Yup, the pain is back. I remember how it felt before and it feels like that now. The degree of it changes depending on what I am doing. My oncologist always asks me the level of it from 1 to 10 and in my mind I use the scale below to judge where I’m at at any given time. I’ve been living with it at a steady 3 with an increase to 4 for months but the other day it jumped to a 7. It’s back down to MY manageable 4 unless I need to get something physical done then it’ll jump back up to a 6 or a 7. The tricky part is being able to judge when the pain will stay at an increased state or will it just spike and decrease almost immediately.

Stuff that needs to get done like laundry and vacuuming are most likely going to be put off. Maybe the pain is still decreasing and if I do next to nothing for a day or two it’ll go away again. Until I learn to manage the degrees, I’ll be doing as little as possible.

Things I can do with minimal pain

• sit
• stand
• wash dishes
• walk slowly without carrying anything heavier than a can of pop 🙂

Things that cause pain and will most likely be put off until another day depending on their importance and the degree of pain I think I can deal with without having to reply on pain pills.

• walking while carrying something big and/or heavy like a laundry basket
• bending over or reaching up
  • to pick up something I dropped on the floor
  • getting dressed
  • getting to or from a sitting position
  • reaching for something on higher shelf
  • all things cat related (feeding, petting him if he isn’t beside me, litter box)

And I have to go easy on myself. My brain tells me I should be able to do it all but when I do, I hurt myself. I have to gently remind myself that I have terminal cancer that isn’t going to go away, not a broken bone that will heal in a week or two. It’s all such a mind f*ck.