Health.com, a new website in the vein of WebMD, offers comprehensive resources on headache and chronic pain. Resources include original articles as well as recommendations for other sites. The Daily Headache is featured as one of the best sites for headache support and I was interviewed for a story on sex and chronic pain.
Tag: chronic pain
Invisible Illness: Strength Through the Struggle
Guest Post by How to Cope With Pain Blogger
The writer of this post blogs anonymously as she is a practicing psychiatrist. Her practice focuses mostly on patients with chronic pain. Having chronic pain herself, her practice and blog reflect a deep understanding of its challenges. –Kerrie
As we all know, there are many challenges and difficulties when living with an invisible illness. However, the experience can also allow wonderful attributes such as patience, strength, humility, trust and perseverance to flourish. Encouraging these virtues –- also invisible –– to grow within us is a way to take advantage of adversity
Patience is needed to wait for healing, to respect your own and others’ limitations, and to learn to live with chronic illness.
Strength is needed to carry the burden of illness, to be stoic for others when necessary, and to stand up for yourself.
Illness can teach us humility, that we have limits, that we do get sick, and that we need to learn to ask for help.
Illness can teach us trust, trusting others, trusting ourselves, and trusting in our spiritual beliefs.
Perseverance is needed to stick with treatments, to tolerate pain, and to live fully despite illness.
Thanks to Simon Davison (patience) and Lollie-Pop (strength) for the photographs at Flickr.
Pain Scales: Quantifying the Subjective
Whenever a health care provider asks my pain level on a scale of 1-10, I start with a disclaimer. Pain levels are entirely subjective and it is nearly impossible to assign numbers to vague concepts that vary from one person to another. This comparative pain scale is one of the best I’ve found, but my level 3 is a 6 on this scale
Putting numbers into words makes an ill-defined, fuzzy scale into perspective. Detailing what the numbers mean to you may help you track your pain more consistently. Some people recommend sharing the detailed chart with your doctor. Not a bad idea, except few doctors have the time to sort through all that. And he or she can’t keep track of what your scale means compared to Jenny’s or Lucy’s or Dave’s. It may be too much information to expect them to digest.
Instead of trying to assign numbers, researchers usually use a simple scale of none, moderate and severe. I use a more detailed version with mild, mild-moderate, moderate, moderate-severe, and severe. I still refer to numbers sometime, but they are always within the context of this classification. For example, 6 is moderate, 7 is moderate-severe.
What’s your pain scale? How have you communicated it to your health care providers?
Helping Others Understand: A Letter to People Without Chronic Pain
Wish that your friends, family and coworkers had a better idea of what you’re going through? This anonymous letter has circulated on forums and by e-mail for a few years, but is always worth repeating.
Letter to people without chronic pain:
Having chronic pain means many things change, and a lot of them are invisible. Unlike having cancer or being hurt in an accident, most people do not understand even a little about chronic pain and its affects, and of those that think they know, many are actually misinformed.
In the spirit of informing those who wish to understand:
These are the things that I would like you to understand about me before you judge me.
Please understand that being sick doesn’t mean I’m not still a human being. I have to spend most of my day in considerable pain and exhaustion, and if you visit, sometimes I’m not much fun to be with, but I’m still me– stuck inside this body. I still worry about school, my family, my friends, and most of the time, I’d like to hear you talk about yours too.
Please understand the difference between “happy” and “healthy.” When you’ve got the flu, you probably feel miserable with it, but, I’ve been sick for years. I can’t be miserable all the time. In fact, I work hard not being miserable. So, if your talking to me and I sound happy, it means I’m happy. That’s all. It doesn’t mean that I’m not in a lot of pain, or extremely tired, or that I’m getting better, or, any of those things. Please don’t say, “Oh, you’re sounding better!” or “But, you look so healthy!” I am merely coping. I am sounding happy and trying to look “normal.” If you want to comment on that, you’re welcome.
Please understand that being able to stand up for ten minutes doesn’t necessarily mean that I can stand up for twenty minutes or an hour. Just because I managed to stand up for thirty minutes yesterday doesn’t mean that I can do the same today. With a lot of diseases you’re paralyzed and can’t move. With this one, it gets more confusing everyday. It can be like a yo yo. I never know from day to day how I am going to feel when I wake up. In most cases, I never know from minute to minute. This is one of the hardest and most frustrating components of chronic pain.
That’s what chronic pain does to you.
Please understand that chronic pain is variable. It’s quite possible (for many, it’s common) that one day I am able to walk to the park and back, while the next day I’ll have trouble getting to the next room. Please don’t attack me when I’m ill by saying ” You did it before” or “oh I know you can do this!” If you want me to do something, ask if I can. In a similar vein, I may need to cancel a previous commitment at the last minute. If this happens, please do not take it personally. If you are able, please try to always remember how very lucky you are to be physically able to do all of the things that you can do.
Please understand that the “getting out and doing things” does not make me feel better, and can often make me seriously worse. You don’t know what I go through or how I suffer in my own private time. Telling me that I need exercise, or do some things to “get my mind off of it” may frustrate me to tears and is not correct. If I was capable of doing some things any or all of the time, don’t you think I would?
I am working with my doctor and I am doing what I am supposed to do.
Another statement that hurts is: “You just need to push yourself more, try harder.” Chronic pain can affect the whole body or be localized to specific areas. Sometimes participating in a single activity for a short or a long period of time can cause more damage and physical pain than you could ever imagine. Not to mention the recovery time, which can be intense. You can’t always read it on my face or in my body language. Also, chronic pain may cause secondary depression (wouldn’t you get depressed and down if you were hurting constantly for months or years?), but it is not created by depression.
Please understand that if I have to sit down, lie down, stay in bed, or take these pills now, that probably means that I do have to do it right now. It can’t be put off of forgotten just because I’m somewhere or I in the middle of doing something. Chronic pain does not forgive, nor does it wait for anyone.
If you want to suggest a cure to me, please don’t. It’s not because I don’t appreciate the thought, and it’s not because I don’t want to get well. Lord knows that isn’t true. In all likelihood if you’ve heard of it or tried it, so have I. In some cases, I have been made sicker, not better. This can involve side effects or allergic reactions. It also has includes failure, which in and of itself can make me feel even lower. If there was something that cured, or even helped people with my form of chronic pain, then we’d know about it. There is worldwide networking (both on and off the Internet) between people with chronic pain. If something worked, we would KNOW. Its definitely not for lack of trying. If, after reading this, you still feel the need to suggest a cure, then so be it. I may take what you said and discuss it with my doctor.
If I seem touchy, its probably because I am. It’s not how I try to be. As a matter of fact, I try very hard to be “normal.” I hope you will try to understand my situation unless you have been in my shoes, but as much as possible, I am asking you to try to be understanding in general.
In many ways I depend on you — people who are not sick. I need you to visit me when I am too sick to go out. Sometimes I need you to help me with the shopping, cooking or cleaning. I may need you to take me to the doctor or to the store. You are my link to normalcy. You can help me to keep in touch with the parts of my life that I miss and fully intend to undertake again, just as soon as I am able.
I know that I ask a lot from you, and I thank you for listening. It really does mean a lot.
Someone asked if I thought it was appropriate to share the letter with her family and boss. Will it backfire if the recipients haven’t shown an interest in understanding your pain?
photo credit: desi.italy
Making Peace With Pain: Accepting Migraine and Chronic Daily Headache in My Life
Accepting that I may have a migraine or headache every day for the rest of my life is the most effective treatment I’ve had. But how did I get here and what does acceptance mean, exactly? Time. I know, not an encouraging answer, but where I am now is worth all the time it took to get here.
After my occipital nerve stimulator proved ineffective in January 2004, I was devastated. What I thought was my last chance at treatment had failed. Feeling like you have nothing left can suck you into a dark hole. It can also be the motivation necessary to claw back to an enjoyable life even if chronic daily headache and migraine are going to stick around. Most likely, it will be both.
For more than a year, I wrapped myself in the sadness and hopelessness that enveloped me. Mourning losses from my illness was necessary, but I wanted my life back. Even one full of pain and exhaustion was preferable to where I’d sunk. I was finally motivated to find a happier way to be.
Reading The Anatomy of Hope by Dr. Jerome Groopman played a crucial role. He writes: “Hope is the elevating feeling we experience when we see – in the mind’s eye – a path to a better future. Hope acknowledges the significant obstacles and deep pitfalls along that path. True hope has no room for delusion.”
Until then hope was believing I’d find a miracle treatment. Groopman taught me that hope is knowing a happy life is possible even with illness. Finding the joy in everyday life is far better than clinging to desperate desire for a magic cure.
Instant change didn’t follow my aha! moment, but put the process in gear. Now I have days where the thought “I love my life” jumps unbidden in my mind. That never would have happened four years ago. I still have plenty of days that are horrible, but hope lurks even on days I don’t think I can handle it anymore. When I feel OK, I really do try to seize the moment, as the cliche goes. Corny yet true.
The following books have helped me along:
- The Anatomy of Hope
by Jerome Groopman – The first time I read this, it was just an interesting collection of essays; the second time I “got it” and took the messages to heart. That was when I was first beginning to accept headaches as a permanent part of my life.
- All in My Head
- The Chronic Illness Workbook
- Kitchen Table Wisdom