A Chat with Deb Thompson
A most essential chat – person (living with pain)-to-person (living with pain). As well as having a lived experience of pain in common, Deb and I also share a love for [...]
FeetUp (Then Take a Seat)
My endless efforts to find a way to get back into regular yoga practice keep falling on their head. Pardon my pun... but I am hopeful FeetUp may help with that problem. Prior to living in the land of pelvic pain, I lived in the land of bliss practising yoga regularly – four times per week! For 45 minutes I was part dog, part warrior, a cat, a cow, even a pelican at times. I became a tree, saluted the sun and enjoyed many various poses. To end my routine, I'd slide up into shoulder stand (8 minutes), then send my toes passed my head in plough pose (for another 8 minutes) before unravelling to a corpse in Savasana pose. That was before I went for a walk!
Foam! I Found Foam!
Foam! I Found Foam! Am I excited today! As I progress this path of pain, I retain my non-negotiable pointers – one of which is my need for my custom made seating aid. I would love to ditch this damn thing from under my backside and from my clutch every time I go out for a seated event, but it's just too valuable for my capacity. Figuring out the big 'dangers in me' (remember we talked about DIMS and SIMS?) has been key to my pacing forward.
My New Friend, Freddie
I’ve never had much success with inflatables. However, Freddie is a little different – he’s got structure and he’s not so wobbly. If you’ve sat on one of [...]
Travel tips for Liz
Traveling isn’t an easy task, even for those with full capacity and no health issues. So when ‘Liz’ contacted me for tips, I thought I could reply here so that you all [...]
Chugging Around the Globe
I’ve met some exceptional people online who have helped educate me about chronic pain and helped with my pain management. I don’t hesitate to write and connect with people but only if [...]
Resources for Treating Chronic Pain by the Pain Specialists Australia (PSA) …MY pain team!
Forgive my bossiness but this post comes from a desperate experience that I lived for 4.5 years. That’s a long time for someone with increasing chronic pain levels and not much hope. [...]
A new DVD resource, Healing the Pain ‘Down There’: A Guide for Females with Persistent Genital and Sexual Pain
There have been many times during my years of chronic pain where I wondered, ‘Why didn’t I know that?’. Usually, the information is quite basic and I feel as though I’ve been [...]
Committment, sacrifice and granting myself the right permissions
Last week, I attended my last acupuncture appointment and for the first time in over seven years, am therapist free. Hang on, I have to just repeat that: I am therapist free Did I ever think this day would come? Of course I did and I believe that's why I am here. I have had my moments, but what I didn't realise through all that heat and whilst pacing like a snail, was that each flare up and pain episode was actually not an indication that pain was here to stay, but rather that it was actually beginning to leave. Although just a difference of minutes initially, eventually I felt the flare ups spreading further apart. And with recognising that change and NOT increasing my capacity past a snail's shell weight, I began to make progress.
My ‘Fatty’ tail aint fat afterall!
Closure really is something. Feeling like a niggling concern is finally put to rest can be so satisfying, it brings me such calm. Slowly, my pelvic chronic pain niggles are finding their place and providing me with the peace my body and mind needs so I can let go, move on and most of all feel my injury is clearly understood. I had another session with the wonderful Raffaele who continues to treat me fortnightly. I was ready to call the next nerve block last week but after yesterday I'm hopeful again and thinking I was in some kind of a flare. I can't expect (but I will!) that with my effective management flare ups will cease to happen. As I test my capacity and lift my full litres of milk occasionally, walk the dog and go out more often, I've got to expect at some point the body is going to say, 'hang on love, you're lifting too much milk!'