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Pain Management Community

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PetuniaPea

Joined: 11/09/2012

My Story:

Have had neck problems since November of 2002 when I gruffly cracked my own neck, sending me into severe pain for weeks. Have been diagnosed with muscle spasms years later. Took 1,000 mg of Naproxen daily (my doctor's Rx) for a while until I started getting negative side effects...I quit it and have never taken it again. Taking approx. 800 mg magnesium daily (give or take) has helped to reduce pain, because magnesium relaxes the muscles naturally. Also, cutting out sugar and caffiene and other junk foods and incorporating a whole food, plant-based diet has helped reduce my pain dramatically.

I also have suffered with left foot pain for years until I was properly diagnosed with tarsal tunnel syndrome and flat feet. Custom-made orthotics are a godsend! The pain caused by my tarsal tunnel syndrome is gone since wearing them (unless they wear down or I over-exert my feet). I have to wear them for the rest of my life. I can't stand for long periods, I can no longer drive a stick-shift, and I can't do vigorous workouts like jumping rope, but my pain is finally managed.

http://www.thedoctorstv.com/GreenFish/posts/14274-It-was-tarsal-tunnel-syndrome-not-hypochondria-or-in-my-head

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Reply: An Update On Nutrition

Hi, not sure if you still need the info on yeast, but maybe he's referring to...

http://www.thedoctorstv.com/GreenFish/posts

Posted by PetuniaPea

5 Replies | Reply | Watch This DiscussionReport This| Share this:An Update On Nutrition Hi, not sure if you still need the info on yeast, but maybe he's referring to...

Reply: Anyone

Just saw your latest post...I was writing my previous post to you at the time. I'm not...

http://www.thedoctorstv.com/GreenFish/posts

Posted by PetuniaPea

Just saw your latest post...I was writing my previous post to you at the time.

I'm not trying to push my new-found veganism onto anyone! In fact, if you read my original post to Jaylien, I mentioned an anti-inflammatory diet that included fish and fish oil capsules. I would even reccommend Omega-3 eggs to anyone! I was eating them just a couple months ago, and I feed them to my hubby, who is a meat and potatoes kind of guy...he downs a green drink and thinks that covers his veggie intake...hey, I'll take it, it's better than nothing!

I'm sorry if it sounded like I was influencing anyone to do anything! I said to give it try, it might reduce your pain levels, you never know unless you try! I thought I was giving someone the hope that their severe pain can possibly come down a notch...

I was even going to write a post on my usual site http://www.thedoctorstv.com/GreenFish/posts about anyone who is considering becoming vegan to take the original intent of Donald Watson, the one who created the concept: "a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude--as far as possible and practical--all forms of exploitation of and cruelty to animals for food, clothing, or any other purpose." The key words being, "as far as possible and practical." I want to stress to people to not become "snooty," as a lot of people have that perception of vegans. I'm going to be busy until the new year, so I won't be able to write it until January. I, too, want to dispel a better-than-thou attitude that has become attached to vegetarians and vegans!

I like your posts and like that you've shared some things about your diet and philosophy. Thanks for sharing!

I do not take potassium supplements, I get it all thru foods...in this older blog of mine, I was eating salmon! http://www.thedoctorstv.com/GreenFish/posts/14343-Are-you-getting-enough-potassium -

I have worked my way up to 800mg magnesium and don't have that wicked problem! I've done some research and consulted with my doctor and this is a good amount FOR ME...maybe not for others...in fact, DO NOT take this amount before consulting with your doctor!

I have also written blogs about the dangers of some vitamins, including the fat soluble ones! Gotta run for now!!!View Thread

http://www.thedoctorstv.com/GreenFish/posts

Posted byPetuniaPea

20 Replies | Reply | Watch This DiscussionReport This| Share this:Anyone Just saw your latest post...I was writing my previous post to you at the time. I'm not...

Reply: Anyone

You ARE doing vegan/vegetarianism right! Since childhood you've made it work to where...

http://www.thedoctorstv.com/GreenFish/posts

Posted by PetuniaPea

You ARE doing vegan/vegetarianism right! Since childhood you've made it work to where you have energy and good health, I assume (which is one of the reasons you hear people say they've "quit" vegetarianism after a short time--"I felt like I wasn't getting enough protein...I was tired all the time.")

I hear what you say about the scale and I won't exaggerate anymore! Point taken. It reminds me of how I'd always say I was a mutt (half white, half Chinese), until I went back to college as I've mentioned, and took a class on race in America, focusing on bi-racial and multi-racial Americans...my professor said that it's self-depreciating and doesn't give meaning to one's identity in the way in which it deserves. So I stopped calling myself a mutt in my early 30s! I'm 38 now, by the way (Off-topic: so I was eating 37 years of junk food!). Now I just say I'm half white and half Chinese, or I might say I'm Eurasian, or, Amerasian. Thanks for being another person to put me in my place!

I do not envy your medical conditions at all, I'm glad I've got mine mostly under control (it's a lifelong work in progress, as you well know), and I hope you have got yours under control to where you can sometimes "forget" you are in pain. When my condition started to improve, I would do my daily activities and stop to think, "Wow, I didn't even notice my pain while doing that!" That in turn made my mood improve, and it just snowballed from there.

Plus, getting back to you, a single mother with 4 kids? I'm amazed at your strength to tackle your pain issues, to live with your pain, and to raise FOUR kids well

I have NO children, so I have NOTHING to complain about!!! If you ever hear me complaining, slap me back into reality!

In a way, I'm lucky to have these terrible muscle spasms...cutting out sugar, which depletes magnesium, and adding magnesium has helped my condition a lot, but it's not quite proven to be helpful with other conditions (except its showing some promise in some fibromyalgia patients). Have a happy Thanksgiving!View Thread

http://www.thedoctorstv.com/GreenFish/posts

Posted byPetuniaPea

20 Replies | Reply | Watch This DiscussionReport This| Share this:Anyone You ARE doing vegan/vegetarianism right! Since childhood you've made it work to where...

Reply: Anyone

Hi CTBeth, Here's a great article I just found about the causes of chronic...

http://www.thedoctorstv.com/GreenFish/posts

Posted by PetuniaPea

Hi CTBeth,

Here's a great article I just found about the causes of chronic inflammation that states that psychological stress is a factor in causing inflammation...this is such a great article, I'm bookmarking it to read in detail later!

http://www.womentowomen.com/inflammation/causes.aspx

I agree that seeing a chiropractor can make some conditions worse...that' why a proper diagnosis is so important...some people just want to know what's causing their chronic pain, and some doctors just don't have the answer...so those people are risking it if they see a chiropractor (but then again, there's a slim chance that a reputable chiropractor may be able to diagnose their pain). To all others, ask your doctor if chiropractic care is good for you.

I injured my neck in 2002 and have never been the same (read my story by clicking on PetuniaPea!). Going back to school in my late 20s and sitting for long periods at desks was so very painful. Even after college, I was still in a lot of pain just doing day to day things, I was miserable.

I was diagnosed with chronic muscle spasms, not sure what year, maybe 2005 or 2006. I was given an Rx for naproxen...500mg twice a day--the maximum they can prescribe. I didn't want to take muscle relaxers, the side effects scared me. I took the naproxen long term...I was still in a lot of pain, I started getting edema, high blood pressure, and stomach pain (bleeding!). I said to heck with this and swore off all medications! Kind of extreme, but I was just fed up. I was still in a lot of pain. Then I started seeing the chiropractor and started taking magnesium and flaxseed oil, etc, and started to feel somewhat better.

I even had another acute muscle spasm in March of 2010. I was a 20 on a scale of 1-10 for a week! This was around the time of the Japanese tsunami. I thought, what if a natural disaster strikes here, how would I even survive, I can't even move! I knew I had to do something. I read up on a few health books, but I didn't really do much about it.

Then only this past year, I gave up junk food, diet soda, fast food, etc, and started eating vegetarian like you! Again, I had read up on health, eating alkaline foods, anti-inflammatory foods, healthy fats, etc, and how sugar can affect muscle spasms. This time it took! Even these past few months I would consider myself near vegan, and now, this past month, I'm fully vegan, and I'm loving every moment of it! I wrote quite a few blogs about how to do vegan right...if you read them, let me know what you think. Thanks for reading my long reply.View Thread

http://www.thedoctorstv.com/GreenFish/posts

Posted byPetuniaPea

20 Replies | Reply | Watch This DiscussionReport This| Share this:Anyone Hi CTBeth, Here's a great article I just found about the causes of chronic...

Reply: Anyone

Hi Annette, Glad to hear you're doing well! I have also curbed some activities like...

http://www.thedoctorstv.com/GreenFish/posts

Posted by PetuniaPea

20 Replies | Reply | Watch This DiscussionReport This| Share this:Anyone Hi Annette, Glad to hear you're doing well! I have also curbed some activities like...

Includes Expert Content

Reply: Chronic pain but seems like the Doctor's are not l...

Agree with every word you've said, metta. I'm a veteran who has a 10% disability (my...

http://www.thedoctorstv.com/GreenFish/posts

Posted by PetuniaPea

Agree with every word you've said, metta.

I'm a veteran who has a 10% disability (my foot) and get free medical care thru the VA. Oh my God, but that's socialism! Gasp!

I've had all good experiences except one, which I describe below. My chronic left foot pain (tarsal tunnel syndrome/flat feet) was helped greatly when they ordered custom-made orthotics (which I need for life...I get a new pair every year...they're highly expensive, which is why I know that the VA doesn't skimp when it comes to patient's health). I asked if I could be referred to the VA chiropractor for my chronic neck pain, and my doctor (now retired) referred me not only to them, but to physical therapy as well.

I did have a bad doctor, who I "fired" after a year or two of seeing her. She didn't want to keep referring me to the VA chiropractor, which I said helped me greatly since I didn't want to take medication. She didn't want to test my Vitamin D levels when I asked her if she could. She made a few other mistakes which sent me on a wild goose chase, wasting my gasoline and time, and she even reeked of cigarette smoke one time. I felt that maybe she gets some kind of bonus for keeping costs down or something. Never experienced that ever in the VA Healthcare system. I asked for another doctor, and she's waaay better--has no issue with me seeing the chiropractor and insisted I get a Vitamin D test!

My advice to everyone in pain who is suffering and having issues with thier doctors:

1. See if your insurance has a patient advocate who will fight for you. When I had my bad experience with that doctor, someone suggested I talk to a patient advocate. Again, this was with the VA Healthcare system, I don't really know the ins and outs of greedy insurance companies, whether they provide those things.

2. Get a second opinon, third opinion, fourth opinion! Whatever it takes. Don't give up. That's what they want you to do.

3. "Fire" your doctor. I never told the administrative office about my terrible doctor...I just explained that I lived closer to this other clinic, can I change doctors for my convienience. But the end result was I fired the doctor who did not understand me, and I was put with a better one (anyone was better than her!)

4. Go to your local library and check out health and wellness fooks for free! You can find a lot of useful information! I did! Look for books about managing pain naturally, foods and supplements to take, stretching exercises (yoga, tai chi books), books that focus on reducing inflammation by incorporating more Omega 3s from foods.

5. Try a reputable chiropractic clinic that focuses on stretching and self-care. I would love to be able to afford massage, but try seeing a massage therapist every so often! (A cheap at-home massage that I do is to take a tennis ball and lay on it and move, or sit up against the wall with a tennis ball in between).

6. Don't rely solely on conventional, Western medicine! I was prescribed 1,000mg of Naproxen daily for long-term until the side effects became unbearable! I quit and have never taken another pain pill since! I realized that I was in more pain taking the Naproxen! Drugs are toxic to the body. Plus, they mask the pain so that you may end up doing too much (overexerting, etc), which in turn damages your body even more.

7. Don't underestimate the power of your diet. Sugar and caffiene sent my pain through the roof. I was miserable and depressed, couldn't do simple things like wash the dishes. Since improving my diet, my pain levels have reduced to a tolerable level.View Thread

http://www.thedoctorstv.com/GreenFish/posts

Posted byPetuniaPea

20 Replies | Reply | Watch This DiscussionReport This| Share this:Chronic pain but seems like the Doctor's are not listening. Agree with every word you've said, metta. I'm a veteran who has a 10% disability (my...

Reply: SEVERE PAIN. PLEASE HELP

Hi again, good luck with your appointment today. Just want to make sure you check your...

Posted by PetuniaPea

4 Replies | Reply | Watch This DiscussionReport This| Share this:SEVERE PAIN. PLEASE HELP Hi again, good luck with your appointment today. Just want to make sure you check your...

Reply: Anyone

Peskypain, Thanks for reiterating the importance of eating well, daily exercise, and...

Posted by PetuniaPea

20 Replies | Reply | Watch This DiscussionReport This| Share this:Anyone Peskypain, Thanks for reiterating the importance of eating well, daily exercise, and...

Reply: Anyone

Hi Annette! I'm not talking about inflammatory medical conditions. Inflammation,...

Posted by PetuniaPea

20 Replies | Reply | Watch This DiscussionReport This| Share this:Anyone Hi Annette! I'm not talking about inflammatory medical conditions. Inflammation,...

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