All posts filed under: back pain

A Look at “Zero to Hero” When You Feel Like a Zero

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I have been given this product as part of a product review through the Chronic Illness Bloggers network. Although the product was a gift, all opinions in this review remain my own and I was in no way influenced by the company. “You get to work from home! That’s so great!” Whenever people say that, I never know how to respond. Like, yeah, of course, it’s great to be home all the time… I guess. I forget what day of the week it is. I wear sweatpants. I shower when I want to shower. I work in the living room from my recliner or in the office, whichever is more comfortable. The television is on for “background noise.” I keep the cat and bunny from murdering each other. I also have very little human interaction other than Slack, Gchat, Facebook, or email. I’m a slave to the elements, meaning my Quell says, “Today’s weather may worsen your pain. Consider increased Quell use.” I’ve gotten that warning for the past two weeks straight. If it’s cold or raining, I stay …

Hey Guys, Free Stuff! (Maybe!) Pain Awareness Month Giveaway

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September is almost over, guys. That means that our month — Pain Awareness Month — is almost over. However, there are still a few things that I want to share with you. Backer Nation, a website that profiled me recently and is also keeping in line with the American Chronic Pain Association’s mission this month, is doing a giveaway for a gift basket filled with back pain and wellness goodies valued at more than $1,000. They have partnered with companies like Quell and others so they can get the message out for pain patients, using the hashtag #effbackpain for people to share stories and inspire others. Disclaimer: I’m not getting anything for telling you that. I hope you win the basket! Funny story, Backer Nation approached me independently of Quell, and then Quell said, “Hey, we’ve been working with Backer Nation and made these graphics for Pain Awareness Month [see below]. Maybe you can share them?” It’s a small world, people. So the graphics! NeuroMetrix (AKA, the Quell people) have come up with some interesting graphics …

Pain Awareness Month 2017

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Hello there, my lovelies! It’s September 1st, and you know what that means — and if you don’t, let me drop some knowledge on you. It’s Pain Awareness Month!   *Sound the trumpets* Yes, it is the month that those of us with chronic conditions have taken as our own to raise awareness of our maladies. Naturally I won’t be here for the Boston Abilities Expo (gotta celebrate my dad’s birthday!), but there are plenty of things happening this month, and the U.S. Pain Foundation is keeping track of many goings-on, like fundraisers, the 30-day challenge (follow @US_pain on Twitter and @USPainAwarenessMonth on Instagram for this year’s challenge), proclamations, etc. You can even change your profile picture on Facebook to raise awareness, since many of the most common pain conditions are invisible to the eye. So that’s cool! Keep on the lookout for Pain Awareness Month-related things and see if there is a family member or friend you can help. Also, side note, I was featured on Dr. Melissa Cady’s “Pain Out Loud” blog, though …

I am Not the Reliable One — Also, a Book Review: “Kicking Sick” by Amy Kurtz

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I am not the reliable one. I recently made friends with a guy who has stage 4 colon cancer. By chance, we were sitting next to each other while waiting for a flight back to Boston from Atlanta. The flight was delayed by two hours, and his soul spoke to mine. We became friends in less than 20 minutes. Just one of those things, I guess. When his phone rang, it said, “God’s gift to women, pick up!” It was his mom, an older lady with a glorious halo of gray hair. She was delightful. She knows my name, knows all about me now. His whole family knows who I am. He wants to talk more often than I talk to most people. More than I talk to my family, even. I’m not used to it. And the thing is, he might literally die before I get the chance to speak to him again. He slipped into a coma and came out of it while I was in a pain flare, and I had no …

The Quell Pain Relief Device: Entering the Third Year

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Here we are again, folks. We’re entering the third year (since I can’t do math), and I am still using the Quell pain relief device (give or take two weeks when I forgot to wear it because my schedule was so disrupted that I forgot). Five bands, who knows how many electrodes — both normal and the new sport model, which I very much prefer in these extremely humid summer months — and two Quell models later, we’ve made it to this point. Well, I still like the Quell! At one point before I upgraded to the new model, I feared that either my pain was getting worse or I was becoming sensitized to the electric current. Turning it up didn’t help, but I still couldn’t go without wearing it for very long before I was overcome with pain. That has been my overall plan, you know. To eventually go without wearing it, trying to set myself to absolute zero to see what my pain really is. I’ve been throwing medication at my pain since …

Reworking Your Home Life to Minimize Chronic Pain

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We have a lovely guest post from a new contributor, Jackie Waters, of Hyper-Tidy.com!  Living in constant pain can cause worry, stress, anxiety, and depression. You wonder if you’ll ever feel better or if you’ll keep feeling worse. It is possible to get your life back and get a handle on chronic pain. People who suffer from it can incorporate everyday, holistic changes to improve their quality of life and manage their pain. Lifestyle and Diet Mindfulness meditation is a way to effectively train your brain to turn down the volume on pain. According to The Huffington Post, “A typical meditation involves focusing on different parts of the body and simply observing with the mind’s eye what you find.” Doing this makes you aware of the connection between your mind and body; you observe painful sensations as they happen, and then let go of struggling with them. You may doubt the impact mindfulness meditation can have on chronic pain, but it has been shown to reduce it by 57 percent, and skillful meditators can reduce it by …

Huffington Post: Personal Injury Lawyers: What I Learned From Being on Both Sides of the Aisle

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Happy New Year, everyone! I can’t believe it’s 2017. We’ve finally closed the lid on the dumpster fire that was 2016, thank God. Now we can focus on bigger and better things. You know, like new writing ventures! (How’d you like my smooth transition there?) I wrote a new article for the Huffington Post about my experience as both an attorney and a personal injury client. Swing on over there to check it out if you feel so inclined! Click here for article!  

Pain News Network: Needling Away Pain

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Sorry for my massively long absence, folks. Here’s my latest column for the Pain News Network!  One would think that encouraging inflammation is a bad idea, right? “Let’s stick you with needles, inject a dextrose solution, and create some new tissue. It’ll be great!” That’s what my dad has been saying since 2004. He had prolotherapy done for his low back in college, and it did wonders for him. I was extremely dubious. It sounded far too strange – injecting a sugar solution? Into my neck? I have very extensive injuries from two separate car accidents. To sum it up quickly, I have badly-healed thoracic fractures, bulging lumbar discs hitting nerves, and two cervical fusions that cause a lot of post-surgical pain. The idea of purposefully creating more inflammation sounded insane. But after my second fusion, when the pain started increasing no matter how dutifully it was treated, I decided to give it a try. Prolotherapy, or sclerosing injections, is still considered a bit radical, even though it’s been around since the 1930’s. The reason …

ChronicBabe: 5 Reasons Why Leaving My Job and Working From Home Was The Best Decision I Ever Made

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Check out my guest post for Jenni Grover Prokopy’s site, ChronicBabe! Hi! My name is Jen, and I’m a 29-year-old attorney, editor, writer, and patient advocate. I have spinal fractures from two car accidents that required two cervical fusions. The jury’s out on whether I’ll need more surgery. I worked in an office for three and a half years after law school. At that point I was dealing with the fallout from my first car accident, which happened in 2004 and decimated my thoracic spine. Law school happened, and then my job, and then… another accident. That second accident became a barrier to a normal life. Eventually I decided to leave my job and work from home. Here are the reasons why it was the best decision I ever made. My health comes first now. I was living the dream: I had a legal job that started at 8 am, ended around 6 pm, had great coworkers, and allowed for a life. My bosses were cool. During my second year, however, I had another car accident. …