Chronic pain making you feel desperate?

Desperation is not a very happy feeling. When I keep trying new things for my chronic pain and I keep coming up with little relief, I feel desperate! I use this feeling to spur me to new and deeper research. Yes, sometimes you just have to live with the chronic pain, but I am stubborn and will never accept that there is nothing else I can do. So I soldier on and on. (There's a smile here) I use my desperation to keep me focused and wondering just what more is there out there that I just haven't found? What new research? New technology? New procedure?

At the risk of sounding too simple, ridiculous even, I have to say that some of the best research I've done needs repeating. Some of the things I've tried in the past need re trying.

Why would I say these things? Because when we try something the first time, we may have not given it our best try. Maybe we were discouraged at the time and a few days, even weeks was not enough to give whatever new supplement, knee brace, etc a good healthy try. Many times I have returned to some former research I've done, re read it and decided to give it another go. The second time around, I've found more success.

One example for myself recently has been a knee sleeve/brace I had purchased in the past, tried for a day or so and discarded because it hurt too much. As I was packing to take a trip, I found it again and thought I would give it another try as my knee was hurting enough to really catch my attention. Voila, Oh my goodness, what relief I have received from this knee sleeve. It is an incrediwear and made of material that is supposed to help circulation and reduce swelling. It sure appears to be helping with the swelling!

I will acknowledge that the first time I tried it I might have been several pounds heavier and thus it did not fit so well. However it is, I am glad I found it again and gave it another try.

I went online and ordered a hip brace, another knee sleeve, and a back brace for a friend. I am impressed with this knee sleeve and would recommend it to anyone to try. At least check it out at www.incrediwear.com. There are lots of testimonials that seem to match my experience with the product. And no I do not make any commission on this product!

MSM is a product that I use on and off. Our bodies need this supplement and our good ole SAD diet just does not supply enough of it to keep us healthy. So I return to this as needed. This one supplement was responsible for finally improving my sleep! I was taking it for pain relief and voila, I began to sleep a really deep sleep. As I had been sleeping in 45 minute intervals for a couple of years and was miserable from lack of sleep, the deep sleep was a tremendous relief!

As to new research, I received an email just this morning on a stem cell therapy docouseries (all the rage now it seems). while I have tried stem cell therapy injections in my right hip and right knee with no relief, I am interested in what the new research says.  I have been told my hip's femoral head is at a stage 4 collapse and that stem cell would not help, but who knows, maybe the new research will say otherwise. See I just keep going on and on and on with my research.

My main point is just that, use your emotions to spur you to new heights of research. Maybe there is no answer for your issue out there, but just maybe there is. And of course, only you can know what is best for you!

Be strong, be encouraged, be well!

Until next time,

Healthbug

Supplements and Chronic Pain

This has been a hard post to write. The subject of vitamins and supplements is huge. Just as with diet, what we put in our mouth and thus our bodies, does affect every part of our health!

 If you think the foregoing statement is not true, just try eating only protein, sugar, or ..... well anything single food for even a few days. It is a safe bet that you will feel the affects of whatever mono diet you are eating.

 One item to note is that any diet, supplement or vitamin regimen must be followed for at least 3 months to be able to tell if the new regimen is of any benefit! I know three months should like a long time, but less that that is usually really not enough time to tell anything. You don’t want to waste your efforts!

There are always exceptions to the above, when I stopped eating anything with aspartame! was able to tell within 1 week that I felt a lot better without it and a lot worse when I ate anything with aspartame in it!  

The only time I would quit a regimen before the 3 months is when I felt much worse after starting the diet or supplement. Then, of course I stopped immediately.

I have determined I cannot take Alpha Lipoic Acid on an empty stomach after only 3 doses.  I just seems to explode in my stomach about 5-10 minutes after I take it and causes severe stomach pain. Use your common sense when trying new supplements. 

MSM helped my sleep tremendously. With better sleep, I have a better chance of healing my bones, muscles, etc. Vitamin C is my good all around go to vitamin for preventing and staving off infection and  general all around feeling good vitamin. However, MSM did not help directly with my pain.

I have tried many supplements and vitamins to aid with my pain. Most have not yielded the results I wanted which was some good pain relief. I seek supplements that will heal versus supplements that will cover up the symptoms. 

Dr Sherry Rogers has written many books about taking charge of your own health and give numerous suggestions as what to do in the various situations. Her book on chronic pain is chock full of suggestions. Of course, you will need to try each supplement one at a time, otherwise you will not know what it was that made things better or worse as the case may be. 

To be honest, I have not found any supplement (yet) that helped much with my pain. I have tried MSM, curcumin, turmeric, glucosamine, chondroitin.  What I have found the most helpful is the not eating something. Like not eating anything with aspartame, not eating sugar,  not eating anything with high fructose corn syrup. 

My supplement regimen now consists of NAC (N Acetyl Cysteine) one, three times a day. Methyl-folate 1 a day and methyl B-12 one a day. As I suggested, I am giving it a 3 month’s trial. This regimen was suggested to me by Dr Neil Rawlins who practices in Richland, Wasington. I have been taking these supplements for one month. Hows it going so far? I don't see a down side ans it no negative side effects. I do think they are helping, but in all reality, it is just too soon to tell. Some changes are so subtle that I keep a log of how my pain is doing so that I can look back and note more objectively whether my pain is better. The placebo effect can sometime convince myself something is helping when, in the long run it is only a brief, in my mind, so to speak. I’ll let you know.

So until next time, be healthy, never give up looking for your health answers! You are your best health advocate and only you know you like you do.:-}

Healthbug