My Life Over the Past Week

Hey Everyone, I'm back!!

I have had a very tough week full studying for finals to early morning hours, taking the finals, catching up with friends one last time, and packing up my room. I am more than exhausted. About half of my dorm room is still in the cars waiting to be unpacked tomorrow.

My dog was absolutely excited to see me and I was just as excited to see her. She's more like a person who can't talk than a pet. She's followed me around the house since Ive been home with her tail high in the air. She even lucked out since her Birthday was the other day, she got her Birthday present a stuffed cupcake. She was excited and immediately started playing with it.

As much as I love my school I was happy to be able to come home and make me a nutritious vegan meal. I made me a vegan burger with cauliflower and broccoli on the side. It makes me happy to know that I'm now able to focus on myself for awhile. I know especially the last two weeks or so I have been following my diet but have been neglecting how my body feels. My RSD has been hurting bad but I will now be able to rest when need to and not have to stay up to study for tests, well at least for a month anyway.

I will be updating more now that I have more time. Again sorry for my absence.

Treating Pain

Treating chronic pain has been tough for all Doctors alike. Doctors are not taught in medical school how to treat chronic pain. Actually most Doctors do not like taking on chronic pain patients, especially those with Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy. Doctors dont like taking on chronic pain patients because they are so hard to treat, RSDers especially.

I have been blessed with two amazing Dr's who fully believe in me. My Pain Management Dr has been looking for a cure for RSD and wont give up until he finds one. He is devoted to his patients and making sure they get the best pain relief possible.

Here is an article on treating Pediatric Chronic Pain. Thankfully I was able to find an amazing Dr who has helped me get through these last 8 years.

http://news.ufl.edu/2010/03/03/pediatric-pain/

Tough Week

This past weekend has been a tough one for a couple of good friends of mine as well as me. My friend's grandma past away late last Tuesday night. She was also like a granmother to me as well. Growing up I only really had my Great-grandma and Grandma on my Dad's side. These particular friends let me call both sets of grandparents Grandma and Grandpa. Ive always felt like I was their grandchild so for me it was like losing a grandparent. Her memorial service was yesterday. To help out the family my mom, dad, and I helped with the food peperation and just helped provide moral support. Since I am on Spring Break this week my mom and I are going to try to stop and see her husband ("my Grandpa"). I am hoping to make and bring him some Vegan Brownies I found a recipie for.

On the lighter side of things I found a great recipie for Vegan Banana Bread which I am going to make tomorrow. I am happy to be home so that I am able to experiment with Vegan / Vegeterian Recipies. At Walmart tonight I found the meat substitutes for ground beef, ch'kn
nuggets, and even bacon. I know they are made out of soy but at least I will be able to get some protein and eatting healthy while not giving up some of the things that I once loved. I am eatting my green veggies too. My stomach has been bothering the last few days. I am guessing this is due to the death of "my grandma". Spring Break came at the perfect time.

I will let you know how the Banana Bread turns out once I make it.

Sending Healing Thoughts to all of you!!

The Affects Of Pain Medication

Pain Medication can be a RSDers best friend and worst enemy. For me I absolutely hate taking medicine. The more medicine I take the more I feel like my body is being stuffed with substances that shouldn't be in it.

On Thursday my new pain medicine, Nucynta arrived at my house. My mom brought it up to my school so that I could switch myself over. I didn't think I would have that much of a problem with it. I did realize that the Nucynta was stronger than my current medicine but didn't think much of it since my pain has gotten worse. I started on Friday and just simply thought my body was overly tired from my massage. I was entirely wrong. All weekend instead of catching up on studying like I normally do I just wanted to sleep. Since I wanted to sleep during the day my body didn't want to sleep at night. This has never happened to me before when switch or going on meds so I caught on very quickly. Since the Nucynta was every 8 hours I tried not to take any pain meds when I woke up in the wee hours of Sunday night / Monday morning hoping to get all of the Nucynta out of my system. Since most of it is out of my system and I am back on my original pain medicine I am somewhat starting to feel like myself. I should have went with my gut instinct and stayed with the original medicine.

Since I had a bad reaction my mom is calling my Dr tomorrow to let them know how things went. She called today but my PM and his Nurse Practitioner both were not in the office. Hopefully they will be able to find a pain medicine that I will be able to function on. I need to be able to think clearly and not want to sleep all day, after all I am a college student.

Happy Valentines Day!

The heart is a complex organ, not only emotionally but also physically. The last week My Anatomy and Physiology Class has been learning about the heart and its functions. This past weekend I have been studying about the route of blood through the heart and the path it takes to go through the body to help us sustain life.

To me, Valentines Day isn't only about Celebrating the love a couple shares. It is also about showing our family and friends how much we love them and appreciate them. Last night I went to my sister's house to celebrate 3 Birthdays that take place in the month of February. It was nice to see my family and spend time with them but the increased activity made my rebound headache much worse than I could have imagined. I thankfully made it back to my dorm and after an hour of studying had to quit and decided to pamper myself.

Finally a week after this rebound headache has started it is no longer on the whole left side. I am hoping this means that it is finally starting to go away but I don't want to jinx it. I am going to call my Dr tomorrow if it is still present and to see what is going on with my Pain Management. My new pain meds are suppose to arrive on Tuesday and I am looking forward to some much needed relief.

Soy Milk vs Cows Milk

Since October of 2009 I have had several digestive issues. Thankfully I am being treated with a medicine called Levsin that relaxes my stomach before I eat. Since it relaxes my stomach and the nerves at the end of the stomach the food is able to go into the intestine and be digested from there. If I dont take my pill before I eat or immediately after I get excruciating stomach cramps exactly where my stomach is located. My Primary Doctor and Pain Management Dr isnt sure if this is my RSD or if this is something else at this point.

I have noticed though that I am not able to drink cows milk due to the fact that my body isnt able to digest it normally, or like it one did. I notice one day over Winter Break after I drank a nice glass of milk my stomach ached and ached. A person proposed that I should try Soy Milk even though I was extremely nervous about it. After the first glass I haven't looked back. I am hooked on the goodness of soy. I have done my research on it and I know that people are especially hesitant about it because of the amount of estrogen in it. For me I do believe that Soy Milk is the best choice since I have been raised on Cow's Milk for the last 20 yrs. I am happy to know that Im not supporting an industry that abuses its animals by injecting hormones to make them produce more milk when humans especially adults were meant to be lactose intolerant in the first place. Somehow our genes got manipulated and adults were able to start digesting milk. Does it make since for humans to be able to drink milk when the rest of adult animals are lactose intolerant? For me its Soy Milk, I dont miss the aching, cramping stomach pain that I once had with Cows milk...yippy!

***I still have my rebound headache it is getting slightly better though. My Primary Dr said it should feel much better 48 hrs after the start of the steroid which is tomorrow. I have been a little nausea's because of the steroid due to my weak stomach but thats not a big deal. I may call tomorrow to see what the plan is Pain Management wise since my RSD pain is worse.

And Here Comes The Migrain...

I love the weekends, but what college student doesnt? On Friday I dont have classes so I usually spend the day catching up on homework. Saturday is pretty much the same, except I didnt have much to do this weekend except starting to read for the upcoming chapters in my classes.

My brother decided to have some people over for the Super Bowl and since I didnt have much to do I was going to meet my mom and some of my family out there. I had a slight headache before I took my shower and it just started getting worse after. I took two Motrin and took my migraine medicine. After awhile it became unbearable and I had to grab some ice and lay down. After forcing myself to sleep the migraine finally went down a little bit. I am hoping that by morning my migraine / headache will be gone.

I haven't gotten one of these horrible headaches in a long time and hope I don't experience one again for another long time. My Pain Management Dr's Nurse Practitioner think it may be allergy related but I don't see how it can be when I got it in the middle of winter and I know its not a stress headache. Its been busy this semester but has been going well so far. I also wonder if this has connection to RSD since migraines are neurological based too. I guess I will have to ask at my next Dr's appointment.

Spreading Awareness

Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome aka Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome; is a chronic neurological condition characterized by

severe burning / stabing pain
extreme sensitivity to touch
tissue swelling
excessive sweating
pathological changes to bone and skin


Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome (RSD) has changed my life. It has changed my life in ways I could never imagine. I never thought at 12 yrs old that a sprain of my left wrist could leave me in unbearable pain that tops the McGill Pain Charts. It will be 8 years this March, that I have had this syndrome. Due to the fact that there are several symptoms of RSD (above) and the Dr's and Researchers are not able to pinpoint the exact cause of RSD it is classified as a syndrome. Due to the fact that there is no exact cause, the treatments that RSDers are given are mostly experimental. Some treatments are routine by now but not every treatment works for every RSDer's pain. The same goes for medication. Every person's body isnt going to react the same to the same medicine therefore finding a treatment that works is very hard.

People who have Pain or even Chronic Conditions are seen as depressed or end up developing depression due to the fact that family members and friends don't believe their pain. I have been blessed in the fact that I have not developed depression. I have kept myself active by being able to go to College and have been surrounded by people who support me in my fight with RSD. I am able to openly talk to my mom or a friend about my feelings about how I feel especially if I get stressed over a test or just how my day went.

This morning I was awoken by the familiar pain of my constant companion. Everyday I am reminded how badly we need awareness of this condition when I talk to RSDers online about how much pain they have experienced that day, it absolutely kills me inside. We can modify our diets all we want to but RSD will always be prevalent. It will be rearing its ugly face until a cure is found and Doctors and Politicians are Educated about how much PAIN people are living with day in and day out.

*RSD Symptoms (Above): www.rsds.org
*McGill Pain Index: http://www.rsdhope.org/ShowPage.asp?page_id=116

** Im still sticking to my vegetarian diet, its actually proven that red meat increases inflamation.
http://www.organicauthority.com/health/health/are-the-foods-you-are-eating-keeping-you-in-pain.html

Finally the Weekend is Here

The last few days have been very busy for me. My mom is coming up tomorrow to drop somethings off and we will be spending some time together. Im looking forward to seeing her and going to see Lovely Bones which Ive wanted to see even before I came back to school. It will be nice to take the day off from studying but will be back at it tomorrow night.

Even though I didnt have class today, I stopped in to see my Chemistry Professor, he helped explain about Orbital Diagrams (eww...lol) in which electrons exist. Seriously why can't Chemistry be a little bit easier? I ventured out back into the freezing cold this evening for my first trip to Whole Foods. I got myself a wonderful salad full of greens and spinach with Soybeans, Green Pepper, Cucumber, and Walnuts topped with Balsamic Vinegar. The Balsamic Vinegar troubled my stomach a little but it calmed down once I took my stomach relaxing med. Im looking forward to my next meal from there.

Hope you enjoy the pictures from the last couple days!

My green tea in a personalized cup

The salad from Whole Foods...yum!

What is Health?

As stated in my Monday / Wednesday 1:00 Nursing Anatomy and Physiology class, What is Health? While the person who has Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy or Fibromyalga may have a dysfunction of their nervous system aren't they considered healthy? No one can exactly define health. A person may have several disorders or syndromes and live out their lives without many real complications.

With a person with RSD I do consider myself healthy. I have had to have medical intervention to help control my pain and still continue to take medication. I am at the weight my height is suppose to be at, I eat tons of veggies and fruits making sure I get sure I get what my body needs to stay afloat especially living in a dorm. Since I have gone complete vegetarian and I am trying to keep my stress level low I feel much more energetic and "healthy". My stomach does bother me a little but not as much as last semester, the less stress is helping.

I wanted to bring the topic up because I thought it was an interesting one. What do you think the definition of Health is?

Respect

Respect; To take notice of; to regard with special attention; to regard as worthy of special consideration; hence, to care for; to heed.

Living with RSD has helped teach me a lot about life. The biggest lesson it has taught me is that you have to respect yourself before you can respect others. It took me a while to accept myself for who I was and respect myself because of it. I had to accept the fact that I had this unrelenting pain and most of the time no one would understand what I was going through. I took that fact started realizing that no one really knows what the other person is going through. Another RSDer maybe able to empathize with another RSDer but their situations are not going to be exactly the same.

Once you are able to accept yourself and fully respect yourself it is easier for you to respect others. This is true when it comes to relationships, it makes it easier to accept that person for who they really are.

Im In a Mini-Flair

The last few days have been going well. Getting back into school and clearing the cobwebs out of my head has been nice. The only thing that has been a little tough on me is conditioning my right arm to start writing more than it did over break. Due to my RSD it gets flaired up a bit when I don't use it for one activity for a little while and all of a sudden I'm back at it. Making it a little worse it the fact that I cut my finger nail on my right thumb last night. During my shower the stand that hangs on the shower head fell down. Instead of it falling on me, my gut reaction was to grab it resulting in a razor cutting my nail down the middle. It hurts pretty bad so I have been trying to move it so the RSD doesn't get any worse.

Before my shower incident I had my Chemistry Class. My Professor Commented on the fact that I look much healthier than I did last semester which I took as a huge compliment. I dont have any classes on Fridays so tomorrow Im looking forward to sleeping in a little bit and studying. Tomorrow is going to be a nice relaxing day.

Getting Back to Reality

IMannozzi and I Its nice to be back at NDC. It is nice to see the familiar

surroundings and friends who I haven't been able to see in over a month. Yesterday my new roommate and I got things settled in our room and got to know each other. I spent the rest of the evening catching up with friends and getting ready for today. My first class was Intermediate Algebra, not my favorite at all. At least I do know someone who went to my High School in the class. Him and I actually were on swim team together until he graduated. I saw him again last year at a party when he informed me that he was coming to NDC. I have another class tonight at 6. It is a Chemistry lab. I'm not looking forward to that one either but I know that it will help me reach my ultimate goal.

Thankfully everyone in this suite likes to stay warm like me :-) so Ive been doing ok pain wise. Its hard to get use to walking building to building once again especially in the cold.

Becoming a Pain Survivor

I help co-run a RSD Group on Facebook, when I came across a plea from a sister who's brother has RSD my heart went out to their family. It mostly reminded me of the start of my journey with this condition. I was scared, nervous, and didn't know what to expect.


Ive always been able to express how I feel both emotionally and physically. Thanks to a great friend who also has RSD, I was able to accept my new life and embrace it. I had to see a pain psychologist due to getting a Spinal Cord Stimulator implanted. She re-assured me that I could become a nurse I would just need a few accommodations in the work force.


Over the years these tips have helped me become a pain survivor:


1. Find someone you trust that you can talk to, it can be a family member, friend, or therapist


2. Find time to relax and decompress from your day, pain is often worse at night so let those muscles start to relax


3. Find a hobby or start volunteering

How to Manage Chronic Pain with Food

Since I last saw my Primary Doctor I have become stricter on my vegetarian diet and I am feeling better because of it. The more fruits and veggies I eat the better I feel both with my RSD and with my stomach issues. I have been having a hard time because of the cold, so Ive been trying to stay as warm as I can so that my body doesn't over react.

Yesterday after Church I made my mom and I a great vegetarian and filling lunch. I steamed some cucumbers and carrots with some salt and pepper. I then wrapped the vegetables in a tortilla wrap with a tad of Italian dressing. It was great and it left me wanting more. I love discovering new recipes and craving veggies instead of food that isn't healthy.

I came across an article that connects food and how it affects chronic pain. The article as talks about other remedies that can help relieve pain. Please check the article out. I am hoping to get more Omega 3's, Omega 6, and Omega 9 into my diet so that I can get the best anti-inflammatory affect that I can.


http://www.alive.com/website/1375a4a2.php?text_page=1

Distraction and Life

With a pain as severe as RSD it is helpful to come up ways to help become distracted from the pain. Every person who has Chronic Pain has their own techniques to distract themselves during the day. Over the years I have came up with a good number of things that helps keep my mind distracted when I am experiencing a good amount of pain.

One of my main distractions is school. Due to studying my mind is distracted and I am focused on something else instead of my pain. I also stay distracted by spending time with my friends. They help in ways that they don't even know. Another good distraction is my dog. I'm not home much but when I love spending time with her when I am.

Of course life isn't perfect and these distractions are not going to work for everyone. They dont work for me every time I have a painflair either. I hope that you all have distrations that work for you.

Please check out http://fightingagainstrsd.tripod.com/id25.html for ways other RSDers survive living with RSD.

Food and Health

I recently discovered Kris Carr's website Crazy Sexy Life (CSL). I have considered myself a polo vegetarian since October of 2008 when I stopped eating beef. After I stopped eating beef I lost 20-30 pounds within a year. I would still sneak pepperoni or eat sausage not realizing the effects it was having on my body. I stopped eating anything that have beef in it as well and limited the amount of meat I consumed. In the summer of 2008 I discovered my love for organic yogurt. I never liked yogurt until I tried it. Many times for breakfast I will cut up an apple and mix it with the french vanilla flavored yogurt.

I believe that food and health are connected. Kris Carr believes the same thing. She has taken a holistic approach to her health. I am hoping in this upcoming year that I will be able to follow by example. So far I am having fun finding recipes that I like and putting the food together. I love all the colors of the food and how I am feeling after I eat. I am hoping I can keep it up.

Happy New Year!

(Picture of my Dog Holly)

I hope each and everyone of you has a happy and safe 2010! My family and I are going to watch the ball drop from our cozy family room, as we do almost every year.

As the year winds down I am particularly thinking about my health. It is said that the #1 made resolution is to work out and to get in shape. I don't particularly need to get in shape but I do need to make a resolution to help reduce the stress within my life. I do deal with stress particularly well but it does make my RSD worse and is making this new medical issue worse or even causing it. I have been put on a new medicine that will hopefully relax the muscles in my stomach and my intestines. If this medicine works then it is unlikely that I have RSD in my stomach.

Starting Off

So Im starting off hoping that this blog will help me not only raise awareness of RSD but help reach out to other RSDers and help them as well as I, understand this condition that we live with on a daily basis.

At this point it seems that my RSD is somewhat controlled but it has spread. I originally got RSD when I was 12 in my left arm. Thanks to an amazing Dr. I went into a semi-remission for a few years. Three years after my first episode of RSD I sprained my right ankle and it spread there. Since I was active on my high school's swim team I was able to get into another semi-remission. Not long after I sprained my ankle, about two years I smashed my pointer finger on my right hand and it spread to my arm. Ive been battling my RSD in all three limbs since. I now believe it has spread into my stomach. I can barely eat without getting nauseas and it hurting like nothing else. There has been several days that I can barely get out of bed because the pain and the nausea is so bad. Dr's haven't found anything wrong with me, and my Pain Management Dr. does believe that my stomach issues can be RSD.

Im hoping this blog will help others as well as me as we all battle this little thing called RSD. We all half to be strong even though sometime we just don't feel like it.