A pillow that reduced my pain: Part Two

The rattan pillow I've been using is placed atop a queen/king sized pillow (in the blue case) pictured above.

For part one of this post, click here.

I've tried to find the product online, but I haven't found a source selling them individually. If you search for "rattan pillow," you will find them being sold in quantity by wholesalers in Asia. It would be great to have a resource for people who have facial pain. Vendor, if you (or if you know of someone) who will sells the item individually, please contact me by email. (withgreatmercy at yahoo dot com)

Be prepared for some initial discomfort if you purchase a rattan pillow. It is hard, and it will take a couple of weeks (at least) to become accustomed to sleeping on it. But it stabilizes my neck and jaw and I had my life back soon after I began sleeping on it.

The pillow is approximately 15 inches wide, 4.5 inches deep, and 9 inches vertical. After I had slept on it a few nights, I took it into my neurologist. The moment he saw it, he realized I had found relief.

Please note that I was not having trigeminal neuralgia pain when I began using this item. My facial pain stems from issues with my jaw and neck.

Be sure to use a place case over the pillow so your face won't come in contact with the rattan. If you cannot get accustomed to the hardness of the surface, you may want to to place a very thin pillow or piece of foam rubber over it.

Those of us who have experienced facial or jaw pain know that what works for one person may not work for another. You may want to consult your practitioner before you try something new.

If you cannot find this item and are interested in something else, please see how my search continued and what I found. Click

Please let me know about your experience with facial pain and your search for the perfect pillow.

Have you visited my website?

A new year, a new song

Happy New Year!

In January, it is easy to find ourselves hoping that the new year will be kinder than the one that just closed. Sometimes we get our wish, our prayer, our desires. Other times things get worse before they get better, and all we do is continue to learn new ways to cope with pain.

When trigeminal neuralgia was at its worst, I decided to take piano lessons. I began during the warmer months, buying a piano and finding a teacher. There were some issues; sometimes I couldn't see the sheet music very well because my eye hurt. And sometimes I made the same mistake over and over and over. I couldn't blame it on the pain; it was part of the learning process.

Even though the music I made was elementary and riddled with errors, my dogs didn't mind. They followed me into the room and lay at my side while I played. It was as though they had deemed it a "no fight zone." And they never howled, no matter how sour my notes. It was a sweet time.

Best of all, playing reduced the pain.

In my opinion, everyone who has chronic pain needs some sort of distraction therapy, a creative avenue that helps an individual work through the pain. I am impressed with the ventures of my friends who have facial pain. They are accomplishing all kinds of feats, making beautiful jewelry, exercising, photographing, writing, quilting, drawing, and painting.

Several years ago, I read a Chinese study which claimed that people who have chronic pain experienced a degree of relief while they looked at fine art. Is it logical that beautiful things could help us feel a little better? I thought about Keats "Ode to a Grecian Urn:" Beauty is truth, truth beauty, - that is all Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.

Let's create something beautiful.

I don't play the piano too much these days. I was away from it quite a while, and now I've gotten involved in a fiction project. But I'll never forget how I played my piano even in the midnight hours. My husband, who should have been sleeping, encouraged me to play, forfeiting his rest to help me survive an unbearable night.

I'd love to hear about your distraction therapy or how someone helped you create a way to cope with trigeminal neuralgia, neuropathic or atypical facial pain, or TMJD. What you share may help someone else.

Have you visited my website?