.png)
Following on from our series of blogs on chronic pain, exploring what it is, the science behind it and how it impacts certain groups of people more than others, we are delighted to share this guest blog from one of our Members, on her experience of chronic pain.
There are many invisible burdens when it comes to disability and health issues. A lot of pain and difficulties others find difficult or near impossible to either see or understand. I suppose this is why they also find it difficult to sympathise.
Of course, this is not to say that those problems which are clearly visible are not a burden, but my own experience is of nerve pain and illness that is, for the most part, not visible to anyone else.
I’m not sure when precisely it started, there were some warnings, severe acute pain after an invasive abdominal operation that went slightly wrong, which also had the effect of putting me into a very early menopause. And later, with the separate autoimmune problems, I did have some very early signs.
The pain combined with “instant menopause” made me aware of the rather strange attitude of some young, male clinical staff have to menopausal symptoms and pain. I’ve been told recently, by my endocrinologist, it was like being “pushed off a cliff” hormonally. But the doctor’s reaction, though slightly amusing, was nothing compared to the difficulties of anyone comprehending my chronic nerve pain, with its rather peculiar symptoms.
It would be many years later before I would understand some of the attitudes were handed down from a Victorian medical opinion on the mental effects of the “wondering womb” and “hysteria”. Laughable as it might seem, somebody I’m close to still had a rather interesting reply from their GP when they first sought help over early MS symptoms. The response was “oh dear! Children all left home have they? Feeling lonely?”.
The problem with my nerve pain is the genuine strangeness of it. For instance, not only do I have an extreme reaction to cold, exacerbated by Raynaud’s syndrome but with the volume being “turned up” so high on my sensory nervous system, I can sense vibration, and have pain, with simple things like the washing machine spinning! The vibration from trees being sawn down can cause the same sort of sickening nerve pain in my legs, similar to a dentist drilling without anaesthetic, and most inconveniently, travelling in any sort of vehicle produces the same effect.
In our car, my husband has to pile me and my feet up on cushions to mitigate this. The pain mostly travels from my feet upwards, but can also be felt in my arms. This leaves me with both mobility and upper body disability. I am so used to odd sensations that on one occasion, when I had an ant invasion, they had worked their way up my legs considerably before I noticed it wasn’t just another symptom!
Unfortunately, I also sustained several bad injuries, whilst working as a carer, to my neck area and it is unknown just how much this has also triggered the problem.
Luckily, I’ve read and seen other information now that explains chronic nerve pain and has made me realise that other people can have the same symptoms after traumatic injury or stroke. So, I now know I’m not alone in this.
I also feel very supported in many ways. This is by my family, friends, and of course the charities that help us both practically and psychologically. So, I believe I’m lucky to be living in this time, place and generation. I feel optimistic about the future and I’m very grateful for this.
Written by a Member of Equal Lives
Comments