Hi friends,
Pain is a touchy subject. Kidney stone pain and labor pain are two I’m very familiar with.
And just this week I had this 5mm sucker followed by a bunch of baby stones stuck inside me:
As many of you know, I always try alternative health ideas before going the medication and/or surgery route.
Let me introduce the awesome TENS unit! I love mine!
Basically, you attach little gel pads to either side of the painful area, click some buttons, and then electrical impulses get sent between the pads. These impulses help interfere with the pain signals, kind of like rubbing an area or putting a hot pad on it . . . only better.
To me, it feels like a pleasant buzzing sensation that drowns out a significant chunk of the pain – though results vary by person.
What does it help with? From personal experience . . .
1. Kidney stones!!!
Kidney stone pain is brutally intense and even on ibuprofen, acetaminophen and/or the strong codeine stuff, it can still hurt like crazy during an attack.
During an episode, I place one or two pairs of pads on either side of the area(s) that is hurting and turn the buzzing up high. It drowns out a few notches of the pain, which helps me stay in control and stop shaking.
2. Labor!
Just last month, I helped my daughter-in-law during the birth of my first grandbaby. She used hypnosis to relax, but at times found the contractions too intense.
I had my TENS unit with me, just in case of a kidney stone episode and suddenly wondered if it would help her. I quickly looked it up and found that in Europe, they often use TENS as a safe and non-invasive labor aid.
I quickly affixed the pads to her lower back in two sets about six inches apart from each other and on either side of her spine. We fiddled with the controls until we found a level you liked.
Within a minute, she relaxed and gave me this surprised look that it actually worked. LOL. Me and my crazy ideas. 🙂
3. Preparedness and first aid supply?
Yes, it requires electricity, but one charge will keep it going for days (I still haven’t charged it from the 22-hour labor and using it a bunch this week for kidney stones)
So, I’m thinking a solar charger and the TENS unit might be a godsend to help with injuries during a natural disaster or when pain medications are not available.
What do you think?
Have any of you used a TENS unit successfully? I’d love to hear what you’ve used it for.
As for the future, I’ve got another kidney stone surgery coming up the beginning of December, so I plan on pulling it out again during what I hope is a speedy recovery.
I hope you and your families are all doing well!
______________________
Misty’s Writing Update:
I am back from Vegas and desperately trying to catch up on the NaNoWriMo challenge.
Have you heard of it?
It’s a fun challenge a bunch of people do every November: write a 50k word novel in a single month.
When I first started a participating a few years ago, it was a big deal for me to write fast and complete a big project like that. With a bunch of books under my belt now, I still enjoy the challenge of staying focused on writing words when the business aspects of being an author seem to distract me a lot more.
So, I’m just shy of 40k words on my new mage academy book and enjoying how well it’s flowing.
I also took some time today to write a post-apoc Christmas-themed short story for this fun joint venture with a few other amazing authors.
We’re all adding a bio about ourselves, a short story or article, some freebies prizes and a bunch of other fun ideas.
And the entire project will be free to download – a gift to our amazing readers this Christmas season.
Want to find out how a simple Christmas carol can defuse a post-apoc standoff? I hope you’ll enjoy reading my short story when the project is done! I’m thinking of including an informative prepper article, too. We’ll see how much time I have.
I hope you’re all enjoying the holiday season and able to spend time with friends and family.
Stay safe!
— Misty 🙂
Recent Comments