Lissabird Makes Good: remission

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

CAPS left and right, just like that Dooce lady.

Haven't been here in a while...

But I have some big news worth firing up Blogger for: I can bend my ankle a tiny bit more. I know... I should have made sure you were all sitting down for that one. If that statement didn't knock you off your chair, then let me explain. RSD/CRPS caused my achilles tendon to shorten, which limited the movement in my ankle to just a hair past 90 degrees. That's not quite enough to walk normally. But over the last month or two I began to notice a change. The stairs got a little easier. When I danced, I found that I could bend my knee and my ankle at the same time (a little). Then finally, I thought I would try walking like a normal person (bending my knee instead picking my leg up, and swinging from the hip). IT WORKED! And it felt AMAZING. I haven't taken steps like that for 21 years. It takes too much concentration to walk like that all the time, but I'm practicing.

In the past I have spent countless hours in physical therapy, or doing exercises at home to loosen my ankle, but it never budged. Here's the thing. I haven't been in PT. This just happened by itself. I feel like the RSD just let go. I was HAPPY with the huge pain relief I got from my Body Project antics, but now my body is physically changing for the better, and reversing some of the damage chronic illness caused. Happy doesn't begin to describe what I'm feeling now.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

The Body Project: Update

I really think I've done it! I think the Fibromyalgia is in remission, and the RSD/CRPS is still there, but it behaves itself most of the time. My feet still ache when they get cold, or I exert myself too much. And I get pretty achy at night, but I am 31 years old, so I guess that could be normal. Considering where I've been, and how severe my symptoms could be, I'll take a few age appropriate aches and pains. I am still overly sensitive to small injuries that really shouldn't be painful, so I guess my central nervous system could work a little better but believe me, I'm not complaining. I know that another disruption could easily happen, but I feel like I have the knowledge and the ability to reverse it again.

Speaking of being 31... I just had a birthday. I have been overwhelmed with caring for my sick family (and myself) so I have yet to post my thoughts about getting older.

They are brief, but here they are:
I am proud of myself and my choices.
I believe that I have created happiness in my life, and that I deserve it.
Good for me.

Who am I?

I have lived with Chronic Pain for 20 years-- that's two thirds of my life. I have RSD/CRPS in my left foot as a result of an auto/pedestrian accident when I was 10 years old. RSD has been called one of the most painful diseases out there, and the stress of it on my growing body caused a whole host of new problems. After a few years, pain took over every inch of me.

A few years ago, I decided to look at my health (or lack there of) from a whole new perspective. Whole, being the operative word-- whole body and mind. I have resisted the idea of the mind/body connection because, to me, that meant the pain was somehow in my head. But I have come to realize that of course stress would affect my overall health and my pain level.

So I decided to face the greatest source of stress in my life, even though it had been one of my most closely guarded secrets: mental illness devoured the last recognizable shreds of my mother's personality when I was a teen. I didn't know what was happening, and I worried that it was somehow my fault (because she told me it was). We didn't really have the internet back then (Yep. Feeling old-- and loving it!) and mental illness is one the last taboos to fall, so I was pathetically alone in my attempt to understand my life. This is my shout out to anyone else stuck in a similar situation. Life can get better, but you have to take care of yourself first.

My mom eventually did take her life-- a few weeks before I found out that I was pregnant. Suddenly, I found myself facing motherhood, and feeling slightly less than ready for the task. So I started writing. I wrote about my mom. I wrote about living in pain. Then the two began to intertwine in ways I had never let myself consider. It was an amazing experience.

Once the mess in my head was a little more organized, I went back to the doctors to learn all that I could about what happened to my body. I read the research myself, I did everything I could think of to break the pain cycle long enough to let my nervous system reset. Regular massage and chiropractic appointments lowered my pain levels on their own, but on top of that I did yoga, walked regularly, and took a laundry list of supplements and natural remedies. (Most effective: Fibro Response by Source Naturals: Magnesium, B and D complexes, MSM and Apple Cider Vinegar) Check out the Body Project Tag to see what I did.

I still have RSD/CRPS in my foot and I always will. But I learned to separate that from the pain I felt in my other limbs, back and face. I have determined that it was all a giant breakdown of my body's natural cycle and ability to process pain signals caused by the RSD, and the stress of losing my mother. This breakdown is sometimes called Central Sensitization Syndrome or Fibromyalgia. The way I thought about the pain went from it being a horrible disease that would never go away, to being an interruption that I could correct.

I'm working on it.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

CAPS left and right, just like that Dooce lady.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

The Body Project: Update

Who am I?

me and the hubs

Rosabella Eliza Alice

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