By Barby Ingle, PNN Columnist

A bunch of people on social media have been asking what my best tips are for the pain community.

With my health being so poor, as I am going through Valley Fever on top of all the chronic illnesses I live with, my thoughts immediately turned to health.  So many friends have helped me over the past few months with prayers and positive thoughts, or sending food or someone to help clean the house. It is all so appreciated and has shown me that people really care how others in the community are doing.

Here are three tips I’ve learned:

1. Share your pain story

2. Control your outlook, stress and pain levels as best you can

3. Keep a journal

We all have something that we are dealing with on a daily basis and sharing our stories provides hope to others by letting them know they are not alone. It doesn’t matter if you are sick or healthy, rich or poor, we all have challenges to face in life.

I share my experiences to let others know there are other options and reasons for hope. There is always something else to try. I may not always have immediate access to it, but I can work on a plan to create access.

Learning and practicing self-care is also key. It could be remembering to take deep breaths or meditate to help lower cortisol and other stress hormones. This helps me with relaxing, sleeping and stress reduction. This past year was very stressful for me, so I was taking daily walks to reduce stress and increase endorphins, which help lower pain.

I don’t drink alcohol or smoke, but drank two sodas a day for most of my life. I am currently abstaining from soda -- partially because of my last hospital visit and partially because I have no other vice in my life and wanted to see how long I can go without soda.

My husband has to have his coffee every day or he is cranky — and I was wondering if cutting out soda would do something positive for me. Sadly, it has not. But when I have encountered two stressful situations recently, I wanted that soda. My mind knew that it would soothe me, like a beer would for someone else. Soda is something that would help me feel better, but now I know I can live without it.  Just knowing that is a mental comfort.

Find your comforts, and if they are not already healthy ones, consider changing them to see if you can be soothed by something else that will be better for you in the long run. 

My final tip for patients is to track your pain level, medications, intake and activities every day in a journal for at least 120 days. This helps you and your providers see patterns, and you can adjust your treatment plans and goals more appropriately. Keeping a journal not only helps me see patterns, but it helps me communicate more effectively with my providers about my needs.

No matter where you are in your health journey, remember that you deserve access to proper and timely pain care and that you can find a way to get the care you need. It will take time and effort, but it is also possible.

Barby Ingle lives with reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD), migralepsy and endometriosis. Barby is a chronic pain educator, patient advocate, and president of the International Pain Foundation. She is also a motivational speaker and best-selling author on pain topics. More information about Barby can be found at her website.