12 days drug free

It’s not as bad as it sounds but to me it’s a huge accomplishment. Drugs to me are Alieve and Advil and at a minimum I used to take both of them every morning with breakfast. Anyone who suffers from body pain can probably relate to what I’m about to explain.

I have a bad back. I miss about one week of work every few years due to my back. I’ve survived numerous car accidents, spend anywhere from 10-20 hours on planes a week, sleep on hotel beds 3-5 nights a week, work extremely long hours at times and am very overweight.

At some point, taking Advil and Alieve every day was working less and less – my body had acclimated to the benefits of the pills and the affects were lessening. There were days when I would take the pills every three to four hours my back hurt so badly.

So what changed?

Me. I changed my mentality about needing to take the drugs. If it were bad enough to require taking something I would but I’m broke the daily dose.
Stress affects my back worse than lifting heavy objects. I have to consciously acknowledge stress and not let it affect me to the point that it affects my back.

I started stretching every day.

I don’t sit at my laptop for an extended amount of hours. I take walking/stretching breaks.

I have started exercising and will be starting with a personal trainer soon.

I went to my chiropractor. My back hurt pretty badly for a few days after he adjusted my back but it has been great since.

I have recognized that my period, change in weather and stress all affect my back and I now ask myself how bad is the pain really before reaching for any drugs. I would rather have my kidneys and stomach intact and a small amount of back pain versus the bad side effects of daily taking drugs with still having a small amount of back pain.

Wedding plans to be posted shortly - we have decisions, dates and places.