November 5, 2024
This is National Pain Awareness Week from November 3rd - 9th, 2024. Although I have discussed pain a few times already last month I thought I'd still chime in regarding this Awareness campaign as Chronic Pain has caused my entire life to change, and not for the better.
Chronic Pain is exhausting. It takes a lot out of a person. Life in general is hard, and I'm sure everyone is tired, but being unwell, being constantly in pain, just drags the body down that much more. The pain also makes it quite difficult to have a restful sleep so you're always beyond exhausted.
Living with chronic pain makes it very difficult to have a job as you never know what tomorrow is going to bring. When is it going to hit? How bad is it going to be? Which part of the body is going to hurt? At least that's what it's like for people like me who have roaming chronic pain throughout our bodies. The last while it's been excessive in my lower back and right hip. When the pain gets to a burning sensation my spine now cracks and pops at any slight shift causing even more sharp pain, making the burn increase. This pain causes sleep to be very uncomfortable and wakes me often. And just yesterday I woke with another migraine as well. Because of all this, I am not reliable. I can't commit to anything because I don't know what tomorrow will bring. It could be ok-ish (it's never good, something is always wrong), ok enough to get stuff done, but then it could be so bad I can hardly breath. My eyes are blurry and dripping. I can't walk without excessive torture. I have little dexterity in my joints. And it's like this every day. It's a crapshoot! Every night I go to bed, most often in a ton of pain, and I hope that tomorrow will be ok-ish.
Today my face hurts. Normally it's the left side with the Trigeminal Neuralgia, but today that pain is on both sides especially around my ears and into the temporomandibular joint. I awoke to choking from asthma, I couldn't catch my breath for a good minute or so...it's hard to tell how long when you're in mid choke while sleeping...and I don't know what triggered it. My head hasn't been right all day... why? ...because it's going to rain this evening. The change in weather is always a factor for the migraines, cluster headaches, fibromyalgia, trigeminal neuralgia and arthritis. This is one thing I know for a fact is a huge contributor to my chronic pain, but other than that I never know when, how or where my pain is going to hit...it's just a shit show.
This is what it's like to have pain all the time. This is why we need awareness for pain conditions. We need awareness so employers, colleagues, friends, and family may understand how our lives revolve around Chronic Pain, and maybe they'd be more understanding of this and work with us so we can still live as normal a life as we can. I'd love to be able to work. I'd love to be able to make plans and commit to them. I have so much energy, and so much want and desire to do more with my life, but because of this pain I can't, and it sucks so bad.
My List of Chronic Pain ...
Trigeminal Neuralgia
Migraines
Cluster Headaches
Chronic Sinusitis
Fibromyalgia
Arthritis
Irritable Bowel Syndrome - IBS
Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease - GERD
Planter Fasciitis