One Year Anniversary: Revisiting My Best Posts

A year ago I decided to start a blog to help others with chronic pain. I didn’t know if physically I could keep it up or if anyone would read it. Here we are now, I’ve created more than 100 blog posts and I’m continuing on! My goal has been to help just one person in their struggle to live with chronic pain - and I think I have done that. My goal for my second year is to double my Followers and get more comments each week. Please spread the word to those in pain about Nip Pain in the Bud!

To those of you who support my blog: Thank you!  I’d love to hear from you when you feel moved by or helped by anything I write. I sure hope a year from now I’ll still be going strong!

Now, I’m going to share my favorite posts from my first year. If you missed reading them the first time, these are the ones you definitely shouldn't miss. They are full of vital information to benefit your health, to assist you in managing your pain, and to help you cope with all the struggles chronic pain/illness can bring. You may even want to bookmark some of them to save the links for future use. Thanks again for your support! 

~* MEDICATIONS *~

I’ve written several very important blog posts about Medication Safety and being an informed patient. Here are the ones I think should be required reading for your whole family, whether they have chronic pain/illness or they are healthy:

*Medication Safety: Check & double-check to save your life (part one)

*Medication Safety: Prevent Drug Interactions (part two)

*Medication Safety: A Clean Sweep (part three)

*Protect Yourself from Your Own Medications

*Be An Educated Patient: Understanding Your Meds

~* PAIN MANAGEMENT *~

Of course, I’ve written a lot about chronic pain in the past year. These are the three I felt have the most helpful information:

*Preparing to Meet With a New Pain Doctor

*Pain Management: Strive for the right mix of elements

*Pain Crisis Plan: your handy weed-killer

~* SEEKING A DIAGNOSIS *~

It’s so hard when you have no diagnosis, trying to find the right treatment and manage your pain. Here are the best posts I wrote on how to seek a diagnosis:

*Quest for Diagnosis: 7 Tips to Navigate the Maze

*Quest for Diagnosis 2: When You Can’t Find Any Answers

*Clinical Trials - Could they help you?

~* MY PERSONAL STORY *~

I’ve shared a lot about my own personal struggles with chronic pain and illness in the past year, including some of my own journal writings and poetry. I hope by reading these posts, anyone who is going through the same issues will take heart, and see by own example that you can get through the hard times by holding on to hope with all your might:

*Taking a Swing at Life’s Unexpected Curveballs

*Faith Renewed by More than Coincidence

*Recovery: My poem of hope

*Turning the Kaleidoscope to Set Your Phoenix Free

*Letting Truth, not Fear, Guide Your Perspective

~* OTHER POSTS I WANT TO SHARE *~

There were so many blog posts for me to choose from, but I just can't share them all. These last few I just couldn't leave out!:

*Resistance to change: What is holding you back?

*Don’t Isolate Yourself

*Make Your Life a Fantastic Ride!

*"It is better to look good than to feel good" ... say what?

*Absorb Your Environment

*The Traveling Red Dress: Having My “Moment”