I know that I have already posted about chronic pain recently but it is National Chronic Pain Month and so if there is ever a time to write about a topic regarding the problems of chronic pain, this is it! It is not a fun topic to talk about and most individuals do not understand chronic pain and what it means. Let me start by saying that it is not the pain you feel right after surgery and the weeks following while you heal. Imagine a pain like that but having it everyday of your life. Most people hate having dental work done. They go to work afterward sore and it hurts to open their mouths. The difference between that pain and chronic pain is that pain will go away. It is a pain that lasts for month and even years and can haunt an individual for the rest of their lives. Chronic pain can be associated with other disease such as Lupus, MS, Chron's Disease and cancer patients. It is hard to diagnose and extremely hard to treat.
There are days when my chronic pain is worse than others. In the video below you will see him use a feather as an example. If you would rub a feather on someones arm who does not have chronic pain it feels good and can even be relaxing. For those of us who suffer from chronic pain the feather does not feel good. At times I look at Tim and tell him my skin hurts and burns. There are nights I am cold but can not sleep under the covers because the covers rubbing my skin is so painful. It is a scary disease and it is very hard to make others understand. I know some people think we are crazy and just are looking for good medications........oh, you are right, we are looking for good medication but not in the way some think. We would like to find a medication that makes it so we can bear to put on long sleeves. We are looking for medication that allows us to hug our loved ones without pulling back because of the pain a hug causes. I would love to find medication that would allow me to sit at a desk long enough to put in a days work. It is tough suffering every moment of everyday with pain that can truly bring you down to your knees. I have had shots go directly into my shoulder joint and shots go into my head where the needle is longer than your hand. To me that is not someone who is looking for a good time with strong medications.
For the first time ever I have sought out treatment from a chronic pain doctor. My doctor is also a board trained anesthesiologist. I held off for so many years because I thought they will just push pills and not hear what I am saying about my pain. I was proven very wrong. For the first time in a long time I left his office feeling hopeful that one day my chronic pain may be less than it is right now. It is a process because all we really have are the medications that mask the symptom but there are new medications made for other diseases that are being used for chronic pain. I truly want to stay off of heavy medications as long as I can. I have decided to take something that is not considered a narcotic but treats the pain like a narcotic would. We will use this until the pain wears through and then, unfortunately, we may have to go to something stronger.
Chronic Pain is a disease in itself and needs to be treated as one. The sad part is that it seems to tag a long on the tail ends of other more known diseases and is often over looked. With this being National Chronic Pain Month lets become a little more aware. Lets remember it is a terrible disease by itself and lets hope that we have doctors out there trying to make a difference in a little known disease that alters so many lives.
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