any one have any experience or knowledge of healing stones or crystals,how they work? mixing differ

oldhippy · Dec 12, 2014

Something to consider. Quite often our health suffers from poor diet. Lack of exercise, and stress.
Best book I've read
8 Weeks to Optimum Health: A Proven Program for Taking Full Advantage of Your Body's Natural Healing Power: Andrew Weil: 9780345498021: Amazon.com: Books
Stress can be managed with yoga, meditation, and naps.
Wishing you a speedy recovery. Ed

runnah · Dec 12, 2014

oldhippy said:
Something to consider. Quite often our health suffers from poor diet. Lack of exercise, and stress.

This is so true. Since it's dark and cold here now I've really stopped being as active as normal and plus all the holiday junk food. I've noticed that I feel crappier and much more depressed.

Diet and exercise is huge for mental health.

Trever1t · Dec 12, 2014

Pain sucks. Sorry I am not familiar with your specific condition but I do know pain.... all too well. Meditation was mentioned and should be given a strong consideration when conventional medicine fails. I wish you the very best and I hope you find some relief in any measure.

limr · Dec 12, 2014

I agree - diet and exercise helps immensely, though of course it's a lot easier said than done, especially when in chronic pain. It can be done, but slowly and sometimes a person needs a little extra help with that first step.

Barb, I absolutely recommend meditation. It seems like such a simple thing but it can be very powerful. Start with some books. I suggest going to the Amazon Kindle store - you can download a Kindle reading app for free if you don't have an actual Kindle. I generally don't like reading on a screen and for 'real' reading, I always go for a proper book, but for things like this when I just want to do some research, I'll search for the free (or very cheap) books in the Kindle section on Amazon. Here's an Amazon search about meditation (I'm making my way through a couple of the books on the list):
Amazon.com: meditation - Kindle eBooks: Kindle Store

Also, please ask your doctor about magnesium. It's been indicated for pain management by an increasing number of studies on such things as fibromyalgia, migraine, fatigue, depression, and restless leg syndrome, among others. The last one (RLS) is first of all, a very silly name

but it is the reason that I started taking magnesium supplements, which have made a dramatic difference in the quality of my sleep. And then that has snowballed into finally having energy to work on other aspects of my life that were causing me troubles. Some of the magnesium deficiency (which is quite common) can be remedied through diet but it's hard to get the recommended 350mg per day, so supplements are often needed. There are many different kinds, though, and you should ask your doctor.

These were the two things that gave me the extra little help I needed to make the first steps. You already have the crystals, Barb. Use them to focus your attention and energy as you meditate, and then when they have become firmly associated with calmness and mindfulness, they become talismans for you, and just briefly touching them or having them near can bring you into a calm state again. That is where their power lies: in you. It's your power, not the stones'.

Hang in there, Barb! :icon_hug:

The_Traveler · Dec 12, 2014

I have chronic pain from spinal stenosis ( an unfortunate natural product of aging as the intervertebral disks compact) and have suffered from migraine headaches which are familial.
I am a firm believer in exercise to strengthen core muscles and I have found that, the fitter I am, the less pain either that I have or that I respond to.
When I lay off of exercise, I feel crappy and any little discomfort seems to be magnified.
Besides the feeling of well-being that comes from some level of fitness, exercise raises endorphins which are natural analgesics.

Trusting your well being to something that requires belief to work is magical thinking, no different from a belief in fairies.If I need surgery, I don't have to believe in anesthetic for it to work; there is a known mechanism.
Eating well, exercising routinely for fitness and some sort of supportive emotional calming, like meditation, all fight pain - and this has been shown thousands of times.
Putting much emphasis on anything external, like pills or crystals or beliefs of any sort, without taking care of your body first is a band-aid approach.

oldhippy · Dec 12, 2014

I agree with Lew a lot. Here's a story from way back.
I was working for a really old man, remodeling. I had taken to wearing
Copper bracelets for help with strong pain in my arm and hand.
The old guy ask what the copper was for. After my reply, he stated.
You don't need those, you are pissin out all your potassium. Was drinking copious amounts of liquids. Started taking potassium and the copper was put up.

limr · Dec 12, 2014

But taking care of your mind IS also taking care of your body. There are a surprising number of health issues that are caused by stress, and so focusing on mental and emotional wellness can also alleviate physical symptoms of stress. It is not a replacement for medical treatment when needed, but it shouldn't be dismissed either. No one is saying that crystals are a replacement for treatment, but if they can help a person's mental or emotional state, which in turn can help cope with the stress of chronic pain, what's wrong with it?

JustJazzie · Dec 12, 2014

I don't know much about crystals, but what kind of pain are you dealing with? Amber is a great stone for arthritis/teething babies. Have you already tried essential oils?

gsgary · Dec 12, 2014

Real ale works well for pain

pjaye · Dec 12, 2014

Thank you everyone (there's too many to quote!)

I do eat extremely healthy. Lots of vegetables, little sugar, high protein. I'm often ridiculed because I don't join in on the festivities at work, often accused of trying to "lose weight", (I'm not). I suffer from IBS and myopathy.

The IBS affects my eating habits so there are many things I simply can't eat. Whole wheat, barley ect. It's not the same as celiac. I do my best but some days, like for the last month, it's been so bad that *everything* affects it.

I run on a treadmill a few times a week, and Scott and I hike * a lot*. I am on a med for sleep and bipolar issues that can cause weight gain, however my doctor is happy with my level of activity and that my weight is staying, for the most part, stable. I've lost a few pounds in the last few weeks as I've been doing a liquid supplemental diet off and on simply because eating caused so much pain.

As for the arms, there's nothing I or the science world can do unfortunately.

I am absolutely going to try meditation, thanks to all who suggested that.

Leonore, I already take magesium. It helps, A LOT.

Jazzie, it's IBS pain and the pain of my arms. Both have just been really bad lately and although I'm on meds, I'm just looking for some other things to try in conjunction with it.

pjaye · Dec 12, 2014

The_Traveler said:
Trusting your well being to something that requires belief to work is magical thinking, no different from a belief in fairies.If I need surgery, I don't have to believe in anesthetic for it to work; there is a known mechanism.
Eating well, exercising routinely for fitness and some sort of supportive emotional calming, like meditation, all fight pain - and this has been shown thousands of times.
Putting much emphasis on anything external, like pills or crystals or beliefs of any sort, without taking care of your body first is a band-aid approach.

And this response is exactly what I was trying to avoid with this post. You make a lot of assumptions about me, and you're wrong. I do eat very well, exercise, follow my doctor's orders to a tee. But thank you, for your ridicule in wanting to believe in something that may work in addition to the things I'm already trying. I'm not using crystals as a "band-aid approach". I'm looking for something in conjunction with what I am currently doing medically. I'm an intelligent woman who has been dealing with chronic pain for years. I asked a question to get others input into something that may or may not work but certainly would not hurt to try again in conjunction with what I am currently doing.

Should have just left you on ignore.

pjaye · Dec 12, 2014

limr said:
But taking care of your mind IS also taking care of your body. There are a surprising number of health issues that are caused by stress, and so focusing on mental and emotional wellness can also alleviate physical symptoms of stress. It is not a replacement for medical treatment when needed, but it shouldn't be dismissed either. No one is saying that crystals are a replacement for treatment, but if they can help a person's mental or emotional state, which in turn can help cope with the stress of chronic pain, what's wrong with it?

Thank you Leonore. You understand what I'm trying to do. I'm not taking turning away from any of the treatment I'm currently under. I have a great relationship with my physician and we work constantly on trying to make things better. But he's also a firm believer in taking care of your mind.

That's all I'm trying to do.

pgriz · Dec 12, 2014

Chronic pain is a very hard nut to crack. I have a cousin who for much of her life, from about 12 years of age to her mid-thirties, had severe pain in her joints and legs. She visited many specialists and her family have spent thousands of dollars in trying to diagnose the cause (and the possible ways to alleviate the pain). As far as I know, they still don't know why she had that pain. I say "had" because once she started having kids, the pains went away. That may be why she's on her seventh kid so far. Pain management is still a murky area, despite our knowledge of medicine in general.

pjaye · Dec 12, 2014

pgriz said:
Chronic pain is a very hard nut to crack. I have a cousin who for much of her life, from about 12 years of age to her mid-thirties, had severe pain in her joints and legs. She visited many specialists and her family have spent thousands of dollars in trying to diagnose the cause (and the possible ways to alleviate the pain). As far as I know, they still don't know why she had that pain. I say "had" because once she started having kids, the pains went away. That may be why she's on her seventh kid so far. Pain management is still a murky area, despite our knowledge of medicine in general.

Chronic pain is so tough. Most days, I can deal. Sometimes, it really gets to me. I'm glad your cousin found a way to get around it but holy crap, 7 kids! I could barely handle my two! Baby days are long behind me. I work in the health field and deal with applications all the time of Ontario patients requesting to go to pain clinics in the states. At some point, I may speak to my doctor about going to a pain clinic. Not sure if it would work for what I have, but I think we've exhausted all meds.