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Guilt-Free Self-Care Tips for Introverts

by admin February 17, 2022
written by admin
Pink background with hand holding coffee cup reading "busy introverting," text: Guilt-free self care tips for introverts, janetjay.com
Pink background with hand holding coffee cup reading "busy introverting," text: Guilt-free self care tips for introverts, janetjay.com
Bottle of clear hand sanitizer with label on it that looks like the famous marquee at el arroyo with text that reads "turns out i was social distancing the whole time"

Guest post by Melissa Howard of Stop Suicide

There’s a wide range of self-care tips for introverts out there, from putting down devices and practicing mindfulness to learning how to say no without feeling guilty. For individuals who have social anxiety, chronic pain, or just need to have quiet alone time, there are several methods of care to choose from.

It’s important to think about your specific issues before creating a routine or plan. For instance, if you’ve been wanting to go back to school but are having trouble with the in-class aspect, take a look at some online programs and set some goals.

Here are a few self-care tips for introverts to put into practice:

Adjust your goals to work for you

Sometimes it’s necessary to make some adjustments to your plans in order to accommodate your physical or mental health, which is why online degree programs are such great options. Not only can you work on your own time when your schedule allows, you can pursue an associate, bachelor’s, or master’s degree from an accredited school within the comfort of your own home. Check out the various programs offered virtually, and make sure the school of your choice offers competitive tuition rates so you can lock in the best deal.

Note from Janet: make sure to check out their disability services office too! The support that the disability office at my university provided made all the difference.

Man on a bicycle cycles past wall with "NO" painted on it, a valuable skill for self-care for introverts

Learn how to say no

Whether it’s for school, work, or family obligations, sometimes introverts have a hard time saying no without feeling guilty. Even if you have a good reason to decline, it can create discomfort or anxiety at times.

Learning how to say no when you can’t give your time or energy to someone else is important, whether it involves your professional or your personal life. It is possible to do so while remaining empathetic and kind, but it takes a little practice.

Give yourself permission to say no even when it’s hard. This is a crucial step in creating boundaries, which is important for introverted individuals. 

Appreciate your own company… guilt-free

While you’re learning to set boundaries, you may find that it’s a confidence booster. Finding self-esteem through your own actions can be extremely rewarding and can help you appreciate yourself a bit more. This means you can look for new hobbies that are perfect for people who like to spend time alone, try some solo workouts, or spend time with yourself without the negative feelings that sometimes come with being alone. You might try complementary treatments like meditation and yoga–which can be beneficial for a well-rounded health regimen–or learn something new, like a foreign language. Set up a spa night at home and pamper yourself for an act of self-care that helps you feel better both physically and mentally.

Woman practices self-care for introverts sitting reading under a tree

Get outdoors

While you’re practicing new hobbies or getting in a workout, consider integrating them with some outdoor time. Getting outside can boost your mood and can help you feel more connected to the world. (Especially if you’ve been avoiding social situations recently due to the pandemic!) Take your dog on a walk through the neighborhood, plant a garden, set up a small workstation on the back porch, or gather some supplies to practice your hobby of choice at the park. Not only will this help you find a good mental/physical health balance, but it also benefits your sleep quality. 

Practicing self-care sometimes requires an open mind. Start small and try a few different things that you think might work for you; if they don’t, move on to another technique. If you’re also living with chronic pain or physical mobility issues, seek support from your primary care physician before trying a new activity.


Guest post by Melissa Howard, founder of Stop Suicide, which provides info, articles, resources, how to contact helplines, and more. “Every suicide is preventable. After losing her younger brother to suicide, Melissa Howard felt compelled to create Stop Suicide. By providing helpful resources and articles on her website, she hopes to build a lifeline of information. Melissa attended school at University of Colorado, Colorado Springs and currently works as an executive assistant.”

Do YOU have what it takes to write a guest post for janetjay.com? I make no money from this site so if you can get paid elsewhere, I say godspeed. But if want to write about anything relating to pain, I’m always looking for new ideas! HMU on social media or at pain.chronic.words.iconic@gmail.com

February 17, 2022 0 comment
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chronic painComplementary medicineRecommendationsStuff (physical items)Uncategorized

Gift Guide For Chronic Pain — UPDATED FOR 2021!

by Janet Jay December 14, 2021
written by Janet Jay
On a background of stars text reads "Gift guide for chronic pain: updated for 2021, janetjay.com"

Christmas is coming! (And my birthday too… just sayin’) and that’s got me thinking about all the little gadgets I continually recommend to my friends. Some of this stuff took me 20 years to learn about (theracane, where were you all my life?!) and some are old standbys that can help a surprising amount. Here’s a gift guide for chronic pain patients full of guaranteed wins– mostly items I currently own and use myself. (Of course, if you have chronic pain yourself and this stuff sounds rad, I say treat yo’self.)

Full disclosure: I am posting these options with Amazon affiliate links, because why not, though if you have a local business you can buy from I very much recommend and prefer you go there instead. I’ll also just leave the link to my Patron here, just in case anybody would like to buy me a cup of coffee.

NEXT UP: Updated gift guide for chronic pain patients in the hellyear 2021!

Standing Strong

 For me, standing is one of the most difficult, painful things there is. For instance, cooking is really hard for me, given the amount of standing it requires. But once I got a gel anti-fatigue mat, it made the process easier. And it doesn’t have to be cooking of course: does the person you’re shopping for stand up to do stretches and PT while they watch tv? Do they have a standing desk of some sort? Whatever it is, grab one of these mats. They’re not all black and ugly, either (though of course, some companies had to cock that up).

View from behind of an african american man sitting at a desk on a yoga ball seat, stretching his arms
There are a ton of slightly different varieties of these yoga ball seats… if you have one you love, let me know!

Desk the halls (sorry, sorry)

Speaking of desks… almost everybody can benefit from making their workspace more ergonomic, especially for people who found themselves suddenly thrown into working from home last year.

(What makes a desk ergonomic? Here’s some great info from the Mayo Clinic and a super simple piece from the NHS called “How to Sit At Your Desk Correctly”.)

A good, supportive desk chair is the biggest thing, but I don’t know enough about the options to recommend anything. Luckily, there are tons of other cheaper options that can help too.

  • Yoga ball for sitting and stretching
  • I’ve always wanted to try one of these yoga ball seats, too
  • Ergonomic wrist and mousepad (there are a hundred different versions of these, of course)
  • Laptop stand for your desk to get it up to eye level
  • A good, ergonomic lumbar support cushion (this is another item where there are a thousand slightly different versions)
  • If your desk is like mine,a keyboard on top is too high to be ergonomic. Grab a little add-on keyboard tray and bring it down to your level.

What do you use to make your desk more ergonomic?

Vibrate at your own frequency

I love my little (well, bigish) back massager. To get it out of the way first: yeah, you can use it for, uh, “me time.” But for someone in chronic pain, that’s just one of a number of helpful uses (…and an ENTIRELY different type of blog post). Obviously they are good for tight muscles, but I also use mine on my temples, scalp and occipital bulge (the bumps where your neck attaches to your skull) during the worst of my migraines.

There are tons of different models with different variations: these hardcore Theraguns, which I’ve never tried but have a friend who swears by. The best hardcore “personal massager” brand is the Hitachi Magic Wand, which is strong enough that it has therapeutic uses outside of getting off.

I personally have this off-brand massager, but I really like that you can change out the “business end” (wow, there’s no way to say that without sounding gross)… anyway, like you see in the pic to the right, it’s got all these different heads on it that you can switch out depending on what you’re using it for. (I wish I could embed this video of it, as it’s a damn party groove.)

Heat it up

Back buddy heating pad

All heating pads are not created equal: so-called “moist heat” is a lot more effective for pain than the dry heat of an electric blanket or something. Bed Buddy is a brand of heat pack filled with organic materials that you throw in the microwave for a couple of minutes. In my experience, they last for years and are massively helpful for sore, tight muscles. They even offer them with built-in aromatherapy, if that’s your jam. 

Stretch it out

Woman helping man stretch using resistance bands

There are all sorts of exercises you can do with resistance bands— if you’ve done physical therapy recently, they may have sent you home with some. But if nothing else, they’re fantastic for stretching. That’s why I recommend everybody have at least one resistance band– when you’re feeling stiff, it really helps you stretch out tight muscles. 

vive calf stretcher
Vive Calf Stretcher

The last time I went to physical therapy they had this little plastic thing called a foot rocker that made stretching tight calf and leg muscles SO easy that I went home and immediately bought one for myself.

It also came with a spiky ball that is absolutely perfect for working out knots in your feet– when my plantar fasciitis is bugging me, this is the first thing I grab. (It also includes an app, which I didn’t know about until three seconds ago when I went looking for that link.)

Grab it

the HMS Grabber reacher being used by a person in a wheelchair to pick up keys
The Grabber in use

A couple of years ago my L5-S1 herniated and i was taken to the hospital screaming, and eventually underwent an emergency laminectomy. I was sent home with a corset brace that supported my back but didn’t let me bend over (not like I would have been able to bend over without it, because of the pain). As goofy as it looks, a little grabbermajig like this turned out to be incredibly helpful.

Every little bit of independence is worth it. This article, “Three Things To Consider Before Buying A Grabbing Tool,” goes through different options that specialize in long reach, firm grasp or great value. I ended up buying a “featherweight” model that did everything I needed it to.

For a fancier model with a rotating head and a bunch of other options, take a gander at this demonstration video for the RMS Grabber Reacher — the grabber is illustrated with CGI and there’s an inspiring soundtrack that swells like the moment in a Disney movie where the hero triumphantly decides to fight on the side of good or whatever.

Step it up

stepper
Woman uses stepper

Getting regular exercise can be incredibly difficult with chronic pain– no matter how much you rationally know it will help in the long term, when you’re just struggling to get through the day it can be hard to force yourself to do something that’s only going to make you feel worse in the short term. (Damn you, pain cycle!) I live in Texas, land of “nine months of summer per year,” and if it’s hard to exercise regularly, it’s way harder when it’s 100 degrees outside by 11 am.

Enter the stepper! I like to hop on it while watching something and zone out. I have the model on the left, which has stretchy resistance bands you can use with your arms, but you can also get a version that has a handle if you’re more concerned about ergonomics or need extra support. (Of course you could buy a stairmaster or a treadmill, if that’s your price point, but until I got this as a gift I had no idea that $50-$100 could buy me something that’s just as good).

Mobilize it (& work on that chi)

man lying down uses chi machine

I hate the name of these things–“chi machines”– because I feel like whatever it does for your “chi” is a lot less important than what it does for your muscles and joint mobility. You lie on the ground, put your feet in the little foot slots, and then turn it on so that it’s gently moving your legs from side to side with a swimming or wavelike motion. Note: START SLOW! This is one of those electronics where there are some really crappy knockoffs out there. The bare minimum you need is that your chi machine has a speed controller, and has soft footrests instead of hard plastic. This is the exact model I own and it’s served me well for…. eight years? Dang.

Massage it yourself

Man uses orange thera cane

For real y’all: get yourself a dang Thera cane. I’m legitimately sad that I didn’t hear about these amazing things until just a couple of years ago. A Thera cane is a plastic doohickey (technical term) that looks like the kind of old-timey exaggerated cane that would be used in a cartoon to pull someone offstage when they’re bombing in front of a crowd.

You can use it to massage out knots anywhere on your entire body, by yourself, no matter where it is. As someone who lives alone it’s absolutely invaluable for those can’t-reach knots in my shoulders.

Pro tip: you can put Icy Hot, essential oils or whatever you want on the knobs too! Seriously, the basic model and one that comes apart for ease of transport are both under $30. I just have a basic blue one and it has been a huge help to me; I can’t recommend this gift enough.

Prop it up with a lap desk

Lap desk with pillow & wrist cushions, used by someone reading book

Lap desks are important for anyone who spends a lot of time in bed or on the couch with their computer. It serves a number of purposes: it keeps your computer stable as you shift around under it, it raises it up and tilts to make the whole process more ergonomic (I particularly like models that also have a wrist cushion, like this one).

Another similar option is what’s called a lap table or bed table. It’s like a lap desk with legs; it reminds me of those trays that you see people on TV serving breakfast in bed on. Most lap desks have foldable legs that allow it to transform into a more normal lap desk, though without the cushioned bottom. There’s a huge range of options, from the most simple— a horizontal surface with folding legs– to the extremely complex, with cool materials, adjustable angles, integrated fans, and a hundred other little cool tweaks.

Soak it

shea butter moisturizing epsom salt

Three words: epsom salt baths. Epsom salt baths are a type of complementary medicine that actually works for me, and I know other people who swear by it (I recommend this stuff so often that the people in my chronic pain group are probably sick of hearing about it.). If you have super tight muscles and achy joints, it can really make a difference. On one hand, I have found a ton of personal relief from epsom salt baths and have had medical professionals explain how they work… on the other hand, I just this minute discovered that there’s not a ton of evidence actually supporting its efficacy for pain relief.

All I can say is that I can personally tell a noticeable difference in how I feel getting out of a regular bath vs an epsom salt bath, but take my opinion with a grain of [epsom] salt (sorry, sorry, i’m trying to delete it). Anyway, regular epsom salt does the trick, but you can also buy versions scented with lavender, eucalyptus, and other calming scents, a special moisturizing formula with shea butter, and more.

What other stuff should I include on next year’s gift guide for chronic pain?

I know I’m almost certainly forgetting nine million great doohickeys, thingamajigs and whatchamacallits. Leave a comment or give me a shout on social media and tell me what I need to add to the gift guide for next year!

December 14, 2021 0 comment
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biofeedbackchronic painComplementary medicinePersonal experiencescience

Complementary Medicine That Actually Works: Biofeedback

by Janet Jay November 25, 2020
written by Janet Jay
How biofeedback works

My pain started when I was 15: nobody knew what was wrong or how to fix it (I didn’t get a diagnosis or explanation for well over a decade), and we were grasping at straws. My mother, bless her, dragged me to everything she could think of to help me, even stuff like hypnosis that I wouldn’t have chosen for myself.  Over the last 20 years, I’ve tried (and retried) many more options. Some of them helped; most of them didn’t. The majority of complementary treatments I’ve tried have been an expensive way of pissing money away. But there ARE things that can really, truly help. Everyone is different, and pain is different. But here’s what helped me. 

For more info about what complementary medicine is, what it includes, and what I’ve tried, read the intro piece in this series.

Today’s actually helpful treatment: biofeedback. 

It was a huge surprise to discover how much biofeedback helped me. The idea sounds weird (to me, at least)– they hook you up to a fancy machine that measures stuff like your brain waves, skin temperature, muscle tension, heart rate, skin conduction and breathing,  and then visualizes it. The idea behind biofeedback is that by being able to actually look at something that illustrates what’s going on right then in your body, you can use that (bio)feedback to help learn to regulate some of those processes that you’re not normally aware of but may be able to bring under voluntary control– and eventually, learn to do it on your own without the need of that visualization. As the Mayo Clinic put it, “In essence, biofeedback gives you the ability to practice new ways to control your body.”¹ 

How Biofeedback works

Does it really help? Science says yes.

In 2002, a task force formed to rank how effective biofeedback is for different disorders.² Biofeedback has evidence-based support for chronic pain conditions including migraines,³ tension headaches,4,5 temporomandibular joint pain,6 and is also used for non-cardiac chest pain,7 arthritic conditions,8 irritable bowel syndrome,9 Raynaud’s disease, and other chronic pain conditions.10 There is evidence biofeedback may help related problems such as insomnia and anxiety, but often demonstrates comparable gains to cognitive behavioral therapy for these conditions. Thus, biofeedback is often used in conjunction with other therapies such as physical therapy or cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness and meditation.11

— Institute for Chronic Pain, “What is Biofeedback?”

“Biofeedback is a closed-loop system that translates bio-signals into audiovisual displays.” Source: Biofeedback for Everyday Stress Management: A Systematic Review.

My experience with biofeedback

One of my major problems is ridiculously tight muscles. I also have a whole mess of depression and anxiety issues, which of course makes them clench up even more. When I did biofeedback, the practitioner started out asking me to consciously relax my muscles one by one, and gave me a couple of visualization exercises to try. I could see the indicators on the screen change as my muscles relaxed, and what it looked like when they tensed back up as soon as I stopped focusing on them.

But it was the next part I found most helpful: after learning to use biofeedback to address specific surface issues, the biofeedback practitioner had me focus on deeper changes. It’s a deeply weird feeling to try to manipulate something deep in your brain and body and see a corresponding reaction to it on the screen. And then you do that over and over, to learn what it feels like without the machine’s feedback and how to address it. 

It’s really hard to explain. You’ll see a row of lights and the person you’re working with will say “see if you can get those lights to go down,” and you try thinking in different ways and all of a sudden, the light goes down. And then you know that thinking in that one particular way can help you.  I don’t know any better way to describe it than that. But I came out of biofeedback with a toolkit that has really helped me try to keep my body under control. 

A woman undergoes neuro-biofeedback treatment. (Image credit: Camogoemz, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)

Want to try biofeedback?

Ask your medical team if they can refer you to someone with experience as a biofeedback practitioner. Because state laws regulating biofeedback practitioners vary, many are licensed in another area of health care, such as psychology, nursing or physical therapy. So it’s crucial to find someone with training in biofeedback and experience treating your particular condition. It’s also important to determine whether your health insurance will cover biofeedback (many do not) before you plan your treatment plan. 

The NIH page “Paying for Complimentary and Integrated Health Approaches” has a ton of good info and sample questions for your insurance company and medical providers to help you determine and establish coverage. 

A Caution on Woo

Biofeedback is supported by science but as it’s a relatively unlicensed field, training and treatment quality can vary hugely. Do your research. But even when you choose the best options with the most experience, you may do your biofeedback treatment at a location that offers other, less scientifically-supported treatments. For instance, my second and most recent biofeedback experience was at a location that did stuff like reiki and aura work. One time the woman who was doing my biofeedback had me lie down and, without asking, started trying to do “aura work” on me. (Again, if woo helps you, go for it: the placebo effect is a real thing, and science doesn’t know everything yet… but I’m pretty sure “aura work” is never going to be supported.) Just remember: you’re paying to be there. Don’t be afraid to speak up and re-direct whatever’s going on.

Conclusion

More and more studies are coming out about the power our minds have over our bodies. Biofeedback is a way to “hack” that power, to focus it and make it work for you. The beauty of biofeedback is that once you learn the skills, you can use them as often as you want. Instead of a treatment like massage that helps for a short period of time, biofeedback teaches you techniques that can help you better manage your pain throughout your life. (The whole “teach a man to fish” metaphor.) Some people find that biofeedback practice allows them to do more and take fewer meds. For me, it’s just amazing that my brain knows the tricks to make my body listen. 

For more information:

The Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback

Western Association of Biofeedback and Neuroscience

International Society for Neurofeedback and Researc

Biofeedback Certification International Alliance

Citations

  1. “Biofeedback,” Mayo Clinic, Feb. 06, 2019, https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/biofeedback/about/pac-20384664
  2. La Vaque, T., Hammond, D., Trudeau, D., Monastra, V., Perry, J., Lehrer, P., Matheson, D., & Sherman, R. (2002) Template for developing guidelines for the evaluation of the clinical efficacy of psychophysiological interventions. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, 27(4): 273-281.
  3. Nestoriuc, Y., & Martin, A. (2007). Efficacy of biofeedback for migraine: A meta-analysis. Pain, 128(1-2): 111-127.
  4. Nestoriuc, Y., Marcin, A., Rief, W., & Adrasik, F. (2008). Biofeedback treatment for headache disorders: A comprehensive efficacy review. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, 33, 125-140.
  5. Nestoriuc, Y., Rief, W., & Martin, A. (2008). Meta-analysis of biofeedback for tension-type headache: Efficacy, specificity, and treatment moderators. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 76(3): 379-396.
  6. Crider, A. & Glaros, A. (1999). A meta-analysis of EMG biofeedback treatment of temporomandibular disorders. Journal of Orofacial Pain, 13: 29-37.
  7. DeGuire, S., Gevritz, R., Hawkinson, D., & Dixon, K. (1996). Breathing retraining: A three-year follow-up study of treatment for hyperventilation syndrome and associated functional cardiac symptoms. Biofeedback and Self-Regulation, 21, 191-198.
  8. Dissanayake, R. k., & Bertouch, J.V. (2010). Psychosocial interventions as adjunct therapy for patients with rheumatoid arthritis: A systematic review. International Journal of Rheumatic Disease, 13(4), 324-334).
  9. Stern, M.J., Guiles, R. F., & Gevirtz, R. (2014). HRV biofeedback for pediatric irritable bowel syndrome and functional abdominal pain: A clinical replication series. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, 39(3-4), 287-291.
  10. 10 Tan, G., Shaffer, R., Lyle, R., & Teo, I. (2016). Evidence-based practice in biofeedback and neurofeedback, 3rd edition. Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback: Wheat Ridge, CO.
  11. Schoenberg, P. & David, A. (2014). Biofeedback for psychiatric disorders: a systematic review. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, 39(2): 109-35.

November 25, 2020 0 comment
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acupuncturebiofeedbackchronic painComplementary medicineHealthcare / MedicinemassageMental healthPersonal experienceRecommendations

Complementary Medicine: What Works and What Doesn’t

by Janet Jay November 22, 2020
written by Janet Jay
complementary medicine: what works and what doesn't, janetjay.com

Introduction:

Complementary medicine is not most people’s first choice. My pain started when I was 15: nobody knew what was wrong or how to fix it (I didn’t get a diagnosis or explanation for well over a decade), and after all the doctors threw up their hands, we were grasping at straws. My mother, bless her, dragged me to everything she could think of to help me, even stuff like hypnosis that I wouldn’t have chosen for myself. 

Over the last 20 years, I’ve tried (and retried) many more options. Some of them helped; most of them didn’t. The majority of complementary treatments I’ve tried have been an expensive way of pissing money away. But there ARE things that can really, truly help. Everyone is different, and everyone’s pain is different. But here’s what helped me– and what didn’t.

What is complementary medicine?

To put it simply, it’s a treatment that you use in conjunction with conventional medicine. Just as alternative medicine is used as a replacement / alternative for conventional medical treatment, complementary medicine complements the treatment plan your doctor has in place. The term “integrated health” is sometimes used to describe a holistic approach where conventional and complementary approaches are used together in a coordinated way. Out-of-pocket spending on these approaches for Americans age 4 and older amounts to an estimated $30.2 billion per year, according to the 2012 NHIS— almost 10% of OOP spending on healthcare. Money is a huge concern when discussing complementary health: while insurance may cover some of these treatments, most of them are going to be coming from your pocket.

NGL: this is much of complementary medicine

I’ll just put this out at the very start: I have a very low tolerance for woo. If it helps you? Godspeed! I’m not going to pooh-pooh the idea of finding help wherever you can. But I write about and am a big fan of science so I do like a treatment that’s supported by research. 

Just how many types of complementary medicine have I tried?

I used this list of complementary therapies as a guide. The below list is at least most of the complementary therapies I”ve tried in the last 20 years: the helpful, the not helpful, the scams and the genuine relief. I plan to write individual posts about the few treatments that truly helped me and at least one post about all the ones that didn’t. But here they are:

  • Chiropractor*
  • Hypnosis
  • Biofeedback
  • Aura / energy work
  • Reiki
  • Trigger point injections
  • Massage
  • Myofascial body work
  • Cranio-sacral body work 
  • PT (esp water therapy)
  • Occupational therapy
  • Acupuncture/electroacupuncture
  • Cupping 
  • Dance therapy (sorta)
  • Diet changes & food supplements
  • Relaxation / Guided imagery
  • Heat therapy (particularly ultrasound) 
  • Meditation, mindfulness and relaxation techniques 
  • Reflexology
  • Steam room
  • Water therapy 
  • Yoga
  • Meditation
  • Mental health treatment

* I have been in constant pain since I was 15 because of a chiropractor. Please, please, please do not go to a chiropractor, and if you do, look up their education and training, and even then do not let them crack your neck. (There’ll be a post about that too, eventually, but I wanted to say it here first.)

So what worked?

Stay tuned for specific articles about biofeedback, massage and bodywork like myofascial release, acupuncture, and mental health care as complementary medicine for chronic pain, as well as a roundup article of the other few that gave me some relief. I’m also working on a post about what treatments I feel to be the biggest waste of time and money.

November 22, 2020 1 comment
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chronic painPersonal experiencewriting

My Life In Pain (TL;DR version)

by Janet Jay September 21, 2020
written by Janet Jay
Typewriter with paper in it reading: my life in pain: tl;dr version, janetjay.com

Who am I? Where do I come from, what have I been through, and why did I start this blog? I tried writing it out and it’s a damn novel. So I’m going to see how bullet points work out to get through it all.

Scan of Janet jay's spine, janetjay.com
I wish I hadn’t work a Victoria’s Secret bra the day this scan was taken…
  • Started getting dizzy at 14: nobody could figure out why
  • Hurt my neck playing soccer and hurt my neck wakeboarding, but walked away from each
  • Fall of sophomore year, began having horrible tension headaches that turned into debilitating migraines 
  • Mom took me to her chiropractor, who over-adjusted me and sent my whole back into spasm
  • I’ve been in constant pain since that day
  • Started going to doctor after doctor
  • Nobody had any idea what was wrong
  • “You’re too young to be in this much pain”
  • Kept going to doctors
  • Got depressed
  • Did PT that made pain worse
  • Did therapy that made depression worse
  • Started grasping at straws; tried one “alternative” or “complementary” treatment after another.
  • Biofeeback helped, a little.
  • Went to special doctors, special hospitals (Johns Hopkins, Scottish Rite Hospital for Children), still no diagnosis
  • “You’re too young to be on pain meds”
  • Did (water-based) PT that helped
  • Tried to plan a life in pain 
  • Went to college at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh
  • The head of Pain Medicine at UPMC had no idea what was wrong either
  • Moved to Knoxville, Tennessee in the middle of the opioid panic
  • Learned to jump through hoops like a damn pro
  • Moved to Austin, Texas
  • Kept jumping through hoops
  • Got worse
  • Continued worse
  • Stayed worse
  • Finally, in my early 30s, something showed up on a scan: a bulging disc was rubbing against a nerve
  • Doctor brought up the idea of an implantable spinal stimulator
  • Became a cyborg; it helped some but not as much as I wish it did
  • Wrote about it for Popular Science
  • My L5-S1 herniated and I ended up in the ER, screaming
  • Emergency laminectomy
  • For months I couldn’t climb the stairs to get to my bedroom or pick something up off the floor
  • Got back to my normal crappy baseline, more or less
  • Landed an amazing part-time job doing communications work for the U.S. Pain Foundation
  • Switched pain meds from a lot of Schedule 1 stuff to Belbuca, a buprenorphine medication that’s schedule 3
  • Dropped from a constant 7-8 to maybe a 5-6 on the pain scale
  • Decided to start a blog

And here we are! I’ve now spent the majority of my life in pain and have spent 20 years learning to talk the doctor talk and walk the medical walk. Stay tuned to this space for all the doctor tips and tricks I’ve spent most of my life discovering, and some of the feels and fears I’ve uncovered as well.

my life in pain: tl;dr version, janetjay.com
September 21, 2020 0 comment
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pain: chronic/words: iconic

My Life in Pain (TL;DR version)

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