The News You Were Waiting For

My ankles don't hurt.

You were just desperately holding out, waiting for that news, weren't you? It's made your whole day just to know about it.

Well, it really has made my day.

Far too much of my life is influenced by fatigue and pain.  If I have an improvement in one or the other, it's worth celebrating.

Since my "new" now "ex" rheumatologist reduced my medications, I've had a lot of bad pain and fatigue days.  (I haven't got my appointment with my original rheumatologist yet.  Yes, I will do something about it soon.)

I've been looking for other ways to help control pain.  I have used tens machines for a while now.  I have one large one that plugs into the wall, and a smaller (less powerful) battery operated one I can use while I'm out.

I recently bought a heated massager that goes on the couch (I couldn't afford the actual massage chair.)  That helps a little - it's certainly a little better than just a hot water bottle.

Today, I tried my new foot spa for the first time.  Why soaking my feet in bubbly water for an hour makes a difference, I don't know.  What I do know is that my ankles stopped hurting, and were pain-free for the next two hours after the foot spa.

As I write, the pain is coming back, but that's OK.  I got two good hours of being able to play fetch with the dog, and do some washing and dishes, without the standing making my ankles scream in agony.

Two hours pain-free (well in that joint), with only an hour of preparation to make it happen?  I'll accept that as a good deal.

Now, I need to work out how to get my bad shoulder into the foot spa.



Do you have favourite methods for temporary pain relief?  Tell me about it in the comments.