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Pain Flair Tool Kit – How to Manage Your Most Painful Moments

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      When a person with chronic pain experiences a “pain flair” - a period where the pain is more severe than usual - the capacity to function is significantly decreased is and can feel very demoralizing.   When you are so sick and unable to think clearly, it is easy to be ruminating in a downward spiral and become stuck in that hopeless state of mind, making your pain worse than it already is.   It’s important to create a pain flair plan to remind yourself of what you can actually do to alleviate any amount of pain and help your emotional state.           In the beginning of the year, I decided to go back to the Lifestyle Redesign Pain Management program at USC Occupational Therapy because my pain flairs were increasing.   When I experience pain flairs, I could be in bed till 3 pm – 5 pm experiencing imbalance, migraines, difficulty breathing, and muscle spasms from my head all the way down to my foot without eating or drinking anything.   Learning how to plan for my pain fla
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gift to myself - bone density & digestion

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  Yesterday was my 26th birthday, so I thought I'd treat my body out to dietary supplements to help increase my bone density and improve digestion.  I've been told by many doctors that I am loosing a lot of bone density in my jaw.  It's very alarming because I'm too young for this and it doesn't get better as I get older. I have a high chance of loosing a lot of my teeth at a young age and this issue will make my TMJ disorder worse. The lack of bone density in my jaw is going to make dental implants difficult to do which is required in the surgery I am looking into.  I also feel that the shape of my face & jaw line has changed so much over the years and it is an insecurity that I have.  Well, I'm not going to get plastic surgery (went through a phase where I wanted a chin implant & new jaw!), so all I can do is nourish my bones.  I went to Sprouts today and the worker there recommended the MRM Bone Maximizer III and CoQ-10 .  He said the Bone Maxi
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My Favorite Pain/Stress Relief Products

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Even though I haven't found a cure for my chronic pain disorder, there have been some products that have helped calm me down and relieve my muscle spasms.  I'm allergic to opiates, which is almost in all the pain medications, and just have to find more natural ways to find relief.  I wanted to share some of my top pain and stress relief products and hope it provides some relief in your life.  Take some time for self-care, even if it's just for 5 minutes!   Foam Roller my favorite pain relief product for muscle spasms they call it the "poor person's massage" cause all you need is this roller and yourself helps relieve the severe muscle spasms in my shoulder blade  here's a link about the benefits of foam rolling: http://breakingmuscle.com/mobility-recovery/what-is-a-foam-roller-how-do-i-use-it-and-why-does-it-hurt this youtube video below of thoraic spine mobilization has helped me a lot, and I do think it can benefit TMJ disorder sufferers who hav
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Grandmother Willow's Tree: April 3, 2014

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Woo!  Can't believe I clicked the orange "publish" button yesterday!  I'm going to try to get in the groove of blogging by simply sharing the things I am grateful for each day.  My college roommate, Peggy, and I had this inside joke called "grandmother willow's tree" (my lamp), and I would try to write down what I appreciated about my day next to my sacred lamp and IKEA rats, Moe & Joe.  Our inside jokes are pretty crazy, but I grateful that I got to spend my college days living with someone who understood my nutty humor!  Grandmother Willow's Tree:  April 3, 2014 friends that are supportive and encouraging of this blog  seeing Gary under the desk at work  less painful work day Leon bought me lunch  Watching Gary do the "cocoa puff" dance with Leon hugging & kissing Gary when he's half awake  Project Motivate study hall seeing my mentee & learning about the rock process watching Thuan's fierce dance  hearing
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Gratitude Journal App & Acknowledging Pain

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     It's been almost two years since I've written in this chronic pain self-help blog.  A lot of things have changed in my body and mind since my very first blog post.  I hope I can do my best to catch up on those two years with you all.  Some close friends know that I've been constantly debating on continuing this blog due to topics that can be overwhelmingly emotional.  When I'm feeling well enough to write, sometimes I think that it's better to enjoy the moment and not write than to have to relive & reflect on painful moments that the writing process calls for.  And sometimes when I muster up the courage to finally write, I end up feeling insecure and think of misinterpretations people may have and just end up not posting anything.  I think I am at a place where I am more comfortable with myself and my journey.  I truly hope that this blog will bring comfort, love, hope, and understanding to people who suffer from chronic pain, mental health, or any life str
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Epsom Salt - Reducing Foot & Ankle Pain

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If you suffer from foot or ankle pain, Epsom salt might be your new best friend! I've been experiencing a lot of pain on my right foot & ankle due to my leg length discrepancy.  Because my right leg is shorter than my left leg, my right foot and ankle take on a lot of pressure, which causes swelling.  While I start to slowly relieve the pressure on my right ankle through proper shoes (ballet flats do not count!), shoes inserts, and a heel lift, my ankle still swells up if I walk too much or bear weight on the right foot.  Two weeks ago, my ankle started swelling up half way through yoga class because I was putting weight on my ankle in simple yoga stances such as warrior 1 and warrior 2.  My foot doctor said my right ankle is extremely weak because I had sprained my ankle in the past but did not get properly treated for it and that my leg length discrepancy had made it worse.  My podiatrist has instructed me to wear an ankle brace when I'm not wearing my "special
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Sleep posture

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"Tiff!  My jaw hurts!  What do I do?!?!" Ever since I wrote this blog, many people have been messaging me about their jaw pain.  I even get messages from strangers.  Most people start to panic because they don't want their pain level to turn into mine.  Their jaw starts to pop when they eat.  They experience headaches and have tightness on their jaw muscles.  Since I am not a TMJ specialist, I can't say what is the best treatment.  I tried wearing a splint in my mouth for 2 years, and it ruined my jaw but worked for like 85% of the population.  I'm wearing braces and feel better, yet 90% of my TMJ specialist objected to braces because it was so aggressive on my TMJ.  I might suggest a friend to see a TMJ specialist, but I'm not sure if they are seeing a good one.  One TMJ specialist down the street might have a completely different recommendation down the other street.  The good TMJ specialists are the most expensive ones such as UCLA Dental ($375 consultatio
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