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Tag Archives: chronic pain

Diagnosed with a case of the no nos!

Chronic Life, Health issues December 9, 2018 Leave a comment

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have been diagnosed with a case of the no nos!!  And I don’t like it one bit!!!

Over the Thanksgiving holiday I came down with what I had hoped to be a simple chest cold.  Well, that simple chest cold quickly turned into bronchitis.  It has been over two years since bronchitis disrupted my life.  It has been two years since saying no was a part of my self care plan.  The improvements I have experienced in regards to my chronic pain has made saying yes to everything I want to do possible.  In a way I figured I’d never have to say no again, guess I forgot that chronic pain isn’t the only thing that can knock one down……

Hanging out with Walt the day after Thanksgiving

 

 

 

Disclosure: I am NOT a medical professional and I am not issuing medical advice. This post contains some affiliate links. Meaning that, at no additional cost to you, I earn a commission from sales. The proceeds offset the expense of operating this site and fund the giveaways for my Facebook groups.

The hardest part

Saying no really isn’t that hard for me.  As someone who has been living with chronic pain for over 20 years, I had make saying no part of my life or I wouldn’t have had the energy to do anything.  There were times when I could only commit to doing one activity a month.  Instead of being excited over choosing an activity, I would get depressed thinking about who I would have to let down.  But through the years I got better at juggling people and expressing why I had to space getting together farther out than if I wasn’t chronically ill.  Since the age of saying yes arrived, I forgot what it was like to let someone else down, what it is like to miss out on something, and how much having to rest impacts my daily life.  But that still isn’t the hardest part of saying no and having to rest, the hardest part is not allowing my dark friend depression con me into thinking that this period of recovery is where I will remain for the rest of my life.

 

Game of association

I associate time spent in bed and resting with all the years that I was in too much pain to leave my bed. In the past two years of feeling almost as good as I did before any diagnosis, I have struggled to give my body the time it needs to rest while recovering from a cold or injury.  I become anxious if I have to sit still for more than one day.

Fighting fear

I am at war.  Not only am I doing everything possible to get through this bout of bronchitis, I am fighting to remember that I have come a long way in the past few years and one case of the crud isn’t going to ruin that.  Sure I may have adjust my physical expectations until I am fully back to normal, but I don’t have to give up.  I have had to cancel a lot of plans since Thanksgiving weekend, this has been easier than I thought it would be.  But I remembered that pushing myself will only make things worse.  As I begin to improve, my biggest battle is to utilize my chronic pain tool kit in order to get out and live before I am 100%.  This means that not feeling ashamed or disappointed for having to use a wheelchair.  As I write this, (a few days before being published) walking for an extended amount of time or at a normal pace triggers coughing fits and pain in my chest and sets me back in my recovery.  My family and I have plans to do something that we have never done together this coming weekend and I am not going to let my pride stop it from happening.  If walking is still a problem, I will use my wheelchair and accept that I am doing what is best for my body that day.  And that by doing that I am not giving up.  I also have to remember that this is only an illness.  Yes, it may last for a month or two, but it hasn’t and won’t change the progress I have made in the past two years in regards to my chronic illnesses.  I can still walk without pain in my feet or back.  I can still spend my day out bed and work from my desk.

Not the same game

This bout of bronchitis is much different than any I have had in the past.  In the past, my ribcage and chest would hurt terribly from all the coughing.  This time I am experiencing no pain in either area thanks to my drug-free pain-relief device Oska Pulse (see picture below for more information).  It is also helping me sleep at night and it is breaking up my phlegm.  Another difference is that I am not experiencing a fibromyalgia or psoriatic arthritis flare.  Typically I have always experienced an increase of chronic pain when I am battling another illness.  I have hope that I will be able to cure my case of the no nos sooner than my case of bronchitis, but it will never happen if I don’t give my body the rest and care that it requires today.

Do you struggle with needing more downtime when you become ill?  Why or why not?

PEMF therapy has been a game changer in all aspects of my health, not just my chronic pain. Click here to learn about all the different ways it has improved my health. Want to learn more about this fantastic device? Click here to visit Oska Wellness and should you decide to give it a try, remember that my promo code DIVA will save you $55.00

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Make Pain Your Bitch Sneak Peek Chapter One

Chronic Life December 4, 2018 Leave a comment

Make Pain Your Bitch: Chapter One Sneak Peek

Accept Your Diagnosis
You may think you have accepted your diagnosis, but have you really?
Or do just believe it to be true?

Accepting and believing the diagnosis of a chronic illness are not the same. You can believe it to be true and still not accept that it is happening to you. When I first received my diagnoses, I believed each one was true. The pain was real and the labels validated them. However, believing my conditions were real wasn’t the same as accepting them, because I couldn’t envision a future with them.

Everything I dreamt of doing was based upon my body being healed. Not just 20, 10, or 5 years into the future, but next month, next week, and even the next day. I planned every activity, chore, or outing without considering my limitations and physical pain. I believed I had multiple chronic illnesses, but I didn’t accept that they would change my life.

Many people, especially in the chronic illness community, view accepting their disease or physical limitations as a form of defeat. Your illness or disability will only become a form of being defeated if you allow it to. You can accept that something is real and that it is never going to go away and still want to improve it. If you choose to allow your conditions to control what you do with your life then yes you will be defeated. However, upon accepting that your conditions are going to be a part of your life you free yourself to move forward by working with and around your limitations.

Example: Planning a trip to the grocery store: If I plan my trip to the grocery store believing that I have a chronic illness, the outing will result with an excruciating amount of pain. If I plan it with the acceptance of my diseases I will return home with a lower level of pain than if I had only believed. And here is why: Believing doesn’t require any work. I believe the sky is blue. I can’t change it, it is what it is, and I don’t really think about it. For many years I believed I had each diagnosis. I believed my doctors when they said nothing could be done.

Emotionally this was too painful to think about, so I didn’t. Instead I continued to think the way I did before I became chronically ill. This however caused my body more pain because I expected my body to perform the way it used to.

I had to accept that my chronic illnesses were more than just a diagnosis. They were a part of my life, my body, and my mind. This meant that my life had changed. That my body had changed. And that my mind was going to have to change too. I am in no way suggesting that accepting your illness as a substitute for pain management. Anyone who tells you that treating your pain won’t help is full of crap and deserves to have their medical license revoked. It’s accepting that you need to address your pain and doing it that makes it possible to move forward.

I had to change my beliefs of how old someone needed to be to use a walker or wheelchair if they weren’t visibly physically disabled. I had to stop thinking that the only way to do things was to do it like I used to. I had to stop believing that reaching the same destination via a different route as a less than experience.

By accepting my diagnosis I freed myself to plan with my pain and limitations in mind. I allow myself to do things differently or to use a mobility aid if it means that I will end the day with a lower pain level than if I did it like I used to. This may be in the form of using a mobility aid or asking for assistance.
Accepting a diagnosis is what puts us in charge. Yes, our illnesses are the reasons for having to make changes to how we do things, but we are the ones who decide what we are willing to do in order to decrease or limit our pain. If my spine is throbbing, I can either choose to use a wheelchair or walk. If I choose to walk, I am guaranteed to send my pain level through the roof and sentence myself to days or weeks in bed. I may still increase my pain level if I choose to use a wheelchair or motorized shopping cart; however it will be less than if I hadn’t used them. When we decide to put our need of a lower pain level above our belief that we have to do things like we used to, we WIN.

Click here to purchase your full copy for only $5.00 and find out what challenges awaits you in this chapter and throughout the book. Acceptance of your diagnosis is just the beginning. Start 2019 off with a plan to make it your best year yet!! Click here to make pain your bitch!

Cannabis for chronic pain: Choosing how to take it

CBD, Chronic Life, Health issues, Medical Marijuana December 4, 2018 Leave a comment

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cannabis for chronic pain: Choosing how to take it

This article is part of an ongoing series. Click here to read entire series.

Now that you have found a legal way to find out if cannabis will help relieve your chronic pain, it is time to figure out which way to consume it. The perk of visiting a state that has legalized recreational marijuana is that you will have access to some amazing products.  Today I am going to cover several different methods of medicating with cannabis and how you decide which form fits your lifestyle, needs, and budget.

Edibles

 

Disclosure: I am NOT a medical professional and I am not issuing medical advice. This post contains some affiliate links. Meaning that, at no additional cost to you, I earn a commission from sales. The proceeds offset the expense of operating this site and fund the giveaways for my Facebook groups.

 

Edibles were my first choice when I began combatting chronic pain with cannabis six years ago and there were several reasons for this.  The first being that I didn’t want to smoke around my family.  My daughter was young, I couldn’t risk my husband failing a drug test at work, and my neighbors at the time were not ones who needed to know what I was doing.  Thankfully edibles turned out to be the best thing to start out with.  Unlike the high from vaping or smoking, the high from edibles lasts much longer.  If I smoked a joint before bed, pain would wake up halfway through the night.  The high from an edible can last anywhere from 6-10 hours which provided me the best sleep of my life!  Edibles are also easier to micro-dose with.  It was easy to breakdown an edible and know a close approximation of how much cannabis was in each piece.  Another reason I liked edibles is that they are discreet.  My favorite reason for loving edibles is the cost! When I first began medicating with cannabis, I didn’t have a large budget.  In fact I often only spent $50 a month.  I did this by purchasing edibles that could be broken down easily and that wouldn’t go stale before I finished them.  Cheeba Chews and FlavrX candies are two of my favorite brands. I currently purchased a 200mg candy bar from LaFamilia that is so strong that I only need half of one square at night.  There are 12 squares.  That one bar that I purchased for $15 is going to yield me 24 nights of rest!

My average dose for evening is 5-10mgs. This dosage gifts me with the restorative sleep that I had been without for 13 years.  When I needed to micro-dose during the day I would only take 1-2mgs.  After awhile I rarely needed any to get through the day and was only medicating at night.  The thing to remember with edibles is that while the effect lasts longer than other forms, it also can take longer to take effect.  You may not feel the effect from an edible for up to three hours after consuming it.  This can make it a little tricky to time your nighttime meds.  Even if you take the same amount of the same product every night at the same time, when it hits will never be the same.  Because of this you will want to make sure that you won’t need to drive or do anything of major importance after taking your meds.  They could hit you within 30 minutes or not for several hours.  Generally, if I don’t feel something after an hour, I will have a little more.  If you have never consumed cannabis, I recommend starting at 2-3mgs and work up from there.  While you don’t have to worry about overdosing on cannabis, a lot of first timers are either put off of or become afraid of the high when they consume more than they were ready for.  Take it slow, do it on a regular basis, and overtime you will notice your overall pain level reduced.  The only real con, besides how long it can take to take effect, I can think of with edibles is that outside of sometimes having the choice between a hybrid, sativa, or indica, most edibles don’t share what strain was used.

Flower

One of the perks of smoking is that the high and the relief it brings hits quickly.  If I find myself in need of instant relief, but also want a solid night’s sleep, I take a few hits from my pipe after eating an edible.  Because I stopped needing the all night relief that edibles bring two years ago, I have been trying other forms of consumption.  Some nights I just want to medicate and be done, while other nights I want to savor the smell and flavor of it.  Smoking cannabis is something to be enjoyed and not rushed.  To be honest, I wasn’t able to appreciate the wonder of flower when I first began medicating with it because I was only focused on relieving my pain and falling asleep.

Pros of medicating with flower is that you can pick strains that have qualities that address your needs.  For example you can choose strains that work better for sleep, creativity, nausea, pain, anxiety, etc… Don’t just pick a strain at random and then say that cannabis doesn’t help you.  You may have picked a strain that would NOT help you.  To get the best results you will have to do some research.  My go to sites for strain reviews are Leafly and Weedmaps.  Another pro is that the high hits fast.

Getting and renewing your medical marijuana recommendation in California and New York has never been easier! Californians click here and New Yorkers click here!

There are few cons to medicating with flower.  The smell, everyone will know what you are doing.  The cost, flower, especially quality flower can get quite pricey.  Shop around and find a dispensary that gives the best deals.  Shopping during sales helps to keep my flower budget from growing out of control.  Figuring out your dosage is not as easy with flower, which makes it harder to micro-dose with. Last but not least, you cannot smoke it anywhere you want.  Most places that have legalized it for medicinal and recreational use have made it illegal to smoke in vehicles or in public places.

 

 

 

Vape

Each combo pack includes case, CBD cartridge, batter, and charger.
Click here to order yours today!

 

Vaping has quickly become one of my preferred ways to medicate with cannabis.  As for as anyone watching all they will assume is that I am vaping nicotine.  Vaping does produce vapor when exhaling, most do not have the odor that flower does.  Most cartridges come with a 510 thread that will fit most battery pens.  Pictured to the left is my combo pack from Bio CBD+.  The battery pen also works with the THC cartridges that I purchase from my dispensary.

Just like with smoking flower, the high and relief hits quickly, often within 5-15 minutes.  While there are nights when I take anywhere from 6-8 hits from my pen, there are some where I only need two or three.  Start slow.  Try two hits, then wait a good 20-30 minutes before taking another hit.  I love vaping and will be ordering an herb vaporizer later this month.  With that I will be able to vape flower and then later use the dried herb to make my own cannabutter.  Talk about pulling double duty and saving money!!!  The only cons I have found with vaping is that not all brands share what strain was used.  That is one of the reasons that I love FlavrX.  Knowing which strain I am purchasing helps me find the ones that best address my symptoms.  BTW Tropical Trainwreck is fantastic from muscle relaxation!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tinctures

So you want something discreet, like edibles, but you want something that takes effect quickly like flower…. Tinctures may be for you.  With a tincture you just place a few drops of the liquid under your tongue and voila, you should be feeling better within 15 minutes.

Personally, I haven’t really noticed how long the effect of tinctures lasts when compared to flower or edibles, mainly because I don’t use them often.  While discreet, it creates a mess in my bag if the cap comes loose, not to mention expensive over the contents that spills out.  Most tinctures also taste terrible! I prefer using tinctures for toothaches or to quickly medicate in bed if I wake up to pain that won’t let me fall back to sleep.  Tinctures are fairly easy to micro-dose with and unless you are holding a billboard, no one will know that you are medicating.

While there are other ways to medicate with cannabis, these are the top 4 that you should consider for your test run.  Just remember that if you are traveling to try cannabis, don’t go crazy purchasing a bunch of products.  It is federally illegal to possess cannabis and cross any of the United State’s borders, this includes state borders.  You can not visit, purchase, and try cannabis in California and return to Arizona with the remainder of your stash.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Six Ways to Dominate Christmas With a Chronic Illness

christmas, Cynthia December 3, 2018 Comments: 5

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For many years I dreaded Christmas.  It wasn’t  that I hated the holiday, but that I loathed how physically draining keeping up with traditions and extra commitments were.  Thankfully I was able to rekindle my love for Christmas a few years ago by making some changes.  Fall back in love with the season and dominate your holiday by following these tips!

Disclosure: I am NOT a medical professional and I am not issuing medical advice. This post contains some affiliate links. Meaning that, at no additional cost to you, I earn a commission from sales. The proceeds offset the expense of operating this site and fund the giveaways for my Facebook groups.

1. Make New Memories

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Are you wearing yourself out trying to recreate past Christmas memories?  Do you exhaust yourself trying to decorate, bake, and entertain like you did in the past?  That’s exactly what I did before accepting that my chronic illnesses had changed my life.  It was unfair to expect myself to be able to keep up with the pace that I had in the past.  To reclaim the holiday I zeroed in on which traditions were the most important for me to keep. Later I incorporated new activities that better fit into my chronic life.  Letting go of Christmas past isn’t a form of giving up.  Instead it is a sign that you have accepted that life has changed and so have you.  Embrace your memories and never give up on creating new ones!

2. Limit Commitments

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Are you feeling overwhelmed by the amount of invitations you are receiving for holiday parties or activities?  The key to dominating the Christmas season is to limit your commitments.  I know you want to do everything and attend every gathering, but you need to be realistic.  If your chronic illness hasn’t allowed you to take part in one or more events per month, you are deluding yourself if you think you will be able to do more than that during the holidays.  The first reason is that if your illness isn’t fond of colder weather you will be feeling worse than you did during the summer months.  Secondly, the Christmas season involves more than gathering with friends and family.  There’s shopping, baking, and decorating that also needs to be done.  Keep your illness and limitations in mind when accepting invitations.  Give yourself time to rest beforehand and afterwards.  Do what you can and enjoy the heck out of every moment!

3. Watch What You Eat and Drink

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Think twice before indulging in holiday foods or beverages.  Your favorite treats could steal your  joy faster than the Grinch stole Christmas from the Whoville! Most holiday menus include sugary and fatty foods.  I won’t tell you to replace your favorite pie with a bowl of salad, but instead I suggest that you limit how much you eat.  Alcohol is often a trigger for many chronic illnesses, so be careful to not to get caught up in the spirit of the season.  If you find yourself giving into temptation, try only allowing yourself a few bites or sips. While not all flares are avoidable, there is no reason to suffer from one triggered by food unless you are willing to pay the price.

4. Shop Online

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Why waste precious energy by standing in long lines or driving all over town when you could order your gifts online?  Give yourself the gift of more stamina by paying a few extra dollars to have your presents wrapped and/or shipped directly to the recipient.  Wouldn’t you rather use the time and energy spent wrapping presents, or going to stores and the post office celebrating with friends and family?

5. Less Is More

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My family used to compare me to Clark Griswold from National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.  There wasn’t one inch of my home, inside or out, that wasn’t decorated.  While I am no longer a contender for winning most decorated home anymore, I do have more time and energy to do other things that I want.  If decking the halls like you used to do is inflicting unnecessary pain, it’s time to cut back.  Limit how much you put up by choosing your favorite decorations and don’t forget, what goes up must come down!

6. Take Care Of Yourself

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It is not uncommon to spend an extraordinary amount of time trying to make the holidays special for our friends and family that we forget to care for ourselves.  Listen to your body and take time to rest when your body demands it, pace yourself, eat healthy, exercise, and enjoy the simple things.  You’ll surely spend Christmas day in bed if you forget to take care of yourself.

This year’s Christmas may not be like last years or the year before, but that won’t make it any less festive or special.  Embrace what you can do and let go of what you can’t.

My new eBook Make Pain Your Bitch: How to Dominate Your Chronic Life will help you dominate your entire life, not just one season! Order your copy today!

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The holidays can be an emotionally trying time for some.  If you are struggling, but don’t have time to see a therapist check out OnlineTherapy.com.  Their qualified therapists are there for you everyday, not just once or twice a week!

Give yourself and the one’s that you love the gift of drug free pain relief from Oska Pulse.  Click here to learn more and use promo code DIVA to save $55.

Join Spoon Rest, a Facebook group for the chronically ill dedicated to empowering and supporting each other while sharing a laugh.

Join The Disabled Diva’s Alternative Chronic Pain Fighting Forum, a Facebook group for those who are seeking information or already treating their chronic pain with alternative treatments.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I feel like dancing!

Chronic Life, Cynthia, pain relief December 2, 2018 Leave a comment

 

 

 

 

 

 

I feel like dancing!!!

I never thought I would want to dance. To be honest I am a terrible dancer.  In fact I rarely danced at parties, weddings, etc. because I worried about how foolish I would appear.  When my chronic illnesses first stole my ability to hit the dance floor, I didn’t really think much about what I had lost…. Then last year a burning desire to move my feet ignited……..

Achy feet

Long before being diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis and fibromyalgia, my feet began to hurt.  At first I thought it was from the shoes I was wearing.  Little by little I rid my closet of high heels.  By 1999 I found myself able to wear nothing but wide slip on types of shoes, sneakers (but only for a few hours as my feet would swell and feel strangled by the laces), and flip flops.  Living in flip flops wasn’t a problem when I lived in Arizona, but it was a problem when I lived in colder climates and when I traveled.  By 2005, I could only wear crocs, flip flops, and wide boots without heels.  As time went by the amount of time that I was able to spend on my feet dwindled. By 2012 I couldn’t stand or walk for more than 5 minutes at a time.

Disclosure: I am NOT a medical professional and I am not issuing medical advice. This post contains some affiliate links. Meaning that, at no additional cost to you, I earn a commission from sales. The proceeds offset the expense of operating this site and fund the giveaways for my Facebook groups.

A toe tapping surprise!

I didn’t notice a difference in the pain that was felt deep in the bones of my feet until my fifth year of treating my chronic pain with natural and alternative treatments.  I will never forget the day that I realized the pain was gone.  I returned home from grocery shopping.  But instead of making a beeline for the recliner while I waited for my husband and daughter to unload the car and put the groceries away, I did it. It wasn’t until my daughter asked why I hadn’t called her out of her room to help that I realized what I had done.  I wasn’t tired, I didn’t need to rest, and to my delight, my feet didn’t hurt!!!!  At first I thought this was just a fluke, that it couldn’t be real, or that it wouldn’t last.  But guess what it did!!!

Happy feet

Wondering what happened? I did too! Because I also treat my illnesses in the same manner I combat chronic pain, it was pretty easy to figure out which item to credit.  Eight months prior to feeling footloose and fancy free, I added PEMF therapy to my pain management plan.  But at that time I was only using it a few times a week.  Then four months later and four months before noticing the pain was gone, I began using my PEMF device all day, every day! Even though I hadn’t been specifically treating my feet, the device was close enough to treat them without my realizing it.  It was also at this time that the non-stop pain that I had been experiencing in my lower back from degenerative disc disease had disappeared.

Continued therapy

PEMF therapy with Oska Pulse is still part of my daily treatments.  I have been using it now for two years and the relief it provides still blows my mind. After a day at Disneyland, my feet are beat.  They ache like the average person’s would, but the even more because of my chronic illnesses.  While in the park I treat my lower back and abdomen with my device, but I move it to my ankles (if I am driving home) or place it directly on both feet (if someone else is driving).  When I reach my home, 45 minutes later, my feet no longer hurt and I am able to go to bed without pain.  Somedays my feet require a few extra treatments, but even when they hurt, I am able to walk without the pain I used to experience in the past. A few months ago I added another thing to my daily treatment plan.  Each night before bed and first thing in the morning I apply a topical CBD oil to my feet.  I rub it into the arch, heel, ball, and around ankles.  I truly never thought I would know what it was like to walk again without feeling like I was dragging my bones across the cement. And to think that I can now walk 4-12 miles a day and without worrying about whether or not I will be able to walk tomorrow.

The drug free pain relief device on my back keeps me moving!

The gift of relief

Last year I danced for the first time since becoming chronically ill.  My husband and I were attending a Christmas party and the host was hoping to get some people out on the dance floor.  Being that I only see these people once a year, I let go of my inhibitions and let loose on the dance floor.  I have no rhythm, I can’t keep a beat, but I made sure to enjoy every move knowing that my feet would be okay!  A few months later I had a blast dancing with friends at my God-daughter’s wedding and I am looking forward to more opportunities to show off my horrendous dance moves.  If you are a glutton for punishment, you can check out my terrible dancing via the link I provided in my post How traveling with a chronic illness went from good to bad to what the heck just happened!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A good pain management plan shouldn’t just mask pain, it should decrease it, relieve it, and make living with your diseases better.  If your plan isn’t doing that you probably should look into making some changes.  You are welcome to take a peek at mine.  Click here to read about my pain management plan. And I also invite you to learn more about PEMF therapy.  Click here to discover all the different ways it has helped to improve my chronic symptoms and pain along with some tips on how to get the best results.  But don’t take my word, click here to read third party reports and click here to visit Oska Wellness.  And as always, if you should decide to give PEMF therapy with Oska Pulse a try, my discount code DIVA will save you $55.00.

 

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Where to legally try cannabis for chronic pain

Medical Marijuana, pain relief, travel November 29, 2018 Leave a comment

Where to legally try cannabis for chronic pain

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have received many inquiries lately from people who want to see if cannabis could help relieve their chronic pain, but they either don’t live where medical marijuana is legal or it is legal for medicinal use where they live, but they don’t want to sink a fortune into entering their state’s program only to discover it doesn’t help them.  Today I am going to share a legal and safe way to find out if adding cannabis to your pain management plan is for you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The best and most legal option is to plan an extended visit (at least a week) to a state or country that has legalized cannabis for recreational purposes.  I say most legal, because in the United States, it is illegal to be in possession of or to consume marijuana on a Federal level.  Before you say, hey I can’t afford a vacation, think about this…. A. It is not a vacation, it is a mission to find out if cannabis will improve your chronic pain.  B. It doesn’t have to cost a fortune.  Save money by reaching out to friends and relatives that live in those areas and ask to stay with them.  C. Think of it as an investment. You either find out that it doesn’t work and you are out that money or it does help and you recoup that money with a better life once you begin at home.  We’ll talk more later about how to make the trip more cost effective, but for now let’s figure out where to go!

Here is a list of the states and countries that have legalized cannabis for recreational purposes as of the publication of this post:

Alaska

California

Colorado

Maine

Massachusetts

Michigan

Nevada

Oregon

Washington

Northern Mariana Islands

Canada (Click here to learn more about Canada’s cannabis laws)

While recreational use is legal in the District of Columbia and Vermont, neither allows it to be sold so I would not consider either as options.

 

 

 

 

 

 

When considering where to go, keep a couple of things in mind.  If you don’t do well in cold climates, don’t visit Alaska or Michigan in the winter.  If extreme summer heat, we’re talking triple digits, increases your pain, don’t book a trip to Vegas during the summer.  Another thing to consider is, who do you know there? Do you have friends or family that are cannabis connoisseurs? Going into a dispensary for the first time can be an intimidating experience when you are new it.  Not only can they accompany you, they can also help you choose products.

Disclosure: I am NOT a medical professional and I am not issuing medical advice. This post contains some affiliate links. Meaning that, at no additional cost to you, I earn a commission from sales. The proceeds offset the expense of operating this site and fund the giveaways for my Facebook groups.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once you have chosen your destination, you need to figure out where you are going to stay. The most affordable would be to stay with friends or family.  Just make sure that they know why you are visiting and what you are planning on doing while there.  Not everyone wants cannabis in their homes. Don’t be a douche, respect your hosts and if they are cannabis connoisseurs be sure to share!  Another perk of staying with someone who partakes regularly, they can help you not freak out when the high hits and help you decrease the high if you try too much.

My second suggestion is to book an Airbnb that allows smoking, if you are choosing to try it in that manner, or book through a cannabis tour service. Note that Airbnb does not have a policy against the possession or consumption of cannabis.

Here are a few cannabis lodging services/tours to help you on your mission.

Bud & Breakfast

My 420 Tours

TravelTHC

Have a cannabis travel business and would like to be listed in this post? Email The Disabled Diva to ask how at admin@thedisableddiva.net

Your last and least favorable option if you are planning on smoking would be a hotel/motel.  Most have no smoking rules and most state recreational cannabis laws prohibit smoking cannabis in public places such as a smoking area.  I know, I am shaking my head too…  Anyways, there are other ways to try cannabis that doesn’t include smoking…. and I will cover that next week along with how to find the products you want to try.

One last thing to think about….. If you are traveling to try cannabis, do not purchase more than you think you will consume while there.  It is federally illegal to transport cannabis over state/country borders.  This includes all modes of transportation, including air.

California medical marijuana patients!! Although any resident can purchase cannabis for recreational use, having your medical recommendation allows for you to have access to stronger meds, to possess more, and o spend less than those who are purchasing for recreational use. Click here to get your California rec online today! New and renewals! New Yorkers, renewals and new certifications, click here to get yours online today!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Ten Signs That You Need a New Pain Management Plan

Chronic Life, Cynthia, pain relief November 25, 2018 Comments: 2

Ten Signs That You Need a New Pain Management Plan

Is your pain management plan working?

Here are 10 signs that it is NOT!

1. I often or always have to cancel plans

How many dates/appointments/commitments have you had to cancel in the past month?  How about past week? If you are canceling due to pain from your chronic illnesses more than once or twice a month, you need to make some changes.  It could be the products you are using to combat pain with or your own behavior that needs to change.  Are you respecting your body and modifying how you live? Do you pace your activity or are you running yourself into the ground?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. I dread waking up in the morning

Do you wake up with  a pain level that is equal or worse than what you went to bed with? That was my life when I was treating my chronic pain with prescription medications.  Opioids may have masked my pain enough to allow me to fall asleep or they would knock me out, but they didn’t improve my life.  Each morning I would wake up in more pain than I went to bed with and almost always woke to a headache.  An effective pain management plan shouldn’t have you dreading mornings, it should make you look forward to the next day.  I began enjoying mornings the day after I began medicating with cannabis.  As time passed, mornings became the best part of my day.  Since adding PEMF therapy, I look forward to waking up and going on adventures every day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. I am afraid to go to sleep

Do you fear going to bed? I did! Why? 1. Pain rarely allowed me to sleep more than a few hours at a time. 2. Unless I drugged myself to the point of passing out, pain would keep me awake.  3. I knew that my pain level would only increase throughout the night.  My painsomnia became so bad that I was rarely sleeping more than 2-4 hours at a time. I tried doing everything possible to distract my mind and would be up doing crossword puzzles or playing Words with Friends.  Since switching to a natural and alternative approach to pain relief, I no longer fear going to bed.  In fact I look forward to it.  Why? Because my pain management plan doesn’t just mask pain.  It actually addresses my pain sources.  Instead of hiding my pain for a few hours, it promotes healing.  I reach restorative levels of sleep and wake up ready to take on the day!

*Disclosure: I am NOT a medical professional and I am not issuing medical advice. This post contains affiliate links. Meaning that, at no additional cost to you, I earn a commission from sales. The proceeds offset the expense of operating this site and fund the giveaways in my Fitness Buddy and Disneyability groups on Facebook.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. I had to give up my favorite hobbies

If the reasons you have for not being able to continue with your favorite hobby are chronic pain and fatigue, you need a new pain management plan.  Combined with self care practices of pacing, acknowledging your body’s boundaries, and asking for assistance, a good pain management plan should allow you to do what you want.  During the first 5 years of treating my conditions naturally and alternatively, I was able to resume my favorite past times, just not in the way that I had done them before. Then approximately a year and a half after adding PEMF therapy to my plan, I was able to start partaking in those activities more like I did before my chronic illnesses hijacked my life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. I spend my days and nights home alone

If chronic pain is preventing you from leaving the house, it is time to make a change.  However, before you make a change, make sure that you are doing everything possible to get out.  For example, are you willing to accept assistance from a friend or family member? Are you okay with using a mobility aid? Are your expectations of a day out with your illness/disability realistic?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6. Every time I turn around, I am being prescribed something new to combat side effects from my pain management plan.

How many prescriptions are you taking in hopes of relieving pain from your chronic illness?  I was given one prescription when I was first diagnosed, then within months a second, then a year later another, and so on and so on until I reached the point of being prescribed ten prescriptions.  Sadly not one of them addressed my illnesses or pain, instead they occasionally masked my pain. My pain progressed quickly and new symptoms were popping up all the time.  But these symptoms were NOT from my illnesses, even though everyone including my doctors blamed them on my diseases.  The new symptoms were actually side-effects from the medications that were supposed to be helping me.  Funny how I never had urinary tract infections before taking opioids, to getting them several times a year after.  Then NOT having another since quitting opioids six years ago. Don’t blindly accept that every new symptom is part of your illness, question everything!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

7.  I get anxious when I think about leaving the house

Before treating my chronic pain naturally and alternatively, I developed an unhealthy fear of leaving the house.  I feared the pain I would experience just to get ready.  The fear of how much pain I would endure while out paralyzed me. The fear of how long it would take to return to the pain level that I could at least exist at kept me home.  Does this sound familiar?  A good pain management plan, along with healthy self care practices, will allow you to get out without fear.  This fear carried over after I switched my pain management plan, but after seeing and most importantly feeling how much my recovery time decreased, I learned to work with my body and became less fearful.  Now? I am fearless.  I don’t do what I can’t handle, I listen to my body, and most importantly I have a pain management plan that allows my body to heal from any pain accrued throughout my day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8. I am always angry

How’s your attitude? During my pharma years, I was angry, bitter, and to be brutally honest I was not someone I would want to be around today.  At the time I blamed my chronic pain, but that wasn’t the only reason.  Pharmaceutical pain medications made me aggressive, short tempered, edgy, and depressed.  Since ditching pharma, I am happy, fun, excited for life, patient, and have a zest for life that I never thought was possible to have with multiple chronic illnesses.  If you are struggling with depression, take a look at your medication and talk to your doctor asap!

9.   I just want to enjoy a day doing what I want and not have to spend weeks or months recovering from it.

If your body is requiring weeks or months to recover from an outing or activity, you may need to alter your pain management plan.  You may also need to make adjustments to how you go about what you are doing.  Your body is different and you need to accept it.  Working with it and making modifications is the best thing you will ever do for your life and body.

 

10. I want to die

If you think that dying would be better than living and are considering suicide, seek help NOW!! Contact the Suicide Prevention Life line at  1-800-273-8255 or suicidepreventionlifeline.org .  A poor pain management and lack of a healthy self care plan will only intensify this feeling.  Don’t give up! Even if you can’t see it now, your life is worth living and there is hope for pain relief.  The process of figuring out the changes that need to take place isn’t easy and often requires getting over our own egos, but it is so worth it!!! Imagine if I had committed suicide like I had planned in 2012?  Look through my Instagram and Facebook feeds and see everything I would have missed.  Who knew I would be able to do what I can today? I sure didn’t?  But I am glad that I decided to hang around.  With a strong determination to improve how I lived and treated chronic pain I have learned to love life, even the bad days.

Online therapy is great for those who don’t have the time or energy to go see a therapist in person. Save 20% when you register through my link.

 

 

 

 

 

If you answered yes to any number of these signs that your pain management plan isn’t working, then it is time to make a change!!!

Click here to learn more about my pain management plan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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