Growth, Resilience, and Grit

How do you turn a life of chronic pain and addiction into one of resilience and inspiration? On this episode of "My Spoonie Sisters," we welcome Andrea Vincent, a beacon of hope in the chronic pain community. Andrea opens up about her journey from high school misdiagnoses to her battles with osteoarthritis, hypermobility syndrome, and fibromyalgia. Her story takes a powerful turn when she discusses her struggle with alcohol as a coping mechanism and her triumphant path to sobriety in 2012. Motivated by the desire to be a better role model for her family, Andrea’s relentless spirit led her to create the "Growth, Resilience, and Grit" journal, a transformative tool designed to help others navigate their own health challenges.

We delve into the transformative power of self-care and gratitude in managing chronic pain, exploring how simple daily routines can make a significant difference. Andrea shares invaluable insights on the evolution of chronic pain management strategies, emphasizing mindfulness, meditation, and holistic practices such as acupuncture and massage. The heart of our discussion revolves around her innovative chronic pain journal, which empowers individuals to track their symptoms, treatments, and medications, ensuring clear communication with healthcare providers and avoiding the pitfalls of self-medication.

The episode culminates with the successful launch of Andrea's chronic pain journal, which has garnered praise from both the community and medical professionals. We also highlight exciting upcoming projects, including a collaboration with the Portland Chronic Pain Project for an art show and plans for digital distribution. Andrea’s personal anecdotes, such as her love for coffee and preference for mountain retreats, add a warm, relatable touch to her inspiring story. Don't miss this episode packed with practical tips and heartfelt stories that will leave you feeling empowered and motivated.

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Chapters

• 0:00 Sobriety and Chronic Pain Journey
• 11:05 Empowering Chronic Pain Management Through Journaling
• 14:24 Empowering Chronic Pain Management Strategies
• 22:57 Chronic Pain Journal Launch and Projects

Transcript

Jen: 0:08

Welcome back to my Spoonie Sisters, the podcast where we talk all things chronic illness, resilience and thriving in the face of adversity. Today I am beyond excited to introduce our guest, andrea Vincent. Andrea is a true warrior in the chronic pain community, living her life with incredible strength as a sober chronic pain warrior. But she didn't stop at managing her own journey. Andrea created Growth, resilience and Grit. It's a journal for tracking chronic pain and other weird shit your body does. This journal isn't your average health journal, but I will let her share all about that. Andrea's work is all about making health tracking a positive and motivating experience, and I can't wait to dive into her journey and hear more on how this journal is transforming lives. So, without further ado, let's welcome Andrea Vincent.

Andrea: 1:01

Hi, good morning. Good morning. Thank you so much for having me Appreciate it.

Jen: 1:05

Thank you for reaching out to me. I'm so excited. How are you doing today?

Andrea: 1:09

Hanging in there, dealing with a little bit of some thumb pain, but getting through it.

Jen: 1:15

I can absolutely relate. I don't know if you saw my story yesterday, but I had my toes injected. Wow, yeah, it's not all about me, but I will share that with you real quick. Those little joints when they inject those they really hurt Wow.

Andrea: 1:30

They're the worst. Yeah, I get them injected every three months and the next day it just feels like somebody took like a hammer to my thumbs. I'm sure you can relate.

Jen: 1:40

You know, I've had my fingers done before and I don't remember hurting that bad. But my doctor, when injecting them, would use a short-term and a long-term numbing, which was great. And so, honestly, when they would do my fingers, it's usually these. Honestly, when they would do my fingers, it's usually these two, once in a while my thumbs. I can't really feel them the rest of the week, which is okay. But yesterday there was no numbing involved other than, like he did, the cold spray. The cold spray helped, but when that medicine goes in, I'm telling you people, you feel it and I'm glad that one of my Spoonie sisters reached out and told me to get the ice packs out and take the rest of the day to just chill and put my feet up, because I was probably limping worse after the injections than before the injections.

Andrea: 2:19

Definitely, definitely.

Jen: 2:21

I'm sure you're going to have a lot to share about that kind of stuff too. Why don't we start at the beginning? Can you share your journey as a sober chronic pain warrior and what led you to embrace sobriety while managing chronic pain?

Andrea: 2:35

You bet. Just to preface, I'm 45 and I'll be 46 here in November and I was misdiagnosed with a lot of things and it wasn't actually until a few months ago with a new doctor that we got it correct. So just a few, I guess, are of my main things. I have osteoarthritis, hypermobility syndrome, fibromyalgia, interstitial cystitis, trigeminal neuralgia there's different neuropathies I have and then ADHD, depression, anxiety, which I'm learning so much that so much of this stuff is connected in the same brain pathways. So it's really really cool to me and interesting.

Andrea: 3:17

But my pain started like back in high school with my knees and shoulders and there was nothing on imaging. I grew really fast. I was a tall, lanky kid and I would always hyperextend my knees playing sports, you know, and nobody really believed me. My coaches didn't believe me and that like started the whole. You know, and nobody really believed me. My coaches didn't believe me and that like started the whole. You know, I felt crazy. Maybe it was in my head. Am I making this stuff up? Am I really hurting? Am I really in pain? Um, my first steroid shots in high school, one of my coaches was at my family doctor and gave me a shot in my knee and I had a shot in my shoulder. I also had now that I look back on it, the orthostatic intolerance. There were so many times I would stand up and a few times I would pass out. I'd get dizzy, I'd see stars, and so I always thought that because I was so tall, I need to let the blood pressure rise or I was low on sugar. Looking back on that now I now know what that was. I also had misdiagnosed psoriasis. They thought it was ringworm back in the day, which was not. I was later diagnosed with psoriasis. So in my 20s I had some what's called PVCs and they're premature ventricular contractions in my heart and so I get like these beats that are abnormal and they skip and then sometimes like short little rhythms of tachycardia. They all turned out normal.

Andrea: 4:38

I was always an athlete. Since I was a tiny kid, you know, in gymnastics, never sat. Still, I played all sports. Even in my 20s was playing the beer league, softball, beach volleyball. I went to the gym, I did all kinds of weightlifting, ran on the beach. And also in my 20s is when my drinking really started to increase because I was numbing.

Andrea: 5:03

The physical pain and a lot of just the mental confusion and pain In my late 20s is when I was diagnosed with interstitial cystitis. In my 30s is kind of when things started turning a little bit. So my early 30s my joint pain was getting worse. I was starting to get the trigeminal neuralgia. My drinking, of course, got worse by then. You know, my brain had built the pathway of pain and discomfort easy, quick fix and relief as alcohol. Once that pathway is built, it's just what my brain went to.

Andrea: 5:33

I got to a point in 2012 where I was just sick and tired of literally being sick and tired. I knew I couldn't drink anymore. I also had my first nephew was being born and I didn't want my brother or sister-in-law to tell me like I couldn't babysit because you're drinking. I did a 45-day outpatient and just stayed sober. I didn't really do any work on myself. I went back and I hit the gym hard. I went back to school and got my second bachelor's degree in fish and wildlife.

Andrea: 6:07

But being sober, I had to feel all the pain. I had to feel all the feels. You know the physical pain, the mental health issues, and I really had no tools. It's not my parents' fault, it's just a generational thing, because you know, and a lot of my friends same age and generations were the same, like we didn't talk about stuff. There wasn't the mental health stuff back then, it was just you know, you just dealt with it. So I worked in fish and wildlife and which was my passion.

Andrea: 6:36

My arthritis got so bad I had to switch careers in 2019. But in 2015 is when I had my first surgery, which was my C4 to 6 fusion in my neck, and In 2018, I had relapsed at that point because everything was getting so bad I was having to switch careers. Finally, I went in 2019 and got on depression anxiety medication, which really started helping that. Finally, in June 4th of 2022, I went back to a cognitive behavioral health program. I really just had like a light bulb moment and I was outside. I really just connected with the universe and a lot of people say, like you need to have like the higher power and such, and the universe just really kind of made sense to me.

Andrea: 7:29

It was kind of that day that I turned things around. I started listening and putting tools in my tool belt that like not only helped me with chronic pain, it helps with recovery, sobriety and life in general. To this day, I've had 12 surgeries. My 13th is coming up this winter. It wasn't until actually just one month ago that I finally got the osteoarthritis, the hypermobility syndrome, the fibromyalgia and the ADHD diagnosis. I don't let diagnosis define who I am, but I use them as tools. So now I can put in and find more things that will help work towards healing those things and I can also tailor like physical therapy and self-care around those things. And I can also tailor like physical therapy and self care around those things.

Jen: 9:23

Words are escaping me, but I think by sharing all of this, there's someone out there that you're going to touch their life, you're going to be of help and service to them. That's a wonderful thing. That's why we do a lot of what we do, right.

Andrea: 9:33

Absolutely and, to be honest, like I was laughing when, like I see the you know when, when somebody asked me to share like my story, and it's like I feel like I have like four or five life stories there's so much more that you know obviously I locked out. That's why I share these things and that's why, like I no longer find shame in sobriety, because there's been other people that I've looked up to that have said they're sober and they got through it. It's man that is so courageous and it really is. And by sharing these things, whether it's chronic pain or sobriety, like you said, there's always somebody else out there that can hear it and get help from that.

Jen: 10:09

I could not agree with you anymore About the journal. What inspired you to create Growth, Resilience and Grit, and how did you come up with the idea of combining health tracking with self care and gratitude?

Andrea: 10:22

Actually, the name Growth, resilience and Grit has been in my head for a few years. I feel like each of those words embodies my recovery journey with alcohol and pain. I feel like you need a little bit of all of those to thrive and get through these issues Real quick. My logo is inspired by my great-grandmother's painting on the monarch butterfly transition. I feel like that also goes with it. It has a lot of spiritual meaning with transition and growth, but I really wanted something to include all the aspects of the chronic pain journey. I couldn't find anything out there, so I decided to kind of put all of the things that I feel are necessary and important in a day-to-day basis and care into this journal. If you're going through the chronic pain, I feel it's so important to include self-care and gratitude in your daily routine, and just for pain management.

Jen: 11:14

It's such a beautiful design. Do you have one on you to show for when we share video?

Andrea: 11:18

Yes, do you want me to show it like on screen or?

Jen: 11:22

Yeah, that would be great. That is beautiful.

Andrea: 11:27

Yes.

Jen: 11:27

I love it. I love it.

Andrea: 11:29

Full transition, you know, and it really I feel like it resembles my life of being the little caterpillar and going through a lot of transition with myself, inner self, and then, you know, and going through a lot of transition with myself, inner self, and then you know, coming out of the dark hole.

Jen: 11:43

Yeah, how has your approach to chronic pain management evolved over the years? Were there any pivotal moments that shifted your mindset?

Andrea: 11:50

Yes, it's kind of funny about the chronic pain back in the day and how I dealt with that, because really I didn't deal with it Like I did. You know ibuprofen, over-the-counter stuff, braces, ice, rest, and there wasn't much for maintaining. Obviously, I did a lot of self-medicating with alcohol. I'm here to tell anybody that thinks that works it does not. It just makes everything, you know, worse. I was always dismissed from doctors as being, you know, too young, and so really all I did was push through pain. When I was growing up, that's what we were kind of told to do. Right Is just walk it off, rub some dirt in it, get back in the case.

Andrea: 12:38

I didn't deal with it and it honestly wasn't until the last time I got sober that I really changed my mindset, put out positive thoughts and energy. I finally have a good team of providers, and I find that that's super important is, if you don't have a good one or one that doesn't listen to you, keep going, keep finding, keep looking. I do a lot of mindfulness and meditation now. Keep finding, keep looking. I do a lot of mindfulness and meditation now. I have a ton of hobbies, which also are my self-care activities, so I don't get bored and I do holistic things acupuncture, massage I keep an open mind to just adding more tools. I think that's really important.

Jen: 13:13

Thank you for sharing that the journal has so much to offer, and how do you envision people using this journal to improve their day-to-day management of chronic pain?

Andrea: 13:23

There was a couple big reasons why I created it. There was twice I went to the ER in urgent care during a period of severe pain and I was dismissed as being a drug seeker and I just left crying my eyes out. If I would have had this journal, I feel I would have been taken more serious because it includes the daily tracking, all of the treatments and surgeries. I had, all of the medications. I had all the doctors and providers. I feel they would have seen that they would have taken me more serious. I don't want others to have to go through all of what I went through. I don't want them to have to self-medicate like I did, and I'm hoping that this journal helps avoid these situations. There's a conclusion section which is super important in just the management of this, because it's where you can start putting down the little puzzle pieces, like I noticed that yesterday I did this and today I feel like this, so people can then start putting the puzzle pieces together faster and start getting the right treatment diagnosis for these things quicker.

Jen: 14:25

My next question for you is the journal. It has so many fun body stickers to track symptoms. How do you think that playful element contributes to empowering users?

Andrea: 14:36

I was really excited about these stickers For myself. I have so many areas of pain and weird shit going on so I could never remember the locations or the sensations. When I was asked, I wanted something to keep track of it. And they're like when you go to the doctor's office and they give you the paper they want you to mark on it what's going on and the locations.

Andrea: 14:58

So we made a set of female body front and back, male front and back, a head front and back, hands, feet and arms, so that you can take them and put them in your daily sections and in your flare-up sections and you can mark with the sharpies exactly where the issue's at. You could also have a color key at the bottom that you can mark with the sharpies exactly where the issue's at. You could also have a color key at the bottom that you can use different colors for different sensations. So you know, like red for nerve pain, blue for aching, whatever it may be. But then you can bring it into the doctor and show them exactly what's going on. I feel like it will just make so much more sense to providers to have that information.

Jen: 15:40

Absolutely. I think so many times we go into these appointments and it can be brain fog, it can be we're not ourselves that day. There's so many various reasons that they ask us how do you feel? And I mean I could use myself as an example. Yesterday, going in to see the orthopedist well, do your feet hurt right now? And I was like, well, yeah, well, yeah, they always do. He asked me all these questions and I'm staring at him, deer in the headlights. I would have had a journal with me to circle the different areas, tell what the pain is and why the pain feels that way, or if something's making it worse. That would be helpful absolutely yes.

Andrea: 16:10

It's like when they ask you what you know, the things that hurt, and most of the time it's just it's because it's so every single day. To me it it's kind of like I don't know what day is what and when something hurt or didn't, or even the feelings. It's like I went in a couple of times. It's like, well, what side of the knee hurts? It's like God, I can't remember. It was just just my knee hurts. You know, I feel this will really help with the exact location of the body stickers.

Jen: 16:35

I think anyone living with chronic pain. We have such a high pain tolerance, Despite what people think. We're not being babies, we're not doing it for attention. We actually have such a high pain tolerance that there's a level of pain we're always feeling. We're just used to it.

Andrea: 16:50

Absolutely.

Jen: 16:51

And so you go into these appointments and I guess you know. Going back to using myself as an example, yesterday he's touching around on different parts of my feet and that's when he he found the sweet spots. He did it for me. He found the spots that are having some and he had a lot to go off of from the x-rays and stuff like that. Still, it would have been handy for me to have something like this to take in and say, okay, this is what I recorded, this is the date I recorded it, or maybe this is something that I'm kind of feeling all the time, but despite the fact that I was looking at him going, he somehow still helped me and we got the injections done anyway.

Jen: 17:26

But I think I can't wait to get my own journal to show everybody and to take it with me the next time I go to see him. So, yeah, all right, self-care and gratitude is the next topic I want to switch over to. Why do you think self-care and gratitude is the next topic I want to switch over to? Why do you think self-care and gratitude are so important when living with chronic pain, and how have these practices impacted your own personal journey?

Andrea: 17:44

Yeah. So self-care people think that that's being selfish and it's not. It's the old. You have to put your oxygen mask on first. I have to do things for me in order to make a better me for other people, or else I'm just going to be a miserable person.

Andrea: 18:06

Self-care for me means having a lot of different activities and when I had my first lumbar fusion, my counselor and I made a list of all the activities that I could do so that on days where I'm having a bad day, I could do something simple. On days that I'm doing pretty good, I can do this or that With. Having ADHD and the addiction is being bored is a trigger for me. So having a lot of different activities and self-care is really a key for me. Some of the things that I like to do I can paint or I do woodworking. The things that I like to do I can paint or I do woodworking.

Andrea: 18:39

I have a section in the journal so that if you see somebody doing something you're like that looks like a fun craft, write it down so that next time maybe you can check that out. If you're having a hard day, it's just a chance for me to either put my headphones on and get out of my head, like when those negative thoughts kick in, or just check in with myself, check in with my body. How am I feeling? What does my body need? And gratitude is really big for me in my change of attitude and I'm a big believer in putting out there what you want to get back. So putting out positive energy and focusing on what you're grateful for instead of your issues really takes your mind kind of off of those. I feel like there's always something to be grateful for.

Jen: 19:22

And.

Andrea: 19:22

I'll admit, in my alcohol days I was a sour person. I was in pain and no tools. My mental health was shit. I was miserable. Through recovery, I shifted my mindset. I connected with my body and the universe. I've seen so many cool things happen because I put positive energy out there and I'm a grateful person instead of a poor me person.

Jen: 19:41

That is a really good point that you're touching on, because I think so many of us get stuck in that poor me aspect. I guess I look at it this way we need to take back and reclaim control. Do not go crazy, really. I mean, it's for our own sanity. We need to reclaim our lives and stop with the poor me, because this is the life we're given and I want to use that life. I want to use that life for good, even though sometimes it really really sucks. There's some positivity there, somewhere that we can find, and stop with the poor me.

Andrea: 20:12

Yeah, that's my what. I think, too. I'm going to have this pain and these issues regardless. It's like I really look at it as for any kind of issue. Can I do? Can I change this right now? No, I can't. So let's do something else. Let's put my energy and be more productive and have a more meaningful life, because focusing on that negative turns your entire life and everything kind of surrounding it negative. Switching it to the gratitude can make a big difference, I feel.

Jen: 20:43

Absolutely agree with you. This is where we're moving on to more of an audience engagement section. What advice would you give to someone who's just starting their journey with chronic pain management and feels overwhelmed by it all?

Andrea: 20:57

First, you are not alone. I think another big thing I can say is find some groups. Community is key. I still meet with three gals from my recovery group every week and it keeps you in touch with the subject and with other people on the same path with like minds. I feel like that is so important because, especially in chronic pain, you know, almost all of my issues are not something that can be tested or seen, and so having these invisible illnesses can be hard because people don't believe you. They will think you're faking it.

Andrea: 21:38

Having other people that are going through the same things you are going through can really help your mental health by knowing that you're not alone, you're not crazy, you're not making things up, you can relate to others, and a lot of times, too, I see people post about symptoms that I'm feeling and having and then I'll do a little more research on it and maybe they have tools and so I'll put those tools in my toolbox. I find really just finding a good community can really help and, like I said earlier too, to finding a good provider, like circle. I have multiple doctors in my network, so to speak, that helped me with all of my different aspects and parts and orthopedics, but I've had really bad ones and find you know, see who recommends, who read some reviews and if you don't have a good one or you don't like the one that you're with or they're dismissing you, then find someone who won't Lastly just really advocate for yourself, because a lot of my stuff can't be blood tested. So I've had to really fight for somebody to take me serious.

Jen: 22:51

That's a really good point, because I think a lot of us, you know, those things can't be tested and we're doing the best we can. What has the response been like from the chronic illness community since launching your journal? Are there any stories or feedback that stood out?

Andrea: 23:06

I launched on August 8th and the response has been really good. I've given out some copies of my journal to some local folks that had issues, and not only was it fun for me to give them something, but it was also neat to know that there's people in my community that have these chronic pain issues that now I can connect with. So that was really cool. Actually, the best responses I've gotten are from some of my doctors. My primary and my rheumatologist just loved it. They couldn't actually believe that I wrote it and they were giggling and thought it was so cool when they looked at my body stickers, because that's what they use basically not the stickers but the people, and so they have my cards up at their offices and tell their clients about it. So I think that is probably the coolest response so far.

Jen: 23:59

That sounds pretty cool. What's up next for you? Are there any upcoming projects or plans that you're excited to share with us?

Andrea: 24:06

Yes, One connection that I made which is I thought was really cool is the Portland Chronic Pain Project and they are doing a chronic pain art show on September 20 at the PAWS studio in down in Portland and that's P-A-U-S-E.

Andrea: 24:24

They're kind of like a mindfulness meditation group. I donated two of my journals for their raffle and then the founder wanted to connect with me after the event see what else we can link up on. But other than that, it's just getting it out there, getting my journal out there. I'm going to look into possibly getting it on Amazon and maybe making it digital. The only thing is that, since it comes with body stickers, I'll have to kind of figure out a way of because I want a person to be able to pick if they want the male figure or the female figure, Then it comes with, obviously, the other stickers. So I'm going to look into that. The only other thing I have which I'm not really looking forward to is a big thumb surgery coming up this winter, but I'm excited to hopefully not have the pain and issues that I have with it. So we'll get that done and just looking forward to continuing to push the journal out there and to help others.

Jen: 25:21

Okay, quick question. I know you're local to me, to Washington State, so my assumption is this event is going to be in Portland Oregon, but I want to verify that with you because there is a Portland Maine that was brought up to my attention not long ago. So verify with us Is it Portland Oregon? Yes, correct?

Andrea: 25:38

Yep, Yep, Sorry, I think it's actually PDX Chronic Pain Project. So which is the airport code for Portland Oregon? But yeah, so Portland Oregon Chronic Pain Project and the art show is in Portland Oregon at the PAWS studio.

Jen: 25:53

Okay, and you're going to be there in person.

Andrea: 25:55

I'm going to try to. I actually have an appointment to get both thumbs injected the day before, so they're always really bad the day after, but I'm going to still try to make it down there and be there for that. But I sent her my two journals already for the raffle, so she has those September 28th and it is from four to seven.

Jen: 26:16

I have a couple fun questions for you. Do you have a favorite quote that you would?

Andrea: 26:21

like to share. I think it's Thich Nhat Hanh Without suffering, there is no joy. And that really made sense to me, because it is true If you're unable to feel pain and suffering, then you're not going to feel joy and happiness. So I thought that was really cool and just for life and chronic pain.

Jen: 26:39

Beer or coffee.

Andrea: 26:40

I love coffee, hot coffee in the morning, iced coffee in the afternoon and plain unsweetened tea, ah, love it Okay.

Jen: 26:46

Morning person or night owl, morning person Reading a book or watching a movie.

Andrea: 26:50

My ADHD does not allow either.

Jen: 26:53

It's terrible, that makes sense. Okay, cooking at home or dining out I love to cook Beach vacation or mountain retreat.

Andrea: 27:01

Mountain retreat all day, any day. Can I have both Right? Maybe a little sprinkle of beach in there?

Jen: 27:09

Yeah, Well, thank you so much for taking the time to share with our listeners and I really hope that they are excited about this, like I am and you are, and I can see this being a super influential and helpful tool to add to our toolkit.

Andrea: 27:24

Yes, thank you so much for having me. My journal is on my website right now, grgmindbodycom, and then I think you'll probably post my social links as well. I'm on all the socials and, as well as helping me, really, really I have been through so much to get to where I am today, and if I can help anybody from not having to go through all of the chaos that I did to get to where I'm at, then that would be amazing. So that's what I'm hoping my journal does Absolutely.

Jen: 27:53

Well, thank you so much for your time Listeners. Until next time, don't forget.