Reach Beyond Chronic Pain

Back Surgery a Success!

Hello All,

First I must apologize for my long departure from the BLOG. As stated in my last post, I had another back surgery. My third back surgery and the second one in two years. Last year they took out the hardware in my spine that had been piercing my spinal canal. That gave some relief. In the same surgery they splinted L5 - S1. Turned out the splint broke and the area did not heal properly, causing significant pain.

I found a phenominal surgeon here in Austin. He found the problem and I had yet another fusion. My friends joke, more of my spinal column is fused than not.

The most amazing news is that after eight years I will no longer suffer with chronic pain. One would think when I heard the news I would be estatic. Just the opposite incurred. I broke down in tears and they did not stop for an entire day. I still have the occasional upset, but believe me I am happy to be pain free.

You may be asking yourself, "Why would you cry"? The best explanation I have, is over the loss. I feel as though I have been jailed inside my body for eight years now. I withdrew from many things due to the pain and suffered many losses. I had started many projects, due to the pain. Now what would I do? It is pretty scary jumping fully back into life after eight years! Please don't take me wrong, I know I am blessed, but years of pain change your life forever.

Now my question is, "What can I do for those of you still suffering? What would make the most impact"? In six or seven months I should have all my energy back and be absolutley pain free. WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING I CAN DO TO SUPPORT THE COUNTLESS OTHERS STILL SUFFERING?

I would love to hear from you! I have some ideas from the last eight years, but you may have some others.

For those of you still living with chronic pain, YOU ARE IN MY THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS!

Karen Hummel

Back Surgery on Thursday, August 31st

Hello All,

Just wanted to let everyone reading my BLOG know that I will be having back surgery on Thursday, August 31st. I have faith that this will lessen my pain and I will be able to spend more time reaching out to help others suffering with chronic pain. I will be rescheduling my free telephone group coaching calls once I have recovered enough to do them. I was so bummed that my surgery and pre-op fell on those days, but there is a reason for everything.

In the mean time, please sign up for a free membership at www.chronicpaincoaching.com and use the free forum to connect and support other chronic pain sufferers. There are 105 million of us in the US. It is time we reach out to each other and realize we are not alone!

Thanks to all of you who have wished me well. I appreciated your kind words and prayers.

I look forward to the future of www.chronicpaincoaching.com, as we continue to grow and help others with chronic pain.

All the best!

Karen Hummel, MPA
Chronic Pain Coach
www.chronicpaincoaching.com

Planning on Moving - Some more facts for people with chronic pain

Hi All,

Well, I just called my physician for a refill on my prescription, a prescription for pain medication. My Orthopedic Surgeon is on vacation for the next ten days. Since my he is in CA and I am now in TX they have to mail me a prescription, so I will not be able to refill my prescription for more than ten days. I am down to two pain pills. Lets hope a can keep the pain threshold down.

I also found out since I moved out of state I may not be able to see an Orthopedic Surgeon, as I am not 100% sure if I should have another surgery. Now how am I supposed to figure out whether or not to have the surgery if I can't see a surgeon. I also have to pay for all of my films and files to be sent to the next physician. Quite candidly, I had to spend so much of my money while on State Disability, and now on trying to start a home based business, so I can stay productive, that I am frustrated to have to pay money to send my films. I think the hospital could affort to send them.

I just wanted to warn those of you who might be considering moving out of your state, as it is quite common to have to move closer or in with friends or family when suffering with this condition.

Blessings to all my fellow chronic pain sufferers,

Karen
www.chronicpaincoaching.com

Tips for a Great Doctors Visit

Since breaking my back in 1998, I have been blessed with some exceptional physicians who believed in me and sincerely wanted to help me with my struggles with chronic pain.

Unfortunately, I have also encountered those who have not treated me so well. If you encounter a Doctor that does not treat you well or makes you feel uncomfortable; run, hobble, crawl, do what ever you have to do, to get as far away from the person as possible. There are plenty of great, caring physicians out there. Let’s put the other guys and gals out of business.

 
Let’s face it, even the best physicians are short on time and sometimes we get a little sensitive due to our pain, so it is important to plan ahead. I have a few tips I find helpful for me and my doctor. Hope you find them useful, as well.

1. Keep a      diary of your symptoms, pain level, activity level, and other things your      physician may have asked you to track.
2. Bring      a list of questions and concerns to each Doctors visit. Be clear and      concise. Remember, your Doctor has a limited amount of time to spend with      each patient.
3. If you      are having trouble communicating with your Doctor, bring a trusted friend      or family member to be your voice or evaluate the situation. Sometimes we      get a little short tempered when we are in pain. If your friend agrees      that the Doctor is not treating you well. Find a new Doctor.
4. Be      honest as to whether or not you are following Doctors orders. Are you      exercising, doing therapy regularly, taking your medications, etc…
5. If you      don’t understand your Doctor, ask him to clarify, if you still don’t      understand, ask again. This isn’t the time to worry about looking stupid!
6. Post      all of your important medical numbers together, including; physicians,      therapists, pharmacist, personal trainer, coach, and any other people      helping you with your condition. This is also a great place to post your      medications and latest symptoms.
7. Ask      your Doctor the three most important things you can do to improve your      condition.
8. Ask      your Doctor for his honest assessment of what you can expect over the next      week, month, year, and so on.
9. Last      but not least, keep a positive attitude at the Doctors office. I use humor      as much as possible in describing my situation. I believe that is why my      Doctors and their staff like to see me. They must get a little sick of      hearing people whine all day. They are only human. If you are blessed with      a great, caring Doctor, give him or her something to smile about when you      are there. Believe me, it will come back to you ten fold, on your roughest      days, when you can barely muster a smile or hold back the tears. They will      want to cheer you up!

 

 

 

 

Life’s Short – Live Now

Hi All,

I just found a short article I wrote awhile back and wanted to share it. Whether you live with chronic pain of the body or of the mind, I think it is a great reminder to live it up now! All the best, and wishing you a pain free day (  :

Life’s Short – Live Now 

Yes, your heart is beating, you’re walking the paces, but are you truly ALIVE or just caught in the rat race? Yes, we live in one of the best and most cultural places in the world, but many of us don’t leave time in our schedules to enjoy our beautiful surroundings. Instead of being really ALIVE we commute, get caught up in our on demand lifestyles, including cell phone, fax, and email, become slaves to our businesses and careers, and have little time left for what is most precious. Time to relax and enjoy the people that mean the most to us.

Life is Short. We have to LIVE now! We get so caught up that we forget our lives can change in the blink of an eye. Everything is perfect, you have your health, a beautiful home, family and in the next second your world is turned upside down.

I learned that all too well in my late 20’s when I broke my back in a serious automobile accident. In a split second my body went from that of a healthy young women to that of an invalid. I suddenly had to be bathed, turned in bed and helped in the restroom. There was no longer room for modesty in this modest girls life. I have suffered with back and abdominal pain since, but believe I was given a special gift. A gift of wisdom many seek through their entire lives to understand.

All too often we hear stories of people on their death bed making amends with family members, wishing they would have spent more time with loved ones and less time at the office, and wondering if they had only taken better care of their health, sadly it is too late. Yet, we continue our fast paced, overworked bay area lifestyles, after all we have plenty of time, right?

As a Life Coach I have had the pleasure to work with many people that would say no. People that have battled cancer, lost children and other loved ones; all do what they can each day to live a happy life on their terms. Through my personal experience and coaching others I would agree. Get started towards your goals today, for we don’t know what tomorrow holds. Make time for what is most important to you right now.

Life is valuable and short and can be taken away from us at any second. The time to be happy is right now, the time to tell your friends and family you care is right now, the time to take care of yourself is right now, I genuinely hope you can learn through my experience to start improving on your life today. Remember, your life can change in the blink of an eye.

Great - Now my brain is shrinking too!

When I started this BLOG, my goal was to write in it everyday. As my fellow pain sufferers know sometimes we are over zealous with our goals and forget we may be knocked down with pain. This week I also have a sinus infection. Another one of those times it feels like nothing can go right, or at least ½ right. I am sure all of you feel like this from time to time. Luckily, I haven’t been sick in a year, I owe that to Juice +. I will have to share that another day, as I believe all chronic pain sufferers could benefit. I used to be sick every month due to my low immunity from Chronic Pain. Juice + changed that.

Today, I felt in a downward spiral, so I started to do some research to take my mind off things and hopefully in the process cheer myself up. Pain is just life now and life is pain. I still intend to enjoy it. I found this great article on how back pain shrivels your brain at an alarming rate. I had to laugh! Can I catch a break anywhere? Now my brain is shriveling too! Hey, what did I just read? Why am I typing, I’m confused? JUST KIDDING!

When I did something less than genius, I used to say, “It must be the bottled blonde seeping through my scalp!” I never had the science to back that up, but now I have the science in hand to say, “Sorry, my brain is shriveling”. (  :

They say in the article that the brain of a chronic back pain sufferer ages 20 times faster than that of a healthy brain. I know you are wondering what the cause is, as I was. The cause is the depression and sadness stemmed from the losses incurred due to pain. So that’s easy to fix, just be cheery all the time and this shouldn’t happen! Yeah right, that is probably what many of our healthy counterparts would tell us to do.  While I believe we can “Reach Beyond the Pain” and be cheery a lot of the time. I realize it isn’t easy and some days you just need to give yourself a break and throw the biggest Pity Party Bash your house has seen. I personally suggest, fun PJ’s, lots of coco or other chocolate and soap operas. But the next day, you have to do your best to reach again!

So keep laughing and smiling! It isn’t so bad, right? God wouldn’t give us anything we couldn’t handle. We are probably smarter than the average person to start with so who cares if our brains shrink faster. I know one thing for sure! God made us super tough to handle what we are going through. We are special and that is definitely something to smile about.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Got-Back-Pain?&id=199753 If you would like to check the article out. Who knows? The extra reading might slow down the brain shrivel.

Hope your pain level is low today!!!!

Karen

www.chronicpaincoaching.com

Forget a structured schedule

Since my last back surgery I have been trying to create a schedule that will work for me. This includes, specific times to go to bed and wake up, exercise and therapy, and time to work on my dream, the Chronic Pain Coaching membership site and coaching business.

Before my debilitating accident, I was an over achiever and could fit many tasks into my day. I am not saying this to brag, but as a comparison to now. I have had to learn to give myself a break and have come to realize I cannot stick to a regular schedule. I still try my best to fit in time for what is important to me each day, but have had to learn to accept not being able to do it all on severe pain days.

Like you, I have days I wake up in pain, sometimes I can only lay in bed, read, write, watch TV, meditate, etc... Some days, I can get a lot done in the morning and rest in the afternoon, and every once in a blue moon I get the low pain day when I feel like there is nothing I can't do and I walk through the day with a big smile on my face. On these days people stop to ask me, "Karen, why are you so happy"?

My point is, if you are a chronic pain sufferer, and can't stick to a schedule, take it easy on yourself. I can tell you from experience, beating yourself up is not going to help the situation. Just do what you can and don't dwell on what you can't. Yes, I know, "easier said than done" right?? I still struggle with this. I got to work on my website and business today, but now I am in too much pain to do my exercises. Before my accident eight years ago I was an avid fitness enthusiast, now I am in the process of trying to lose 25 lbs from my last surgery and can't workout as hard or as much as I would like, so it is a big blow when I can't exercise. But, I know I have to rest. Tomorrow is a new day and I will do my exercises first!

If you are suffering with chronic pain, I suggest you create a flexible schedule for yourself and if things don't get done. WHO CARES!! There is always tomorrow. You are already suffering physical pain. Why make it worse with mental regret and worry? I also suggest not trying to keep up with your peers or listening to their comments when they are wondering why it is taking so long for you to accomplish something. They just don't get it!

LIFE IS TOO SHORT!! Do what you can and stay positive!

Karen

I made it to Austin

Well, I expected to add more about the move, but the truth is, moving while in pain is a lot of hard work, mixed with a lot of sleeping and other rest to regenerate and pack some more. The warm weather in Austin has helped my back tremendously though. While I don't think I will ever be pain free, I have more lower pain days, which as you know, is huge for a chronic pain sufferer.

I am excited to announce my new website "Chronic Pain Coaching" is nearly complete. It is my goal to build a network of chronic pain sufferers from across the globe. I will offer group coaching via phone to help those who are struggling with chronic pain and not moving forward. I promise you can move forward in spite of it.

More to come later!

Karen

Moving with Chronic Pain

Hello! I currently have a business and membership site that helps women with chronic pain. I wanted to start a Blog to reach more women that deal with this affliction on a daily basis. My mission is to help women reach beyond the pain to a more fulfilling and joy filled life.

I know first hand it isn't easy, but it can be done. I am a chronic pain sufferer of eight years. In 1998 I broke my back and suffered other internal injuries in a severe auto accident. I have had multiple surgeries and continue to have excruciating nerve pain. I still believe I can be productive and will not accept that I am only worth the $810.00 a month the government says I am worth and other women in this situation are worth.

Aside from helping other women, I am in the process of moving to Austin, TX. I currently live in Walnut Creek, CA. A suburb of San Francisco. I just started my Chronic Pain Coaching business, so I am extremely busy with that. I also have to pack while suffering with pain. How will I accomplish this?

1. I have learned to focus on other things besides the pain. Yes, there are times it is impossible. I would be lieing if I told you it was easy. When I am at my wits end and medication is needed I lay on the sofa or my bed and write about the experience or study. I have learned I can still be productive even while in tremendous amounts of pain. This takes time to learn, but I know if I can do it, you definitely can. I am noone special. I have just chosen to stick to a positive focus.

2. I will bust myself up daily. As a chronic pain sufferer and business owner I have had to learn to give up on being anal about the cleanliness of my house. Before the pain. I was a clean freak. As you know, chronic pain suffers have to choose what is most important to accomplish in their day, as suddenly we can't do everything anymore. So, I will be laughing at all of the silly items I have collected over the past eight years, and all the items I find in what I thought were temporary hiding placed when someone would show up out of the blue. I have learned that a good hard belly laugh is the best medicine for dealing with chronic pain.

3. I will have to use my mind and think ahead of time. What is light enough for me to move. Who can I get to support me in this endeavor. As someone who enjoys helping others I have had a hard time letting others help me. It may sound silly, but it took me seven years to learn to appreciate help from others and not consider myself a pain in the booty! Remember it brings joy into others lives to be able to help you and you are worth it.

Remember you can still do anything, it just takes a little more time when you are in pain. What's funny is we will be more successful than are able bodied counterparts, because in many cases they are still taking life for granted.

Karen
karen@chronicpaincoaching.com
www.chronicpaincoaching.com