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
Recently, my husband and I took an R&R long weekend at a cabin in the countryside about an hour from home. I was sitting on the screened porch one morning, sipping tea and listening to the birds. A pasture area lay off beyond the trees. The air smelled fresh after the rain the night before.… Continue reading Stress, Suffering, Pain, and Release
So, life has been challenging this summer. My back has not been playing nice, which means my house is a disaster, my productivity has been dismal, and my blog neglected. But, I just finished six weeks of aquatic physical therapy, and my body is feeling so much better. Of course, then my husband gave me… Continue reading Aquatic Physical Therapy is My New BFF
This week, I let myself hope that my extended time on muscle relaxers and additional back pain was coming to an end. I let myself hope that last week, too, and it didn't work out. But this week felt different. During the day on Monday I felt really good with only half a muscle relaxer… Continue reading The Insidiousness of Hope
To my mother-in-law, who I know reads my blog, feel free to stop reading now. 😉 One of the least talked about (on the surface, although you can find stuff if you search for it) is how much of an impact chronic back pain has on your sex life. We all hear about how sex… Continue reading Let’s Talk About Sex … and Chronic Back Pain
My husband and I have fostered kittens for about 16 years. It's our primary volunteer activity, especially now that my physical body doesn't allow me to do much work in the shelter itself anymore. It's a rewarding experience, although I do sometimes cry when I have to take certain kittens back. It was a lot… Continue reading Pain and Depression Coping Mechanisms: Kittens
So I am entering week three of a major back flare up. This one is unlike any I've had before. It makes it near impossible to sit for long periods of time. At one point, I thought I was getting better, as I could sit longer with a heating pad, but it appears to have… Continue reading Pain and Depression and Meds and Hanging On
Chronic pain has been on my mind a lot lately because I've been doing a second gabapentin trial, which is going quite poorly. Waiting to hear back from the doctor on her thoughts on the side effects I'm getting. In the meantime, an article about chronic pain was shared by one of my friends on… Continue reading “Toughing Out” Chronic Pain with a Side of Sarcasm
This isn't referring to marijuana. I'm talking about gabapentin again. After a few more days of merely 300 mg once a day, I became so stoned and tired I could barely function. Yesterday I was never awake more than a few hours at a time. I didn't take the medication last night and feel that… Continue reading Getting High
If you read my initial blog post, you know the first time I took gabapentin, I had a psychedelic trip. After that, I had a little over a week of euphoria and feeling slightly stoned. I was also tired, but my pain was lessened. Then I had about two good days before I started having… Continue reading Gabapentin, Take Two
Suicidal Tulip 