My Journey With Pain Management
BY JEN WIDERSTROM
As women, we learn to feel and manage pain from a very young age and further, have to perform through it. (Anyone else get their first period at 11?) From a female wellness perspective, there’s an ongoing conversation and flood of inquiry coming to me from women who are feeling unheard and unsatisfied when it comes to solutions for dealing with our pain. Whether that’s mental strain, emotional angst, or physical pain, with anxiety, weight loss, inflammation, or working through life’s natural processes…it’s part of our collective experience and it doesn’t seem to ever really just go away.
Part of us aging with wisdom, imparts us with experiencing these rigorous and often unpredictable cycles of pain. Personally, I feel like my body has quit on me lately. I am close to 40, and have been experiencing a massive physical shift since last year. I am suffering from incredibly painful menstrual cycles and huge hormonal imbalance issues, leaving me inoperable… All of which has led me to the gates of a new form of anxiety, because my body is making me feel out of control, regardless of the consistent effort I put into maintaining my physical and mental wellness. I’m bloated, a quick 10 pounds heavier, I’m experiencing unpredictability, harsh low back pain, (some days I am fine and other days I can’t get my own underwear on) …I have all of these issues that all of a sudden I’m struggling to manage that I’ve never dealt with before.
Because of my intense pain, I was sent to the ER and to the hospital to have tests done and blood work taken. I’ve also had an MRI done and did weeks of physical therapy, and with no clear answers, other than the Vicodin prescription I was offered, I know this just can’t be the answer. I’ve had to really investigate my health, become an advocate for myself and my own health, pursue additional opinions, and pursue a health care plan that works for me. So far, my method has been to seek out a mix of Easten and Western medicine and healing techniques, and they are helping. Obviously I am not a medical professional, but here is what has been giving me some relief:
Photo by Max Ovcharenko
Giving My Body A Voice
I miss working out, but I’ve had to take a beat. I’m moving gently rather than with high intensity and volume. I feel more tired so I’m sleeping more and even pouring my coffee slower. I’m not lifting weights, I’m walking. My calories burned are not being tracked nor is the comparison of my current self to where I know I’d like to be. I’m really allowing the voice of my body to dictate my healing. It is telling me what it needs and if you’re willing to listen to yours, you’ll find it will always tell you the truth.
Using CBD
I’ve been playing with MY CBD dosages during the day, using my CBD CREAM on my abdomen and pain points in my back. Being able to be consistent with using CBD has been huge in managing all of these unseen sources of pain in my day-to-day cadence with work, where I don’t have the luxury of slowing down.
I started a CBD company because I wanted to make CBD accessible, educational and affordable. What a lot of people don’t realize is that within your body there are over 600 receptor sites for CBD. That helps very pinpointed places in your body with reducing inflammation and soothing the pain receptors that create homeostasis around sleep. The reason sleep is so critical is that when you have truly rested sleep, the rest of your body aligns for increased healing and rejuvenation, and optimal function the next day.
Most people don’t realize that when you don’t get a good night’s sleep, you are 30% more insulin resistant. So that means you’re not as good at burning sugar when you don’t sleep well, you have higher cravings, which means you are likely to make poorer food choices, and you probably have a hard time focusing. So, CBD goes far beyond pain and combating inflammation. It aligns your body for better performance and function, and when that happens, your body has better recovery. This equates to weight loss, and it means true healing.
For me, GetUp CBD is about keeping healthy people healthy and helping sick people come through those illnesses. Coming from a woman that’s been through pain management, I wanted to take an ancient plant that’s been used for hundreds of years that’s safe and reliable and make a powerful aid to heal people’s pain. CBD is a (good) force to be reckoned with in the body, especially when it’s used consistently.
Seeking Out Alternative Medicine
Exploring this realm of medicine has been a lifeline for me that I didn’t expect. These herbal and holistic remedies have really made a difference in my wellness, instead of masking symptoms with pills and ever-present pharmaceutical options that have always been offered to me.
What’s neat is seeing how my body knows how to heal, I just had to put it in a supported position to do so. Acupuncture, an ancient practice going back 3000+ years, has given me new blood flow for faster healing and reduced inflammation, a reset for my parasympathetic system, and frankly a perspective of patience through trusting my body‘s timing and process to come through this.
The topic of pain management techniques is one that I am going to continue to explore. I don’t have all of the answers, but I am experimenting and finding what works for me. If you are someone who is feeling pain right now, know that you’re not alone and relief for you is more accessible than you may think. Either way, we can work through it all together.
Jen Widerstrom, Founder
P.S. Remember that no matter what you're going through right now, you don't have to do it alone! There are others like you in our community, where we interact on a daily basis, fight our demons, share our victories, and watch over each other as friends and accountability partners.
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