Tag: pain

Track Your Pain Using This Daily Pain Diary

Posted on by Alexandra V.

Pain can be simply defined as a sensation, clearly unpleasant, which appears as a result of medical problems (illness, injury, etc.). It is the number one reason for which people go to the doctor, influencing the quality of life and the ability to engage in daily activities.

Chronic conditions, such as cancer, arthritis or gout, can cause the pain to extend over a long period of time or even indefinitely. A chronic pain diary can be quite useful in keeping track of one’s manifestations, reporting the gathered information to the treating physician.

CareClinic pain diary, a tool for tracking your pain from day to day

The online pain diary of CareClinic can help those who suffer from pain, whether acute or chronic. It is completely customizable and you will no doubt come to call it my pain diary. You can rely on it to keep track of your pain history and other associated manifestations, adding all the information that might suit your needs.

Pain is a common complaint in those diagnosed with fibromyalgia, disc hernias, gastrointestinal disorders and rheumatologic conditions. It can also appear as a somatic manifestation in those who suffer from anxiety or depression. It can be difficult to manage to chronic pain, especially since you have to try different treatments and see which works best. Moreover, you have to remember and go to a multitude of appointments.

With the help of the CareClinic pain management diary, you will be able to handle everything related to your condition. You can create new posts as often as you like, specifying the symptoms you are suffering from at that moment. The entries are gathered into a pain history, giving you and your treating physician a sense of your overall status.

Based on the posts you have created, a regular report will be created. This will offer a quantitative and qualitative analysis of your pain history, with graphs showing both trends and correlations. The interesting thing is that you will be able to see factors which can influence your pain intensity/frequency, such as weather changes.

Is the pain app something I cannot do without?

CareClinic is available as a smartphone application or, if you want, you can use the web interface and access your profile just as easily. Whether you prefer to go on your computer or rely on the pain app, you will find that this is quite a valuable tool.

It allows you to keep track of your pain history and get better insight into effective management of your condition. In addition, you will the reports generated every other month can be shared with your doctor; the physician will certainly find this information useful, especially if finding a suitable treatment is particularly challenging.

The doctor will appreciate you for keeping a detailed record of how you are feeling. Moreover, in some situations, the pain log might be useful in figuring out the underlying condition behind chronic pain. The pain history can guide the treatment plan in the right direction.

The pain diary can help you uncover triggering factors, which might make the pain episodes worse or more frequent. Reviewing your records, you will be able to identify important changes regarding your chronic condition and also see if the medication you are taking has caused side-effects. Furthermore, thanks to the journal entries, you will be able to pinpoint emotional and/or psychological symptoms.

A Pain Journal Lets You Feel in Control

With the help of the CareClinic’s journal feature, you will regain a sense of control over your condition and your life in general. The pain diary is excellent for figuring out patterns and identifying pain flare-ups. You can use it to create a self-care plan and enter information about weather changes, current diet and level of physical activity.

As you will notice a regular pattern, you will find it easier to avoid triggers and various activities that might lead to pain. Not surprisingly, the application will also show to you the things that are beneficial, so that you can include them more often in your daily routine.

You will get a better understanding of what works, opting for therapies that are more effective when it comes to pain relief.

From another perspective, it should be mentioned that the pain diary will improve communication with your treating physician. It will help both of you find answers to questions about your manifestations. What is more, you will finally be able to take an active role in the actual pain management.

What kind of information should you add in the pain diary?

First of all, you are recommended to create as many entries as you want, as frequent entries will only offer a clearer perspective over your medical history. Many people prefer to stick to a regular schedule and enter their symptoms three times a day, for example, in the morning, at noon and at night.

You can mention the location of the pain, how intense it was (rating scale is available), how often it appeared and how long it lasted. For each pain episode, you can mention whether it influenced daily activities; you can specify if you had difficulties sleeping or were unable to eat, work, etc. The diary can include information about current treatments and therapies, as well as any other kind of details you believe to be useful.

In making notes about pain episodes, you should not hesitate to be as descriptive as you can. You can describe the pain as “throbbing”, “burning”, “shooting”, “stabbing” or “pounding”. Also, try to notice if the pain has the tendency to move around and if there are other manifestations present. Enter all of these details into the CareClinic pain diary and save them for future use.

Simplified self-care with CareClinic

Living with a chronic condition is more difficult than anyone can imagine. You have to change your lifestyle completely, to become used to medical appointments and invasive procedures. Taking medication is a part of daily life and you might be forced to follow a specific diet, be less active or stop working. Self care is the only thing that can improve the overall quality of life.

CareClinic allows you to create a complex self-care plan, with the documentation of the pain episodes being just a part of it. You can rely on this tool to be reminded of doctor appointments, to take your medication and to establish goals regarding both nutrition and physical exercise. All of these features come together to help you cope with your condition and feel better overall.

The pain diary offers valuable insight into your pain history, including when it comes to potential triggers and associated symptoms. You can use it to enter details about your mood, as well as depression and/or anxiety manifestations. The entries regarding your current state can be saved within the application.

They will later appear in the Logs & Reports section so that you can access them whenever you need to. Moreover, all of the other health metrics you have entered are automatically saved (blood pressure, weight, etc.). You can even add details on your caregivers and save the information for future reference. Caregiver alerts can be established for missed doses or to share your progress reports.

Journal notes about how you are feeling

Apart from the objective recording of your symptoms, you can rely on the CareClinic journal to provide a more detailed description of your feelings (emotional perspective). For example, you can mention that, aside from your pain, you are feeling depressed, anxious or fatigued, providing information on what led to those feelings.

Using these journal notes, you can see if the emotional symptoms are triggered by the pain or if it is the other way around. Further, based on these journal entries, the doctor can recommend a mental health specialist; he/she will help you discover the best coping strategies for dealing with the emotional manifestations associated with the chronic pain.

Chronic pain affects millions of people worldwide

Each year, millions of people are diagnosed with chronic conditions, with pain being the most common manifestation. It has been estimated that there are over 1.5 billion people worldwide who suffer from chronic pain. The types of chronic pain diagnosed most often include: low back pain, headaches/migraines, neck pain and facial pain.

Chronic pain remains the number one cause of disability in the world (long-term basis). Women present a higher risk of developing such manifestations, especially when it comes to headaches and/or migraines. As a result of chronic pain, people report feeling depressed, anxious and fatigued. Many more feel like they have little or no control over their pain, with insomnia becoming a common manifestation.

In dealing with chronic pain, people seek out the help of specialist physicians, chiropractors and physical therapists. They might also become dependent on pain-relieving medication, taking a break from work and requiring help for daily living activities.

Proper management and keeping a pain diary can be useful in feeling more in control about living with a chronic condition, one that can lead to persistent pain episodes.

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How To Benefit From Using a Fibromyalgia Symptom Tracker

Posted on by Alexandra V.

Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition, which is characterized by widespread pain, as well as a state of general malaise. Those who are diagnosed with this condition might experience constant fatigue, sleep disturbances and mood swings. The exact cause behind fibromyalgia has yet to be found and the condition can be difficult to treat (it is rather kept under control).

Technology helps with the management of fibromyalgia

The CareClinic app can be used as a fibromyalgia symptom tracker in order to keep track of the experienced manifestations. It is a known fact that the symptoms of fibromyalgia can come and go, which makes it difficult for someone to recall when these were more severe, how frequent they were and if the medication was beneficial or not.

As you will be able to use CareClinic to register your manifestations, you will no longer feel so frustrated with regard to your condition. Moreover, you will be able to form a better perspective on your health status and discover useful coping strategies. You will feel in control, acknowledging the fact that it is possible to live a life without pain.

Thanks to technology and the existence of symptom-tracking tools, you can track chronic manifestations and manage your fibromyalgia in a highly effective manner. You can even upload photos and save them in the application for further use. Moreover, you can share your health history with your doctor, using the information for changing treatments or finding new, more efficient medication.

What are the features of the fibromyalgia symptom tracker app?

The fibromyalgia symptom tracker app has a number of interesting features to offer. For example, it allows one to dissect the different parameters associated with chronic pain (major manifestation of fibromyalgia). Thanks to the chronic pain tracking, one can observe a pattern regarding the intensity, frequency and location of the pain (pain metrics).

The user-friendly app can also be used to track flare-ups and identify behavioral patterns. Moreover, as you will log in these flare-ups into the application, you will find it easier to identify potential triggers (and learn how to avoid them in the first place). By learning how to go around certain situations, you will no longer aggravate your condition and, thus, improve your quality of life.

Apart from tracking your symptoms, you can keep a diary of your condition, entering additional information: mental state, health measurements (blood pressure, weight, etc.), weather influences, other symptoms, treatments and so on. Fibromyalgia is a complex condition and it is great to have such a tool, which will allow you to understand your pain history and determine whether a particular treatment works or not.

The interesting thing about the CareClinic application is that it allows you to enter as much information as you want. You can enter your medical history, make notes about environmental factors – trauma, infection, stress – that can lead to flare-ups and list your treatment solutions.

The more information you enter, the easier it will be to form an idea about your current status. You will be able to monitor behaviors, associated triggers and come up with the best strategies to make your symptoms less severe or, at least, rarer.

By sharing the accumulated information with the doctor, you will allow this specialist to provide an accurate diagnosis and effective treatment solutions.

The CareClinic health diary, a chronological recording of your condition

Fibromyalgia is a condition which is primarily characterized by chronic pain. But you should never imagine pain just appears out of the blue, without any additional manifestations. There are numerous things that can influence the severity and frequency of this pain, including weather changes, stress, and even daily activities.

Thanks to the CareClinic health diary, you can keep track of all the things that impact your pain. You can use the application entries to get a better understanding of what makes the pain worse, avoiding potential triggers. You will also learn how your body reacts to certain treatments and find more effective solutions for pain management. Basically, you will have a simple way to track your progress.

You can rely on the health diary to record additional medical problems, which might influence your fibromyalgia. For example, there are many people who suffer from depression and anxiety, presenting this condition as well.

Those who have been diagnosed with IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) and CFS (chronic fatigue syndrome) might present fibromyalgia as well. The diary can help you keep track of pain episodes and how intense these were, guiding the pain-relieving medication in the right direction.

CareClinic medical reminders, excellent tools against forgetfulness

Upon being diagnosed with fibromyalgia, you might begin to experience cognitive impairment and memory loss. Forgetfulness is one of the major complaints in those suffering from this chronic condition, as it prevents them from functioning normally and handling everyday activities.

The CareClinic application is not only useful for keeping track of one’s symptoms but to also to receive medical reminders. You can add medical appointments to the health calendar and receive corresponding reminders. Moreover, as fibromyalgia is a chronic illness which can be kept under control with medication, you can use these reminders to follow your treatment to the letter.

Many of those diagnosed with fibromyalgia find it difficult to remember about their medication, often skipping doses or even the treatment in its entirety.

CareClinic may be used to overcome such challenges, the app provides reminders to take various medications at specific times. One can also add the required quantity, so as to ensure that the required dose is taken.

Additional benefits to consider

A chronic condition such as fibromyalgia requires a healthy and nutritious diet. If you are already struggling with pain, memory loss and other discomforting symptoms, your diet might be the last thing to worry about. Thanks to CareClinic, you can record information about your diet and ensure that you are only eating healthy meals.

You can trust the symptom tracker to keep track of your mood, as fibromyalgia is often associated with depression, anxiety and mood swings. Once again, you can resort to the health diary to record how you are feeling and use the monthly report to identify a mood pattern.

Of course, you can also make detailed notes about how you are feeling, which will also serve to the emotional release (necessary for someone suffering from a chronic disorder).

Effective fibromyalgia management with the personalized symptom tracker

Once you have logged onto CareClinic, you can create a new post about your condition and register specific symptoms in that post. You can mention when the symptoms – for example, fatigue or forgetfulness – have occurred and rate how intense they were. You can always add new symptoms to that post or create another one, depending on the moment of the day or manifestations (flare-ups).

The fact that you can personalize your CareClinic profile is one of the biggest advantages to consider, contributing to the effective management of your condition. You can record your symptoms as they happened and use these posts as your personal health records. These symptoms can be then connected to specific care plans or analyzed in concordance with additional medical problems, allowing for an efficient way to keep track of your medical requirements.

CareClinic Symptom Reports, providing an overview of your Chronic Illness

When a condition is described as chronic, it means that it will be present for an extended period of time or, in certain cases, throughout the entire life. The diagnosis of fibromyalgia can mean that, at some point, you might experience muscle spasms, weakness in your limbs and nerve pain. In other periods, your symptoms might include palpitations, headaches and cognitive dysfunction.

As there are so many different symptoms falling under fibromyalgia, coming and going without any warning, it can be difficult, if not impossible to keep track of them and get a general perspective on your condition. Using the CareClinic symptom tracker, you will be able to identify all of your symptoms and how they are spread over time. More importantly, thanks to the symptom reports, you will be given a clear overview of your health status.

Based on the entries regarding your symptoms, treatments and other information, you will receive health reports regarding your condition. The symptom report is particularly useful, as it can be created for every manifestation in particular. You can then notice, for example, when you felt fatigued the most and what the potential triggers behind this symptom were.

Fibromyalgia is a condition that can be kept under control

Despite extensive research, there is no specific treatment for fibromyalgia at the moment. The condition can be managed by addressing the symptoms, with medication, cognitive behavioral therapy, and nutritional supplements being among the current options.

Those who suffer from depression associated with fibromyalgia can benefit from taking antidepressants, as well as anti-seizure medication for pain relief.

Cognitive behavioral therapy can lead to an improvement in the manifestations of fibromyalgia, as well as physical therapy which can bring relief from physical symptoms. The condition is not life-threatening but it can have a negative influence on the overall quality of life if not properly managed.

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Why You Need to Use a Chronic Pain Management App

Posted on by Alexandra V.

Chronic pain can be defined as the type of pain extending over a long period of time, generally over 12 weeks. It can be caused by acute trauma or appear as a result of nerve damage, persisting for months or even years.

This type of pain can have numerous underlying causes, being difficult to treat and having a negative impact on the overall quality of life.

CareClinic pain diary, a useful resource for managing chronic pain

The CareClinic’s app can be used as a chronic pain tracker app, is one of the most useful resources available for those suffering from conditions associated with this kind of pain. The application allows one to keep track of the pain history and communicate this kind of information to the treating physician.

In a lot of cases, chronic pain cannot actually be treated but rather kept under control. The application developed by CareClinic will allow you to create a self-care action plan, where you will have all of your medical information gathered under one roof: medication, diet, physical activities, and therapies. You can review all of that information with your doctor and make the necessary adjustments/changes to your treatment plan.

Imagine a typical visit to your doctor. You will have probably a limited amount of time to describe your symptoms in the last few weeks. The doctor will want to know how bad the pain was, where it was localized and how it actually felt. He/she might also inquire about the effects of medication.

Given the fact that you won’t have too much time to recall all those details, you might concentrate on the symptoms you are experiencing at that moment. They will not offer an accurate reflection of your pain history. By using CareClinic’s app as a chronic pain app, you will be able to overcome this problem and present your doctor with the necessary information.

What are the advantages of using CareClinic’s app as a CP management app?

The application is simple to use and it allows you to keep track of various pain parameters. It will also offer an objective analysis of the diary entries, compiling health reports you can further communicate to your doctor. If you have entered your medication into the application, it will even use advanced algorithms to show potential negative interactions.

Chronic pain is a complex notion and there are a lot of factors associated with it. What makes CareClinic the best app for chronic pain? Well, it allows you to track a diverse number of pain metrics, if you need to track and monitor acute pain that can be done with CareClinic as well. You can use it to record and observe a pattern of pain triggers, to describe your pain in detail and to rate the intensity of the pain.

The application allows you to develop a health diary, with journal notes regarding the duration and location of the pain, treatments taken (including medication) and even onset speed. You can use it to enter your mental state, level of physical activity and bowel movements.

Add the sleep history to determine a connection between your pain and lack of sleep. Use the application to record bowel movements, blood pressure and body weight, as well as other health measurements you might find useful. You can record additional symptoms, weather conditions that affect your general status and treatment milestones.

Is this something I really need?

If you are suffering from chronic pain, you might also be confused about what is happening to you. In order to understand your medical problems, you need to document them first. Chronic management apps – either available on android or iOS – can help you do just that. And CareClinic is indeed a resource that can help you get the best possible perspective on your condition.

You can use the application to record details about your condition on a regular basis. With the help of the pain trackers, you can actually develop a pain diary and identify certain patterns regarding your overall health. The diary can be customized as you desire, as you are allowed to add any piece of information you might find useful.

Various reports can be developed based on your entries

The data analysis is perhaps one of the best features CareClinic has to offer. Using your entries from the health diary, the application will compile a report that can be further shared with treating physician. The report can either be used as a virtual document or in its printed version.

This report might contain graphs, shedding light on the characteristics of your pain over a given period of time. By communicating the results of this report to your doctor, you will actually improve the medical relationship and reach new solutions regarding your treatment. It will reveal information regarding pain level fluctuations, usage of different medications and underlying conditions (as well as how these influence your chronic pain).

The report will demonstrate an objective overview of your pain. You have the possibility to rate the pain in different moments of the day, using a scale from 1 to 10.

This attribution will allow you to understand the pattern of chronic pain and see the exact triggers behind it. You can also use the application to see major events that have had an influence on your pain; for example, a major surgery that was successful (progress monitoring).

The report created can be used to compare different periods and analyze your chronic pain accordingly. You will easily notice the changes in the pain metrics and be able to understand the factors contributing to them. For instance, you might have changed your medication, tried a new therapy or even had surgery. Both you and your treating physician will have a better idea of how your condition changed from one period to the other.

The health calendar, an interesting feature to benefit from

The health calendar can be a valuable tool when it comes to managing diverse aspects related to chronic pain. It can remind you of doctor appointments, provide information on treatment adherence and help you access journal entries with ease.

With the help of advanced filters, you can browse through the different symptoms and see specific treatment changes. As the calendar is interactive, you can return to previous entries with ease and see how you adhered to the treatment plan. You can add notes directly on the calendar, finding it easier to cope with everything that has to be achieved with regard to your condition.

Medical reminders help you stay on the right track

When you suffer from chronic pain, you might find it difficult to keep track of everything that has to be done. If you feel like you cannot handle all, you might also begin to experience pressure and stress, which can make the pain worse.

CareClinic serves as an excellent medical reminder and helps you stay in check with everything, including medication, doctor appointments and so on.

You can set daily reminders for upcoming appointments and medication to be taken. The application allows you to enter daily/weekly treatments, the dose of your pain medication and even refill reminders. This will ensure that you will always have the treatment available; the reminders can be sent through the e-mail, appearing as notifications on your phone.

What are the causes behind chronic pain?

It is important to understand that chronic pain can appear as a result of nerve damage, as it often happens in neuropathies. For example, people diagnosed with diabetes can present such health problems. However, chronic pain is encountered in those with disc hernias, arthritis, gout and fibromyalgia.

Migraines are associated with chronic pain, preventing one from functioning normally or engaging in everyday activities. Life-threatening conditions, such as cancer, are always accompanied by pain. In the last stages, when the patient also suffers from metastasis and the treatment is only palliative, chronic pain can become severe and the patient will begin to rely solely on morphine.

How is chronic pain managed?

Chronic pain is managed through pain medication, which can be adjusted according to the level of pain experienced by the patient. The treating physician will monitor the patient constantly, as some drugs can cause liver damage upon being administered on a long-term basis. Moreover, the medication recommended for severe pain presents a high risk of addiction.

Psychotherapy, either in the form of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, can help the patient develop coping strategies and find a way to move forward. Relaxation techniques, including muscle relaxation and mindfulness, are definitely helpful.

Physical therapy is another great solution when it comes to chronic pain. It can help one maintain flexibility and it prevents the condition from becoming worse. The physical therapist might also recommend other forms of activity, including swimming or hydrotherapy. Walking remains one of the easiest forms of activity to be engaged in, including when suffering from chronic pain.

Of course, it is always important to address the underlying condition and find a suitable treatment (where possible). Complementary therapies, including acupuncture, massage therapy and osteopathy, can help with the management of chronic pain.

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