PAIN AND COLD AND ARTHRITIS.

It's gone colder and I hurt, some people say it hurts more in colder weather when you have arthritis, some people say damp weather makes the pain kick in, but to be quite frank I can't say I have found my pain getting any better when the warmer weather arrives, I just feel pain all the time, no matter what the weather is doing outside. My pain increases when I overdo things, when I attempt to walk even short distances, when I sit for too long without changing position, particularly if the seat is not comfortable for me in the first place! I find the key is to pace myself, though it can be hard to recognise when you reach that point of having done too much, you often don't realise it until you have gone just a little bit further than you should and then it kicks in, ouch I must stop, but now I can barely move to get myself to a place where I can rest and be slightly comfortable. If a job needs doing, it's difficult at times to stop in the middle and think, I must rest, I must just sit down for a while. If you don't you know very well you will pay for it, but it's hard to just drop everything and stop what you are doing, and often very frustrating! I have been known to overdo it, not pace myself correctly, and not particularly pay for it the same day but the following day I can barely move and my energy has deserted me. Maybe it's adrenaline keeps us going at times we need to keep going, then when the body knows it can relax it gives up and won't let you do anything until it recovers slightly. I'm not talking anything in particular here, it might be the family round to visit and you make cups of tea for everyone, not even a meal together, and it will prove too much. It depends what you are capable of in the first place. To some people even just making a sandwich or a cup of tea is a big deal and requires more energy and physical ability than they have. One person's pacing can be very different to another's, same as one person's physical capabilities can be vastly different to another's. One problem with ehlers danlos hypermobility syndrome is that it is invisible, and even though a person may look fine to other people, that person may be in great pain. Your knee can just give way without warning, your hip can slip, and I can tell you that really hurts, your ankle just goes from under you causing a stumble, your back can lock, your jaw can get stuck if you open your mouth too wide to yawn! All kinds of weird and wonderful things can happen if you are hypermobile, it might be a good party piece when you are younger to be able to do the splits, but the consequences can be awful when you are older and your hips cause so much pain. It can be very difficult when your hip slips when you are walking along, this used to happen to me frequently when I was at school, I could do nothing to prevent it, I would just fall to the floor, the pain is excruciating. When your ankle gives way beneath you when descending steps or stairs and you fall from top to bottom the effects can be devastating, you can knock yourself out, break a bone, or even fatalities have occurred in people who have fallen downstairs, I hang on for dear life these days if I can't avoid steps or stairs! Loose over worked and over used joints can lead to arthritis as you can imagine, after all if something gets pushed and pulled around more than normal, it will eventually give way, or even break, so you can see why arthritis kicks in, and in a person with hypermobile joints it can start much younger than other people, I started with arthritis in my thirties, now two years off 60 my walking ability is severely restricted, I can just about potter around in the house, to get from lounge to bathroom, or into the kitchen for a drink, but I use a mobility scooter, or as they are sometimes referred to as a self propelled motorised wheelchair to get out and about, an aid I did not want to resort to but the pain was so all consuming before I gave in and started using it, my life was so severely restricted I was stopping in the house much more than was good for me, and I needed my independence. I still have pain, every day, but at least I can now cope a little better with my pain levels than I could before.