avoiding medications?

February 29, 2000

Gretchen,

I am fairly new to the list and have enjoyed reading the diffrent post on

the many subjects related to CMT that I deal with daily..In Reference to your

question about medications...

I try to avoid medications as much as possible..If anything I will sometimes

take 1 or 2 tylenol when the pain gets really bad but I usually just try and

deal with it. But it has become harder and I have more pain. I have been

getting a great amount of pain in the bottom of my foot when driving..

Doctors have no explanation for this and so I have been trying to change my

foot position when driving..I suppose I just try and make changes to help

with the pain, so far it has worked for me..

Alice

February 29, 2000

Gretchen,

I am fairly new to the list and have enjoyed reading the diffrent post on

the many subjects related to CMT that I deal with daily..In Reference to your

question about medications...

I try to avoid medications as much as possible..If anything I will sometimes

take 1 or 2 tylenol when the pain gets really bad but I usually just try and

deal with it. But it has become harder and I have more pain. I have been

getting a great amount of pain in the bottom of my foot when driving..

Doctors have no explanation for this and so I have been trying to change my

foot position when driving..I suppose I just try and make changes to help

with the pain, so far it has worked for me..

Alice

February 29, 2000

Gretchen,

I am fairly new to the list and have enjoyed reading the diffrent post on

the many subjects related to CMT that I deal with daily..In Reference to your

question about medications...

I try to avoid medications as much as possible..If anything I will sometimes

take 1 or 2 tylenol when the pain gets really bad but I usually just try and

deal with it. But it has become harder and I have more pain. I have been

getting a great amount of pain in the bottom of my foot when driving..

Doctors have no explanation for this and so I have been trying to change my

foot position when driving..I suppose I just try and make changes to help

with the pain, so far it has worked for me..

Alice

February 29, 2000

Anyone who avoids medications for CMT symptoms, could you tell me why?

And also what you do to stay 'comfortable' with CMT.

Gretchen

February 29, 2000

Hi, Gretchen. I do not generally take any medications for CMT related

symptoms.

I think that part of this is due to the fact that I am a recovering addict;

I know from experience that I can abuse any medication, given my state of

mind. I mean I am vulnerable.

The second reason is side-affects. Most meds I've taken have some sort of

extra aspect I would rather not experience.

(neurontin for example made me quite sleepy)

And lastly, I have a personal thing about putting synthetics into my body.

At some point in my life I studied a bit too much Chinese Medicine; I became

" balance conscious " (here, I am not speaking of the falling down balance).

And so I deal with the pain and other unpleasant symptoms with ibuprophen,

coffee (my two major " unhealthies " ), herbal suppliments, and relaxation

techniques, deep breathing, meditation, prayer, etc.

Sometimes I grimace. ;0)

Marc

February 29, 2000

Hi, Gretchen. I do not generally take any medications for CMT related

symptoms.

I think that part of this is due to the fact that I am a recovering addict;

I know from experience that I can abuse any medication, given my state of

mind. I mean I am vulnerable.

The second reason is side-affects. Most meds I've taken have some sort of

extra aspect I would rather not experience.

(neurontin for example made me quite sleepy)

And lastly, I have a personal thing about putting synthetics into my body.

At some point in my life I studied a bit too much Chinese Medicine; I became

" balance conscious " (here, I am not speaking of the falling down balance).

And so I deal with the pain and other unpleasant symptoms with ibuprophen,

coffee (my two major " unhealthies " ), herbal suppliments, and relaxation

techniques, deep breathing, meditation, prayer, etc.

Sometimes I grimace. ;0)

Marc

February 29, 2000

Gretchen,

I avoid medications because I would rather wait until the pain is really bad

before I start relying on anything. I can deal with the level I have

right now. It's there, but it's not intolerable.

I feel the same way about my daughter who probably has more pain than I do -

we work on other forms of pain management such as rest, hot baths (they help

a lot...) doing something happy. She has a very high pain tolerance. I've

been teaching her to understand the quality of her pain so she can recognize

if something is familiar (a normal ache), a warning sign (for example the

abdominal pain that acoompanied her kidney infections) or something new that

needs to be addressed. I'd rather find lifestyle approaches to pain

management first, but would not discount medication if the pain began to

affect quality of life and activity.