This article was submitted by a reader Emily, and is in the running to win a prize.  Emily’s is the last submission… stop by Monday to vote for your favorite article.

Emily writes:  I’m working with a great team of doctors, but unfortunately, my body seems slow to respond to the preventative medications for migraine.  Consequently, I’m in pain all day, every day.  I’m sure those of you reading here understand exactly what that’s like.

But sometimes, there are times when - for whatever reasons - things get out of control.  Maybe the weather is changing.  Perhaps I did too much, or there was some cigarette smoke I didn’t avoid effectively.  Or, heaven forbid, it was some combination of factors.

In these situations I have pharmaceutical options.  But I can’t use them as often as I have pain flares.  And often the pain continues after I’ve taken the medicine.  So what’s the answer?  I need other strategies to work in conjunction with, or in place of pills.  Often, these feel like they are soothing my frayed nerves, and get me started on my way towards lower pain levels.

1. I remember that I’ve been here before, and it will be over soon.  I need to avoid making the situation seem even worse than it is.  If this is the worst headache of my life, I’d head straight for the ER, to be safe.  But otherwise, I’m going to be just fine – I’ve handled this before, and I can get through it again.

2. This leads perfectly into my second coping mechanism.  Deep breaths.  This not only helps to calm me, but will eventually slow down my heart rate – which only means good things for my migraine.  This stage often includes bio-feedback or a relaxation CD, which allows me to escape somewhat.

3. For me, the next step is a cold pack.  This is rather specific to a migraine, but for your disease or condition it might mean a heat pack or a hot bath – something that helps make you feel a bit better physically. For me, a cold pack on my forehead helps as much as some of my pain-killing medications!

4. Now, I need to take care of me.  I get the room quiet and dark and cool.  And I make sure it stays that way.  There are times, when your pain is at its worst, that you have to take care of you.  And in my experience, the longer you go on acting like you’re okay, the longer it will take to really recover.

5. Finally, if things are not much better by this point, I try to sleep it off.  Often that works, but sometimes it doesn’t.  But it is, in all honesty, how I deal with my worst symptoms.  With migraines, that works fairly well.  With a lot of other types of pain, maybe not.

Helen Keller said, “Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow.”  The time when it’s most difficult to keep a positive outlook is when the pain is the worst.  It helps me to remember that there is still so much out there for me – so much joy.  A life with pain can still be a happy life.

Emily also has a great website, The Sassy Lime.

Thanks, Emily, for some great ideas.  - How to Cope with Pain

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