Natural healing for nerve pain.

by Meredith
(Atlanta, Georgia- U.S.A.)

My name is Meredith, I am not an aromatherapist- but I would like to be one someday.
I dabble here and there, and I try to learn as much as I can. My road to aromatherapy came by way of desperation.

You see, in April of 2008, I was 8 months pregnant with my beautiful daughter when she and I were thrown across the interstate in a relatively brutal car accident. A semi-truck carrying bricks misjudged his distance as he passed and merged into my car. As I spun across 5 lanes of Atlanta interstate, I knew I was going to die. I hit the median, and slid 15 feet into oncoming traffic.

Miraculously, I not only lived, but so did my daughter. I took the whole impact of the truck, the median, the seatbelt, everything. However, not only was my car totaled, my back, neck, legs and right arm all suffered nerve damage.

Now I fight with severe pain and flare ups daily. In the time between epidurals to control the pain, I am offered vicodin and heavy muscle relaxers. But I am an addictive personality, and these are drugs that must be used sparingly.
I began to suffer severe panic attacks, depression, and suicidal thoughts from the pain and the stress of choosing between the risk of addiction and the pain that I was suffering.

Aromatherapy has helped save my life. It isn't a cure all, but I use it in conjunction with massage, pressure therapy, psychological therapy, and traditional medicine and have found that I can balance much better than I once was able.

The discovery of Helichrysum oil has had a major impact on my nerve pain. Using lavender, rosemary and chamomile to control panic attacks and adding ginger, majoram and st.johns wart to relax tight and sore muscles in the painful areas has allowed me to take less medication. My liver no longer metabolizes traditional medication at high speeds which means that when the pain is severe enough to warrant taking a pain pill or muscle relaxer- they are more effective and require less medication.

I'm still learning, but I KNOW that my quality of life has been greatly improved with the use of these essential oils. It has inspired me to keep learning as much as possible about the healing property of plants, and someday to take a certification course myself. It is my goal to someday share the relief and comfort that I have found in these properties with others. I hope to take the course offered here as soon as I can afford it! :)