Life from my Wheelchair

Finding a different way of pain control

A combination of long term medication is something that many disabled people use to control the pain we deal with each day.

From time to time various scare stories appear in the press and sometimes we find ourselves have conversations or even arguments with a GP who seems determined to stop prescribing medication that works well.

Everyone is different and each of has to find the best way for ourselves.

For several months I decided to use a cannabis spray to try and reduce the amount of Tramadol I was taking. On a bad day I was taking the maximum dose of 2 x 50 mg four times a day. The cannabis spray definitely helped and I began to drop down to 2 x 50mg 2 or 3 times a day.  But the taste was pretty vile and I wanted to look at other options.

I’m part of a Facebook group for wheelchair users, which aims to share hints, tips and ideas for making life a little easier.  One day there was a post about using essential oils for health benefits and I decided to explore. 

What I found out absolutely amazed me. I have used homeopathy and alternative medicine for many years and found it to be very beneficial for things like headaches, cuts and bruises as well as healing after surgery. But using essential oils is another world all together. 

The first thing I found was that there are a myriad of companies out there selling oils. Some are organic, others say little about their origins and their bottles don’t say where the oil comes from. 

I spent ages researching as much information as I could find and learnt a great deal about how oils worked both physically and emotionally. There is a good amount of research and some really interesting studies. What struck me was the way that both Doctors and Nurses were involved in these studies and use oils in their practice. 

There are three main international companies who sell oils. One is based totally in the US with no  UK distribution system, so that ruled them out for me. Another company is mainly in the US, with some distributors in the UK. They grow most of the plants and trees in farms they own in the US, with few from other parts of the world. 

The third company is the newest and is called dōTERRA, meaning gift of the earth. They became my choice for four reasons:

ETHICAL FARMING

doTERRA’s process of sourcing is intended to provide powerful essential oils as well as create an industry that uplifts and instills hope in farming communities around the world. This process is called Co-Impact Sourcing.®

doTERRA Co-Impact Sourcing helps local artisans in countries such as Haiti, Somalia and Indonesia. They can provide for their families, obtain sustainable jobs, and have hope in their futures.

PUREST OILS

The more pure the essential oil, the more powerful the results. Many essential oils available to purchase are not pure. Often, they contain fillers or other elements that dilute and alter the purity, thus diminishing the healthful qualities of the oil. In order to guarantee that the oils you use are pure, doTERRA and a team of highly skilled professionals formulated a successful testing procedure that qualifies doTERRA oils as uniquely pure and free of contaminants. This quality protocol is called CPTG Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade.®

HEALING HANDS

The doTERRA Healing Hands Foundation™ partners with Operation Underground Railroad (OUR Rescue) to bring healing and hope to the world. OUR Rescue exists to rescue children from sex trafficking by utilizing some of the world’s experts in extraction operations and anti-child trafficking efforts. 

The children rescued from these extraction efforts are then rehabilitated by OUR Rescue’s aftercare program, and the perpetrators are arrested, tried, and convicted to ensure that they don’t traffic children again. 

SUPPORT AND REWARDS

dōTERRA has amazing Wellness Advocates who will help you to explore the oils and find which ones are best for you and your family. There is no sales pressure. 

You can become a wholesale customer, get 25% off all your purchases and then get points to enable you to get oils for free. You don’t need to sell to anyone. For those who want to make money, there is lots of support to help you build a business. 

My next blog post will talk about the oil I found that has enabled me to cut my Tramadol use by 50%.