-02-11T22:18:02","modified_gmt":"2021-02-12T05:18:02","slug":"managing-chronic-pain-can-be-a-full-time-job-some-people-find","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/2019\/10\/09\/managing-chronic-pain-can-be-a-full-time-job-some-people-find\/","title":{"rendered":"Managing chronic pain can be a full-time job, some people find"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
A day in the life: <\/strong>A variety of medications used to treat varying symptoms of Fibromyalgia and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) in Calgary on Sept. 21, 2019. Individuals with chronic pain often are prescribed medication to calm symptoms, rather than curing the condition. (Photo by Kori-Anne Clark\/The Press)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

H<\/span>aving chronic pain is a task itself, from ongoing medication needs to adaptation.<\/p>\n

I<\/span>f you suffer from pain, your day to day life requires adaptation to daily tasks, whether it’s as simple as putting your socks on first thing in the morning, or enduring the workday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I want to bake something, I\u2019ll gather all the ingredients, likely the night before because I\u2019ll need a break,\u201d said Chantal Bellmont, an individual who has been diagnosed with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis<\/a> (ME), Fibromyalgia<\/a>, Irritable Bowel Syndrome<\/a> (IBS) and Functional Neurological Disorder<\/a> (FND).<\/p>\n

\u201cThen when I\u2019m finally able to do so, I\u2019ll pull up a chair to my kitchen table and mix all my ingredients together there.\u201d<\/p>\n

With 25 per cent of the population being individuals who suffer from chronic illness, many people must take at their lives one step at a time.<\/p>\n

Due to the limited mobility and energy, Bellmont has to strategically plan her days, which consist mostly of medical appointments, to get them down to one event per day so she has rest time afterwards.<\/p>\n

\u201cScheduling my days ensures that I\u2019m able to get everything I need to do done, regardless of whether I\u2019m in more pain at the end of the day,\u201d said Micky Schwitz, a mother with fibromyalgia.<\/p>\n

Scheduling comes in many different forms, whether it means constant alarms for medication, or an outline of day to day tasks.<\/p>\n

Days often vary, with good and bad days occurring unexpectedly, where individuals will have to take a step back from what they originally had planned.<\/p>\n

When days don\u2019t look as easy as expected, rest is essential so the person has the strength for essential tasks.<\/p>\n

Scheduling my days ensures that I\u2019m able to get everything I need to do done. – Micky Schwitz<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cSome nights I have to listen to my pain, and leave the dishes undone and remind myself that I can\u2019t do everything,\u201d said Schwitz.<\/p>\n

Planning your days with the avoidance of pain, often also results in isolation from friends, and creates a disconnect from society.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf not for the internet I would be completely isolated and home-bound,\u201d said Bellmont.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think people realize how isolating it is to have a chronic illness where you\u2019re not able to work or go to school.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bellmont has been able to find an online disability and chronic illness community through Instagram that has allowed her to be hopeful.<\/p>\n

There are many resources available for pain on its worse days, but many of these can be expensive.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are lots of things that my doctors have recommended I get for my disabilities, but I can\u2019t afford to buy them, even though they would greatly benefit me,\u201d said Bellmont.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Having chronic pain is a task itself, from ongoing medication needs to adaptation. Your day to day life now requires adaptation on daily tasks, whether it be something as simple as putting your socks on first thing in the morning or as difficult as enduring the workday. [ READ MORE ]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":579,"featured_media":51083,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_ef_editorial_meta_text_assignment-slug":"S1 Chronic Pain","footnotes":""},"categories":[9,1106],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-51041","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-life","8":"category-physical-health-and-wellness"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51041","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/579"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51041"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51041\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51364,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51041\/revisions\/51364"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51083"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51041"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51041"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51041"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}