ABOUT ME

MY STORY

32 years ago the neck pain started.  Tension, I was told, was the culprit. At this time, I had moved to Australia with my new boyfriend. I was 30 years old and had just finished a year of backpacking around Australia and New Zealand. It seemed logical that the neck pain must have been from the bungy jumping and the car accident 6 months earlier. Now I’m not so sure.  

I do have hyper flexibility so there is a reasonable chance that I did damage my neck but 32 years of pain!!! 

Neck pain and tension headaches morphed into migraine and gradually my use of any and all medications to get through the day was just normal - strong pain relievers with caffeine and codeine until my stomach could take no more.  Then multiples of ibuprofen became my daily go to as well as other prescribed medications.  

15-20 years ago migraine became chronic and unmanageable. I tried everything within reason - every treatment we could afford, every med and injection, and every device. I have a closet full of ice hats, special lamps, glasses, exercise devices, yoga trapeze, shoulder stand bench, rubs, rollers, neuromodulation, tens machine, heating pads, massagers and the list continues to grow.   

The pain and myriad of other symptoms - nausea, dizziness, brain fog including memory issues, slow processing, sometimes no processing, fatigue and sensory issues like smells and sounds that were actually painful - and that was on a daily basis. The attack days took all of those sensations to an intolerable level and resulted in up to 4 days in bed with relentless pain and vomiting.  

Exercise, which had been such an important part of my life, of any intensity would bring on an attack.Walking, yoga and meditation have been the three main activities that have helped me stay resilient and optimistic.   

Many days I just felt at war with my own body - furious that my body had become the enemy.   I was sure my brain was at least part of the issue and I would try to negotiate with it or get angry but things only got worse.  Guilt, shame, disappointment, resentment were daily companions. I wanted to be a better mom, wife, friend but it required energy and time that I did not have.

Sometimes I was sure that a medication or other strategy like no gluten or no dairy was the magic piece to feeling well but within 3 months my ‘cure’ had stopped working.   

That changed - slowly - when I did a deep dive into Brain Retraining. I am a research person.  I love the easy access to information, especially research and related articles. I now understood why yoga, walking and meditation have been so good for me. Understanding that our brains are the maestro of pain and that there does not need to be a physical problem to feel pain changed my world. 

I reached out to organizations and found the cost for assistance to be prohibitive. As a teacher with a science degree in biology and a background in counselling, I know I can share this healthy perspective of pain and help others live richer lives at a cost they can afford.  

As the proud mom of two wonderful, empathic adult children, two cats and a dog, and a very supportive husband for 32 years, and currently living in Ontario, Canada in a location that makes my heart sing, I felt it was the time to share these strategies. 

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