Living with fibromyalgia

Thermotex infrared heating pad has been one of my purchases that have helped me a lot in dealing with my chronic pain due to fibromyalgia. Over the course of the past 10 years that I have owned this, I have given it to friends and family to help reduce the pain due to shoulder injury knee and abdominal pain. I have made a YouTube video as a review for this below. I hope you find this useful. The only shortcoming that I have seen is that I cannot wrap it around the shoulder. So if you come across an infrared heating pad which can be wrapped around the neck and shoulders, please do share in the comments below.

I have been dealing with incomplete bowel movement for the last 10 years. I was diagnosed with paradoxical relaxation of puborectalis muscle several years ago. It essentially means that I contract the muscle instead of relaxing them during a bowel movement and that is why the bowel movement remains incomplete even though the stools are well formed and not hard as an conventional constipation. The problem is exacerbated because I have to take medications for chronic pain that will usually cause constipation. Though the line of treatment for this is biofeedback, I was unable to benefit from it. Ultimately, I have been using the same supplements and medications that are being used for people with chronic constipation. The only addition to the list below which may be unconventional is Horlicks. It is supposed to be a very mild laxative but for me it works wonders. So this is the list: Ayurvedic supplement Amla Juice . Somehow only the brand from Patanjali helps me out. Aloe vera...

In this Dragon NaturallySpeaking tutorial, I show how to export the user profile. Regular users of Dragon NaturallySpeaking should export the user profile and save it in the cloud or in an additional storage for example an external hard drive. Dragon NaturallySpeaking otherwise does store a backup but it is on the same hard drive where the primary user profile is also located. Since it is a once in a month activity for me, I often forget how to export the user profile. At least to me, the placement of the control for exporting the user profile is not intuitive so I prepared a short YouTube video  showing how to export the user profile.

I have been prescribed various drugs over the years for pain management. Tramadol and methadone were the initial 2 drugs that were prescribed but they had horrible side effects which included electric shocks and I had to discontinue. Then I had got opium with belladonna suppositories which really helped while I was in the United States but in India they were considered as illegal so I had to stop the usage. Fortunately there was another drug which is prescribed in India but was not available in the United States. Flupirtine maleate marketed under the name of Snepdol 100 mg is what I take. The added benefit is that it does not seem to have any effect on the stomach. Of course I tried to keep the usage to the minimum. And of course it never makes the pain go away completely. It merely takes the edge off so that at least I can lie in peace for a few minutes. The Wikipedia page at says that the European Union discontinued its usage in 2013 because of bad effects on the liver. I hav...

If you are viewing a file in Windows Explorer and want to send it as an attachment, all you have to do is to click on that file and then say the following command "send to mail recipient". Assuming that your Microsoft Outlook is open, it will create a new email and automatically attach this file and also add some boilerplate sentences in the body of the email. I have found this to be very convenient because mostly the workflow is like composing a document then storing it in a particular folder, and then sending it to a mail recipient. The only problem is that after composing a document and storing it, I have to start Windows Explorer and then locate and click on that document within Windows Explorer. This can perhaps be simplified by having a script using knowbrainer 2017 for each of the separate applications where a document is being composed but I have yet to get to it.

Since I'm unable to use the mobile frequently, I needed a way to listen to incoming voice messages. There are plenty of applications on the market. However, the features are not listed properly. For example, there were apps that seem to claim that they will read whatsapp messages but all they did was to read out the name of the person who had sent the message. The two which worked for me were: Read it to me : this has got a comprehensive list of features and will read out SMS and whatsapp. You can also choose the contacts for which it will not read out the messages. However, the main issue was that after the trial period, it will require you to buy the feature to read out whatsapp messages. Message reader for whatsapp : this is a very simple app that just works only for whatsapp but has got the ability to not read out the incoming messages in a whatsapp group. This was free and since I needed only the ability to read out whatsapp messages, I chose it over the earlier applic...

Even though zero gravity furniture has become very common in the Western world, somehow I have not seen it getting traction in the Indian market. The only affordable solution are outdoor zero gravity chairs like this . I have been using a similar one but not exactly the same because I bought it used for several months now. Though the chair it works very well in the zero gravity position, it is not able to stop in various other levels of inclination. I went to see the new one in a showroom and it was clear to me that over the course of time, there will be similar problems with that as well. The main problem is the mechanism of stopping the chair and different inclinations. They use cheap plastic and rubber stoppers which tend to break. Also the back support is not very comfortable. There are better chairs like this  but I have not seen them so far in a showroom is most of these seem to be sold over the Internet. Despite this, it is a piece of furniture that I use most...

As of November 2016, if you call Reliance or speak to any of the Reliance Digital employees, they will tell you that you can get a Sim only once you generate a bar code using a 4G phone. I had a friend who had got a 4G phone functional with reliance connection. I thought that before purchasing a 4G phone, I will try to get a reliance connection first. This is because in the past few weeks, there have been multiple occasions where reliance digital said that they have run out of Sims. However, it was not possible to get a bar code generated from my friends 4G Phone because reliance Application would automatically log into his account I then went to the reliance digital store and also spoke to reliance customer service. Both of them were unanimous stating that for purchasing a new reliance connection, a customer needs to buy a new 4G phone first and then generate a bar code. I asked them that if they can generate a bar code for me from the phone's that they were carrying in th...

I am a frequent user of kinesiology tapes specifically to control neck and shoulder pain. It is also been useful to manage abdominal pain. When I developed shoulder tendinitis, I had used this for 7 weeks continuously. There was a time when if I used to take the tape off for a few minutes my shoulder used to hang limp with a lot of pain. I usually purchase Nasara kinesiology tapes from Amazon. I have got it at various prices between Rs. 500-Rs. 700. My physiotherapist tells me that the colour does not matter so if you are short on the money like me, go for whichever colour is the cheapest. The prolonged used of tape for example during shoulder tendinitis discoloured my skin. So it is better if you can to give a break after every few days. Also to protect the skin from getting affected, there is a pretty expensive but useful spray called   3M Cavilon spray . While taking off the tape, I have found it useful to set aside several minutes for it. Then go inside the bathroom and ...

Lately I have been having a nausea all day for without any apparent reason. I went to an Ayurvedic doctor and he prescribed the medication Madiphala Rasayana I took this every 2 hours and it helped me a great deal in reducing the nausea which ultimately went away after 3 days. I have still not found a reason for it and it seems it comes back whenever I try to normalise my food intake. However, Madiphala Rasayana seems to be a good medication to control nausea without any side effects. This can also be used for example, while dealing with the side effect of any new medication is like antidepressants that will usually have nausea initially. As mentioned in the web page describing this, the doctor told me that it is usually given for nausea to pregnant ladies and therefore it is quite a safe medication. As usual, I would like to add a disclaimer that people should consult their own doctor before trying out any medication.

Contact me at: info@disabledmessenger.site I welcome collaboration in the areas pertaining to chronic pain, disability, speech recognition and assistive technology. Please send me email if you wish to get in touch with me. Disclaimer - please read In this blog, I discuss various medications, supplements and medical treatments. Please note that this is for informational purposes only. It is assumed that the reader would exercise due caution and take the advice of his/her health care provider before trying out any of the suggestions in the blog. Affiliate Disclosure In some posts I describe the products that I have recommend. I have no direct association with any of the manufacturers of the products recommended on this site. I participate in the Amazon services LLC associates program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for associates two on advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. As such, some of the products may have affili...

In this Dragon NaturallySpeaking tutorial , I demonstrate  the use of mouse with Dragon NaturallySpeaking . Literature describing how to move the Mouse Up , Down , Right or Left using Dragon Naturally Speaking is easily accessible over the Internet. However, operations like  how to move the mouse diagonally are not described clearly. Additionally, even though Mouse Grid is a command that is commonly used, there is not much information suggesting how that command can be used in combination with the Mouse Move commands quickly move the mouse. Likewise, there is also not much mention of changing the speed of mouse . I describe all of this  in the YouTube video below. . I hope you find the video useful. Updates, if any, will be appended to the end of this post. List of Commands Described in the Video: To Move the Mouse Vertically Upwards, say "Mouse Move Up" To Move the Mouse Vertically Downwards , say "Mouse Move Down" To Move the Mouse Ho...

In this Dragon NaturallySpeaking Tutorial , I show a quick way to take a screenshot of the browser window. I often find a need to take screenshot of the browser window and save it for my records, for example, when making a payment to a financial institution. Until now, I worked with installing an extension into the browser which will take a screenshot. After that, I would somehow position the mouse either using the mouse grid command or by moving the mouse up and down so that I can click on to the extension. So far I could not find an extension which could be activated with the help of a keyboard and therefore I had to use a mouse. This approach did work but it became tedious especially when I knew the usual workflow is to take the screenshot, store it into a file, and then send it in an email to the financial institution as proof of payment. So I was looking for a way to do all of this or at least a part of this if possible in one command. I recently started using a third-party...

In this Dragon NaturallySpeaking tutorial , I share my experience on improving the accuracy of voice recognition. Even though I use noise cancelling external soundcard Andrea USB-SA-1  for more accurate voice recognition quality, I realised that it completely fails whenever there is a device that produces a whirring sound, for example, and overhead fan at high speed. The soundcard is able to cancel out the noise due to a TV or of people talking in the same room but somehow, the whirring noises completely disrupt the recognition. So if you suddenly start getting poor recognition quality or get repeated warnings from Dragon NaturallySpeaking saying that it is getting low quality audio, you may want to check around for devices that may not be producing loud sound but still may interfere much more with their whirring noise.

With the numerous medications that I have to take to manage chronic pain, gastric upsets have become very frequent. I have had a sensitive stomach even before the pain started. So over the years, I have found that the following medication have helped me as a first line of treatment. As a disclaimer, I have to add that the reader must consult their own physician before trying out these medications. Abhyarishtam : most medications make me constipated and this helps me even though it is not a laxative per se. It also improves my digestion. I take 15 to 30 mL of this after food with equal amount of water Mustakrishtam : this also helps in improving  digestion Triphala Guggulu : this is a tablet that I take after every meal. I usually take Triphala powder as a supplement even when I do not have any gastric problem. However, I stop the powder when I start taking these medication Apart from this, I roast cumin seeds on a flat pan and then add it to water along with little bit of...

Due to the chronic pain in the neck and shoulders, it has been difficult for me to hold the mobile phone. I'd tried different Bluetooth headsets including the ones that worn in the ear like the Jabra BT2046 . However, perhaps due to the distance between the mouth and the microphone of the headset, the person on the other line frequently complained of the environmental noise. The headset with the boom mike like Jabra Motion were very expensive. I also tried wired headsets but they would break frequently because the wires would entangle when I kept them along with the phone in the pocket. Finally, I found the Sony Bluetooth headset SBH20 that I have been using for over a year now. The good thing about it is that it can be clipped on to the T-shirt / shirt near the mouth so it does not pick up environmental noise. Initially, I used to frequently clip and unclip it depending on the phone usage. The clip came off after several months but fortunately, I was able to re-stick it ...

" A Headache in the Pelvis " is a book that advocates physical therapy and paradoxical relaxation for the treatment of chronic pelvic pain. What is Chronic Pelvic Pain According to the  Mayo Clinic , "Chronic pelvic pain is pain in the area below your bellybutton and between your hips that lasts six months or longer." Thus,  chronic pain in the lower abdomen ,  genitals and/or rectum  is considered as a part of chronic pelvic pain. Common conditions that can cause chronic pelvic pain in females include  endometriosis ,  fibroids, irritable bowel syndrome ,  interstitial cystitis and chronic pelvic inflammatory disease . In men, conditions that can cause chronic pelvic pain include  interstitial cystitis and chronic prostatitis . And just in case, you like jargon - here are more medical terms that are associated with chronic pelvic pain - p udendal neuralgia, prostatodynia, orchilgia, vulvodynia , levator ani syndrome...

In this Dragon NaturallySpeaking tutorial , I describe how to shift focus to various fields within Windows file dialogue box. Whenever you are opening or closing a file for example, opening a document in Microsoft Word, Windows will bring up an open file dialog box. The initial focus is in the file name field. Here, you can enter the name of the file but what if you do not remember the name of the file and have to choose from the list of files which is on the right pane in the dialog box. I tried to find a shortcut including saying the name of the file if it is visible in the right pane but could not find an elegant solution. Finally, I pressed tab multiple times to determine how many times it takes for the focus to more from the file name field to the pane that contains the list of files. Turns out it takes 11 tabs. So you have to say "Tab Eleven" for you to move the focus. If, on the other hand, you remember the beginning part of the name of the file, you can just di...

Mindfulness is supposed to reduce chronic pain. In my experience, it has helped me cope better by interrupting the train of catastrophic thinking or at other times, simply a reminder to breathe deeply. If you search Google play with the keywords timer, periodic timer et cetera, there will be a number of apps but it is difficult to find an app where you can set the period of the timer, customise the tone and also have the ability to create multiple timers. The only one app that I found after good amount of searching has worked very well so far for almost a year. The name of the app is Chimer and it can be downloaded here I have set it for 20 minutes and it will work from 9 AM till 9 PM.

Sometimes while using Dragon NaturallySpeaking , you may need to spell out a word or may need to dictate an abbreviation  In those cases, you will need to spell out the letters  after switching Dragon into the spell mode. Since speech recognition programs often understand the spoken word  from the surrounding context , their accuracy reduces when the user is spelling out the letters separately. Additionally, Dragon may find it difficult to interpret similar sounding letters. For example, for me, 'P' and 'T' are not properly interpreted. So instead of just saying the letters, I say the military equivalent  (i.e. the NATO alphabet )  which is 'Papa' for P and 'Tango' for 'T' Memorising the military alphabet will greatly improve your productivity . At the very least, you should learn the military alphabet equivalent of similar sounding letters .You can draw a list of the letters that you have trouble making Dragon recognise and then learn t...

Sometimes you may see that Dragon continues to display the response "please say that again" whenever you say something to it. This is for Dragon NaturallySpeaking premium version 13 that I'm using at the moment. To solve this, either of the following two actions may work: check to see if the focus is on a window where dictation of command cannot be given. For example, in Google Chrome sometimes, the focus is not in the main window and rather on one of the extensions or add-on icons at the top right-hand corner. Sometimes it is visibly difficult to see where the focus is on so I usually say the command "Alt + D" to bring the focus back to the address bar possible bug in Dragon NaturallySpeaking premium 13. For that, I turn of Dragon NaturallySpeaking using a hotkey and then make it to listen again. If you have experienced similar bugs and have any other workarounds please suggest in the comments below.

About 2 years ago, I had successive bouts of flu in a matter of 3 months. Each episode would leave me weaker and the body pains would continue for a longer period. At the end of the 4th episode, I had persistent neck pain and I went to physiotherapist to get it checked out. He seems to have accidentally claimed my shoulder and that seems to start a cycle of chronic myofascial pain that was severe enough to prevent from opening doors,taps and even hold a spoon to eat. Of course in hindsight, the flu episodes were probably precipitated the problem of poor posture and weak neck muscles. It has taken quite a while for me to be able to even look in a particular direction continuously including of course the computer screen. Though the treatment was long and still continues, here are few of the points that help Have a good physiotherapist who can gently reduce the myofascial trigger points. One of the side-effects of myofascial therapy for me was inflammation and it took some time to find a ...

There are times when I'm composing an email message that I want to number the various lines. I could not find any instruction on the Internet to do this. In Word, one has to say click numbering in order to start numbering and so far I was composing such content on Microsoft Word and then copying it into Outlook. Today I realised that if the message tab is highlighted while the email is being composed, then you can say "click numbering" and Outlook will start the numbering for you. The trick is to ensure that the message tab is highlighted. Sometimes, for example, I attach a file and then start composing a message. In such a case, the insert tab is highlighted and therefore one has to first go to the message tab by saying "click message". Here is a YouTube video that demonstrates this

One of the most common operations that I usually do is to look up a file in a particular folder in Windows Explorer. Unfortunately, Dragon NaturallySpeaking does not provide any quick way to achieve this and therefore I had to rely on the fallback mechanism of using Windows shortcuts and then experimenting with tabs to cycle between the various panes. So this is how I search for a file. Say start Windows Explorer to launch the application. Then go to the particular folder where you want the file to be searched. If the folder is visible, you can try saying the name of the folder. This does not work well if there are multiple folders which shares some part of their names with each other. I have not yet found a workaround for this. Then say Ctrl + E which is the shortcut to go to the search box in Windows Explorer Then type the name or part of the name of the file that you want to search for once the search is completed and it shows a list of results, you can get to the list by saying tab...

Even though BBMP has provided the ability to pay property tax online, it still requires the taxpayer to was at BBMP office, get a challan and pay the money in person when paying for the first time. As expected, I could not find any clear instructions on how to pay the property tax. So I thought I would post my experience here. Please note that this process was done from August to September 2016 and it may change based on BBMP whims First there was a problem in identifying which BBMP office holds the jurisdiction over the area where my residence is. I call the BBMP office but they could not provide any details .The builder was not of much help either. And my neighbours had not paid property taxes until now so I was kind of a guinea pig for this process. I took a copy of my registered sales deed to the nearest BBMP office that I could see from the Google maps. I decided to reach there by 3 PM so that even if the BBMP officers took a late lunch, they would hopefully be functional by that ...

Sometimes, I had to switch between different personalities within chrome primarily because I have to email on behalf of my parents and signing out from one account and again signing back in from another account is very difficult using voice recognition. It took a while for me to completely figure out a hands-free way to achieve switching between the different personalities .This is what I do: Say Ctrl+Shift+M. This will drop down the menu which will include an item called "Switch person" Now to switch the person you can just say "Switch Person". This will bring up a window with all the personalities with one of them selected. Now you can say just go left or go right and once the personality that you want is selected you can just say press enter and it will bring up a chrome window for that personality Update December 2016: The updated version of the chrome browser now shows the list of personalities in the drop-down menu itself thus making it simpler to s...

The anal fistula that was probably caused due to straining during a movement in August 24 seems to have healed but the pelvic and then continue. The Ayurvedic doctor thinks that this is neuropathic pain and is recommended basti which is essentially putting medicated oil inside the rectum. Basti is apparently recommended in ayurveda for any problems arising from the lower abdominal region. It is Rs. 500 per session treatment for 7 days.For me it is pretty expensive because it still seems to be in a "try and see what happens" category - not a proven method of relieving pain 

I continue to use Microsoft Outlook 2010 because I cannot go to upgrade to the newer versions. Another reason to continue with Microsoft Outlook is because of its good integration with Dragon NaturallySpeaking, the voice recognition program that I use. Recently I had to set up a new POP account in Microsoft Outlook 2010. Like always, I quickly googled with the phrase "how to configure Microsoft Outlook 2010 with Gmail" and started following the directions in the first link at  http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/17314/add-your-gmail-account-to-outlook-2010-using-pop/ . However, I kept getting an error message. It is only once I looked at their error message that I realised that Gmail considers Microsoft Outlook 2010 as one of the less secure applications and therefore you have to turn off the setting in Gmail to allow access to only secure applications. The instructions for configuring this are available at  https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/6010255?hl=en

http://deveshwar.in/how-file-consumer-court-complaint-bangalore/ is a good blog post that details how to file a consumer court case in Bangalore. Unfortunately, along with chronic pain comes the challenge of dealing with medical insurance and the denial of claims without assigning any clear reasons. This is a good blog post that lists down the tasks step-by-step and also other avenues that can be tried.

As a chronic pain patient was mostly homebound, it is very difficult for me to deal with the Indian government agencies including the public sector banks and LPG delivery agencies. For any small transaction, they would require your presence and would make you sit and wait. I had been trying to find a way to file RTI from home so that I don't have to endure the pain while sitting plus pay for the commute charges only to find that the government official would want me to come at another time. I found a mobile app called online RTI which also has a website  https://onlinerti.com/ . I was initially sceptical primarily because of late, there have been several such mobile apps launched by fresh out of college graduates. They probably have all the good intentions but I have not found them to be reliable. However, this portal so far has turned out to be a good experience. I use the mobile app where I am required to write the main content of the RTI. After that, I was required to pay Rs. 30...

A few years ago, I developed swelling is under the armpit. There were multiple nodules that were quite painful. I was unable to put my arm against the torso. I consulted multiple dermatologist but nobody was able to figure out the answer. There was a needle aspiration done in order to remove the tissue inside the swelling and examine it. The report just came back with a comment that the tissue's shows signs of inflammation but no infection. It happened multiple times over the course of the year and it used to produce on its own. Usually the episode lasted for about a week. Probably the only connection I could make was consuming curd and one of the homeopathic doctors that I was going to said that sometimes skin eruptions are caused due . To curd. In ayurveda, consuming curd is supposed to aggravate pitta dosha but consuming buttermilk is not.

Over the course of several years that I've spent in dealing with chronic pain, I have discovered a number of items that helped to reduce the pain and keep me functional. Here is a list of 10 items that I use frequently : Thermotex infrared heating pad . ( Video review ) I have used this since 2007 and it is still working very well. At the time I bought this, I thought it was pretty expensive. Now that it has been 9 years and the pad really reduced the need of pain medication on several occasions, I think it has paid for the investment several times over . I have mainly used it for abdominal muscular pain. There were times that I have wrapped it around the abdomen and slept at night. The main advantage of infrared is that it penetrates deeper and does not heat up the skin like a conventional heating pad. A good side effect of using it on the abdomen is that it reduces my tendency for constipation . It is also been very useful whenever I had any pathology n the rectum like an...

Apollo Munich rejected the cashless claim stating that the documents have not been provided. But they would not say what documents to the required. Then I escalated the request to what they say is an email ID preauth@apollomunichinsurance.com. There was no response in 3 days Then I escalated to grievance@apollomunicinusrance.com The link for escalating it further is provided at  http://www.apollomunichinsurance.com/insurance-grievance-customer-services/process-of-grievance-redressal.aspx

So I had assumed that the fistula is gone in accordance with the advice of the surgeon. And then the nearby Ayurvedic doctor called to check up on me and I went to meet him. He did a digital examination and it multiple times pressed on the spot on the left side between 5 and 6 o'clock according to him where it pains. It never pains on the right side. It is always pain on the left side for me in the past 10 years. Even during the days when I had no pain In any case, he thinks that there is an internal opening in the fistula where it is paining. He has advised to do a transrectal ultrasound with one of the most reliable doctors in Karnataka According to him, once the fistula is detected then he is going to do what is called a retrograde opening where he's going to create an external opening of the fistula does not have the 2nd opening and he's going to tie the threads together

I started having pain in the rectum mostly on the left side after accidental straining in the toilet on 22 nd August. Prior to that, I was having indigestion in the stomach continuously for several days. Assuming that it was a fissure, I started using the dilitazem ointment along with kusumolin and sitz bath. I continued to walk about 10,000 steps per day. I also started using jatyadi tail by Thursday. On Friday I went to see a surgeon at Fortis. He said there was induration within the anus and since it was quite painful, he said an ultrasound cannot be done and he would prefer an MRI . He put me on antibiotics and asked me to take an MRI if the pain does not reduce. The pain was down on Saturday but again came up on Sunday and therefore I went to do an MRI on Monday. The MRI showed a fistula. Then I went to meet surgeon again on Tuesday, August 30. He said that I should prepare for surgery but then I can wait for it because there was no pus formation. On Wednesday I went to meet Ayur...