Am I getting better or just used to the pain?

Don't worry, this has a good ending!

I remember, about twenty years ago, noticing that my Mum spent a lot of time rubbing her hands together, massaging them, in a way. I asked her why she was doing it and she answered that her arthritis was playing up. It got to me, way down in the pit of my stomach, every time I thought of Mum being in constant pain. It made me mad that I couldn't do anything about it and sad that she had to deal with it.

Here I am, decades later, and pain is my constant companion.

I wrote about it here, in one of my first posts. My leg bothers me less than it used to, but other pains have joined the queue for attention.

Lately, my left little finger has a knuckle that is swollen with arthritis and doesn't want to bend.

Hip pain comes and goes, depending on how hard I've been pushing my workouts.

But the worst is my right wrist, the site of an old broken bone, that throbs from overuse most of the time. I wear a small brace that looks ugly but helps me get through the days when I have to do lots of driving and guitar playing. I am resigned to babying it for the rest of my life and try not to complain about it too much.

Then, last week, Jeff hurt his back at work. While I was at Costco, I picked up some Thermacare wraps and a box of Salonpas patches. The combination of the two worked miracles with his pain. 

And then it came to me! 

I stuck a patch to the back of my wrist one morning.

It tingled a bit and smelled pleasantly of eucalyptus.

And within minutes the pain was gone.

I thought to myself, Self, you need to tell your friends about this.

So here I am.

A box of 120 patches cost around $10, maybe less, from Costco. 

The patches contain menthol, a natural mint analgesic that provides a cooling sensation, methyl salicylate, another plant-based analgesic, and camphor, which is found in the wood of a large evergreen tree. While all of these substances are natural, they should not be overused. 

Jeff used the patches for several days in a row and started to develop some contact dermatitis in the area, which is a common side effect. 

But me, I'm in heaven. I don't need to use them all the time, but when I need some sweet relief, I go for my little dime patch and breathe more easily.

And you. 

You can thank me later. 

And Salonpas, you should send me some free patches.

Ode to Salonpas, nod to Carly Simon.

'Cause I haven't got time for the pain,

I haven't got room for the pain,

I haven't the need for the pain,

Not since I've know you.