About Soula Mantalvanos

“I felt I had lost my independence, I could not communicate and express my personal experience and that no one understood me.” Soula combines her many years of chronic pain with her professional design experience to advocate about misdiagnosis and injured Victorian workers. Soula founded pudendalnerve.com.au and PainTrain My Health Summary to help raise the quality of care for those enduring and treating chronic pain.
February 12th, 2023 1:25 pm

Soula’s Coconutty Granola

By |2023-02-25T10:46:28+11:00February 12th, 2023|Categories: Blog, Living|

I am skipping more breakfasts; my body manages far better (cutting out goat's feta on the seedy cracker). The less work my body does in the morning, the happier it seems. No pressure! An empty belly is no pressure on the gut. Feeling hungry does not cause pressure and is easier to deal with than the pain effects. I treat myself a couple of times a week to a croissant. On those days, I avoid carbs for the rest of that day. Carbs have to be in very little moderation for me. So finding a non-carb lunch is important, and it had to be easy to put together. Cereal! Well, most cereals have loads of carbs. Granola! A great idea; make a batch and just add fruit. But wait! Most granola mixes have heaps of sugar (and pepitas, which I am allergic to).

November 27th, 2022 12:35 pm

WorkSafe Victoria Instructed to Treat Injured Workers With Dignity and Respect

By |2023-01-24T16:11:05+11:00November 27th, 2022|Categories: Blog, Workcover|Tags: , , |

WorkSafe Victoria Instructed to Treat Injured Workers With Dignity and Respect My letter has arrived informing me that I am one of the 1,500 long-term injured workers WorkSafe is contacting.  So, I had to learn what this was about. It would be best if you were prepared in these distressing situations even though you anticipate the return to the fire pit.  A letter from WorkSafe is never a simple letter. It will never be pleasant, never hopeful and nor will it ever be about justice, support or care. Letters from WorkSafe are about WorkSafe and steered at ticking their boxes.  Injured workers now have to help WorkSafe clean up their mess.

October 4th, 2022 2:30 pm

WEBINAR: Can visualising the personal health experience lead to better care and understanding?

By |2022-10-04T14:30:46+11:00October 4th, 2022|Categories: Advocacy, Events|Tags: , , , , , , |

Can visualising the personal health experience lead to better care and understanding? You all know what I think and believe about this. But now, I'm aiming to inform the rest of [...]

September 24th, 2022 11:50 am

My Lived Experience at CODA Conference

By |2023-02-25T11:08:42+11:00September 24th, 2022|Categories: Advocacy, Blog, Events, Learn, Professional Resources|Tags: , , , , |

The Primary Care workshop at this year's CODA Conference was my favorite lived experience contribution to date! The workshop approach was more effective than my other 'standup gigs'. Something has clicked with me lately – I've stepped out of chronic illness's emotional and physical sides and more often partaking in health education. I like it! We must believe that twitches, spasms, toilet function-changing effects, noise, screaming, soreness, stabbing, burning, itching, fatiguing, and draining effects of chronic pain can be controlled. If you had told me this between my first and 4.5-year mark, I would have felt angry and said, 'My issue is severe, far more serious than everyone realises, and my healthcare practitioners are all missing the terrible thing in my body, and I am going to die from it.'

September 7th, 2022 11:52 am

A Venetian Refuelling (part 2)

By |2022-09-07T11:58:48+10:00September 7th, 2022|Categories: Blog|Tags: |

While 'researching' places to eat as I sat by the canals drawing, Theo accumulated excellent bearings for Venice's delightful geographical maze. This helped us find the shortest way around the place when we needed it as we're both always concerned about how my up-time is managed. Theo gathered an impressive list of food recommendations, as mentioned in the full report of our Italian trip, Venetian Refuelling (part 1).

September 7th, 2022 11:51 am

A Venetian Refuelling

By |2023-02-05T10:26:12+11:00September 7th, 2022|Categories: About, Blog, Living|Tags: , , , |

I feel completely rejuvenated and jubilant after Theo's and my recent 3-week trip to Italy. Since my spinal cord stim implant, our life and livelihood seachange, and now, with an anti-inflammatory focus, I can feel confident that pain levels will remain right down and my happiness right up. This is a big announcement for my brain.

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