There is a lot of constructive debate going on in Washington regarding health care and what it will look like in the next few years. Personally, I hope for great change, but I’ve seen enough that I know it will take a long time for any real change. That brings me back to the people in pain who visit our site every day. They don’t have time to wait.

The only way people in pain will get help today is if they become their own champion. We all have stories about being pushed aside by the health care system that looks at pain as a symptom or made to feel like we are crazy because our pain doesn’t show up on a test. The pain is real and the only solution is to educate yourself. Make no mistake, there are health care professionals who can help you. There are doctors, nurses, pharmacists and others who are wonderful practitioners and who work very hard to educate themselves and pass that knowledge on to their patients. However, those practitioners are few.

If you want to make a change in your level of pain, start with educating yourself and then speaking up for yourself. You will get resistance, but you will find help and it won’t take years waiting for a change in health care from Washington.

Be well,
Nadra

Many of us who suffer from chronic pain have a love-hate relationship with summer. We love the chance to go out and do the little things like walking and gardening, but the sun and heat can wear us out even more quickly than normal. Now we have a gift; autumn is here.

As someone who has lived in northern Michigan I have seen the splendor of a true fall season and it is very energizing, almost magical. The colors, the crisp autumn smell, the crunch of leaves underfoot all make me want to get out and stay out as long as I can. The sun may be setting sooner and there may be a nip in the air, but for pain sufferers and their caregivers, these are small prices to pay for the joy of an walk in the fall.

Get out and enjoy yourself before winter gets here. Your body and mind will thank you and you’ll be a step closer to putting more distance between you and that monster we call pain.

Bite and apple for me,

Nadra

There has been a bit of talk lately about the safety of over-the-counter pain relievers and with good cause. Any time we put extra chemicals into our body, the body reacts. Most of the time in a good way, but not always. So be careful. Most people don’t know this, but if you get medication in a hospital they take into account your weight, age, time of day, lab tests, etc. At home you have to rely on the small print on the label on your bottle of pain reliever. Mistakes happen in hospitals so its logical to assume that more mistakes probably happen at home (one set of eyes at home and multiple sets of eyes monitoring a patient at the hospital).

So what is a normal person, dogged by pain supposed to do? Here’s a list:

1. READ THE LABEL: Sounds simple unless your eyesight is like mine—bad. I keep a magnifying glass close to the medicine cabinet and use it often.
2. ASK QUESTIONS: I’m a pharmacist and a critical care nurse and I still ask questions because I want to know what I’m putting in my body and you should too. Pharmacists are your best option for learning about medications, but doctors, dentists and nurses are pretty good too. Point is, learn something new about your medications every chance you get.
3. DRINK LOTS OF WATER: Water is a great for enhancing the benefits of medications and flushing the toxins out of your system. Between your kidneys and your liver your body works hard to help you get the most out of pills and get rid of the waste. Water is a way of helping your body keep you safe.

Its always tough to know what you should and shouldn’t do when it comes to medications because we’ve made health care so darn complicated, but follow my three steps above and it will get easier and safer.

Keep walking,

Nadra

The tragic death of Michael Jackson should alert all of us that we need to find happiness in our lives and we need to know all we can about our medications. While the final reason for his death is not yet known, a lot of interest is being paid to his medical care before he died. All of us, the famous and not-so-famous, have got to take control of our own health care. Talk to your doctor and find out why you are on a certain medication or why you aren’t on another one. Talk to your pharmacist and ask him or her why the doctor prescribed what they did. Often times your pharmacist knows more about a particular medication than your doctor because the pharmacist receives years of specialized training. Your doctor develops your overall plan, but you are in control and you need to ask questions every step of the way from every medical professional with whom you interact.

The death of Michael Jackson is sad and tragic. The pain he felt is over, but you can learn a lesson from his struggles.

Nadra

Many of you may know I’m a strong proponent of exercise as part of pain management, but some of you may not know that I’m not a huge video game fan. So when the Nintendo Wii came out I didn’t do cartwheels (not that I can) and immediately buy one even though the “fitness” component was getting rave reviews. Well I’m here to tell you I was late to the party. The Wii Fit is awesome.

I’m not doing an advertisement for Nintendo or anything like that, but the Wii Fit is fun, gets you off the couch and gives you a variety of low-impact exercises that most anyone can do. You can start slow and work your way up. You even create an “avatar” or little animated character that represents you and it keeps track of your progress. The on-screen imp of a Wii board “helper” can even get a little sarcastic if you don’t stick to your plan, but all in fun. Here’s a review from CNET that might help you get an objective feel for it.

It does measure your weight and BMI, so if you are shy, do this without anyone else in the room. This will help track your progress on a chart that is included so do take the time to register on the screen. It is much easier than even I can explain.

If you’ve tried the Wii let me know what you think. If you do some other alternative exercise or activity that might help others with their pain lifestyle, let me hear about that too.

Keep moving,
Nadra

We get quite a few requests asking us to help someone, always in great need, to find a new doctor. As a site that deals with pain education and awareness we do not make physician recommendations. We fully understand that there are many of you out there in legitmate need of serious and compassionate medical care, but the best information we can give you is this:

1. Make a list of your pain issues. Be very honest and limit the worst of your issues to five. I know this can be hard, but it will help. Once you have gotten the list to the top five issues focus on the one that, if it was treated, would give you the biggest boost in your quality of life. Now, go out and find the health care professional that can address that problem. ALWAYS tell any health care practitioner about your other health issues, but focusing on one at a time can get you the quickest progress. Most of the time.

2. Many times people in pain are not only at the end of their emotional and physical rope, but also the end of their financial rope. If this is your case you should look at going to a hosptial, major health care center or university medical center and asking about their community care program. Many hospitals have one, but they don’t publicize it. ASK! If they don’t know anything at the front desk, ask them to connect you to someone who knows. This could be the public relations office, social services office or the foundation office. ASK!

3. If you are having legitmate problems affording pain meds there are federally funded locations called Family Health Care Centers and Migrant Health Care Centers that may be able to help. Many have indigent drug programs that allow them to receive free or reduced cost meds. ASK!

4. Don’t stop ASKING!

I know this journey is hard and I know there are many more good days than bad, but keep working at it and keep asking for help. Even if you get one more good day a month isn’t that worth it?

Peace,
Nadra

Every day we get messages asking us questions about why presciption pain medications are not working for them. Some think they’re not taking the right one or the right dose and others say nothing they’ve tried works for them and want to know what else they can take. It’s time to step away from the pill bottles.

Your first order of business to is to complete an inventory of all the medicines you take. That includes prescription, over-the-counter and any herbals. Next, tell your pharmacist or doctor what you are taking and how and when you are taking it. There are many ways that pain medications can lose their impact because of when you take them and with what.

The second order of business is to help increase the effectiveness of the pain meds you are already taking. Sounds like a big secret, but it’s not. Some pain meds need to be taken at the first sign of pain. Don’t be stubborn and wait until you “can’t stand it anymore”. If you doctor says, “Take a pill as soon as you feel pain”, then you should follow that advice. There are also lifestyle changes you can make. One BIG one is to get a good nights sleep. While easier said than done, your pharmacist or doctor can make recommendations. Another lifestyle change is to move around as much as you can. Often your pain will remain the same whether you sit around or move around. However, moving around increases your blood flow and your energy and helps you naturally cope with pain.

Talk to your health care providers and let them know you want to do everything you can to maximize the pain relief you get from medications by doing other things that can help.

Be well and be wise,
Nadra

Many of us who suffer from chronic pain just don’t want to move at the end of the day. Some of us don’t want to move at the beginning of the day. Yet movement is what we need. Here’s why.

Basically when you exercise your brain releases endorphins, a natural pain reliever. For many year’s runners have talked about the “high” they get after running. That “high” is the brain’s release of endorphins. Any exercise you can do; a short walk, lifting some books, doing some twists, tapping to music will get you closer to releasing some endorphins. Check with your health care provider and they can recommend some simple exercises to get you going.

Exercise is also good for joint pain. Why? Because exercise helps build up the muscles around the joint taking stress off the joint, exercise increases blood flow and circulation, increases energy and maintains bone strength.

Don’t sit around waiting for a miracle cure or for someone else to make you feel better. Talk with your medical professional and tell them you want to get moving, release some endorphins and put your pain behind you.

Be well and be wise,
Nadra

So often we feel alone in our search to find help with pain issues. We feel frustrated, exhausted and at times angry. Through all this we have to hang on to one main rule; respect yourself.

You are a person in pain and you deserve respect from family, friends and the medical community. Yet the quickest way to lose respect is to only complain. Find a way to speak about yourself positively. Find ways to develop your history, your story of what has happened to you and what you are going through. Don’t forget to put in the successes you’ve had. We all feel we’ve only had bad times, but during our time of pain there have been good times. Write those down, remember those and talk about those. Remember how they happened and put yourself in a postion to make them happen again.

Each day will get a little better and people will listen more attentively because they will see you as the full, wonderful human being that you are.

Nadra

Your pain is different than anyone else’s. You know it. I know it. Many health care providers know it. Yet, many people think all pain is the same and that includes too many health care professionals. Attitudes are changing thanks to the work of many organizations and individuals. In your case the most important person does not have a medical degree or work for a health care organization or do research. YOU are the most important person and the expert on your pain.

Here are some of the most important questions anyone should ask you about your pain. (You should put the questions and answers in a “pain diary”.
1. Where is your pain? Sounds easy, but the better you locate the pain the better the diagnosis.
2. What does it feel like? Pain is pain right? Yes, but it helps to say if it is a sharp pain like getting
stuck with a pin or a burning pain such as when your hand falls asleep except 10 times worse? 50 times? 100 times?
Be descriptive and relate the pain to something we all understand.
3. Does the pain come and go or is it constant? If it does come and go when do you notice it starting
and when does it stop?
4. Does anything take away the pain even a little? Ice? Heat? Exercise? Laughing? We know laughter
is key to well being and laughter also a distraction and more studies and activities are being focused on distraction therapy.
5. What have you tried already? This will help your doctor know what not to try and will help them look for
new options quickly.
6. What do you eat? This is critical for a number of reasons. If you are overweight (who isn’t) then joints
are under pressure. If you eat a diet that is not balanced with vegetables, fruits and proteins then the body can’t heal itself.
Look at what you eat with a critical eye and change one or two things a week. It will make a diference.

You and I may not be experts on much, but we sure know our aches and pains better than anyone else. We know what time of the day it is worse and we know what we want to do, but cannot because of the pain.

I’m with you along this path. If you have questions I look forward to receiving them. I will give you answers that you can use today. I don’t give medical advice, but I can get you on the path to having less pain or at least better understanding your unique pain.

S. Nadra Havican, R.N., R.Ph.