Latest / Giving Pain Purpose with Lyndsay Soprano / Chronic Pain + Your Village of Hope with Alesia Briggs

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Chronic Pain + Your Village of Hope with Alesia Briggs · Giving Pain Purpose with Lyndsay Soprano

• Lyndsay Soprano (00:01) This is Giving Pain Purpose, where we talk about the game of living in and with chronic pain and trauma. I'm your host, Lindsay Soprano. On this show, I sit with the warriors, loved ones, doctors, holistic practitioners, and those who walked through hell and want their voices heard. You don't have to heal quietly and you don't have to fight alone. Welcome to Giving Pain Purpose, formerly known as the Pain Game Podcast. This episode is dedicated to the people who show up and keep showing up in our lives without being asked. And for those who believe in us, even when our pain might be invisible to them. I wake up every single morning of my life and must make one decision. Let's fucking go. I place my feet gently down on the floor next to my bed. I slowly and painfully push my 112-pound body that feels like it's made of steel and try to mute the words that plague me every moment of my life, which is, I can't live like this. But isn't muting my lived experiences and pushing them down part of the reason why I got sick in the first place? Yes, it is. There are days that I simply cannot imagine another moment living in the pain that my diagnosis of CRPS. Graces me with 24 by 7 by 365. And many of you out there don't even have a diagnosis yet. We've been there, so keep listening, right? We're here for you. Fighting for a diagnosis is something we always talk about on this show and always will. Because if there is one thing that I have learned doing this thing is we must advocate for ourselves and advocate for those who can't or sadly won't, because no one is coming to do it for you. We must continue to fight for a diagnosis or diagnoses in so many cases, like my own and my guests, and fight to survive and live with them and ultimately heal from what caused it all in the first frickin' place. Even when we are faced with doubts from others that we are making it all up. Or our favorite, it's all in your head. But I can say this: your body can be taken from you. It is excruciatingly lonely here in the land of pain. It's frightening here. It breaks you, it isolates you, it changes you to your core, it changes the fabric of your being, it changes who you were and makes you question who you are and what your future will hold. But we cannot live in fear to turn the other page. And when it comes to me and my guests today, it, our pain and our unfathomable amount of grit ultimately became the foundation of our purpose. Even if the wind against our skin feels like knives, that allydinia, and each step feels like walking on Legos, gravel, hot coals, broken glass, and when standing feels like you're being burned at the stake. All of this while we're lying to our loved ones, as we are slowly losing pieces of ourselves right before our very eyes. And we pretend that we're okay. We got it, don't worry, but we don't got it. You might look at myself and my guests today when you're watching this and go, those two hot bitches have it together. Well, we didn't always, and there are days where we certainly don't. So today we are here to talk about what happens when you refuse to let anyone else write your story, how you must keep showing up, working and fighting, even when the odds are against you, and to be present in the moments that matter the most. So without further ado, I know that was a long one today. I'd like to introduce you today to my guest, a fellow CRPS warrior, and if I do say so myself, a pretty damn smoking hot babe. Alicia Briggs. Hey baby. Alesia Briggs (04:04) my goodness. That just hit me in the chest. That was that that was incredible. Thank you so much for having me, Lindsay. That that spoke on so many, whew, like I need a minute. Lyndsay Soprano (04:15) Yeah, take a minute. I've got it for you. So Alicia is grab your tissues, everybody. Alicia is a lifelong learner, executive coach, and senior leader at a Fortune 500 company. She also moonlights on the side as a coach, too, and she'll talk about that. She coaches leaders, managers, and professionals who are ready to grow with purpose. With two master degrees and more than 20 certifications, she's nothing short of a badass and she crushes it like a Tuscan grape and straight up scripted that guy's okay, Tuscan grape, because I love my Italy. I like that. I like that. She is the author of the new book Finding the Off Switch. There is another page, which I simply could not put down. So I would like to get started actually and talk with you. Talk to 21 year old Alicia, who is on 25 pills a day. Ooh, girl. who was told her pain was psychosomatic, continuously fighting for a diagnosis. And then let's take it from there. Alesia Briggs (05:13) Okay. Talking, talking to her was tough because she wouldn't even know what day it was half the time. Right. We were in a very, very dark place. At that time, both of my legs were swollen double their normal size, in and out of a wheelchair depending on the procedures I was having, no answers. And as you said, just constantly being told. It was in my head and questioning whether I had a mental issue or this was real and that other people weren't actually seeing what was happening to my body that I knew was not okay. Lyndsay Soprano (05:45) Yeah, exactly. And you're taking all of these pills. Can we start with why you were taking twenty-five pills? Like what were the what what was the rationale behind this? Because in your book, I'm like, holy shit, like I don't even like swallowing one pill, much less twenty-five pills. Alesia Briggs (06:02) Yeah, I well, I think actually it's something that happens to so many of us, especially from a chronic pain perspective. You go to see one doctor and they try to diagnose and give you a medication to treat one thing. So I saw a primary care doctor and they put me on like clonazepam lazepam and Lyndsay Soprano (06:19) All the bams. Alesia Briggs (06:20) call the pams and all the clients and all the things. And then I went and saw the mayo clinic physicians and they started me on more orthopedic medications for blood pressure and for you know, for cardiac movement of my blood and all these different things. And then every different doctor would have a different symptom that they would be treating with the medications. And then as you well know, there's the medications to treat the symptoms of the medications that the medications cause. And it just continued to kind of grow because again, I was 21, I didn't know any better. Internet didn't exist when I was that age. And so, you know, I didn't, I just was taking and did what I was told. Lyndsay Soprano (07:00) Yeah. I mean, when we I I remember when I was first diagnosed, I didn't know what the heck I was doing. I was actually in a brief stint in Texas at the time when I got diagnosed. I was married to my ex-husband at the time, who were just on the verge of getting a divorce. And when I got back from Texas to California and I went to Spain pain specialists in Los Angeles, it was put me on all the tryptolines. So I was in the tryptoline world. And a lot of what ended up happening with that, I I lost a ton of weight and I ended up experiencing some pretty scary moments in time with these medications that were giving that they were giving me, where you talk to old Lindsay, there's absolutely no chance in hell I would ever think about killing myself. Like, are you kidding me? And then these medications have on the things that they list, you know, like the commercials we listen to, where why would any of us take any of these pills after we listen to these commercials, by the way? But it's all about suicidal ideation. And I find that to be so incredibly. horrible of the medical community to give people that live in the excruciating pain that we're in and in the mental health department too because they kind of go hand in hand when you're living in pain to make them feel like killing themselves on top of everything else. And I know that you had some tricky situations happen in your life twice in regards to this. Do you mind chit chatting a little bit about that? Because I think it's really important that we don't make it so scary to people if they have that feeling. Alesia Briggs (08:25) Yeah, I mean, so I I think a part of it and just going back to me being 21 and on 25 pills and not having an answer and not being told that be prior to my diagnosis. And, you know, I think the biggest thing was just there weren't options that I saw in front of me. And so to your point, having all of the medications to me, it was less about I'm trying to kill myself with with suicide and more of. I just wanted to be normal for a minute, normal for a day. Like I I will never forget that night because leading up to that night, there were multiple nights where I was, to your point, laying in the bathtub, just trying to get some kind of relief, bawling my eyes out, curled up in the fetal position, trying to change the temperature to try to see if I could get my legs to settle down and considering that because the question is like, is this the life I want? Right. Yeah. But I think ultimately where where it became really evident to me that I needed to see therapy and actually have a conversation with someone was the night that I wanted to go out with my friends for the first time in college and just have a night, have a fun night. And so, you know, just grabbed a handful of meds and took the whole handful and said, What happens, happens. And it sounds stupid. It sounds crazy. But again, when you're living in the type of pain that we were living in that is so excruciating and mind numbing and overtakes your life. You're you're not thinking about that. You're thinking about how can I just get through the next hour? Right. How can I just and you know, I woke up the next morning in the hospital and my parents were sitting there and the doctor looked at me and said, you know, can you explain to us what happened? And all I said was, I just wanted the pain to stop. And that's it. Like that's, you know, that that's what it came down to is I just wanted the pain to stop. And I think that there is hope for people in that. you can talk to therapists about this and it's actually way more common than we think. And it is extremely common in our in, you know, in our circles with chronic pain. But I also think to your the other point that you were bringing up that I want to hit on, I had some really gnarly side effects too that no one really told me because to your point, they're on the list of things. And how Lyndsay Soprano (10:44) Can we possibly read about? It's like, my God. Right. Alesia Briggs (10:47) And there was one night where I thought that my house was getting broken into and people were shooting and there was like a whole arc because I was hallucinating. And I almost threw myself out of a window to save myself. Lyndsay Soprano (11:01) my god. Alesia Briggs (11:02) Yeah. Right. Like I didn't write about this. That's not in my book. You know, but it but it was so crazy because the next day I had a doctor's appointment and the doctor just looked at me and goes, yeah, no, that's a side effect of I don't remember which medication it was. That's a side effect. We'll just put you on something else. And I'm sitting there going, I almost threw myself out of a window and you're like flippantly saying, yeah, no, that's fine. That's just a side effect. Lyndsay Soprano (11:27) What? Yeah. Like el like am I on L S D? What the hell is going on Alesia Briggs (11:31) Yes, but I was not on that one. We've talked about it since it's so yeah, like you're you're spot on in that there are so many side effects. It is not okay that we are put on side on medications that increase our suicide ideation without being given the tools and or resources to also support us from a mental perspective. And I I think that if someone would have also said to me, This can increase that. Make sure that you let us know. Make sure that you talk to us. Make sure that you reach out if these things are happening. I think that would have gone a really long way because to your point, I thought I was alone in that and it made me isolate even more. Lyndsay Soprano (12:10) Right. And when we isolate, we don't return calls, we don't pick up our phone, we don't return our texts, we end up slacking at work. We end up doing actually work is the one place that I ended up. I've always been an entrepreneur. And so work was kind of that place where, and I know you identify with this as well, is that I ever anything that I could do to keep myself busy, to keep my little brain. Focus on something other than the fact that it feels like I have hot lava worms running through every vein in my body all day long. And now it hurts to chew, and it feels like I've got my tongue has been stung by a thousand bees. Like that's new. This is great. Like, what the fuck are we doing here? It's insane. No wonder we want to jump off a bridge. And I mean, 74% of patients are at high risk for suicidal radiation. This isn't a small number. Right. And so we have to, as a community, as members of the chronic pain community. Reach out to us. You reach out to Alicia and Lindsay if you're feeling anything. You can slip into my DMs. I will give you my cell phone number, like no shit. Because I've got a couple girlfriends, and we both have this like little sentence. We'll text each other and we know we are on call, ready to rock and roll and support this person right now because they just asked their husband to join them in the tub. Like these are crazy things that we're going through and they are from medications. not all of it, but the majority of them are. And I know that for me, I ended up take getting off all medications because I wanted to see what my actual baseline was because I started to feel like I was going cuckoo. I couldn't remember things. I know you identify this as well. I felt like little fragments of like things that I would remember, almost like you're going on a bender and you just like you black out drunk, but I'm not drinking. Like what what what is going on? And I was missing pi places and missing times and I was all of a sudden I'm in a restaurant, I don't know how the hell I got there. It's scary. Can you talk about what that fragmented part of your life with medications was like? Because you you talked about it a lot more in your book than I think you'd know. Alesia Briggs (14:08) I'm sure I did. I mean, I it medication has played a huge role in my life when I was going through a lot of my chronic pain and the CRPS. Like I got addicted to pain meds. I mean, I I don't come out and completely say that, but I'm saying it here to you. Like that I was completely addicted to pain meds. And, you know, that became something that then as when I was able to overcome that. It's still something that when I have surgeries now, like I don't take pain medication afterwards because I don't want to fall back into that. my history with medication has just been up and down. And I think that there is a time and a place for it. So I talk a lot about statins as well. And that's where my memory loss came from. And I would just challenge people, I don't think anybody should just get off medication, but that I had major memory loss where I To your point of walking in a room and going, I don't know how I got here. Mine was more I would be having a conversation with you and actively not be able to remember what I'm saying as I'm saying it. And then I would also like lose what I was just talking about in the decision we just made. and being a, you know, in full-time working mom, like I can't do that in my corporate job. And so I think, you know, medication has a place, it has a purpose. But to your point, I think that there is also ways for you to think about things differently. I think much more holistic now and work with a functional health physician on what can I do from a supplements perspective to help supplement instead of being on mainstream medication. Lyndsay Soprano (15:38) Yeah, I mean, because big pharma's got us all. I mean, they just do. There's certain stuff that I think Western medicine medicine has its place for you. Break your leg, you have your heart attack, you need heart surgery. I had a heart attack at 30. I had heart surgery at 30. I've had all these weird random things happen that were totally Western medicine, right? But the rest of this stuff, all they've done is harm me and harm and have me feel like I'm harming myself. And then it shatters relationships. It breaks, it breaks your trust with people. like we we end up getting even more isolated in those spaces because we feel like we're hiding what we're doing because we don't think we should be doing it this way, but we're not really sure because I'm not really sure how I'm supposed to. I mean, it's like this, it's this wicked game that we're playing within our heads all the time. I feel like like I'm playing like tennis inside of my brain with like, should I do this or this? And then I do this and then it ends up being horrible. And so then I'll try that, and then that ends up being horrible. And it's just like, my God, I'm exhausted. Yes. And when you're when you're constantly Doing this, like we're doing these impossible calculations all day long about the shoes I'm gonna put on my feet. Do these socks hurt? What about the seam on my bra? Like I have a huge issue with finding bras that don't hurt. I don't even have titties in the first place, but I need something here. And so like I got to the point where like the seams in my clothes were hurting. And it's just it it's all of these little tiny things that you don't. That you don't even know you're doing all day, how tight your shoes might feel. Like when you feel at the end of a hard day, if you've ever worked in hospitality and you've been on the floor and you've done two shifts and you're just like absolute beat and your feet hurt, times up like by a billion. And that is what my feet feel like every single day, at every single moment. And so all the little calculations that we make, it's not just with that, it's with the medications, it's with who we know we can talk to in certain moments. Like there's people that flare me. I'm like, in fact, one of my best friends on the entire planet. He flared me today this morning. And I'm just like, I've gotta put you aside right now because I've gotta go focus on Alicia. But it's because we have to do those things because we know that I'm gonna be exhausted when I'm done doing this, because I give everything that I possibly can to my guests and to the show and to the audience, and I'm gonna crash and burn when I'm done with this. And that's okay because I plan for it. I have a calculated amount of time that I have when we are done today of what I do. To decompress, because I'm such an empath too, and so that I don't become a burden for the rest of the day for my sweetie, and so that we can enjoy the rest of the evening with each other instead of me being in bed and sobbing and crying and feeling sorry for myself, which I don't like to do. Alesia Briggs (18:13) Right. No, but but it but it's so it's so so two things. And I love what you just said about even your best friend flared you because we do make decisions all day. And one of the God, it has taken me over 40 years. See, now I'm telling my own age, but it has taken me over 40 years to be okay with not being everyone's everything. Yes. And it does not mean that I don't love you and appreciate you and want to spend time with you if I can't hang with you today. If I can't go to lunch with everybody. Like my my kids, I have incredible friends through my kids' sports. But there are some days where me getting to their sporting event is my thing. Yeah. And that's it. And I need to come home and decompress because I can tell I'm about to flare up and it's not going to be good. But it does not mean that I don't. love all of them and I don't want to hang out with them when they all go out for drinks afterwards. Right. And then I come back to the neighborhood and my neighborhood who's my friend want to grab some drinks. And you know, I'm getting all the texts, come hang, come hang. And I just can't. But it has taken me so long because I've always wanted to be the people pleaser. I'm the middle child. So I have the middle child syndrome of everybody getting along. And I always want to make people feel better about and and know that I'm there for them. But you have to take care of yourself first. And it is okay for you to say no. And it is okay for you to think about what you need yourself. Otherwise you can't help anybody. So I love that you just said that about your best friend because I think so many of us struggle with that. And I still do some days. Lyndsay Soprano (19:46) Yeah. I mean it and it's yeah, exactly. And you see you pinpointed it. It's like we love you. We we I've been your bestie for like a billion years, bro. Like I got you, I'm good. But right now is not the time that I can actually help with your mini issue when I've got something that's much more grandiose and important that I have to do. And not caring that this is what is important to me tends to be the issue with this specific person. So it's like, okay, you don't care that I do what I do. All right, fine, good for you. Alesia Briggs (20:16) love it the the second thing that I drives me nuts. I know. Well the second thing that stood out to me though what you said, I think is so important for any anyone who's who's listening who is in a corporate world, especially if they're a people leader and they're trying to make decisions, I spend a ton of time looking ahead at my meetings and I plan them very purposeful. And what I mean by that, and I I think I don't know if I talk about this in my book, but I'll say it here any regardless, around for me, Because I am so empathic and I care so much about people, I know it's going to take a ton of my energy to have one on ones. So those have to be in the morning when I have my energy, when I'm able to engage, when I'm able to lock in, versus my big meetings and meetings where I'm in with a ton of people because I don't have to always talk. I don't have, I can even go off camera. They may not know, they may know, but like I might have to facilitate one or two things. Those can be in the afternoon because you know what? I can check out if I need to still be present. But like it doesn't take all of me. And so I think just as you're going through your chronic pain journey and as you're thinking through these things, like not just thinking about the decisions you're making with your medication or the decisions you're making on your off time, but even in your day-to-day makes such a big difference on your energy you leverage throughout the day ends up. Lyndsay Soprano (21:36) You you talk a lot about workplace. since we're talking about work, can you share a little bit about how you feel about sharing your health issues in the workplace itself? Because like who do you tell? Who do you not tell? And then we can kind of circle that into your whole spinal cord stimulator part of the whole experience. Alesia Briggs (21:57) Yeah. Well, so when it comes to your current boss, knowing your relationship with them and if you have built your credibility through delivering the things that they've commit you've committed to them that you need to deliver gives you that freedom, in my opinion and with my experience with people to be able to share more of, hey, I need to, you know, I've got some doctor's appointments, I have XYZ happening because you've delivered on what you've committed on. Why I keep saying delivered on what you've committed on is chronic pain people, man, we like we just always want to go above and beyond because we always feel like we're trying to prove ourselves. And so I think that sense of I need to do more, I need to do more, tends to also make you not want to say what's going on. And so I want to be very clear on what is what is the thing that you are gold on? What is the thing that your leader is gold and measured on? Are you meeting those impacts? And then how can you navigate your medical condition around that from the perspective of if you're able to work from home two days a week, right? If you're able to maneuver around that. but I do think that it is important for you to share, but I think you also have to be careful. I just I do. I think, you know, being vulnerable as a leader, I I coach leaders on the side, you know, on my weekends. And one of the things that I share with them is being being vulnerable is telling your team, like, hey, I'm gonna go pick up my kids. I'm leaving early because I'm doing X, Y, Z. Hey, I've got some doctor's appointments because I'm, you know, I'm gonna go get checked out. They don't need to know that you're getting checked out for cancer. They don't need to know that you're getting checked out because you had a heart attack. They don't need to know that you're getting checked out because you have a, you know, a nerve disorder, but they do need to know that you are a human being and that you support your own health. So they know that it's okay for them. And so I think that that goes the opposite way too. I think it's important for you to tell, to tell your boss that, you know, you're getting checked out. I think it's important depending on the relationship. For you to to divulge some, but I don't think you should divulge it all, unless you feel very comfortable with that leader and you've seen how they respond. That's just my candid answer. Lyndsay Soprano (24:01) Yeah, because you just I mean, there's there's an aspect of pain that comes with this like it's it's hard to trust sometimes because when you're trying to get a diagnosis or then you've gotten your diagnosis and then it turns into like three thousand other different things and you're like, Whoa, this is fun. You know, you it you kinda I know for me, I got into like protection mode to a certain extent. And that's where the isolation comes back, you know, it's just the slippery slope of all of that. And not wanting to be that burden and not wanting to crumble in front of them and wanting to show them I've always been an entrepreneur, I've always run my own businesses. So I've always been the person that is like, I've gotta do four hundred times more than the other person does. My dad raised me in a way that was like You are never going to rely on a man kind of a deal. And it was like that was what was ingrained in my head. I wasn't in the sports world like you were. I was in performing arts and dance and theater and all of that monkey motion. So I keep saying monkey motion lately, by the way, and I don't know where it goes. I don't think I've I know. I think that just aged me. And I'm not sure why I think I may have gotten it from my mom, and that's not a good one to get from her. So anyways Alesia Briggs (25:06) The the one thing that I would say though too in in being a people here for many years now Lyndsay Soprano (25:12) Now A people eater? Alesia Briggs (25:14) You know what's so funny? Do you know what's so funny? Lyndsay Soprano (25:17) People here on Giving Pain Purpose. Alesia Briggs (25:19) We do, we do. What's so funny that you say that is so I have a TikTok channel and every time I say as a people leader, I get like a hundred comments of people going, Did you just say people eater? It's my I grew up in Michigan, okay? It's my northern accent. Just deal with it. It is a Lyndsay Soprano (25:33) Alicia is also a cannibal. Alesia Briggs (25:37) Yeah. So I, you know, I'm I'm my in my in my daytime. my God. So where where I was gonna go with this is it's so interesting because I saw your entire body language shift when I was talking about telling your boss like what's going on. And I Lyndsay Soprano (25:51) Yeah. I felt all shifty, yeah. Alesia Briggs (25:54) I get it. Like I see it, I get it. But here here is here's the flip side, and this is why I'm saying I they don't need to know the what, like the reason you're going, but I would challenge you. To be able to at least articulate where you're going. They don't even know the why, I guess is the way of saying the what, like where you're going. And the reason I say that is most leaders, if they are a good leader, they know what you do day in and day out. They're used to you. You've worked with them, especially if you're with them for a while. So they know something's off. And now my mind as a leader is gonna start turning of like, if you're not here as often, you're not delivering the things you normally do, you got this, that going on. Now I'm starting to wonder like, are they looking? Are they interviewing somewhere else? Do they want to quit? Do they want right? Like your brain just moves in all these different places versus a, hey, you know what? I've got to go to PT for a couple of times over the next couple of weeks. I've got a flare up going on with my nerve, you know, stuff that I have. I just want to let you know. Like, I'm gonna take a couple mornings for the next couple of months, but I'll make sure to put in some extra hours at night. Done. Now I know. And now I'm like, okay, if Lindsay, you know, isn't here or there, like that's what's going on. And so I so that's I I just I want to call that out because I think there's the the the flip side of that of I am not saying, and I want people to hear, I am not saying that your leader needs to know the details. So hear me when I say that. Cause to your point, I've also been burned many times with that, given my medical history, right? And what I've been through. But I do think that it can go a very long way from a trust perspective, and also just for you to be able to articulate, hey, like I've got XYZ, doctor's appointments. I just want to make you aware, don't need you to cover anything. Lyndsay Soprano (27:34) I got it. I'm good. I got it. You're not gonna see me for a little bit of time here, but it doesn't mean that shit isn't getting taken care of. Alesia Briggs (27:40) Exactly. Lyndsay Soprano (27:41) Let's slip into the spinal cord stimulator topic. Okay. Because I know that you went into the medical device industry, which is such a fascinating story about how you how you got into it and how you managed. having a spinal cord stimulator. Yeah. And training people on how to use spinal cord stimulators. That part in the book where people were gonna be training or use them and you have one that you said in my butt, which cracked me up in your book. I've got a battery in my butt. Alesia Briggs (28:08) I do, my kids call me the bionic woman. Lyndsay Soprano (28:10) And she has a battery in her butt. Alesia Briggs (28:14) still call me a bionic woman. I'm a robot to them. So you know, so far it's cool. They're not old enough yet to be weird. Lyndsay Soprano (28:20) Yeah. So let's talk a little bit about the spinal cord stimulator thing because I also had a spinal cord stimulator. I did the trial, a leaf slipped out. I was this was in the beginning of my pain journey where I had all the hope in the world that it was gonna change my pain level. And at that point in time, I would take that pain level right now all day long. I didn't even know what was coming. And I wanted it to work so bad that I think that I told myself it was working. but I said, if I get a twenty, twenty-five percent change in my pain level, I'm gonna go through go for it. Did I? I don't know. I ended up going through the surgery, ended up having to have an emergency removed because it did some bad things to my bod. You had the complete opposite situation happen. So talk to me about this. Alesia Briggs (29:02) Yeah, I mean my my spinal cord stimulator journey, it it did not start out incredible because I thought when I had my trial, so you try it for those of you who haven't had it, you try it and then if you like it, then you have it permanently implanted. And so during my trial, I thought I had to have the stimulation turned up to the level of my pain. And for anybody who has CRPS, and Lindsay's laughing at me, it's an excruciating pain, right? So like it is intense. So I thought I had to have that thing cranking to the extent that I wanted it out. Like I called the rep and I said, like I want I want this taken out. I'm done. Yeah. and you know, he talked me through just turning it down and just keeping at a really low pace and giving it a chance. And sure enough, I mean that that absolutely changed my life. Like it didn't take me to a zero, but it gave me that like 30, 40% decrease in pain. And I could stand, I could get up, I could ride in the car with the vibrations and not be, you know, in tears. the things that people take for granted, right? Like being able to sit and actually eat dinner, being able to sit through movie, being able to just have a storm go by and not, you know, have my leg explode. so for me it was absolutely life changing. And, you know, I still have the implant in to this day. It's many, many years ago now. But yeah, it was it was incredible. Lyndsay Soprano (30:21) Yeah. And what's so interesting about it is you ended up getting into the field of the medical device industry, specifically into the spinal cord stimulators, where you were able a, you know what these people are going through. and obviously that's not just for C RPS, it's for many other conditions as well. so you were able to actually guide these people that were going to be training other patients on them and also d you spoke to patients as well, right? Because you're coaching them on what they're supposed to do and how they're supposed to use it. Don't crank it all the way to the top, you overachiever type A bitches. Like don't do that. I did the same thing because it actually, when I cranked it up, the vibration, even though it was so intense, it actually made me feel really good, hot. And they were like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. You are doing this all wrong, Lindsay. Like you're not supposed you're supposed to feel it, but you're not supposed to like look we're looking at you and you are like shaking. Yeah. Alesia Briggs (31:18) Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's not supposed to be like a tens unit on the outside that's like, no, with your muscles. Correct. Yeah. Correct. Yeah. I mean, it was I'll be if I'm totally honest and and candid about it. I it was a blessing and a curse, right? So yeah, I worked the first, I think I spent four, maybe five years working in the field with patients directly. And it was incredible because I did see, you know, so many, especially working in the Cleveland area. You know, I worked a lot with pediatrics and that was really tough. But it was incredible being able to see it. work for them. but then on the flip side, and that was the the dichotomy of it, was also I knew if it didn't work for people like yourself, what they were going back to at that time. You know, this was still what like 20 years ago. and you know, there wasn't a lot of options. There wasn't a lot of what's next. and so I think that was that was very, very tough, and which actually led me to kind of seek out where I could make a bigger difference and be able to impact more people. And yet not have to be face to face with my younger self. but yeah, to your point, it doesn't necessarily work for everybody. And I will say this, especially now that I don't work for that company anymore, different companies work different. They have different stimulation, they have different stimulating patterns, they have different electrical signals, they have different XYZ. Like there are a lot of different options. So keep that in mind, I guess, would just be something that I would say for people if they're trying different things. Lyndsay Soprano (32:43) Yeah, and I've it's it's funny that you say that because it's not it's not out of my mind of the potential of trying it again. Because I mean, when in Rome, just do it again and see what Alesia Briggs (32:54) There's been a lot of advancements. Again I'm not Lyndsay Soprano (32:56) happens. Yeah, because mine was mine was like seven years ago ish. Okay. Somewhere around there. seven, eight years ago, and I was pretty hopeful. You know, I went in like the blaze of glory, you know, made friends with everybody that was there. And, you know, everybody's getting my Christmas cards now. And, you know, that's just the Lindsay show. And but I I by the time that this thing was just acting up, it like I couldn't feel my life, the whole left side of my body. Like, this is something is not going well. And the rep that we had was just saying, I'm doing it wrong, I'm doing it wrong, I'm doing it wrong, but it wasn't really supporting me. Like, I want a you. To guide me through that. I want I would want someone like you that's gonna be like, I have been there and done that and I have experienced it. I can tell you that it can help you, but you just have to listen to me. Alesia Briggs (33:46) Yeah. Well, and it sounds like for what your situation was too, it there was probably more of it wasn't the right placement or it wasn't the right fit right. So yeah, I don't even know that I would have been able to help you other than to say like that ain't normal. Like like that's not like you stuff going on, like you Lyndsay Soprano (34:01) Yeah, exactly. Alesia Briggs (34:03) know. Lyndsay Soprano (34:04) There's a story that you said in your that you talked about in your book about your son Connor saving you. And I want you to tell it really quick. Alesia Briggs (34:13) Yeah. so I when I found out that I was pregnant with Connor, we were absolutely terrified because we did not know what it would do to my nerve disorder. And at this time, my nerve disorder, as Lindsay knows, was spreading and it had moved into my hands and I was doing ketamine infusions along with my spinal cord implant. And we I was on a lot of medications. and about I would say probably two to three months into my pregnancy, I was at my pain doctor's office. And for about a week up leading up to it, I was not feeling any pain. And he shared with me that during pregnancy, he has seen it happen multiple times that the baby's stem cells interact with your stem cells and rewire your nervous system. And there was no way for him to promise that it would stay that way. But at least during the pregnancies and once he sees that start to happen, that consistently that stays and knock on everything that's holy. but yeah, he saved my life because he I I have not had my CRPS or small fiber neuropathy flare up the way that it used to since I got pregnant with him. Lyndsay Soprano (35:34) That's amazing. And you don't even use your S D S anymore, right? Spinal cord stimulator, sorry guys. Alesia Briggs (35:37) I don't. No. But you know, I still have flare-ups, right? Like it's funny, my husband now knows, right? And so even just this last week this last week, like I I we've talked about, you know, I'm on hormone replacement therapy. And it's very interesting the role that hormones play in your in your nervous system and in your inflammation and your life. And I had run out of a couple scripts and for whatever reason I wasn't able to get them filled in time and just going a week with my hormones being out of whack, with not having my medications. My feet were turning purple, my hands were turning purple, like all, you know, all the rigorous start coming back up. but I I still don't use my stimulator now just because I do feel like I'm able to control it. And like being at a three or four, I'm like, that's usually what it brought me down to versus, you know, when I was kind of steady state, extreme pain. But I one one point you just made, Lindsay, that I want to circle back to is you were talking about moving doctors. And one one thing I I don't want to move past that was so incredibly eye-opening to me when I did go to work for that company was two things. One, the number of us out there who are dealing with chronic pain. I had no idea I was in offices all day, every day, and those lobbies were full. Lyndsay Soprano (37:01) Yeah. Alesia Briggs (37:02) So when we feel alone, girl, we are not alone. Like there, there are so many of us out there. So you are like no one is alone in this. We are all in this. But the second thing is, all of these different physicians that I worked with, whether they were the top of their class or the bottom of the class, came out as a doctor. And so there are some incredible doctors that I've worked with in those 12 years, absolutely incredible doctors. And so If you don't feel in your gut like you are getting the answers you need, if you do not feel like you're getting the diagnosis, if you want to get a second opinion, you may have one of those they came in last in the class doctors and you go get a second opinion. Lyndsay Soprano (37:46) And daddy bought that the daddy bought that actual degree. Alesia Briggs (37:49) Right, right. You know? Yeah. And so I I just share that and I and I don't want to take anything away from doctors. My sister-in-law is a doctor. Like I like I there are incredible doctors out there. But I would hope that any doctor, if you are a doctor listening to, that you would support someone getting a second opinion or a third opinion or a fourth opinion. So you feel like you have an educated answer and you have an educated plan. And you may go back to that first doctor if all of them say the same thing, right? Right. But I just I I feel like especially in our generation and especially for those of us who have chronic pain, we just want the answer. And we so often fall into complacency of just listening and taking whatever they say as as the answer. Lyndsay Soprano (38:32) Yeah, your gut is a little brain. Guys, like straight up. Like your gut's a mess, everything else is a mess. That's a whole other that's a whole other podcast. That's Alesia Briggs (38:38) That's a whole lot of their ballworms. Lyndsay Soprano (38:40) a whole other podcast. And your gut responds to people eating totally different as well. Alesia Briggs (38:45) I can't believe you said that. That's so funny. Lyndsay Soprano (38:47) I know. I'm just gonna name the episode. She eats people. It's just what I think. Alesia Briggs (38:51) Hello, it's perfect. Lyndsay Soprano (38:52) Well, and you know, as we're talking about all of this and we talk about we go to doctors and we go in and out of all these hospitals and the emergency rooms and the nine one one calls and the ambulance rides and all the things that we do and all of the amount of money that we spend on our bodies. And we know here in the United States of America, we're the un United States of America currently, our health care system is in shambles. I call it sick care. And we have to, like I opened up with and I know that Alicia's the same way, that we have to advocate for ourselves, but this shit is really expensive. And we understand that not everybody can go pay out of pocket to go do some of the things that we're doing. Ketamine therapy, both both Alicia and I have done it, is not inexpensive to do it. And insurance is not paying for it. Certainly not here in Southern in California. and you know, will that be changing? I don't know. You know, we're hoping that the psychedelics part. In fact, I have somebody that's coming onto the show. Actually, he's the next episode. His name is Zappi Zappalin. Swear to God, that's his name. And this episode is incredible about psychedelics and where that industry is going for us that we're talking about here in chronic pain and chronic illness and mental health as well. So I'm very excited about that. But we have to encourage our companies that we work for and work with to bring in programs, wellness programs, nutrition programs, things that can help support. Support you because not everybody has this money to pay for these unbelievably expensive things that we do. And also that our health insurance doesn't necessarily cover either. So it's it's it's a mess out there. So there is something that you said in your book. I have a billion different quotes in all of my notes here, but one thing that you said is hard things don't always come to finish you. Sometimes they come to hand you the tools you're going to need for whatever comes next. I'm gonna cry. Because something always comes next. The body will do what the body does. Life will do what life does. The only variable is what you do when it does. And I love that quote because we can get knocked down by the waves and we can stand back up again. And we just have to keep doing it, guys. We do. And you gotta read our book. It's not just about CRPS, you know. It actually it's just a fragment of the book is actually about CRPS. A lot of it is about resilience and strength and frustration and love and our villages. And she's got an incredibly strong village around her. But it it, you know, relationships are are murky and crazy when you live in chronic pain and chronic illness. And so when you talk about our village and the people, this is also from your book, find them. Be intentional about keeping them, the ones who show up without being asked. The ones who tell you the truth, the ones who make everything settled just by being in the room. You cannot build a life worth having without them. And that's why I dedicated this episode to our village, because I don't know where we'd be without them. And you're part of my village now, Alicia. So welcome. I do not serve people here for when you come out, but you're gonna have to bring your own people jerky with you. Alesia Briggs (42:05) I'll I'll bring it I normally they'll let me bring it on the plane, but I Lyndsay Soprano (42:09) That's a thigh. We're both crying over here, people. We're both crying. And that's okay. Because we're human and this is a very human thing that we're talking about on this show. We always do. And if you can't be raw and real and true and honest and open, I don't want you here. I don't, you know, because that's what is so important and so wonderful about doing the work that I'm doing, doing the work that you're doing, and the work that so many others are doing and the podcasting world. Is a huge part of that. So if this is the first time you've listened to a podcast ever, congratulations, you chose the right show. Listening. And there are other wonderful podcasts that are out there that have a little bit of a different flair. I tend to go towards more of the depraved, people eating kind of shows. but there are others that really need the more clinical side of things. They really and we do have clinicians on the show where we talk about clinical stuff, right? I just like to balance it all out a little bit more. so do your homework and just know that there is hope out there for all of us. And it could just be one sentence on a sticky note that gets you through your day. Alesia Briggs (43:19) Thank you so much, Lindsay. You got to have me. I appreciate it so much. This is Lyndsay Soprano (43:24) But this was great. Thank you so much for being here. So you can find our darling Alicia at Peopleeaters.com. No, at coachbriggs.com. That's two G's, C O A C H B as in boy, R-I-G-G-S dot com. She's on Insta. She's on LinkedIn. Thank you so much, Alicia, for being here with me. This was absolutely a wonderful start to season five. Alesia Briggs (43:48) Thank you so much for having me, Lindsay. I appreciate it. Lyndsay Soprano (43:50) You got it. You are exclusively invited to share this people eating VIP pain journey together. Let's get to the heart of how to heal with you by my side. Please follow Giving Pain Purpose wherever you digest your podcast content. We will be there. Visit us at GivingPain Purpose dot com and follow us on all the socials. Thanks for listening, my little VIPs. Catch you on the other side.