Nickie Coby's Storefront

Nickie's Nook

• Links for 2009-11-07 [del.icio.us]

  2009 Nov 08

  • iPod touch - Apple Store (U.S.)
  • Chronic Illness and Health Care Reform: I’m Too Tired to Fight This By Myself By Jenni Prokopy

• Links for 2009-10-19 [del.icio.us]

  2009 Oct 20

  • Stress Busters

• Links for 2009-10-18 [del.icio.us]

  2009 Oct 19

  • Chronic Pain Revolutions Forums - Powered by vBulletin
  • Outlook 2003 and Outlook 2002 stop responding when you add a new Outlook Connector account in a profile
  • Guide Dogs for the Blind: Captain "Sully" Sullenberger
  • Helping a College Student With an Anxiety Disorder

• Links for 2009-10-17 [del.icio.us]

  2009 Oct 18

  • Working Women With Disabilities | BlogHer

• Links for 2009-10-11 [del.icio.us]

  2009 Oct 12

  • Amazon.com: Reversing Chronic Pain: A 10-Point All-Natural Plan for Lasting Relief (9781556436765): Maggie Phillips: Books

• Breathing Suggestions

  2009 Oct 11

  I'm embarking on a journey, a journey to learn more about myself, my pain, my life and my resources. I think I've been on this journey for quite some time, but I haven't been the one making all of the choices. Much of the time, I find myself feeling like things are out of control.. That said, I'm writing my way through this journey when I can.
  
  Prompt: from Reversing Pain
  

  
  Explore different key words and their effects on your breathing and record the suggestions
  that work for you in your pain journal.
  

  
  
  I've always liked the words suggested in the
  Panic Attack Program from Health Journeys
  The words are "I am peace" on the inhale and "I am calm" on the exhale. But what other suggestions could I use with my breathing?
  
  Comforting... Breath
  Be... Still.
  Healing... Comfort.
  
  Any other suggestions?

  

• Links for 2009-10-07 [del.icio.us]

  2009 Oct 08

  • Disability Resource List – National Center on Disability and Journalism
    A lot of these resources seem like they could be helpful in social work, as well as journalism.

• Links for 2009-10-06 [del.icio.us]

  2009 Oct 07

  • Swine flu symptoms: What to look for: Expert Answers - MayoClinic.com
  • Pancreas transplant - MayoClinic.com
    This gave me a little better understanding of this procedure.

• CRPS and Shoes: Finding the right fit

  2009 Oct 06

  I need to confess something... I have a problem, a problem with shoes, that is. You see, it's hard to find shoes I can wear comfortably. Between the sensitivity and pain in and the swelling in my left foot, and the fact that my right foot is about one size longer than my left foot (I think this is due to the RSDS/CRPS hitting me while I was still growing, but that's not something I can prove). I'm a very difficult customer for the poor person who gets stuck trying to help me find shews which meet all of my needs. If I'm going to have any chance of wearing them, they need to meet several different criteria:
  

  
  
  1. They have to fit: If I can't get the shoe on over the swelling, it's not an option.
  
  
  2. They have to be comfortable for me. This sounds really simple, but it's not so easy for someone with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome to find clothing or shoes which are comfortable. For me, the comfort factor includes:
     
     
     
     • Softness: I don't like hard shoes or hard soles. I don't care how supportive they're supposed to be, I don't like hard shoes because they hurt. I need something soft between me and the hard floors and sidewalks I travel along every day.
     
     
     • Ease of getting in and out: I sometimes will be looking at a new pair of shoes. The shoe looks great, a roomy toe box, and some of my other needs appear to be there from the outside. But when I try to get my foot in, I can't get past having my toes touching the heel from inside the shoe, or if I do, it's extremely painful.
     
     
     • Shape: It's not enough to just have shoes which are "big enough" when we're dealing with my foot, the shoe needs to fit, even as the fluid in my foot changes shape depending on factors I can't begin to identify.
     
     
     
     
  3. The shoes have to be somewhat supportive, just so I can wear them without causing some form of damage.
  
  

  
  
  As you can see, I can't just walk into Wal-Mart, Target or even most of the popular shoe stores because they usually do not have something which meets my needs. For the last month, I've been using the surgical shoe from when I had surgery on the little broken toe on the right side. I've put it on the left foot which was actually working pretty well, until, that is, the weather got cold again. Needless to say, that worked fine until now when it's all rainy and cool. In addition, after about four months of constant abuse, the shoe is starting to fall apart.
  
  My Dad found a store which specifically works with shoes which are more custome, including those for people who have trouble finding shoes which fit. I was able to get a pretty rugged pair of slippers which will be comfortable, even in a flare, they open up at the top so you don't have to shove your foot in and that allows me to have lots of room and less of the shoe actually touching me than you'd expect. I also got a Mary Jane type shoe which has stretchy fabric on the top. We'll also be getting a pretty wide version.
  
  I did a google search and it looks like there are stores in other places than where I live. The company is
  Foot Solutions
  I'm not being asked to review their products or anything, but I know how hard it is to find shoes for someone with RSDS/CRPS, so I wanted to make others aware of this resource.

  

• Pain blogging

  2009 Oct 01

  I wanted to make sure that everyone knows about the excellent articles posted at the
  Pain blog carnival for September
  My post about touch is listed, but there are many other excellent articles this month. Go read and learn!