My new best friend

So remember how I told you I have been attending health classes at the Arthritis Centre here in Victoria? Well...I have. They're every Wednesday and cover a whole bunch of topics and taught by a collection of nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, and social workers.  I am a good 40 years younger than everyone else at the course, but so far it has been very positive and informative! It is so nice to be around peers (er...sort of peers?) that have dealt with similar health problems and makes me (once again) appreciate how awesome it is to live in Canada with our public health care system! Hooray!

Last week we learned about pain management and got to chat about all the different ways to cope with chronic pain.  I have been on and off a whole slew of different medications to help with my rheumatoid/lupus pain over the last four years with not a whole lot of luck.  Most rheumatic drugs have awful side effects and I've come to the point in my treatment where the side effects outweigh the benefits and the medications I am on work mediocrely and don't turn me into a zombie.  I think this may have been my favourite class yet and I came home with a whole handout of techniques to try to help deal with pain! How fun! I was also introduced to my new best friend in pain management - capsaicin cream:

My goodness this stuff is a dream! I read a whole bunch of scientific articles about to learn more about its high claims on helping with muscle, joint, and nerve pain and it is pretty legit.  Who would have thought that one little spicy pepper molecule would be so wonderful?  It has already worked wonders on my knees, wrists, and fingers and has even decreased my fibromyalgia "feels like my thighs and upper arms are permanently sore and bruised" pain! Apparently it only gets better with time too - but it does involve a whole lot of careful hand washing because that stuff is potent. Oh, and don't worry Lindsay, you haven't been replaced by a $22 bottle of cream...I'm just a tad over excited...