What has helped you manage chronic pain day to day?

[WajeehaKamran2]

I have been dealing with chronic pain for quite a while now, and I am finding that it affects so much more than just the physical side of things. Some days I can manage reasonably well, while on others even simple tasks feel exhausting.
I have tried a few different approaches, but I am interested to hear what has genuinely made a difference for other people. Whether it is pacing yourself, physiotherapy, gentle exercise, medication, or something else entirely, I would love to hear your experiences.
I know everyone is different, but it would be reassuring to hear what has helped others cope day to day.

I know you posted this a while ago so hopefully bumping but have you considered this could be CFS?

Do you experience any post exertional malaise, this is intense fatigue, often muscle and joint pain, brain fog, dysautonomia, unrefreshing sleep and it occurs due to the cumulative energy expenditure of normal daily activity as well as exacerbated by out of routine energy expenditure too, with a 12-48 hour delay although sometimes can come on sooner.

It can leave you feeling flu like without the flu.

For me, the only thing that helps is pacing. Physiotherapy has to be really tailored. It hasn't helped much as I also have hypermobile spectrum disorder and dyspraxia so things like sitting and standing cause me pain and cost me energy I don't have.

Compression garments are a must. Well fitting compression socks, a back brace or corset and gloves make a huge difference to reducing my pain.

CFS is a diagnosis of exclusion, but I found it really easy to get those other possibilities excluded as part of the CFS pathway. My take was if it was something else that had a treatment plan, buzzing, if not, at least I had answers.