I have been suffering with chronic pain for the past fourteen years. For a majority of that time, I have been drugged up on strong painkillers, ranging from opiates to analgesics that ended up messing my body up. The problem was, tethered was always a side effect to having medical pain relief. It started to make me feel quite drugged and it got to a point last year, where I just wanted to be putting less medication into my body so my head was clearer.
After I started to come down on pain relief, I found out I was pregnant with our first child. I panicked because I was still on a lot of strong medication that I knew would be harmful. Over the next few weeks, I tested my body to the extreme by weaning myself off the vast majority of pain relief I was on.
Yet I was still suffering with chronic pain and my consultant was very aware that the more discomfort that I was in, the more unsettled the baby would be too. It was a fine balance. My husband happened to be in the chemist where he came across some deep freeze patches that were suitable in pregnancy and were not medicated. I had to give them a try!
The patch stuck to the skin well and had an instant cooling effect on the painful area. It didn’t take the pain away but it did soothe, which was amazing. I have very sensitive skin and I found the patches were great for my back, where the baby was pushing against my back.
There is also a roll on gel, which was good too. I would say that the patch was more effective but the gel did give some relief. It dries quickly and does not stick to your clothes. The rub in gel in a tube was the least effective but it cooled down the area all the same.
I got sent a box of Deep Freeze products towards the end of my pregnancy, (as I ended up having her 5 weeks early) but I have been using them post pregnancy to help with my chronic pain and the new aches from holding our baby up. I am trying to breastfeed so don’t want to take any medication other than what has been recommended by consultant obstetrician. This just means that I have got to stick to using deep freeze as often as is needed. It was a godsend in the incredibly hot weather that we had.
It doesn’t completely take the pain away but to be honest I wasn’t really expecting it to because I have been a sufferer if pain for so long that nothing could take away. However, a bit of relief will always be welcome!
Dear Jay,
first of all, congratulations on having a baby girl!!!!
It was a big surprise, it is incredible, I am so glad you could make this dream of yours come true 🙂 You’re going to be a great mommy, full of love.
It took a lot of bravery. You had to fight with the system AND your body, you are a lioness. I think your experiences with pregnancy and motherhood, and your “hacks” (like freeze pads for pain) could be the most useful for people in similar condition (and also for medical workers)…so by all means, catch them in your blog.
I wish you and your baby the very best!
M.