Acupuncture has been one of my go-to treatments for chronic pain for a good six or seven years, but it doesn't come cheap. Even with insurance, it adds up to have a treatment on a regular basis (and don't even get me started on the expense of massages, but I fork over for those too… Continue reading Acupressure Mats: Torture Devices, Pain Relievers, or Both?
One of the best ideas I've come across about managing chronic pain/chronic illness is the Not To Do List. I read about it in one of Toni Bernhardt's books about living well with chronic conditions, but I can't remember which one. (You can view all her books here. They are all lovely.) The gist of… Continue reading Revisiting the NOT To Do List
Several months ago, I attended a yoga mudra class. Previously, I viewed yoga as the stretchy, bendy, whole-body practice I'd done since my early 20s up until my back injury. I've tried yoga several times since the injury, but I could never make it work. Even gentle styles seemed to irritate the injury. So I… Continue reading Y is for Yoga Mudra
Skin Picking Disorder, also called Excoriation Disorder or Dermatillomania, goes beyond just popping a zit or scratching at the mosquito bite. It means the sufferer compulsively removes perceived imperfections from their skin to the point of causing tissue damage, often creating infections and permanent scars. It affects approximately one in twenty people. This disroder is… Continue reading The Scars I Carry from Skin Picking
Last week I took a Hydrogen Breath Test. This test measures the hydrogen in your breath over a course of several hours as you digest a glucose substrate. If you have enough anaerobic bacteria in you small intestine (which shouldn't be there), they will release hydrogen and methane when they digest the glucose. Basically, you… Continue reading Hydrogen Breath Test
