* another tip about sam's *

they will help you load your car too. i do my weekly ordering online for all the clubs supplies, plus stuff for home. they are always very helpful. now if i could just get them to follow me home...

these tips are great. i hope others will come and see this. ( spinal injurry....)

Curious I have a few places that I go,and they carry items out to my van for me, though being a guy, I feel quite embarrased to have it done. Also having my wife carrying stuff for me, I feel very ashamed. With the last job I had, I pulled hoses around that weighed in excess of 200lbs with no problem and now....... I also hate driving at one time I drove Tractor Trailer over the road and to do 700 miles in a day was no problem, now I do about 15 and feel like I did 700! I think most places will give you a hand if you ask them!!

i'm sorry mark.

being a wife of a very proud and strong man i understand. it's hard to change roles. orin my case ask for help with the things i have always done. ( yes...i was a very strong woman, having worked out for 20 years)

i bought garbage cans on wheels. use a hand truck when movong things around in the garage. i even have a small grocery carrier on wheels to help me bring them in the house.

Mark, I know what you mean...a lot of the carry out clerks around here are older women. It is embarrassing to follow them out (they're old enough to be MY mom, and I'm a grandma!) and watch them load your groceries, when you don't "look" sick. Plus, I've had my children (back when I was still going to the grocery store) yell, "No, Mom, don't do that!" when I was reaching for something heavy or on a high shelf. I knew they were protecting me (from myself ), but to the casual observer, all they knew was I had mouthy, obnoxious children! My husband does the same...won't let me open doors or pick things up (thankfully!), etc...I have to fight the feeling of being "useless", but for the most part I am thankful that they understand and care.

Donna

Donna - on your pages of info -
You can add them here if you want, or make a new thread and place a link to it here or in the useful sticky.

An Excerpt from her Thoracic outlet syndrome treatment book:



The Tape Trick is a very simple and low cost way to find out if you are
unconsciously raising your shoulders and perpetually irritating the nerves,
muscles and connective tissues of your neck, shoulders and arms. Here’s
how to do it:

Go to the pharmacy and purchase a roll of non-stretchy bandage tape
that is 1/2 inch in width. Avoid paper tape as it tears too easily. Good old
fashioned bandage tape that is found on the metal roll is a great one to
choose. Tear off a piece that is 12 inches long. Now go find a friend to
help you.

The Tape Trick works best if you do it on one shoulder at a time. Pick the
side of your body that has the most severe symptoms of repetitive strain
injury. If you can’t tell which side is worse, then pick the side that is your
more dominant side. For right handers, that would be your right side.
Have the friend stand next to you, looking at your side. Remove your
shirt. Ladies, it is very important to slip your bra strap off of your
shoulder. Make sure that your shoulders are down and relaxed and that
you are looking straight ahead. Have your friend apply the tape to the
bare skin of your shoulder, in the same direction that a bra strap would
go, with half of the tape extending to the front onto your chest, and the
other half extending down your back onto the back of your shoulder. For
ladies it is important that the tape is not applied in the exact same area
where your bra strap lies because your body has become somewhat
unconscious to feeling pressure in that spot. Instead, have your friend
apply the tape about 1/2 inch closer to your neck.

Now your job is to get dressed and go about your normal daily activities.
If you raise your shoulders at all, the tape will pull on your skin, alerting
you to the fact that you are raising your shoulders. It is important to try
to recognize when and under what circumstances you are habitually
raising your shoulders. By recognizing when you are engaging in this
unconscious activity, you can choose to change it, and relieve your body
of untold amounts of unnecessary strain and compression.
Freely share this Tape Trick with all your friends and colleagues so they
can be on the road to less pain and stress too!

PILLOWS, pillows, pillows under your arm(s) whenever you're sitting down - find ones you like and make it a habit! I loved my Boppy pillow, the U-shaped pillow made for nursing moms, used it in the car riding or driving , at church and visiting others homes. But left it in the Philly airport on one of many trips and haven't replaced it yet. Also use and love my Tempurpedic cervical pillow, hard to sleep without it!

Warm baths with Epsom salts before bed, music, time spent relaxing somehow everyday is good to keep stress down. Walking, even a short distance, to get fresh air and sunshine will help mood and prevent muscle loss. Tuck hands in a pocket or stick your thumb thumb in a belt loop to keep strain off plexus. Dress warmly, gloves, scarf, etc, so you don't "hunch" shoulders in reaction to cold. Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated, meds will often cause dry mouth. Try to practice especially good oral hygiene and see your dentist every six months as dry mouth can cause cavities to form due to absence of "rinsing action" of saliva.

Practice good posture - do a quick body scan several x a day. Are shoulders back, not forward, but relaxed, not military stiff? Is head also back, not poking forward? Are you clenching teeth? Tense? Relax any body parts that are tense. Practice this til it becomes natural to do body scans without thinking, it's really helpful in breaking the bad habits we've fallen into and keeping pain levels lower.

Try to sit up when reading, and support the book on pillows or a bookrest. I found myself tending to slouch when reading on the sofa until I put my feet up on a footstool and a pillow behind my low back (and under my book!).

There are a few creams/lotions that help to numb neuropathic pain at the worst spots a bit. They help because the active ingredients are absorbed right through the skin instead of taken orally, so they are pretty effective, at least for a while. The one I use and swear by is called Sombra; ingredients include menthol, camphor, aloe vera, capsaicin, grape seed and green tea extract, Rose Water and Witch Hazel. It does smell of menthol, but the relief is more than worth it. BioFreeze is another effective pain-relieving cream that does not have an odor so can be used without the locker-room scent.

Pharmacists can also make compounded creams or ointments that include ingredients like ketamine, lidocaine and other pain relievers with a prescription from your Dr. These can be VERY effective, depending on the specific RX.

Pack away, give away or get rid of heavy stoneware dishes, find a nice pattern by Corelle and place dishes, glasses and everyday kitchen needs on the lower shelves in the kitchen. Corelle's unbreakable, which makes it very user-friendly for children assigned to dishwasher-loading and unloading.

I can also relate the having to have stores and store employees help with carrying and loading the cart and/or the car....

In a few circumstances I have had the employees act a bit rude when I ask for help since I don't look sick. I look like a 'healthy' 30-something, so I used to get store employees that would roll their eyes at each other or act a bit rude to me when I asked for help.

But now I don't have that problem at all anymore.... because when I go shopping I put on one of my wrist braces, or my shoulder stabilizer, or something visible.

This does 2 things for me -

1. it's helps me to remember to be cautious and helps me remember to ask for help... it's very hard to lift anything heavy when I have a wrist or shoulder brace on.

2. it gives the store employees a visual. They get to see why I need help, and so they become more than happy to offer help or to give help when I ask.

Thanks, Jo...I've got several pages, so I'll work on getting it organized and put up a new thread.

Wittesea, I know what you mean about that...having the strap on my clothes and using it does help!

Donna

Some of our pre & post op threads

http://forums.braintalk2.org/showthread.php?t=1629
http://forums.braintalk2.org/showthread.php?t=3576

Accupunture/chiro thread

http://forums.braintalk2.org/showthread.php?t=3337

botox/TrP injections

http://forums.braintalk2.org/showthread.php?t=3036