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I had some glamour shots taken while getting my infusions done–enjoy!

I still remember my first hospital stay after my first surgery. I was 15 and afraid. I woke up from surgery, though, and everything seemed totally fine. All I wanted was Taco Bell. I would have traded anything for Taco Bell. I begged my mother to go get me Taco Bell–and she did, because I was her child, I had just been through a challenging endeavor, and it was a simple request. As far as we both knew I was fine. As soon as she left, my pain levels rose, I began violently throwing up all over my bed and myself, the swelling inside my cast on my leg became too much–and I pushed that call button next to my hospital through terror and tears.

I’ll never forget the nurse who came through the door and moved the curtain around my bed. I was embarrassed. I was “grown up” and I didn’t want to need my mom or help, but I was covered in my own vomit and I couldn’t move at all because it hurt too much. She didn’t even think a thing of it. She didn’t just do her job, though, she held my hand with her other one, which made cleaning me up much more difficult. She stayed by the side of my bed and held that hand, releasing only once so I could remove my arm from my hospital gown. She let me cry about things I was too embarrassed to say before she held my hand–I told her that I had a catheter in and I had my menstrual period and I felt dirty. I told her I was so nauseous I didn’t know what to do. After she finished cleaning me up, she stayed by my bedside until my mother got back, holding that ugly pink tote while I continued to throw up all the red Jell-O I thought I needed after surgery. I know I threw up on her that day. I still remember her pretty pink scrubs and her name being Jennifer. I remember she was pregnant and there is no way the smell of my vomit didn’t bother her. But she stayed there while I threw up and she stayed there and let me cry–and she made me feel comfortable enough to tell her how mortified I was.

I should have seen that as the start of a lifetime full of nurses being the warriors on the battlefield that is my chronic illness. I don’t know that I often have a chance to acknowledge all of the work all of the nurses have done for me in all of my years seeking treatment. It was another ten years of seeing doctors after that first surgery before I got my EDS diagnosis and there were nurses at every doctor’s office and dozens of visits trying to understand what was happening, all of whom played a role in me finally figuring out my life and my body. They were just as much a key component of my diagnosis as any doctor, because I’m not sure without them I would have been strong enough to keep seeing doctors.

Too often, when things are just too bad and I need help, it is an amazing nurse who has to take my phone call. I have tremendous doctors, but that means they see a lot of patients. My nurses have taken many phone calls from me crying that I need help with something. Those same nurses have hunted down my very busy doctors to get prescriptions filled, appointments squeezed into calendars and referrals made for me–none of which would have happened without their loud, booming voices speaking for the patients they represent.

Part of what I’ve sought to do through my work in real life and in the words on this blog is to advocate and speak for the patients who face a lifetime of incurable, chronic illness; what I’m telling you right now is that nurses do this one hundred times better than I do every single day–and often while being vomited on, yelled at, and not getting enough sleep.

This morning, I had my first round of an infusion therapy we are experimenting with for my pain. It is administered entirely by nurses. The first nurse attempted to get the IV in twice. I have wonderful veins for IV placement, but my EDS skin makes it so challenging. After she didn’t get it the second time, I was crying and she apologized so quickly, wanting to find a second nurse. She asked me if I was in pain from the needle pokes. As I choked back the tears and told her it wasn’t her and it wasn’t the needle pokes, but just that I’m so scared and I’m so tired of trying everything and nothing working so this just felt like another failed attempt already, she got another nurse to do the IV, but only so she could hold my other hand while she did it and tell me it was going to be okay. She sat there next to me and let me know that she was going to be there every second I was there making sure I was okay. She is a highly trained medical professional and she still fetched me a soda for comfort, carried my purse because it’s hard on my crutches, and asked me questions about the work I do in the city I live in. She couldn’t cure what’s wrong with me, but she did distract me for moment. When she held my hand as the other nursed inserted the IV into my other arm, I flashed back to being 15 and covered in my own vomit as a nurse took twice as long cleaning me up with one arm so she could make sure I felt safe and secure while she did it.

The nurse today kept her word. Katie checked on me several times throughout the process. She brought me extra pillows and dimmed the lights when it made me tired. She took notes on my side effects and fetched the emergency nausea prescription I have to carry in my purse when the side effects got to be too much. She made sure to offer to slow down my drip when I was uncomfortable.

Katie was a wonderful nurse. I hope she gets the recognition she deserves–but what strikes me is that she isn’t even all that unique. I have encountered dozens, maybe hundreds, of nurses with this level of dedication to their patients. If doctors are the generals on our battlefields, they are our foot soldiers–and I will salute them every single time.

What do you want me to write about next? Thoughts?

I was 26 the first time someone explained to me what FOMO was. I assumed it was a curse word. It turns out, though, it was the “fear of missing out,” this concept that you always worry that any time you aren’t “doing something,” you are missing out on “doing THE thing.” For a person with chronic illness, and especially a young person with chronic illness, FOMO almost seems like an acronym that should make our list of diagnoses…

  • Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome
  • Chronic Pain Syndrome
  • Myofascial Pain Syndrome
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Mast Cell Activation Disorder
  • Fear of Missing Out

I have always been the person who wanted to do everything. I saw my life as an opportunity to achieve everything. I made a to-do list of accomplishments and started checking them off. When I was 25, my health started declining. I got my EDS diagnosis and things started making sense. I thought I would suddenly be better. These last two years, though, my body has paid the price for years of not understanding what was “wrong.” I’ve paid the ultimate price for years of running on knees and ankles that dislocated. I’ve paid for the pain my gym teachers told me was “normal” and to “quit whining.”

Now, I’m 27 and my body is in pain a lot of the time. I see doctors frequently looking for a solution. BUT, I haven’t learned that sometimes it’s necessary to rest. I’m not always good at saying no. I’m not always good at staying home when I want to be out doing something else. If I had a dollar for every time I pushed my body harder than made sense, I’d probably never have to worry about bills for the rest of my days.

Here are the ways I’ve tried to cope with those days when FOMO isn’t just a fear, but a reality:

  • I made friends who understood. I used the internet and found support groups. I reached out through EDS spaces and realized I’m not the only young person feeling this way. I attended the EDS conference in September. There, I made a friend who lives in New York. BUT, she still sends me a text after every time she has  a doctor’s appointment. I still message her to check in. When I’m crying on the couch because I want to be out doing something with friends, I message her and realize she understands completely and without judgments. I’m so thankful for the friends in my life who don’t deal with chronic illness, but these connections who get it, they are absolutely CRITICAL on these days.
  • Acknowledge the frustration but DO NOT live there. If you pretend it doesn’t bother you, that usually makes it worse. Admitting you’re hurting over the unfairness of it is okay, but then, move on.
  • Find something fun and safe to do at home. We enjoy board games and video games as a family as well as play time with our puppy. Individually, I love coloring and painting artwork on my fingernails. Just because you’re at home doesn’t mean you can’t have fun.

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  • Find ways to enjoy the safe time. I remember looking sadly at a trampoline park with friends. I desperately wanted to jump on those springs more than I wanted anything in the world. I realized quickly, though, that it would take two seconds for me to get hurt there with my friends. Instead, my friends and I find things to do that are completely safe for me. When they want to do things I can’t do, I cope with that reality by finding things I enjoy in that off-time. My fiance and I spend time together and then I can meet up with them for a meal later. You don’t have to miss everything just because you have to miss some things.
  • Don’t push yourself for the sake of others. This is just not worth it. If you want to talk about this, I’ve got about 457 stories to tell you. But, it’s pretty self-explanatory. Take care of yourself. It’s worth it. I promise.
  • Find a good mental health specialist. I can’t tell you enough the value of therapy. It doesn’t make you crazy. Any person who pretends they could deal with endless chronic pain and a condition with no cure like EDS without feeling like they need someone to talk, frankly, is full of it (and you know what it is). I have had so many wonderful therapists help me face my realities. They are absolutely invaluable when it comes to facing this reality. You don’t have to be alone in this.

The FOMO is real. When you have a condition like EDS, sometimes missing out is for your own good. How you face that reality is up to you. You just don’t have to do it alone.

Remember, we aren’t a substitute for your doctors or mental health specialists. ALWAYS talk to them if you are struggling, please.

There are fun, safe things to do at home–like nail art!

As a person who has chronic pain, this list was created with the help of members of the group Ehlers Danlos & Joint Hypermobility on Facebook because I thought it would be helpful to have an easy, one page resource to refer to when my mind was consumed by pain, making me unable to think straight. I even printed a copy for my family to refer to so that they could help me after surgery. Here is the pdf that I use at home.

The way that I think about pain relief is how Dr. Pocinki explained it at the EDS International Consortium in 2016:  He said that if you do one thing that takes away ten percent of your pain, that is good, and if you do five things that each relieve ten percent – now you’re at fifty percent pain relief! I have found this to be true and a helpful perspective to have. I believe it is important to try many different things at one time and to not rely on just one.

***Always check with your doctor. This list is not intended to replace medical advice and is solely a compilation of opinions about things that others have tried for themselves.***
  1. “Epsom salt bath (2 cups Epsom salt, 1 cup baking soda for 45 minutes). Since magnesium is best absorbed through the skin, this helps achy muscles. If you cannot take a bath, soaking your feet in a foot bath with Epsom Salt will also work.”
  2. “Heat and/or ice. One or the other, or alternating.”
  3. “I’m always distracting myself from my pain since I’m no longer taking pain meds.”
  4. Self-hypnosis – Find more information on Alicia Cramer’s Facebook Page. 
  5. “Compile a list of books you want to read. The social website Goodreads you can find your friends and family and find out what they like.” A different member adds “I keep a list of books I want to read on my phone, so when I go to the library, I can be in and out, always have a book to read!”
  6. “YouTube video for  Weil’s 4-7-8 Breathing exercise to help counteract the body’s fight or flight response.”
  7. Prayer
  8. H. says “benadryl can curb panic attacks and relax you (can also put you to sleep of course).
  9. “I also keep lavender spray near my bed, and a sleep Febreeze air thingy too.”
  10. “Nice smelling hand cream by my bed.”
  11. “My TENS unithas been a godsend sometimes for all types of pain. I only wish it weren’t dangerous to use on certain body parts (head / chest) otherwise I’d use it everywhere.”
  12. “Natural anti-inflammatories like Arnica — Arnica Montana.”
  13. “Biofeedback — hand warming has been amazing both for reducing stress and decreasing pain. Used to be that one could get a cheap indoor / outdoor thermometer and just use the outdoor probe in the fingers to track it. Sadly I haven’t been able to find one in the stores for several years, but they still sell biofeedback thermometers for this.”
  14. B.W. says “Ucla also has great (FREE) MP3 downloads of mindfulness tracks, they have a whole university program on it”
  15. “Tennis balls for myofascial back pain — a cheaper alternative for back knots for people who are single like me, or for those whose partners either suck at backrubs or work too much or for whatever reason aren’t able to help out. 2 tennis balls properly placed lying on a soft surface like a bed or very plush carpet can really do great for trigger points.” To get the back, put the tennis ball in a pillowcase and lean against a wall.
  16. “Taking magnesium can also be helpful, potassium — sometimes we drink a lot water, and don’t have the electrolytes or other things we need to absorb it. Making sure that we have more than just water in the system.” Another member adds, “Coconut water and Gatorade have electrolytes. Be careful with Coconut water if you have high potassium though.”
  17. “Breathing. Deep breathing can do a lot, and as we get stressed we tend to take shorter breaths and deplete our oxygen. Just 10 deep breaths can help counteract this.”
  18. “The word “nothing” repeated to clear my mind.”
  19. M. says “I’ve been listening to some subliminal message on YouTube about ‘healing’ and it helps me relax and eventually fall asleep. Now I don’t know if this will help me when I’m in the worst of my pain but it’s helped some. The messages are about believing your body is healthy, feeling good, etc. Here is another one.
  20. “Power posing! If you don’t do this already, just 2 minutes can change your cortisol (and testosterone) which can both change your stress and pain.”
  21. “Although easier said than done — not isolating. I always do this when my pain gets bad, and I know it makes things worse. It can be scary because people can lack understanding and can be rejecting when we most need empathy (or they can be condescending with sympathy, rather than empathy). I think that groups like this might be able to help, though, because there might be people who have been there. I think reaching out to someone, anyone, can be helpful.
  22. “Of course we all probably know that there is pain and there are times where it feels like (or there literally is) nothing that’s going to fix it or work enough. And that sucks. But I think hope – having hope is the most important thing.”
  23. “For me getting diagnosed with EDS was really important and having validation. So…hope. Music (for me), love, and letting ourselves live on those days when we feel well enough to do so.”
  24. “Making sure we don’t lose sight of those things that make us us.”
  25. “Remembering we are more than just a diagnosis.”
  26. R. says “What I find interesting is that when my pain tries to take me over from head to toe…oddly enough, my ph balance is off. Prylosac (sp) is good. Weird but works, or h202 therapy. Just a spray for under your tongue.”
  27. K. says “The nerves that perceive pain also feel tickles, joy, sadness. You can,only hold one emotion at a time. Choose JOY!”
  28. W. says, “Distraction. Find a movie that makes you laugh till it hurts or scares the heck out of you, you’ll forget about lots of the pain.”
  29. T. K. says: Watch Why Breathwork Matters by Andrew Weil.  Breathwork is a free and easy practice that can significantly benefit your health. Dr. Weil discusses..Vitamins! Vitamin C helps synthesize collagen, Vitamin D helps with body aches and depression especially in the winter, Magnesium and potassium help muscles aches and spasms.”
  30. B.T. says “permission to rest. One thing that sometimes helps me, often helps me, is to lie down and listen to myself breathe. Focusing on my breath as it goes in and out can redirect your thinking away from the pain. It does take a little practice, but it cannot hurt.”
  31. A. says “when I’m in pain I focus on the idea that pain isn’t the worst thing in the world. It’s a thing, and it’s distracting, but I’ve been through worse. This can lead me to overdo it, so be careful, but I suppose you would call it “meditating on the pain” and I believe that has been shown to be effective. It involves deep breathing, and that’s helpful as well. It also distracts me from blaming myself, which is very helpful. Eating right/ electrolytes and water are helpful but if I mess it up I’m very hard on myself, so that’s not a go-to when I’m already beat up.”
  32. T. K. says “app on my phone with binaural beats. Very relaxing. Anything that can help you focus on something other than ‘tactile’ sense can help relieve pain.”
  33. “I put on music of my pre-teens and teens yesterday… A time when I definitely felt better. It was energizing as it woke up that part of my brain when I was singing and dancing and having fun in my less painful years. I haven’t put my list together but you are all doing a great job with the variety of ideas.”
  34. Essential oils
  35. “I play multiple games of Words With Friends, and several other games to keep my brain busy and occupied.”
  36. “Drink hot tea and honey to relax.”
In case you missed it, here is the printable version.  

I am sure that there are many other things that can help relieve pain that did not make it on this list. Some of the more obvious ones were left off because those are things that I try to do on a daily basis anyways, such as consuming a nutrient rich diet, and getting adequate sleep and exercise.

Do you have something that you do for your pain that would be willing to share? Please post it in the comments section and we may add it to the list permanently.

Disclaimer: EDS Wisconsin, Inc. is not a health care provider and does not provide medical advice or treatment. Information provided by EDS Wisconsin is not a replacement for care from a doctor or other health care provider. Please talk with your health care provider about your personal diagnosis & treatment options. All information is for educational purposes only and is not a substitution for medical care or advice. 

I went in to see my doctor this week when he got me in at the last minute because of some major concerns he’s had about ongoing pain issues in my back, legs, and frankly, my backside. I have a wonderful pain management doctor and I’m so thankful to have the opportunity to work with him, but part of why I wanted to write here was to be able to share some of the raw truth I’ve otherwise written on my own social media posts in an effort to gain a wider audience for what I would consider my bold, unfiltered message of the side effects of this condition. This is the post I shared tonight on my own page. I hope it speaks to some of you. I hope it serves a greater purpose.

This week. What to even say about it?

I usually like to wrap up my doctor visits on social media because I’ve found that it’s helpful for both me and to aid other patients to understand what’s happening, but yesterday I didn’t. Why? Because I crossed the line from being sad about my situation into angry. When I crossed that line, I didn’t know how to tell you about it.

I spent my morning figuring out how to put on winged eyeliner hoping it would convince me not to cry in the exam room, but it didn’t work. Until you’ve had a doctor look at you and tell you he needs to “do some brainstorming,” you just don’t know what it’s like to go to the doctor hoping for an answer and feel just as helpless once you’re there. When he brought in a second specialist to start trying a new technique, I tried to be as open-minded as I could, but the last year and a half of getting worse finally was too much.

I choked out my tears and I told my doctor it was easier when I didn’t know what was wrong with me. I told him I wasn’t sad anymore; I was just angry about how unfair it all was to do everything right and follow all their stupid new rules and still end up in that room begging for help, asking for an answer. I told him I don’t want to do it anymore and I watched as that eyeliner turned into gray liquid and ran onto the plastic top of an exam table.

He’s a good doctor, a great one even. He told me what I needed to hear in that moment when I was completely and totally broken. But he can’t give me back the life I used to have—and that’s what I wanted yesterday, so I was, for lack of a better word, and as he said “scientifically speaking” pissed off.

So, here’s the truth. I try my best to be a role model of the chronically ill with severe chronic pain. I try to keep it together. But sometimes I get pissed off at my body and no matter how cute my outfit is and how great my makeup is, I would trade all of it for DNA that actually works.

But then I came back to town and I saw the people who build me up. I realized my mother-in-law drove all the way to Madison so I didn’t have to go alone. I talked to an old friend who doesn’t see me as any different than before all of this happened. And no matter how “pissed off” I get sometimes, I’m still going to be the girl with too many pictures on social media posting more words than you want to read.

Maybe someday they’ll cure EDS because I annoyed doctors so much they just wanted me to shut up.

Me, deciding to keep going even when that seems too hard. Notice the tattoo on my side. The EDS awareness ribbon surrounding the State of Wisconsin. I had them put a heart around my community–because the love around me is what keeps me going. Hopefully my words keep someone else going.

Together we are stronger!

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