Zero Pain #AtoZChallenge

...zero pain.  Well, that's a dream for a chronic pain sufferer like me.  But a sweet dream I will keep on hoping for!  Come on medical science...catch up!

For anyone interested in knowing a little bit more about me and why I have chronic pain, please see my About Me page.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by to say hello to me during this year's A to Z Challenge!

For a complete list of all my posts from this years challenge, please visit my A to Z 2016 page here

When Did I Get So Old?

Sunday night I had the opportunity to go out and see my best friend perform on stage for the first time. It was great fun and I felt like myself...a feeling that has been missing lately because rehabbing my latest surgery has felt like forever! Mike (my bestie) has been playing the guitar for a couple of years now and was looking to jam with someone. He found this event, called Flash Band, and decided to give it a go. (For more information on Flash Band, go here). Basically, you meet other local musicians, and then get together to play a show after only knowing each other for a month. The theme of Sunday night's Flash Band was 'British Invasion', which was awesome!

A wonderful night was had on Sunday, followed by a miserable Monday morning for me. Oh goodie. I woke up the next day feeling like someone beat the shit out of me. I hurt so bad all over. After seeing my kids out the door for their first day of school, I went back to bed and stayed there until early afternoon. Because of my medical condition, I know that I need to take things easy otherwise I end up regretting it, but this reaction caught me off guard. After all, I wasn't on my feet at all...Mike was kind enough to get me a seated ticket. I guess I thought that since I wouldn't be standing, that I would be okay. And my feet were okay...it's the rest of my body that objected! Too much time in the car...too much driving...too long being out. Man, I feel old! Back in the day, we used to go out all night long and I'd get up the next morning and function like a normal person...notsomuch anymore.

Ah, the joys of living with chronic pain. Sometimes, you never know when you'll have those bad days...they just hit you without warning. This is why I plan as much as I can...because I know that even with all the planning in the world, sometimes it is all for naught. I guess that next time I plan to see Flash Band (because there will be a next time--I love live music) I'll need my hubby to drive me. And I probably won't be able to stay to watch all the bands :( Oh, well. It was still worth it to be a part of Mike's fan club! :)

Mike and my daughter, jamming :)

Adventures In Ginger Root

Ginger root is a natural anti-inflammatory and has been used in Chinese medicine for centuries.  I was advised in the past, by my acupuncturist, to make a ginger tea to help with aches and pains.  She recently has shown me another way to use this root.

My daughter, the softball player that she is, has hurt her shoulder again.  Anybody who has kids knows how difficult it is to get them to eat/drink things that they are not thrilled about...hence, no ginger tea magic for her.  I was advised to, instead, use the root topically. Here's how you do it...

Get yourself some ginger root. It's usually in the grocery store by the garlic or potatoes, and only costs a few dollars.

Cut up your ginger...no need to wash it or peel it.  Just cut it up all willy nilly, any which way you like.  Then place your pieces in a cheesecloth.  I use a kitchen towel because I don't have cheesecloth :) You could also use an old t-shirt if you like.

Microwave it for about 1 minute. Your results may vary depending on how powerful your microwave is. You want it to be hot, but not too hot that it will burn your skin.

Pinch your towel closed (I didn't do this before I zapped it because I didn't know how my chip clip would do in the microwave) so the ginger is contained.

Apply to where you have aches/pains as you would a heat pack.  You can reuse and reheat the same ginger pieces a few times before you need to discard them.  Enjoy!

Have you ever used ginger root either topically or ingested?  Did you find that it helped in any way?

**As always, consult your doctor for medical advise. I'm not a medical expert of any kind, just a person who is always on the lookout for easy peasy pain relief. 

New Pain Medicine Routine

I don't know why, but over the past couple of weeks my arthritis has really been flaring up.  I've lost a lot of sleep and finally got tired of feeling so terrible.  My doctor that I see for my neck pain had originally prescribed this new medicine and I decided that I should give it a try.  It's a non-narcotic pain med called ConZip, which is really a slow release Tramadol.  I've been using it for my overall arthritis flare ups and it helps take my pain from a 5-6 to a 2-3...which is a huge difference.

I still get localized pain in my ankles if I'm on my feet too long, and in my neck/shoulder area because of my occipital neuralgia.  For these areas I have compound cream that has been helping take the edge off.  The cream I have for my ankles is a bit stronger and I'd like to try it on my neck, but it's super greasy.  After twenty minutes of absorbing into my ankles, I wipe it off with a wet washcloth otherwise it's too sticky to even get my socks back on.  I'm afraid of getting it into my hair and not being able to get it out if I try it on my neck...I'd have to be super careful.

Ankle cream ingredients

side note:  When I got my new ankle cream a couple of weeks ago it came in some very impressive  packaging.  There was a cold block in there (I guess in case it got too hot during shipment) and it was cushioned to the max.  Seriously, look at the big cushion that was in this thing.

The cushion was bigger than my 10 year old...

Also, I got 3 containers of it.  Does it get used that quickly that I need this much???  I guess we'll see.

Anyway, this has been the routine for about two weeks or so.  ConZip in the morning, Celebrex (anti-inflammatory) and Soma (to keep my back spasms at bay) at night...and cream on various body parts as needed.  It has helped keep the pain in check enough that I was able to take part in cleaning the house in anticipation of my family visiting, and I was able to enjoy the time with my brother when he was here last week.  Let's just hope this all continues to help and that I don't die of kidney or liver failure by the time I'm 50!

Bee Therapy?

As I was getting my weekly acupuncture treatment today, my acupuncturist, Tuan, told me about how he suffers from chronic pain in his shoulder due to several injuries to it in his younger years.  He said he had seen a few doctors, and three different doctors told him that he needed surgery on it to relieve the pain.  Even though I've been seeing him for 5 years or so, I've never known that he suffers from chronic pain because he has always seemed in good health.  Tuan told me that for many years now he has been doing bee therapy, also know as apitherapy, to help with the shoulder pain and that he only has to do it every six months or so to find relief.

Bee therapy is exactly what it sounds like...you get stung by honey bees.  Chinese medicine uses the bees to sting the patient on various acupuncture spots.  Tuan says that bee venom has been used since ancient times, going back to the Egyptians.  He uses it on himself, my other acupuncturist, and has had other patients that have found relief with this practice.  The bee venom causes the body's immune system to react strongly, which is what helps patients find relief.

Tuan told me that he just performed a treatment on my other acupuncturist, Thuc Dan, this past Saturday.  He treated her with only five stings, since she is much more sensitive and reacts more than he does.  Tuan says that since everyone's body reacts differently, people will have varying results and require treatments at different rates.  After speaking with Thuc Dan, she told me that after the treatments she feels like she has the flu for a couple of days, with the day after the treatment being the worst.  To feel a bit better, she took some anti-histamine, which helped to relieve some of the symptoms she was suffering from.

This isn't the first time Tuan has told me about bee therapy.  He mentioned it a few years ago when he told me about a patient of his that suffered from multiple sclerosis.  He had been treating her for years and she had found great relief with the treatments.

So, how crazy is this sounding to you?  If you are a regular, “normal” person, you probably think it sounds nuts.  And it sounds crazy to me too...but it also seems like something that I may be open to.  Suffering on a daily basis sucks, plain and simple.  If I could find something that would relieve my pain on a temporary basis...even if it sounds completely nutty...well, why not try it at least once?

Dear Readers...Have I lost it completely?  Or do you think this may have some substance?

Should I Move To Arizona?

The weather this week, so far, is killing me. It's been humid, muggy days that call for thunderstorms at any moment and my arthritic body has not been a happy camper. As much as I love where I live, it's times like these where I entertain the thought of moving to Arizona! But moving to a more dry, desert like state would mean that I'd have scorpions and snakes to deal with. I think I prefer the monster size mosquitoes of DC :)

It took a long time for me to fall asleep last night because of all the aches and pains, and I felt like a truck hit me when I woke up this morning. Seeing as I promised my daughter that I would take her out to lunch after we got her allergy shot, I got up and lathered on some of the pain cream my pain management doc had prescribed for my neck. My shoulders have been the bastards of the week, so I greased them up, along with my neck, and took a ConZip (slow release Tramadol) and layed back down in my comfy bed and watched tv. All these meds needed time to kick in.

Just a couple of hours later, I feel much more like a real person. Not pain free, but manageable for now. I leave soon to spend a little munchkin-mommy time with my girl. Prayers that my “real person-ness” lasts the afternoon!