From Prescription Painkillers to Plants: The Evolution of My Morning Ritual

I rollover to shut off my alarm. It's 6AM and I'm barely able to get out of bed because my back is killing me. I pull myself up to sit and pop a prescription strength pain reliever and anti-inflammatory pill. I lay back down and surf social media for 15 minutes, waiting for them to kick in.

For the past twelve years, this has been the only way I could start my day so that I could do all I needed to do and not be in pain. This was me EVERY morning. The mom of 4 kids, a business owner and a wife. This was how I “functioned” to get through my days. This was me just 6 months ago.

Why you ask?

Well, it's simple - I have 4 kids, (no, it's not their fault) but I was blessed with big babies and by big I mean the 10+ pound kinda big. Giving birth to them caused painful scarring in my pelvis and sacrum that up until this point I was not able to find relief for. As luck would have it, I do own a spa and salon, and I have been fortunate to have a tribe of amazing healers around me to help over the years.

So, you name it, I tried it: from chiropractics, physical therapy, walking, pilates, yoga, gyro tonics, to massage, reiki, acupuncture, rolfing, deep tissue, muscle testing, the list goes on and on... and still, I found no relief.

I hated relying on prescription painkillers and was more than desperate for a healthy alternative. 

Not my idea of a healthy morning ritual.

Recently, I noticed friends around me using some new kinds of tinctures that incorporated CBD oil. After interacting with a dear friend who shared her own battle with pain and another one of my staff members who had struggled with anxiety and sleep, I decided to do my own research into what they were using. 

Was it just another hippy dippy thing or was it going to help me - like truly help me?

I researched and ordered lots of different kinds of products and then I decided to just try one. I went for what I was comfortable with and started using a topical cool balm CBD oil stick on my back and did that for 2 weeks alone. I found that the stick would help on contact and get me through moments, but I was still waking up with pain. So I added an oral CBD oil tincture. And for 2 weeks there was no major difference. 

I continued on with my regular routines of massage, acupuncture and so on, but I never knew what was going to flair me up or what would help.

And then, one day, I woke up without pain! WHAT? At first I was in disbelief - I had thought that I would be on meds forever.

I finally felt like I had a new lease on life and my pain wasn’t going to stop me from living my life. I was able to start walking and exercising and, even more importantly, SLEEPING! Sleep deprivation can be a killer of everything - I hadn't realized to what extent until I started to finally get some quality rest.

Plants helped me to feel better.