[Quandry]

What different ways do you manage pain?

I was on a six hour drive one day and at least I was a passenger, but the pain became unbearable. Normally I rub capsaicin cream on my face and it works but not this time. We were out in the middle of the desert and there were no emergency hospitals or anything so I had to bear it. My daughter, who was driving, stopped at several convenience stores to find some jalapenos, something I use when the pain is out of control, but no convenient stores carried jalapenos. Finally less than an hour from home she found a Subway and asked for some jalapenos, but that wasn't working all that well. I usually chomp down on the jalapenos to release the capsaicin but these were really mild jalapenos. When we arrived home I put some hotter jalapenos in my mouth which worked better but didn't get rid of all the pain. I used ice water to numb the inside of my mouth and that helped a lot, but I had to keep my mouth iced all the time.


Today I started having pain again and once I get a jolt the jolts escalate into increasing pain that if I don't control immediately avalanches into unbearable pain.

So today I made a tea out of cloves and jalapenos, and in the mean time my pain was growing. When the tea was done I swished it around my mouth but the pain wasn't going away. I numbed the area a bit but the overall pain was intensifying. So then I rubbed capsaicin on my face that helped level it off a bit for a minute or two.

Then I took some eucalyptus oil and rubbed it over the jaw where I put the capsaicin and I'm not sure why but the pain started lessening. I'm still getting some jolts but they're not too intense and I can handle it with ice water and the tea. The pain is very dull now and its not too often that I can reverse the intensity.

Now I have to make sure to bring all these ingredients with me on any road trips because it really sucks being out in the middle of nowhere with this kind of pain.