LB Webb Coach Specializing in Helping Suffers of Chronic Illness and Pain to Live Fully

Though We Live With Chronic Illness & Pain

We can Still Enjoy Life to its Fullest

Or You can Let Pain Control Your Life 

Appreciate the  Beauty of Life

The Majestic Andes

  And Nature’s Wonders

One of the Beautiful Hawaiian Beaches

Fly freely

Play hard but fair

Ultimate Winner Mackey races into Nulato

 Live Fully and with a sense of purpose

Find things to do that you Enjoy!

But Don’t Over do it – Rest When Needed! 

Rest comfortably

Achieve Your Dreams!!

Dreams can come true

Celebrating my marriage with a traditional Jewish Dance

The greatest day of my life!

Then  Start New Dreams 

Who couldn't resist falling for that face.

I LOVE ALPACAS!!

Pace Yourself but When You Overdo it, Have a Plan to Feel Better

This video from Dr. Steve Grinstead on pacing activity shows that we must always be cognizant of over or undoing activities.

Dr Grinstead Shares About Activity Pacing and how He is Managing His Chronic Pain Flare Up  Dr Grinstead Shares About Activity Pacing and how He is Managing His Chronic Pain Flare Up
Dr. Grinstead discusses the importance of an activity pacing plan for chronic pain management. He also shares how he was experiencing his own pain flare up plan because he overdid his physical activity. He also shares a couple of useful tips on how he managed his chronic pain flare up.

To check out Dr. Grinstead’s new Freedom from Suffering: A Journey of Hope book where he expands on how to develop effective activity pacing plans as well as other chronic pain management interventions. Dr. Grinstead brings his passion his own personal history of living with his own chronic pain for the past three decades. To purchase this book and check out some exciting free offers check out his new website at:
http://www.freedomfromsufferingbook.com/

Life, Interrupted: Posting Your Cancer on Facebook – NYTimes.com

I found this story very powerful.  I think most sufferers of chronic illness can relate as to whether to share their health experiences or paint a rosy picture.

 

Life, Interrupted: Posting Your Cancer on Facebook – NYTimes.com.

Don’t Let the Challenge of Achieving Dreams Stop You

I hope readers will forgive my not posting for some time but it has been a busy, exhausting, and at times, painful several weeks.   Fortunately, the pain and difficulties are so worth the sense of accomplishment and feeling that I am living my life the way I choose despite chronic illness and pain.

A couple of weeks ago, my husband and I moved to an old country farm-house with 20 acres.  We had not planned to look for a house with land until this summer but the opportunity arose and we jumped on it despite the poor timing.   We fell in love with the old house though it has no central air (which I swore I needed to live comfortably in Texas) and my husband now must drive 40 miles to and from work (a big negative with gas prices).  But the minute we walked into the old house, we knew it was our new home.

From the outside, it doesn’t look like much.  

However, the large trees and old windmill provide charm to our yard.  The high ceilings and thick walls offer surprising comfort inside except when it’s over 90 and humid as we suffered in Texas the past couple of weeks.  It does seem that window air conditioners are somewhat quieter and cooler than when I was a kid.

Packing was incredibly difficult for me, partly because I was still in the midst of trying to complete my M.Ed. project.  The stress from moving and the ongoing changes demanded by my advisory committee wrought havoc on my immune system and my flare up was painful and debilitating.  I finally had to make a choice and determined that it was unrealistic for me to complete my project by the April 20 deadline and move on the 21st.  I hoped to finally have my education behind me but I chose to let it go until the summer.  I simply can’t do everything anymore.  It was a tough decision and I have pondered giving up but as I have mentioned in earlier postings, I am not a quitter.  I can still graduate this summer and once settled, I can focus my energy on completing my project the way my professors want as opposed to how I want.

It was the right thing for me to do though at the time it was emotional. Committed to finally graduating in May,  it was incredibly humbling for me to hear that my writing was not meeting academic expectations.  I have a 4.0 and professors praised my writing skills in undergraduate and graduate school.  Why I could not simply complete the paper came down to the fact that my intentions clashed with academic expectations.  I wrote a training for educators to work effectively with difficult students providing information that I believed was necessary.  The basic conflict was that my professors felt the training was too broad.  While I focused on writing a pragmatic project, research is the real priority for academic projects.  I have difficulty wrapping my head around that.  In retrospect, it is smarter for me to extricate my brain from academia for a few weeks and concentrate on packing, moving, and getting settled.

Our new home is still full of boxes but the furniture is in and slowly we unpack as we figure out where to place items.  Storage is more limited, especially the kitchen and I have lots of kitchen gadgets.  Loving to cook now requires new tactics with almost no counter space.  Seemingly less closet space demands creativity in storing camping gear, aromatherapy products, and suitcases.   I find these challenges fun and ongoing.  The process of figuring out where things go and which pictures should hang on what walls is what makes a house a home.  The pressure of moving is over and now we can relax a bit.

Our dogs are getting accustomed to the other horses in our neighborhood as well as the goats and cattle.  They appear fascinated and a bit awed by these new creatures in their life.  Hopefully, it won’t take long for them to get used to Amigo who will finally join our family this weekend.

Amigo will finally be coming home this weekend

View of our pasture where Amigo will soon call home.

 There are so many changes, some anticipated, others unexpected, when moving to a new community.  All have been positive so far.  We are making new friends, enjoying the peace and quiet, and I love only driving 5 minutes to town to run errands.  Surprisingly, our home is only a few minutes to the closest town but it is much quieter than our previous house.  Yet we had to drive 18 miles to retrieve packages from the post office before!

One of the most surprising benefits of our move is how happy Sylvester, our cat, is here.  He spends more time inside roaming the different rooms and finding new places to explore.  He continues to go out to hunt and enjoy new adventures but he is clearly more relaxed and comfortable here.

Love runs strong in our home.

Despite our sore backs, exhaustion, and educational setback, moving to our new home is well worth the challenges.  Since living in Alaska, my husband and I have dreamed of having a home with land allowing us to have horses and other livestock. It amazes me that this dream has become reality.  There is much more to do and many more dreams to make come true  but I urge all of us who struggle daily with chronic pain and illness to take the risk and give ourselves permission to dream.  Achieving those dreams is so much sweeter when they become reality.

How I Manage My Pain Without Opiate Painkillers – From Desire to Heal

I copied this posting from a terrific blog site: Desire to Heal.  I hope they don’t mind but I think it’s a great message of one person doing what she can to live more fully in her own way.

 

How I Manage My Pain Without Opiate Painkillers

by TAMARA STAPLES on APRIL 14, 2012

I want to begin by saying that once I was through the withdrawal period from the opiate pain medication that I was on, my pain levels came way down on their own.  However, I was left with some amount of pain that needs to be managed.  I thought I would take you through a typical day and the techniques that I use to control my pain.

When I wake in the morning I am always stiff and sore because of arthritis in my neck, back and hands.  Occasionally other joints join the party, but my neck, back and hands are pretty consistent.  I go to the kitchen for a cup of coffee and bring it back to bed where I sip it while leaning back on the heating pad.  I call this my “making peace with the day” time.  Sometimes I meditate or pray.  Other times I might check emails or read a few paragraphs in a book.

After breakfast, I take a hot bath.  I usually add epsom salts and soak a bit.  If I don’t have time to soak, I will sometimes apply magnesium oil** after my bath.  Then, with my muscles warmed from the bath, I lie on the floor and do gentle stretches.  Afterwards I spend about 15-20 minutes in mindfulness meditation.

That is the end of my morning routine.  I go about my day.  However, I now stop a couple of times in the day to perform EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) tapping for pain relief.  I also have an Interferential Current Unit (like a TENS) that I use throughout the day.

As a last resort, when nothing else will work, I have decided to use medical marijuana to help control my pain.  This was not an easy decision for me.  I will be 49 years old in less than two months and I had never smoked anything in my life nor had I ever tried a street drug.  However, I felt I needed a backup plan for when my pain was not able to be controlled by any other means.  Luckily I live in a state that has legalized medical marijuana.  Because marijuana does not bind to the opiate receptor like pain pills do, I am also now able to take low-dose Naltrexone (LDN), which I do every night at bedtime.

In addition, I have also added California Poppy*** and find that it helps a bit with pain and with sleep as does the amino acid L-theanine.

I have set my phone to beep at me every hour and when it does, I do a quick check in.  If I need to stretch, do some EFT tapping, take in some slow deep breaths or just sit with my eyes closed for a few minutes, I do so.  I think the trick is finding a routine that works for you and fits with your lifestyle and then sticking with it.  And the really important part is always listening to your body and not letting the pain get too far out of control before you employ your pain reduction measures.

I lived for fifteen years taking opiate pain medication.  I always was concerned about whether my doctor would refill my prescription.  I dealt with the side effects like the ever present constipation.  And all the while, the medication that was supposed to be reducing my pain was creating more pain than it was relieving.  Gastroparesis was horrible and not something I would wish on anyone, but I am so thankful that it forced my hand.  I am happy to be off opiate pain medication and to have found alternative ways to manage my pain.  It feels good to be in control.

 

**magnesium oil can sting when first applied (especially if I have just shaved).  Also, it leaves a salty film on my skin, so I will usually let it absorb for 20 minutes and then shower or wipe off the residue.

***California Poppy is hard to find right now because Dr. Oz recommended it for pain and sleep on a recent show about fibromyalgia.

Multi-tasking with Chronic Illness

I have spent the past few weeks working on my project paper in hopes of receiving my M.Ed. next month. Let’s just say the going is slow. While I once was able to juggle multiple tasks at one time, I now find it difficult to focus on more than one project at a time.

I hope my faithful readers have patience with me as my sleepless nights are now filled with how I can graduate rather than relevant blog topics or how to help fellow chronic pain sufferers. But this is a temporary set back as my passion remains in the world of hurt.

I am still committed to my clients-new and current as this still brings me great joy. We are also packing to move to an old farm house with 20 acres that will give us room for our rescued palomino, Amigo, and future livestock.

So I ask you to stick with me dear readers, as my priorities will soon be back where it belongs.

The Princess and the Sandman

I remember as a teen, I couldn’t get enough sleep.  At any opportunity, I would crave my bed for a nap and looked forward to crawling into my bed to watch tv or read.  It was never long before the Mr. Sandman would sprinkle his dream dust and I would have imaginative and vivid dreams.  Getting up in the morning was always a bone of contention with me and my parents.

When traveling, I could sleep on buses, planes, cars or trains. Put me in a tent and I can sleep no matter what the temperature or what my dogs might be barking to protect me from.  One summer, I made my first cross-country drive with my beloved pup Argus from Ohio to California to pick up my sister in Los Angeles.   Returning with my sister, we camped in the Badlands one night – a truly remarkable place.  When I woke up, imagine my surprise to see my sister, 10 years younger and a better sleeper than me, awake. “Finally!”, she sighed, “It’s an oven in here and we need to get out of here.”  I slept like a rock and wasn’t the least bit uncomfortable.

Unfortunately, those days are long gone.  Along came those dreaded chronic illnesses and with them the carefree sleep. Mr. Sandman rarely visits and when he does, my dreams are usually disturbing and fractured.  Now I can relate to that children’s story about the princess and the pea.  As a kid, I thought it was dumb – how could a pea disturb one’s ability to fall asleep? Now, living in the country with three dogs, laying on a spec of dirt, blade of grass, or heaven forbid – a sliver of wood – sends me into a tailspin.  If I turn over and feel it after laying in bed for twenty minutes, I am out of bed and frantically swatting at the sheets.

My biggest issue these days is staying asleep. I start to nod off several times and for some reason, the synapses in my brain pop me awake and I have to get up and get out of bed.  I’ve had the sleep study and I’ve determined that they are useless and are just out to sell their sleep apnea machine.  Normal treatments and sedatives don’t typically work for me though on some occasions, I  get lucky and don’t get up half a dozen times.  Sleeping pills rarely work wells, nor do pain meds which I only take when absolutely desperate for relief.

Here are some of my tried and not so true practices.  They may not always work but they sure feel good at the time:

• Warm bath with soothing and aromatic bath salts;
• A drop or two of lavender & geranium blend oils under my pillow (more than that has the reverse effect);
• Clean off any foreign matter from pillow and sheets before getting into bed.  Also, straighten any wrinkles;
• Make sure no light peaks through the curtains;
• Sometimes I’ll play waves in the ocean or against rocks to soothe my brain though I usually wake up when it’s over;
• Begin from head to toe in each segment of my body, silently tell it to relax.  This is a yoga technique that, when done correctly, muscles will actually twitch and move involuntarily as they relax;
• Constantly adjust to a comfortable body temperature.  I go from hot to cold to hot so  blankets, and clothes at the ready to add or remove as necessary.

I know this is taboo but I enjoy reading or watching tv before bed.  It helps me to clear my head before going to sleep. My problem is not overstimulation of outside stimuli but internal.  My brain and body are on overdrive much of the time.  Reading in bed helps me to shut my brain off and relax my body.  If I read in another room, I become agitated again by the time I get into bed.  I know it sounds nuts but it’s true.

Here is the craziest thing of all and is not yet proven but is showing some potential.  My dear must try to fix everything mom heard about this website called mypillow.com (because she got a coupon for it).  She wanted me to check it out.  I did and told her to forget it because it was too expensive for a pillow.  As I never listen to her, my mom didn’t listen to me since it lists all these amazing miracles on its website.  Well, I received my pillow in the mail day before yesterday.  Night before last, I slept 9 hours and only woke up once after 5 hours! I got up, went to the bathroom and went back to sleep for another 4 hours.  Last night, I did fall asleep and wake up (only once), slept for four hours, then another three hours.  Amazing.  And I feel good!

Other reasons may explain why my sleep happened to improve the past couple of nights but the only added piece to the equation is my pillow.  I’m just grateful that no sheep were miscounted these last two nights.

And Mr. Sandman visited me again last night!

If you suffer from chronic pain or illness, never stop trying to find what works for you.  I can help guide you in the right direction.  For a free exploratory session, or if you have questions, contact me at lbwebbcoach@yahoo.com.

Holes in the Health Web

Once again, it’s time for true confessions.  For the past month, I was suffering from debilitating sinus headaches that continued without relief.  I have been learning aromatherapy and made a sinus blend of primarily eucalyptus oil that I inhaled with steam that has worked well in the past.  I have bath salts for pain which feels wonderful for a while after drying off and rubbed oils on my temples. Nothing lasted very long.  I tried over the counter medication, migraine medication, pushed myself further with exercise and my yoga/qi gong energy stretches but the pain and fog only worsened.

The worst part was that I am in the midst revising my project paper with the intent of graduating this May and spent hours in front of the computer for days on end and not even complete a sentence.  I was becoming increasingly frantic, stressed, and frustrated. Those of you with chronic illness know that these emotions only aggravate the problem more.  It must have really showed because one of my clients emailed me to take it easy.  I thought that was real progress for her to be coaching the coach!

For those readers who do not have a chronic illness, think of having pulled an all-nighter to complete a paper for school, a project for work, partying with friends (like I know what that was ever like), or caring for a sick child then having to go to work without a wink of sleep.  Do you know that feeling of there but not there? Your brain is fuzzy, you can’t concentrate, and you ache all over.  That’s how many of us feel everyday with the occasional sharp pain in various parts of your body.  Now, add a common cold, bronchitis, or the flu and our everyday becomes exacerbated and it becomes difficult to distinguish between what’s normal and what is a virus or infection.  My days are full of senior moments these days but the fog is slowly lifting.

I thought I had a bug and had no desire to go to the doctor and get any more medication.  My mother’s daily calls became reminders to go to the doctor but my stubbornness kicked  in.  I was going to stick it out since any more meds would make it too hard to get my work done. This was illogical, of course, since I had been unproductive for 3 weeks already but I am stubborn and intractable at times.

As I have mentioned in earlier postings, I use a web instead of a circle when describing various aspects of our life because I don’t see my life as a slice of pie. When one part of my life is out of sync other parts are affected.  I was not effective in getting my work or school work done, I was furious and short with my husband who was calm and understanding through it all, and I felt as if my life was out of control.  And it was.  All because I was sick and not taking care of myself.

Finally, last Monday, I went to the doctor and was given three shots including steroids, antibiotics, and a pain reliever as well as more antibiotics to take home.  Within a day, the headache began to recede and in three days I finally wrote a sentence in my project.  The going is still slow but I must get it done so I can move forward with future dreams waiting in the wings.

In the meantime, I am working on re-weaving my web and strengthening my health.  The doctor told me to take it easy and stop exercising until I am stronger.  I still haven’t gotten on the bike or returned to the swimming pool which is okay because I know that I will soon.  I walked a few days this week but the weather turned cold and rainy so I decided to forgo that too until the sun comes out again and dries things out a bit.  I do need to get back to my yoga/qi gong but the truth is I keep forgetting.  I am out of the routine and remember after I have eaten which is a big no-no.  But I am not stressing that either.  I am confident that things will again fall into place.  They always do.

As always, the sun will come out again and the spring flowers will look even more beautiful.  My lapse in judgment will be a reminder  to stay away from stressful situations and listen to my body more acutely.

Interested in learning more about the Web of Life or LB Webb Coaching? Contact me at lbwebbcoach@yahoo.com. 

Personal Development in the Web of Life

What does the term personal development mean to you? When coaching clients, I consider personal development to be

My first patchwork afghan for my niece

whatever helps them to grow as an individual. Personal growth can include continuing education, learning a hobby, or even starting a new job or business.  Perhaps you have always wanted to learn how to knit or take up photography.  People who suffer from chronic illness or pain, it is important to consider what is realistic when exploring ways to develop personally.

octopus in Nisyros, Greece

As I have mentioned in previous posts, the Web of Life is integrative with each of the segments relating to the other.    Personal development should provide you with fun and joy.  It may be a means to make friends or help better understand your health.  Personal development may also lead to a job that becomes a satisfying career which in turn improves a financial situation.  Of course, all of this depends on personal interests and priorities but this gives an idea of how the Web of Life works.

Some people have asked where religion is on the Web of Life and I believe it belongs in personal development.  Not everyone is religious but those who are spiritual or religious use their beliefs to offer inner strength and personal growth.  For many, God gives the strength to continue each day despite daily pain.  Religion is a personal experience and how one finds or uses spirituality is a developmental process.

For people with chronic illness or pain, it may seem difficult to consider personal development as  life already may seem overwhelming just trying to survive each day.  But it is critical to find something that brings enjoyment and personal growth.   The key is having a sense of purpose.  Personal development can help lead to finding the purpose and joy that even those of us with chronic illness and pain deserve.

For more information about how I may help your personal development or other parts of yourWeb of Life, contact me for a free exploration session at lbwebbcoach@yahoo.com.

Tuesdays with Ronald: Follow your Dreams

Love this!

 

Tuesdays with Ronald: Follow your Dreams.