Articles on Headaches and How to Deal with Pain

Hello All!

Today I opened my email and found some great articles that I thought that all of you may enjoy.

Managing Headaches Without Pain Medication: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/PainManagement/managing-headaches-pain-medication/story?id=10642271

Skin Color Affects Ability to Emphasize With Pain: http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/05/27/race.empathy/

Ginger Can Help With Muscle Pain: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1280005/A-pinch-ginger-help-reduce-muscle-pain-heavy-exercise.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Hope You Enjoy!

Healing Thoughts To All :-)

Update :-)

Hello Wellness Lovers!!

Hope your all doing well, soaking up the sun shine and enjoying the beautiful weather we've been having.

I've been enjoying being filled with God's spirit and learning about Him more through His word. I love being able to connect with God more through eating whole natural foods and knowing Im treating my body as best as I can.

I got Kris Carr's Crazy Sexy Cancer Documentary from our local library and spent the humid day re-learning from it. I watched it when if first came out on NBC several years ago but wanted to watch it again and get anything I could from it. It did make me crave some pasta with tomato sauce with broccoli. Don't ask me why I got this craving especially since tomato sauce is very acidic but I can say it was delicious.

I am still taking my daily walks with my dog. Around 6:30-7:00 in the evening she comes and finds me to let me know that its time for our walk. She a little dog but holds her own. When we get back I get her a fresh bowl of water and she takes a long nap. I'm blessed to have her.

Sorry for the long time between updates.
Healing Thoughts To All of You!

Good Food and Good Memories

Hello Wellness Lovers!

This week has been full of Delicious food and the memories that come with it, visiting a friend from school on the way to see my Grandma, and two Graduation Parties to end it all.

On Tuesday my mom and I went down to visit my Grandma. She is currently in a rehab facility since she just got out of the hospital. Once of my friends from school is near to where my Grandma is at. We stoped at her house and visited with her and her mom for a good hour to two hours. She lives in a rural area, more than I do. They have lots of land and many of their neighbors have farm animals. At their house they had chickens, which I loved. I don't want any but loved to watch them walk around. It also confirmed why I am vegan and why I cant eat them and their eggs, it definitely wouldn't seem right now. We then went and visited with my Grandma for a good couple hours. My Aunt (her daughter) told me her son was having a hard time eating dairy and wheat products so I let her know about the dairy alternatives to cheese (daiya) and other things that might help. It just seems more and more people are having a harder time digesting meat and dairy products.

After the visit with my Grandma my mom and I went to Whole Foods to pick some things up that we cant get at stores near us. At the store I started craving a dish that Ive had so many times when I was younger. My friends mom and her mom (friends Grandma) would make this dish and I would eat over there frequently. Recently my friends Grandmother passed away and I too thought of her as my Grandma so this dish reminded me of her. We bought some gluten free noodles for the dish and other goodies. To make the "Goolosh" we added homemade canned tomatoes, the pasta, green bell pepper, a little bit of onion, and black beans. It tasted just like Grandma Judy's and was absolutely wonderful.

Sweet Potato & Beet Chips, Gluten Free Pasta, Earth Balance Butter,

So Delicious Yogurt, and Strawberries...yummy!

"Goolosh" - Pasta with Noodles and Tomato Sauce with Black Beans

Yesterday was the Graduation of the High School I am an Alumni of. It seems so weird Ive already been out for two years already. On that note we had two Graduation parties that we got invited to. At the first party I filled up on some delicious fruit. Here in the north our fruit season isn't until mid June or so. It was nice to be able to have a fruit salad and taste all of those flavors. At the second party one of my friends also happens to be vegan so I was able to eat some of the food that her mom makes for her. I had also brought me some hummus so that I could could have a dip for fresh vegetables. At least I know what to do for the next Graduation Party. I have one more and then one is being thrown at my house for my cousin which will make it even easier.

At one of the Graduation Parties. I have been friends with these

girls for years. The girl I am sitting next to is also vegan.

Sending Healing Thoughts!

Learning New Ways To Re-Think Symptoms

I have been reading a book on these last few weeks on how to not to be controlled by your symptoms. The book is called "Stop Being Your Symptoms and Start Being Yourself" a 6 week Mind - Body Program to Ease Your Chronic Symptoms. The book is by Arthur J. Barsky M.D and Emily C. Deans M.D. I'm going to be honest, its taken me a little while to actually get into the book and still at times do not agree with it. There are several things though that I do agree with and think many of the ideas other people may feel helpful.

The book starts off talking about how since medical technology has advanced more people are living longer. Since people are living longer we are contracting more conditions, syndromes, or diseases that we wouldn't have otherwise including dementia and althestimers. Also because of medical technology many people expect to be cured of their conditions, syndromes, or diseases. When a person's symptoms aren't fully alleviated or the person isn't cured of the condition, syndrome, or disease the person gets disappointed. The person either blames their Dr that they are not doing their job or the Dr blames the patient that they are making up their symptoms.


The book also talks about the difference of symptoms and disease. A symptom can be produced by more things than physical disease; they can be produced by our life experiences, expectations, beliefs, and emotions" (pg 19). This is evident in those who have an optimistic outlook on their treatment. Those who are optimistic outlook do have symptoms but are less apt to focus on them. Also it is also evident in those who expect a cure or total remission of sorts. When I got diagnosed with RSD I knew my life was going to change. I did want remission but knew I had to get through every day and did so with the help of my family and friends. After 8 years I still have that support and realize how blessed I am everyday.


Dr's for the most part are taught to diagnose and treat their patients. When they find nothing wrong there is nothing to treat. This is hard especially with Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy where nothing shows up on x-rays, CT's, MRI's, or other medical tests. Doctors are left to diagnose the patient by ruling out other conditions and focusing on the symptoms. That is also hard to do since not everyone who has RSD has the same symptoms. Someone may swell like a balloon while person's limbs may turn different colors, while another's may do both.


I will post more about the book when I have read more. I have found it interesting pretty far and so far a good read.




On Saturday my mom and I went to the store to get some fresh vegetables and fruit for the weekend. It was absolutely crazy there. I would go and grab something and almost get ran over. My tension headache from the night before came back full force and I was pretty much down for the rest of the evening. That night my dad had went to cut the watermelon we had bought. We were all so excited since it was the first one that we got this year. It ended up having some kind of worm type holes. My mom ended up taking the watermelon back to the store since it wasn't worth eating. Today we went to my sister's house. We had a Birthday type gathering for my other sister. I brought my vegan burgers and munched on some raw vegetables. There wasn't much I could eat other than corn which I eat with nothing on it (yum!). I had offered to make a cake or cookies (vegan of course) but was shot down by my mom earlier this week. I'm nervous about when I go to NYC what I'm going to eat. I'm going with all meat eaters, and even though I love salads, I do like a bit of variety too.

As I mentioned above Ive been having some trouble with my neck and my tension headaches are back. The only way I know to rid of them is to get my neck massaged and don't have an appointment for a month. If you have any suggestions I will take any at this point.



Healing Thoughts To All of You!

Life Is Good!

Hi All! I hope you are all having a great week and enjoying the lovely weather, I know I am. I have to keep this a little short since my dog is waiting for me to take her on our nightly walk.

I have been having an awesome time eating foods that are nourishing my body, one bite at a time. I actually became a little attached to a veggie sub I started making. My dad had left over hoggie buns from his lunch this week so I grilled one on our stove grill and cut up some fresh vegetables that we had (green pepper, cucumber, celery). I added a bit of spinach and veganise and olala it was soo good! Its perfect for a hot day way no one doesn't want to cook.

Not too much has been going on here. I went to my Pain Management Dr's yesterday to get my SCS reprogrammed. He suggested that I get it reprogramed last time that I saw him. All I had to do was see his nurse practitioner and the Medtronics Representative. The Medtronics Representative checked my battery and let me know the reason that I had to turn my battery up more is because my battery is starting to go. I have a 3-5 year battery and I have had it implanted since December 2007 so it will be 4 years in December. She gave me the signs to look for and my remote will let me know when to call the Dr. I just hope it doesn't happen during the school year. She told me it shouldn't and that I probably have a year left but that is just an estimate.

After the Dr's Appointment my mom and I went to Khols. Since I have lost so much weight in the last year because of becoming vegan I dong have any shorts (besides athletic ones) to wear. I got some really cute shorts and tops which fit me with out me having to go and getting a bigger or smaller size. I had a gift card too so the clothes were needed and were a gift to myself for all of my hard work this year. Also to show off a bit in NYC (we all like to show off, admit it!).

Well I'm off to go on my walk. My dog won't stop crying...lol. I'm reading an interesting book about medical symptoms and would like to share with you some concepts. I will have to next time.

Healing Thoughts!!

* P.S. The Concert on Monday was awesome, I got to see Friends I havent seen in a while. Its always great to get away and enjoy some music for awhile.

An Amazing Weekend! + Pictures

From Friday to Sunday I went to West Virgina to visit my extended family. I haven't been to Wv in about 2 or 3 years so it was great to see my family especially the ones that hardly travel. Due to my RSD I do not like traveling for an extended period of time so it took some will power to get through the 4 hour drive both there and coming back.

During the stay in Wv I finally saw my cousins whom I haven't seen in several years, actually I meet one for the first time. The two of them, are two and four years old are absolutely precious and didn't want to leave my side all weekend.

Alexis and I

Aiden, Alexis, and I

I also got to visit the cemetery where my Grandparents, Uncles are buried. My one Uncle, Uncle Bud I was especially close to before he passed away about 7-8 years ago. I believe I mentioned this but during finals I had a realistic dream that he was there and I ended up waking up crying. I believe with my whole heart that he helped me through finals.

Alexis and Aiden picked "flowers" for me

My mom and I went and bought some flowers today. I wanted a plant for a planter I made the first semester of school but when we got it home it was too large. I ended up getting fresh parsley since I end up using a lot when I marinade tofu or vegetable pizza. I am exited to use it any tips on using it would help.

Tonight I am meeting up with one of my good friends and we are going to a concert that our Church is having. One of our friends that grew up in the Church with us will be opening for the band so we are both excited for this concert.

I hope you enjoy,

Healing Thoughts!

The Obsticals of Chronic Pain

Over the last 8 yrs I have lived with the pain of Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy. Its hard for me to describe to anyone who doesn't live with this type of pain day in and day out what this does to you physically and mentally. Going to bed with pain and knowing that your going to wake up and experience it all over again can be trying at times. In my case I am a very light sleeper, so I do feel pain when I am sleeping. People may find this to be a hard concept but when you have RSD its reality. Last night esspecially when I would only sleep an hour at a time due to my right arm feeling like it was on fire.

I have never gotten to the point where I have needed help by a Professional for the mental obsticals that RSD has thrown my way. I am not saylng that seeing a Psychiatrist is a bad thing. For many people it helps them express emotions that otherwise they couldn't. I do recommend if you or someone you know has chronic pain to go see a Psychiatrist that has specialized in Pain Managment. I have been able to surround myself with people who support me. I surround myself not only with my family and friends but with others who have RSD. Those of us with RSD can support each other by understanding what each other is going through, encouraging each other through various treatments, and simply be there for one another.

I meet one of my good friends who has RSD on facebook. She and I quickly became friends and a short time later we were able to meet in NYC when I went to participate in the Achilles Hope and Possibility Walk in 2007. Even though her and I are several years apart in age we are have a bond because of the pain we experience each and everyday. I havent seen her since 2007 and I am looking forward to seeing her this summer.

One of my friends from my college, has Cerebral Palsy. Him and I have great talks whenever he comes up to visit as he graduated from the college in 2009. He made a donation to RSDSA on my behalf. He also posted about the walk on his Disaboom site. If you have a chance please check it out. He posts reguarly about Cerebral Palsy. Here is the link to his Disaboom site, click here http://www.disaboomlive.com/Blogs/zachary/archive/2010/05/17/achilles-walk-for-hope-amp-possibility-team-rsdsa.aspx

Before I end this post I do have to let everyone know how strong people with RSD and Chronic pain are. Well actually anyone who has a "disablility" (I hate that word) is strong emotionally and physically. We have to find ways to get things accomidated for us so that we may have an equal chance just as everyone else does.