What Distracts You From the Pain?

@sauvee That's great to hear you had relief from cupping. I have not tried it yet but maybe I will now. I get a flu-like feeling the next day after a massage even though I drink plenty of water afterward. Good to know I'm not alone in that but sure wish we didn't feel sore.

I have had massages for about 30 years. My sister was a masseuse and used me as her "practice person" while she was learning. That got me started on massage. A couple of years ago my new masseuse talked me into "cupping", and I tried it. I didn't find any relief from it and was paying extra to get it, so I stopped. Regular deep tissue massage was much better for my aches and pains. Then I read about ART (Active Release Technique) on Connect, and decided to try that for the chronic pain in my right hip, thigh, knee and ankle. In 6 sessions my pain was nearly completely gone!! I am SO happy with the results. I went back for my first monthly followup, and had further relief so I wasn't waking up in the night in pain anymore. My pain was completely gone after that. Amazingly I could go up steps without even a twinge of pain! I almost canceled my next followup, which is tomorrow. However, the pain at night has returned with a vengeance. I'm ok during the day with some pain, but I can hardly stand it at night. I think I caused this return of pain because we recently had to move from our home while it was going to be remodeled, so I helped pack, move (didn't lift anything),and then unpack everything we owned. Two weeks after we moved our daughter, with whom we live, decided not to remodel after she found the original estimate had doubled in cost. We had to repack, move and unpack again. That was just too much for me I guess. I didn't have any pain until after I unpacked the second time. So, I am keeping my appointment for ART tomorrow. You can read about the technique on Google. It has been amazing for me. I also have TMJ, and my chiropractor who does ART, works on that as well. ART is keeping me from having back surgery to fuse my F4-F5. I had a laminectomy in December, 2016, which eliminated my pain from L5-S1 nerve impingement and was not looking forward to another much more major surgery this year. Physical therapy for 3 months didn't help my right hip, thigh, knee and ankle pain, but 6 sessions of ART over 3 weeks did! Check it out. Most practitioners are chiropractors who get certified in the technique. It was expensive @$95/session, but worth every penny for me. I understand that we're all different in what helps us, and I encourage you to check out ART.

Warm regards, Gail B Ledesma

Gail I am going to look ART up right now because tomorrow I have an appointment with a physiatrist to talk about back shots and I will bring that up. Thanks Marield65

I try to do watercolor. DDD of the neck keep me from doing it very much. I once was a free lance artist. I once was many things. Now even a recliner offers little relief. I cannot tolerate noise, smells or anything most of the time.
Distraction is my best choice when the pain allows. Been a rough week.

Hi, all f you. I appreciate the question you ask about being distracted from pain. For the past few weeks I have been gathering together as much of my medical history as I can find. I put it in a simple computer file and call Amyloidosis. Because that is the root of most of my pain. Then I put it in a spot where anyone can see and read it. If you wish. http://bit.ly/1w7j4j8 The reason I am saying this here is that this has really helped me ease the pain, just really realizing what is happening. Each time I gather some new info, I add it to the file. i.e., This time, I have the report from a CT done 18 months back. It is very detailed. So I just added the info in, and with each piece I had to stop and think about what it meant. I have a variety of nodules and growths in both lungs, and actually, it rather perturbs me that I did not see all this before. It might be a good practice and sorting-out practice for more of us.

Oldkarl, you're doing an amazing job! Just getting together my medical information since the TMJ pain hit in about September 2016 has been quite a task. Sometimes I wonder if I should ask my PCP if she thinks I need a CAT scan or an MRI. What if there's something else going on here other than just TMJ pain? You've made me think about this again, so I'll shoot off a note to her. Thanks!

Hazel

Hazel, thanks for the kindnesses. This might be a good time to remind everyone to save those diagnosis papers and files we get from the med centers. If we do save them, it is a lot easier to put things together. I have seen about 50 doctors in the last 40 years that I know of, plus some I have forgotten. These dX papers sure help now.

I am from Canada and full of chronic pain from 2 car accidents both times being hit from behind. These accidents resulted in a
If entire of pain and I have been dealing with this for over 35 years. I am heavily medicated but today I started an 8 week,course at my pain clinic called Coping with Chronic Pain. As I just started I haven't experienced too much yet but the intent of this education is to help us to learn how to cope better with our pain and ideally to reduce our dependence on our heavy meds. We are focusing on understanding the nervous system, why our bodies react the way that they do, physiotherapy, occupational therapy & goal setting. We attend for 3.5 hrs every Friday for 8 weeks and each week we have take away physio work to do. I am looking forward to decreasing my dependence on medication. If you ever have the opportunity to take a course like this I think that you would find it helpful!

Mary, the program you're enrolled in sounds terrific! It's so important for us to know the whys and wherefors of pain. I know so little about it--other than it hurts! Am up at 3 a.m., hoping that my pain and muscle relaxer pills kick in soon.

Hazel

Hi oldkarl, I am Marield65 and have chronic pain,arthritis, surgeries on my feet, Total knee replacement in April, and many other surgeries and disc problems. But the reason I am writing is How did you get all your information into the computer? Did you scan it first? I want to know how to do many things with the computer but I get overwhelmed. Like the show I love is "How you do that?" Thanks. Marie Any help you can give our audience will be greatly appreciated.