Pharmaceutical-Free Pain Management

My favorite long underwear or long john's

This post is not to insult my friends in the pharmaceutical industry because there are some medications right now that are totally amazing. What I do find though, is that when you're "incurable" doctors are very free with their prescriptions and there's the thought of "what's one more when you're already taking so many?" In fact, they push the anti-depressants pretty heavily on me (to manage hot flashes) and I think "but my brain is what I have left and I need it to be clear!"

Here is how I'm dealing with that phenomena, I always take the medicine that shrinks growths in my body however, the other meds, besides the occasional anti-nausea medication, I don't take. I always fill my prescriptions, in case of emergency, but then they sit in my child-proof cupboard. Why you ask?

1. I have liver tumours and the liver is the filtration site for all things, including pharmaceuticals, and I don't want to tax it anymore than cancer already does. 
2. I also notice that all medications have side effects and in a time of my life when I have a serious internal glitch, like cancer, I like all my other functions to well, function. I personally say to myself that nothing interferes with my sleep or my pooping. 
3. Lastly, it's hard to listen to my body when it's all confused by 5 different drugs. Does it need more fibre, do I need more sleep and do I have a rash from my laundry soap or my new medication?

So here is what I do:

 Pain management

• Topical creams like Tigerbalm, distract from pain
• Kill gives me a daily 5 minute, or longer, back massage along my spine
• I get a 30 minute massage from Reva, former palliative care nurse, at National Spinal Care every week (it costs 40$ and it's worth it because I can sleep with out waking from pain)
• I do weight training of my back to strengthen the muscles
• I walk and do yoga to keep me mobile
• I use a heating pad on my back several times a day
• I give myself self massages in short moments of my day
• I bend properly and don't care heavy items (that's preventative)
• I drink water to flush out excess lactic acid in my body
• I have a warm bath with epsom salts
• I push my shoulders back to keep a curve in it about 50 times a day, even when I wake up in the night

Mental disturbance management

• I try to imagine the best outcomes instead of the worst
• I watch happy or inspiring shows to lift my spirits
• I make myself go outside each day, even though I really want to stay inside in my long john's
• I put on make-up so I feel pretty
• I avoid people who need me to be their crutch as I have no extra crutch skills right now
• I remind myself what others have done before me
• I trouble shoot my pain to limit it in the future. I figured out that my hip pain was from my tightest jeans because the grommets rub on my hip bones. Clever, huh? 
• Sometimes I just accept that the body is mysterious. For example, I used to be able to feel when I ovulated. I'd get a short sharp pain in the ovary area monthly and I accepted that. Now when I get short electric shock-like pain in my neck and sides, I accept that it's my nerves and I need to calm my nervous system the best that I can.
• I engage in activities that give me pleasure when ever I can

Whatever you decide about your pill regimen is all right by me, because we're all doing our best. This is working for me and I get a kick every time Dr. Webster or Nancy says "Back pain and what do you take for that?" and I get to say "Nothing". I just tell them that I have a system but that the pills are available to me if I require them. Every once in a while, I'll take a strong Ibuprofen but the Morphine and the Oxycodone they prescribe to me? No way, because they get in the way of my poops, thank you very much.

Happy Pain Free Monday,

Cail