Chronic Neuropathic Pain
In 2003, I had my beautiful, gorgeous and sweet baby, 3 weeks early and after 5 days (yes, 5 days) of labour. As you can well imagine, when I got to the hospital (which also happened to be my birthday) I had been in labour for 4 days. I was tired, my blood pressure was going up and it was time to get her out. Physically, she was fine, so there were no worries about my daughter.
My back felt bruised, swollen and unsteady and I had had an epidural with her birth, but I assumed that it would go away. I went back to work ten days later as I worked for myself. Three months later – I still felt unsteady. My spine felt tender and I was getting concerned. I was out for a walk with my 120 pound dog, toddler and infant. My toddler ran out in the street and I went to scoop her up. It felt like I had been shot.
My legs went out and I was in white-hot blinding pain. It took me almost forty-five minutes to get home from my usual five minute walk. I managed to get us into my bedroom, shut the door and call my husband.
That was the beginning.
Since then I have had several occasions when I can’t walk, migraine headaches, insomnia, burning pain, loss of function of my hands and face, numbness, electrical shocks, cramping, shooting pain. Currently, I am technically un-diagnosed and am floating around the system. It is awful, but I have seen and know people who have had worse. I have done numerous different therapies, medications, tests, and seven years later, I have no answers and am still in pain.
Losing some friends and family; it has made me want to create an enhanced awareness about Pain Patients.
We are treated like pariahs, criminals, junkies, nut-jobs and the like. We are misunderstood, misdiagnosed, dismissed, referred-out and judged. Pain is invisible and the human brain will delete the actual physical memory of pain. Pain is different for everyone, making it difficult to relate. What is bad for one is nothing to another.
I want to increase understanding and acceptance from the Medical Profession that we are real people, with real problems, with real pain. The Health Care System needs to be properly educated on Pain Medication, Pain Management and Treatment for pain. So that there is hope out there for us.
We need to be heard and recognized.
Thanks for building this site for all of us Painies!!