Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Getting Myself Back



Maybe I'm the absolute last person you should listen to about getting healthy, what with all my whining and complaining and seemingly never-ending medical issues. OR, now that I AM getting healthy, maybe you should. Oh what the heck, read the damn post anyway!

My getting healthy journey started with Feldenkrais Therapy. I found this method through a friend who is studying to become a practitioner herself. I thought, "Well, I've tried some weird stuff over the years...what could it hurt except my wallet."  Wow. So glad I listened to her. (Thank darlin', even though you don't read my blog ;-)

This method of physical therapy retrains your nervous system to function in its most efficient way (which is different for each body) and the effects are simply amazing. I went from having to have my hip replaced and barely able to walk around my house due to the stabbing pain, to being able to, at last measurement, hike a mile and a half.

Not only did it improve my overall well-being and the functionality of all the parts I harmed over the years with gymnastics, long distance running, and poor nutrition (see Careless Words), it also, finally, after eleven long years of chronic regional pain syndrome  -I'll leave you to follow the link if you want more info, but basically I had pain because my nerves weren't talking to each other correctly, but fixing NERVOUS system means fixing nerves, so all the stuff that helped my arthritis, helped that, too.  My practitioner, whom I adore, had told me that it would, but after eleven years of being handed one kooky remedy after another, I didn't believe him. Until it happened.

So since starting Feldenkrais therapy, I've achieved:
  • not needing a hip replacement
  • normal functionality in all my parts
  • ditched Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome
  • ditched my pain doctor and all the expensive and mind-numbing though necessary at the time narcotics
  • can garden, hike, ride a bike, carry laundry up and down stairs
  • gained self-esteem back, and thereby ditched one of my anti-depressants
  • and found my magic shoes

I've gotten myself back.


This blog hop is hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh, Stephen Tremp, L. Diane Wolfe, and Michael Di Gesu,  Thanks to all of you!


31 comments:

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Tina .. I remembered when you mentioned this before, but was glad of a nudge again sometime recently ... and I've made contact with a practitioner based in Cornwall, and in fact noted one when I was in Brighton the other day.

So I shall pursue it at some stage .. and so good to read it has helped you so much ... cheers Hilary

Suzanne Furness said...

Hi Tina, this isn't a therapy I have heard of before but it certainly seems to have worked for you, that is brilliant. Thanks for sharing the information with us.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

That's great, Tina! Never thought about never endings not talking. (Maybe yours had an argument or something?) Glad you can do so much more now.
Thanks for participating in our bloghop!

S.P. Bowers said...

That sounds wonderful. I'm so glad you found something that worked for you.

Tasha Duncan-Drake said...

That's brilliant, sounds like a fantastic therapy for you. So glad everything is going so well.
Tasha's Thinkings

shelly said...

That is wonderful!

Hugs and chocolate,
Shelly

Anonymous said...

I congratulate you, you are an inspiration to many,

Yvonne.

Brian Miller said...

wow that is a pretty amazing endorsement....and i am so glad that it has helped you...chronic pain is no fun....ugh...and i hear you on kooky rememdies, but glad you tried it and it worked...

JoJo said...

I'm glad that you are starting to feel better and that your health issues are starting to resolve!

Lucy said...

Wow, how wonderful and something I am going to research, I mean that is quite an endorsement.
I am so happy for you :)

Lucy from Lucy's Reality

Andrew Leon said...

I've never heard of that before; I'll have to look it up later just to see what it is.
Is it related to Corey Feldman at all?

Hart Johnson said...

I think it's so great you found so much help with the method. In my day job I study people living with chronic pain and some issues have SO MUCH negative impact on quality of life... Finding something that works in that case is much rarer than we'd hope.

jenn said...

sounds like a pretty remarkable thing. good for you.

Unknown said...

Oh my gosh, did I ever come to right place. I have arthritis and chronic shoulder pain. I am absolutely miserable some days and have to take ibuprofen like every other day. Even my exercise, while it helps, sometimes just kills me afterwards. Thank you, thank you for sharing this, I will definitely have to check it out. I want to be pain free so i can hike Tikal next year. That is my reward for losing the bulk of the rest of this weight.

Annalisa Crawford said...

It's amazing what the right therapy can do - and saving money is a bonus. Glad you're feeling more like yourself again :-)

Anonymous said...

Nervous systems can be so nerve-racking! But seriously, Tina, you've been through a lot, and I'm so glad you didn't put your body through any more trauma having a hip replacement! It's so cool that you don't have to go broke treating health problems too - and pain killers...those things will kill you, and you won't even know it because you'll be so numb. Granted, when you need one once in a while, they definitely come in handy, but who wants to live on those things?! This is an important post on so many levels. Thank you for sharing your story today!

Dawn Embers said...

That is a great achievement. Congrats on your progress.

SK Anthony said...

I'm glad you found the right therapy, congrats ;)

Silvia Writes said...

Now and then, I hear stories about various therapeutic ways to get healthy. This description sounds really good ... especially since I have rheumatism.
Good for you. Sounds like a truly healthy way to get back to an old self and enjoy life.

Unknown said...

Wow I'm going to have to look into this a bit more-- first time I've read about it. Thanks for sharing.

Laeli said...

wow that sounds pretty amazing! I;m happy for you!

Anonymous said...

Hi, Tina. The therapy sounds interesting. CONGRATS on getting yourself back!

Kate @ Another Clean Slate said...

That is amazing! Good for you for figuring out what works. I am still working on that :)

loverofwords said...

Hi Tina: I have heard of Feldenkrais Therapy and will try it. I have used deep tissue message, physical therapy and dry needle therapy which all help for a while, all "out of pocket" unfortunately. But no more Ibuprofen for me. Glad you found Feldenkrais.

Rachel said...

I've never heard of it before, but I think I'm going to ask my grandma about it. She has a nerve disorder that will eventually put her into a wheelchair and I'm wondering if this might help prolong her ability to walk and deal with the pain. Thank you!

Bevimus said...

I've never heard of this before but my experience with holistic medicine in general is that more often then not it works. I will check it out- thanks for sharing your story!

Suzanne said...

Glad you found something that has made such a positive impact on your life. I've never heard of it either, but will go look it up right now :)
Suzanne @Suzannes Tribe

Michael Di Gesu said...

TINA...

I AM SOOOOO HAPPY FOR YOU!!!!! I wish I knew about this therapy when I had my ten year bout with chronic arthritis! I went to a quack kinesiologist who crippled me and caused me to lose ten years of my life.

What an amazing miracle. I am so looking into this therapy further. Even though I am able to move now, I would still like to heal all the joint damage, if possible.

Thank you so much for sharing your story and MIRACLE with us!

Stephen Tremp said...

Congrats! Tina on getting yourself back! I haven't heard of this method and have been learning so much visiting all the blogs.

Good luck with everything and much continued success!

D.G. Hudson said...

You have to be open to trying new things, although chronic pain is discouraging.

Thanks for sharing your experience with a solution. Hope you continue to improve. Mobility is so important.

Unknown said...

That's all amazing news. Whatever that treatment is, it sounds like it's done you a lot of good.