A Journey Through Chronic Pain

I was thinking recently that for people who deal with chronic pain on a daily basis, there comes a time when pain can completely take over your life. When nothing you do, no drug imaginable, can relieve the discomfort. And how do you cope with that? How do you reconcile being in so much pain that nothing else really matters??

It is hard for someone who has never been down this road to imagine what it’s like to be overwhelmed by pain. Feeling like there is nothing that will relieve it, nothing on earth to make it better, even for 5 minutes! And if you were to describe this pain the only way I can think of to adequately do is is with a primal scream!! I read someone’s blog recently where they were talking about pain assessment.  And I am aware that it is an integral part of the exam to assess the level of pain using the traditional scale and then descriptors.  But sometimes it is hard to quantify pain. Particularly when it comes from multiple sites at once.   I have had

days where I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it to the next day or not.  The level of discomfort was so great that I wasn’t sure which way was up.  But I have a secret weapon. I have a way of dealing with severe pain that is going to shock you. Maybe even appall you!! That weapon is laughter. Find someone who is funny as hell, read something hilarious, allow yourself to laugh at a goofy movie.  I guarantee that if you are laughing, I mean really laughing, you will find it hard to obsess about your pain, no matter how bad it is.

So now you are saying that this approach doesn’t work for you. Ok, well, then what’s next? Guided imagery, relaxation techniques, biofeedback. All healthy adversaries in the war on pain. Anyone who has ever ventured into a Multidisciplinary Pain Management program  knows that all of these are a part of the curriculum.  And on a given day they help, maybe not totally alleviate the pain, but help.

But on those days when you are circling the bowl, when nothing helps. When life feels like it is not worth living, then there is but one other choice. Chemistry!  Better living through chemistry, right? Or pharmaceuticals, right?? Even though I am and have been drug free for a while, there are still days when narcotics are the only way to find a place of comfort. There are days when if I had them in the house I would so take just one or two in order to sleep, in order to function.  But I don’t want to start! And I don’t want to sound sanctimonious either.  Just a statement of how I feel.

I would very much love to hear from you, dear readers, about what you do to cope, day to day, and when things really get out of control. Where do you go, what do you do?  Look forward to hearing from you!!!