I long for those days when everything came easy. So I’m always looking for the easy way out. Last month, I found two easy ways to deal with some tiny but troubling issues and thought I’d share them with you.

I love coffee in all its forms. I used to spend more money on coffee in a year than most people spend on their car. My kitchen was packed with filter coffee pots and Italian cappuccino makers and the mailman brought me weekly deliveries of roasted beans from around the world. And then something terrible happened… I started having a problem with caffeine.

It crept up on me slowly, but one day, I had to admit it. Drinking caffeinated beverages like coffee and cola was giving me all sorts of problems from jittery nerves to sleeplessness. And finally it started giving me acid reflux. That’s when I absolutely had to change my coffee swilling ways.

I tried tapering off in all sorts of ways, like drinking decaf and even Sanka. Yuck! Just shoot me. Then last week I found a coffee substitute that really does have rich, round flavors. I could probably tell it from coffee in a blind taste test, but it’s close enough to the real think to pass. And it’s own flavor is so full and satisfying that I honestly like it for itself, not just because it works as a coffee substitute.

The product name is “Teecino.” It comes in 10 flavors. Right now I’m drinking the Mediterranean Mocha Herbal Coffee flavor. It’s tasty all by itself, with a dark chocolate aftertaste. It’s doubly delicious with a dollop of cinnamon-flavored creamer in it.

I chose the Mediterranean Mocha flavor because the Teecino website said “coffee lovers who are adapting their taste buds to herbal coffee find that Mocha can make that transition easier. We find that coffee drinkers who say they don’t like any flavors, love both Mocha and Maya Chocolaté.”

Teecino is widely available in many health food stores and natural food supermarkets. I easily found it available at five locations in my big city. I bought the 11-ounce bag of Mediterranean Mocha locally for $8.99, so the per-cup price is about what I was paying for gourmet coffee brews.

The website  says Teecino can be brewed in whatever way you normally brew coffee. I'm brewing it in a Bodum French Press.  I've always  preferred using a French Press for brewing coffee because it's so easy to brew each cup fresh  rather than letting a whole pot get cold and bitter.  I'm delighted it's just as good for brewing Teecino. (And I discovered this morning, when my Teecino grew cold while I was on the phone, that Teecino reheats in the microwave without developing a bitter aftertaste, as coffee often does.)

Call around. If you can’t find it locally, check out the Teecino website to order online.  It also has a search bar to find stores in your location. http://www.teeccino.com The web site offers a sampler pack of all ten flavors for $12.99 so you can taste test before you buy a larger bag. Now I have the best of both worlds—a hot drink with rich, satisfying flavors and better health. How easy!

Here’s another product I just discovered that solved a troubling problem for me. Since the death of my dearest friend last November, I’d been struggling just to get though the days. I thought my lack of energy was due to grief. But when I finally asked my doctor for a physical, he told me I had the lowest Vitamin B12 blood level he’d ever seen in a patient. “This is serious,” he warned. “B12 levels this low can cause nerve damage.”

The lack of B12 accounted for my lack of energy. The body produces B12 as a byproduct of processing the foods we eat each day. My doctor agreed that grief might have impacted on my digestive system and caused the problem. But suggested it could also be my age. People over 50, he said, often show lower B12 levels.

My doctor gave me an injection of B12. A week later, after checking new lab results, the doctor told me I’d need a B12 injection once a week, possibly for months. This news did not make me a happy camper. The long trip to his office once a week just for an injection was going to be a problem. And the cost wouldn’t be covered by my insurance. So I did what I always do—I turned to the internet to look for alternatives.

Out in Cyberspace, I found a product called the B12 patch. The patches are small, about the size of a dime or small coin, and are placed on the skin behind the ear lobe. The B12 is absorbed through the skin, thus bypassing my uncooperative digestive system. The patches are left on for 24 hours, and then discarded.

A box holds 4 patches, a one-month supply, and sells for $24.95 a box. I felt a slight difference in using the first two patches. Compared to the injections, I had slightly less energy. So I tried using a patch every 5th day instead of every 7th day and felt slightly better.

If the patches work–something I won't know for sure until my next blood test–getting the amount of B12 my body needs, without the trouble of an office visit and only a fraction of the expense. How easy!

The Vitasceince B-12 Patch appears to be a relatively new product. I did not find it for sale anywhere locally. I did find several web sites devoted to selling it when I Googled “Vitasceince B-12 Patch.” I purchased the Vitascience B-12 Patch online at a site that  offered a discount refill program. Since I’ll be using this product for some time, I wanted that extra savings. That site is http://store.vitasciences.com/category/3/B12-Patch&skin=dp_b12

I strongly urge you to consult a doctor before you use this or any vitamin, mineral or herbal product as many natural products can impact on pain medications.

The B-12 Patch is just one example of the many new products  hitting the market every day, bringing us better and easier ways of caring for our good health. If you’ve recently found something new that is making your life healthier, and doing it easier, share it with us by using the comment boxes. I’ll filter out anything I think is just marketers linking to affiilate products, but anyone recommending products they truly use and love is warmly welcomed!

UPDATE: After a two-month trial of the B12 patches, my blood levels of B12 were still low. My doctor's office instructed me in giving myself B12 injections at home. I did this once a week for a couple of months and now do it once a month. For many people, sublingual B12 supplements, which are held under the tongue until they are absorbed, are a good alternative. Only your doctor can help you determine which is best for you.

### Bonnie Boots publishes Pain Health News to provide information, motivation and conversation to people dealing with chronic pain. To keep in touch with me, fill out the subscriber form in the upper right of this page.

And in seconds the life I knew was over.

From that moment on, my life was a blur of doctors and therapists asking me where it hurt. "On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your pain?"

But none of them every asked me about the pain of losing my sense of self. If they had, I would have told them it was every bit as deep and devastating as the pain I felt in my back, my hands and knees. It hurt as bad and it took as long to heal.

Before pain, I was proud of my intelligence, proud of my independence, proud of my accomplishments. Proud, especially of my work. After pain, I had nothing to be proud of. Everyone who saw me, saw me as a victim. Someone to be sorry for. Someone to pity.

Friends dropped away. One couple, announcing they wouldn't be visiting anymore, said, "It just hurts us too much too see you like this. You never laugh anymore."

It's a testament to my addled state of mind that I thought I had disappointed them! But pain does that to you. It makes you pathetic and needy and most of all guilty. Guilty of not hugging your kids, of not making love to your spouse, of not being as much fun, of not wanting to do anything anymore.

Everyone who discovers that pain has become a constant in his or her life suffers from a loss of identity. And yet almost no one address this. It's not studied. No one holds seminars on it. No one helps you though it.

I once thought this loss of identity was harder for men to bear. Women, I told myself, at least have the luxury of being able to cry about it openly. But after working with so many people in support groups, I came to see that it affects all equally, women as well as men, and that it ripples out, like a stone cast into water, touching everyone around them.

When I was injured, I lost myself. My husband lost the woman he married. And the ripples grew…

So let's talk about it here. Let's go public with the fact that our egos are often as damaged as our broken bones or frayed nerve endings, and healing them is just as important a part of our health and recovery. What has pain robbed from you,  besides physical health? How are you dealing with this? What advice can you offer to others who are struggling though the loss of their former identity? What hope can you give to those who feel lost, and wonder if they will ever find themselves? The comment box is here for you to share your thoughts and feelings.

### Bonnie Boots publishes Pain Health News to provide information and motivation to people living with chronic pain.  You can stay in touch with her by typing your email address into the subscribe box in the upper right corner of this page.