Psoriatic Arthritis Perspective: Chronic Life Advice for My Children

I wish I didn’t have to share this advice with you, but like me, you have been cursed with chronic pain.

My chronic pain advice for you, children.

Although we don’t all have the same chronic illnesses, let my years of living with psoriatic arthritis, psoriasis, fibromyalgia, and endometriosis be a lesson in how to live a great life despite your chronic pain.

Good advice starts with a healthy diet

Although I would have never admitted at the time I was comforting myself with junk food on a regular basis, a healthy diet is extremely important when living with a chronic illness.

Pay attention to how you feel after eating and cut out or reduce foods that increase your pain or inflammation levels. There will be times when you will want to comfort yourself with food. Just don’t let it become a lifestyle.

Advice for managing pain

Understand that no two days of your life will ever be the same. Your pain level and abilities will vary from day to day. Don’t give up when your body allows you to go for a one-mile walk without a mobility aid one week, but not the next.

Shorten your distance or embrace the use of a mobility aid. Don’t get stuck thinking that everything has to be done the way you have always done it. Try new methods before giving up.

Move your body every day

Don’t think of exercise as something you only do to lose weight. Think of it as daily maintenance for your body. Not all, but some of my pain could have been avoided had I forced myself to move my body every day. I am not saying that I should have or even would have been capable of walking 5 miles a day, but that every day should have included some form of exercise.

Inactivity has been one of my body’s worst enemies. Do what you can, when you can. A 5-minute walk up and down the driveway or throughout the house is better than lying on the couch all day. Twenty minutes of stretching in bed are better than doing nothing at all.

Accepting treatment advice

Be open-minded about treatment. Don’t dismiss a treatment or pain management plan just because it isn’t considered the norm. Not one person, even those of us with the same autoimmune diseases will have the exact same symptoms or experiences. What helps someone else may not help you.

Not all treatments come from your doctor’s prescription pad, be open to natural and alternative options that are available. My biggest regret is the time I spent resisting the treatment plan that ended up being my saving grace.

Research, children, research

Question and research every treatment, test, and medication, including natural and alternative. Even after agreeing to medication, be sure to research it thoroughly. You kids take after me with uncommon allergies or reactions to things that don’t bother the majority of people.

You’ve witnessed the minor and severe reactions that could have been avoided if my doctor had taken the time to research the ingredients of what he had prescribed. Unfortunately, most doctors either don’t have or won’t take the time to research medication to the extent that we need it.

Don't let chronic pain define you

You may have a chronic illness, but that is not who you are. Your disease is something you have. You are who you choose to be.

With that said, I hope you choose to love your life and to live it to the fullest no matter what your illness throws at you.