Saturday, April 4th, 2015
Ice Breaker: Sharing advice passed down from the generations
Some of the shares included: To get candle wax off of a table cloth, put ice cube over it; to set your wet nail polish, spray with cooking spray; Red sky at night, sailor’s delight; Red sky in morning, sailor’s take warning; to keep eyes from tearing while cutting onion put a piece of bread in your mouth
Attendance: We had 10 members present. Welcome Pat! And Welcome Beverly!
TOPIC: PRESENTATION BY DR. DAVID LEVINE
Dr. Levine discussed how he discovered a drug-free, pain-free, fast-acting method of treating chronic pain while trying to help his father who was suffering from pancreatic cancer and in much pain. In his attempt to help his father, he stumbled upon a new approach which helped his father to be more comfortable. He then realized that he might be able to help others in chronic pain. I was lucky to meet Dr. David Levine and he graciously offered to come speak to our group about his new technique. He even did a quick demonstration on three lucky group members including me!
I can tell you that in the quick five minutes I was treated, I went from a pain scale of 7 or 8/10 down to a 2/10 and three weeks later I am still feeling the relief. Very note-worthy is that I am using 1/3 less narcotic pain medication than I was prior to that treatment! This translates to less side effects for me! (Less “brain-fog” brought on by the pills and less drowsiness associated with the pills) I am very excited about this quality of life improvement and what that might mean for some of you as well as anyone else suffering from chronic pain!
For more information on this his method, you can read up on it on the following link: http://ringnews24.com/world-boxing-news/item/11468-dr-david-levine there is a great video clip, just scroll down.
Or e-mail him directly at DrDavidLevine@gmail.com
This was an amazing and worthwhile Guest Speaker for our very first Presentation!
I did a short video testimonial for Dr. Levine. Click here to take a look:
http://youtu.be/JOpubNtN7O8
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Saturday, April 18th 2015
Ice Breaker: If you were a color today, what color would you be based on your mood?
Some of the answers were: Purple, orange, black, sea foam green, periwinkle, red (we had a couple of duplicate answers) Each person had the chance to say what color they were and to explain how they arrived at their decision
Attendance: 8 members were present
Topic: No topic today, just Open Forum
We began the meeting with a quick recap of the Presentation by Dr. David Levine at our last meeting.
One member shared that she is still trying to “be normal”
One member shares trying to arrive at “acceptance” of their illness
One member states “Just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should do it” because of the consequences of doing things like “normal” people
One member feels badly about “letting people down”. She feels this way when she makes a commitment to someone but then can’t follow through
Members discuss how this is a “hidden sickness” and “people don’t understand”
One member shares that Kings grocery store makes it easy to shop for Gluten Free items by having a label on the shelf of each G.F. item.
One member shares that there is a store in While House Station called Bishops that sells a lot of nice G.F. products
One member is in college until May group roots him on!!!
Members discuss how we become “teachers” about our illness. Many people have no idea what an autoimmune disease is so when we say we have one, we have to do a quick tutorial about what it is and what it means.
Members discuss how it seems many people seem to confuse Rheumatoid for Osteo (Osteoarthritis being the kind of arthritis caused by age and wear-and-tear over time) thereby causing some people to think Rheumatoid is just age related changes – unaware of the system issues such as fever, fatigue and joint destruction that come along with Rheumatoid. I am including here a link of a great article explaining the difference between the two. Perhaps sending the link or printing out a copy for your loved ones could be helpful. http://osteoarthritis.about.com/od/osteoarthritis101/a/OA_RA.htm?utm_term=osteo%20vs%20rheumatoid%20arthritis&utm_content=p1-main-1-title&utm_medium=sem&utm_source=msn&utm_campaign=adid-cb229245-f4a8-4527-9deb-82776ec4b690-0-ab_msb_ocode-31687&ad=semD&an=msn_s&am=broad&q=osteo%20vs%20rheumatoid%20arthritis&dqi=rheumatoid%2520arthritis%2520vs.%2520osteoarthritis&o=31687&l=sem&qsrc=999&askid=cb229245-f4a8-4527-9deb-82776ec4b690-0-ab_msb
(ok, that is THEEEE longest link I've ever seen!!!)
One member states we should not let our disease define us. Some members present agree.
One member is working on getting her friend, a Reiki Master, to come do a presentation for us this summer!!! Yay!!! Here is a link for more info on Reiki: http://www.reiki.org/faq/WhatIsReiki.html *
One member is feeling benefits of trying the alkaline water and feels that PT and OT are much better since starting with alkaline water! (See meeting minutes of last month for links on this topic)
Some discussion on certain foods possibly having a link to increased pain or increased inflammation. One member states they have noticed eggplant causes them trouble. One member wonders if they are noticing a pattern with tomato products
One member shares that oregano is supposed to be a good anti-inflammatory Here is a link that talks about benefits of oregano: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/266259.php *
We had a great discussion on the Medicinal Marijuana Program. One of our members has been benefiting ffrom this program for months now. She shares that Dr. Pilla from Medemerge on Washington Avenue in Green Brook NJ 08812 is an approved doctor for the Program. Good to know!!!
One member went to the Mind/Body/Spirit Expo on Davidson Avenue last weekend and shared his experience. He shared a cool website www.angelchatter.com
One member shares paraffin wax hand-dips to be beneficial in reducing hand joint pain especially in the winter. Here is some great info on it: http://www.webmd.com/osteoarthritis/tc/paraffin-wax-for-osteoarthritis-topic-overview *
One member shares that a “contrast bath: dip in hot water then dip in cold water” to reduce pain and swelling. He states the heat of the hot water brings in the blood and the cold water reduces swelling. Here is a link for more info: http://amazinghealth.com/AH-health-hot-cold-bath-blood-circulation *
*Please remember to check with your doctor before starting any new treatment. Your doctor may feel that a certain treatment is not a good idea for your specific issue. Always best to check with your provider even for the small stuff!
Next Upcoming Meeting: Saturday, May 2nd, 2015
Ice Breaker: Please come with THREE WORDS TO DESCRIBE YOU written down. Don’t share your words with anyone! This will be fun!
Topic: OUR OWN NANCY will be presenting on CHAKRAS!
