Pain Management Updates
So, if you've been following the saga, you know that this is part of my multi-year experiment to get my fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue under control. I left work in 2016 due my complete disability to do my job. Symptoms that landed me in trouble: Extreme fatigue and exhaustion, brain fog and cognitive dysfunction, widespread pain, migraine, chronic knee pain, sleep disorder. I have tried a series of prescriptions from my doctors, including Cymbalta, amitriptyline, fluoxetine, gabapentin, cyclobenzaprine. None of these have worked for my pain, exhaustion, or sleep disorders. I have since decided to approach my health from a more natural viewpoint.
I have tried herbs for migraines with considerable success. I have also tried bromelain and other natural remedies for chronic pain with less success. Now I've decided to try hemp oil. This post continues the updates during my third week of this experiment.
This week I've continued to use the Q-Fuse full spectrum oil by taking two half doses each day, one in the morning and one in the mid-afternoon. My research in hemp oil and CBD oil tells me that it should be helpful for chronic pain, headaches, fatigue, and depression, so that is my experiment.
During my first two weeks I've noticed a huge difference in my energy levels. To understand the phrase "huge difference," you first need to understand that my energy level is normally non-existent. I drag myself out of bed and force myself to that first cup of coffee so I can get moving enough to achieve anything. Most days I feel like I'm dragging a 50-pound chest out of bed with me. For the last two weeks I have been able to get myself moving with much less effort. My sleep isn't great, so I'm still tired in the morning, but I find that I can move pretty well after my dose of Q-fuse, coffee or not.
My second goal was to treat the chronic pain. This has been a partial success so far. The pain in my knees has been less, though still bothers me some. I've been able to go without my cane for three weeks now and that's been great. The cane is one distraction I don't need when I'm serving as a chaplain at a crisis scene.
The final goal of this experiment is treating depression. So far, no noticeable progress on that front. Most treatments of this kind take a minimum of 4-8 weeks to see results, so I will keep using it and hope that starts to show soon.
When I first started this experiment, I was afraid that I would see psychosomatic results--placebo effects, if you will. What I have noticed is that when I take the oil on-schedule, I feel much better. When I miss a dose or forget it, it becomes evident when I realize that I feel like I'm dragging. Every time I've felt completely exhausted in the last week it's been after I missed a dose or two of the oil and I felt better after I took it.
Another anecdote involves moving a refrigerator. Last weekend my husband decided it was time to rid ourselves of the extra refrigerator that was left by the last tenants of our house. His sister is in need of a new one after her house was flooded by Hurricane Florence last fall. So my husband, our friend, and myself got together and loaded a refrigerator onto a truck to transport it to the coast. The weekend before that, we moved a solid oak chest of drawers, a dresser, and two heavy chairs fro my mom's house to ours. After both incidents, I was reasonably sore but not in massive pain. Most importantly--no flare after either one!
I'm excited to keep this experiment going and see where it goes next!
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| Image copyright Rainer Vandalismus. Used under cc license. |
This week I've continued to use the Q-Fuse full spectrum oil by taking two half doses each day, one in the morning and one in the mid-afternoon. My research in hemp oil and CBD oil tells me that it should be helpful for chronic pain, headaches, fatigue, and depression, so that is my experiment.
During my first two weeks I've noticed a huge difference in my energy levels. To understand the phrase "huge difference," you first need to understand that my energy level is normally non-existent. I drag myself out of bed and force myself to that first cup of coffee so I can get moving enough to achieve anything. Most days I feel like I'm dragging a 50-pound chest out of bed with me. For the last two weeks I have been able to get myself moving with much less effort. My sleep isn't great, so I'm still tired in the morning, but I find that I can move pretty well after my dose of Q-fuse, coffee or not.
 |
| Image by iProzac and used under cc license. |
My second goal was to treat the chronic pain. This has been a partial success so far. The pain in my knees has been less, though still bothers me some. I've been able to go without my cane for three weeks now and that's been great. The cane is one distraction I don't need when I'm serving as a chaplain at a crisis scene.
The final goal of this experiment is treating depression. So far, no noticeable progress on that front. Most treatments of this kind take a minimum of 4-8 weeks to see results, so I will keep using it and hope that starts to show soon.
When I first started this experiment, I was afraid that I would see psychosomatic results--placebo effects, if you will. What I have noticed is that when I take the oil on-schedule, I feel much better. When I miss a dose or forget it, it becomes evident when I realize that I feel like I'm dragging. Every time I've felt completely exhausted in the last week it's been after I missed a dose or two of the oil and I felt better after I took it.
Another anecdote involves moving a refrigerator. Last weekend my husband decided it was time to rid ourselves of the extra refrigerator that was left by the last tenants of our house. His sister is in need of a new one after her house was flooded by Hurricane Florence last fall. So my husband, our friend, and myself got together and loaded a refrigerator onto a truck to transport it to the coast. The weekend before that, we moved a solid oak chest of drawers, a dresser, and two heavy chairs fro my mom's house to ours. After both incidents, I was reasonably sore but not in massive pain. Most importantly--no flare after either one!
I'm excited to keep this experiment going and see where it goes next!
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