Flare Up Plan

[lotsofgirls]

I have a formal flare up plan that documents all of the steps I take when I flare up begins, and it is printed and in a document cover. Often when the flare starts I forget some of the strategies that can help so it is useful in reminding me i.e. roll tennis ball over pelvic muscles that are tightening. If I end up at the ER I take it with me so that the docs/nurses can see what I have tried already, and it really helps to build good communication/respect between the medical staff and myself and my husband. We have found that there is alot more openess to treating my pain when I have the flare up plan with me. This is an outcome of my time at the Chronic Pain Center, where it is developed in conjunction with my specialist and therapists.

another good outcome is that my family can look at it and make concrete suggestions that might help, and they feel they can contribute instead of standing there watching and feeling helpless.

Cath

[Babs RN]

Cath,
That is a wonderful idea...is there a template for it? It definitely would help with the chuckleheads in the ER here.

Hugs,
Barb

[Sarojini]

It is a good idea... anyone with chronic pain or a chronic disease of any kind should have something like this. There are some great tips for building one in "Fibromyalgia and Chronic Myofascial Pain: A Survival Manual" by Devin Starlanyl. Chapter 16 is called "Wellness Recovery Action Planning" and is all about making a plan such as Cath's. It includes a section you should prepare for family and friends to read in the event you need them to take you to the ER and you are unable to communicate clearly.

You can probably get the book at your local library, or you could read that chapter and take notes at your local Barnes & Noble or something, so you would not need to purchase the book :)

[Miki]

"strategies that can help so it is useful in reminding me i.e. roll tennis ball over pelvic muscles that are tightening. If I end up at the ER I take it with me so that the docs/nurses can see what I have tried already, and it really helps to build good communication/respect between the medical staff and myself and my husband." From Lots of Girls.

What and how do you use this ball? I have not heard of this before.
I did some stuff with a large pilates type ball in my pain clinic, but it didn't do anything. What are you doing.

The idea of writing down stragaies is a good idea. I just finished having a flare of my Menieres disease, and I looked up in my journal from 1988 a list of events that happen, and how to deal with it. It helped so much.
I haven't done the IC one yet, since I usually can control the problem with a couple of doses of my break thru meds.
But this new flare, I can not stop. It is going on too long, and I am so darn fed up.
Esp. since I have been in bed since Sept 6, first with the menieres, then some sort of virus that made me weak and tired. The doctor said it would be over in 7 days. That came around and I got a major case of laryigistis.
(sorry there is no spell checker is there?).
Finally, get over that, start going up and boom, the hammer hits, and I get this mega flare.

I hope your treatments work for you. I have never gone to the ER for my pain, since I belong to a pain clinic, and they control all my meds.

Miki
in bed in pain. :yikes: