From a Chronic Pain Sufferer...
As someone who suffers from chronic pain, I would like to address some of the misconceptions that people have on the topic. I hope this does not come across as whiny and complaining, but there are things I have heard and read that just don't mesh with my experience, and, I believe, the experiences of other people who also suffer from debilitating, and even non-debilitating chronic pain.
The first misconception I want to address is the one that claims chronic pain sufferers have a lower than average tolerance for pain. This belief is apparently backed up by medical research. What I would like to know is how they came to this conclusion? If you take a person who is already suffering from a chronic condition, and subject them to the same amount of pain as someone who is pain-free, where do you set the baseline for the chronic sufferer? In my experience, since the chronic sufferer is already in pain, the perception of the additional pain will be amplified. In other words, if they are already at 3 on the pain scale, the additional pain will seem like a 6, whereas the pain-free person will only perceive it as a 5.
If you jab a finger into a wound, it hurts a heck of a lot more than if you jab it into healthy, unbroken skin.
I have always had a higher than normal ability to tolerate pain. I once snapped the fifth metatarsal in my right foot clean through, and spent a whole week walking on it before finally getting it x-rayed. I was immediately sent to the local hospital emergency ward, and told to take a taxi up the hill to get there. I walked. At emergency, they tried to keep me overnight because they were certain the orthopedic surgeon would need to operate and put in a pin. I told them I'd been walking around on the thing for a week, so I they could keep the bed for someone who needed it. The orthopedic department could call me back in the morning with an appointment. That is only one of my adventures in the realm of 'it isn't bad enough to warrant getting stuck in a hospital'. I have also walked out of a hospital post-surgery, without being discharged, because the place was disgusting.
I've functioned in screaming pain, and pushed myself harder than most people would have, only to hear the comment, 'If you could have done that, then it (my state of health) could not have been all that bad'. Ummm... . I'd like to have seen someone else pull it off, because outside of my own family, I've never met anyone who could have.
My mother suffers from severe osteoporosis. For years, she complained of back pain, yet continued with her very active and physically demanding work. At the time, she did not know she had osteoporosis, and vehemently refused to go to the doctor. She popped a few acetaminophen and went on with things. After decades of going on in this way, she had a bone density scan, and lo-and-behold, it was discovered that she had numerous fractures in her spinal vertebrae. She still did not slow down. It took getting hit by a bus door, and a broken hip as a result of the accident, to permanently sideline her.
Some people cope with pain better than others. If they are still functioning and walking around, it isn't because they have less pain than they claim to. No, it may be because they have no alternative but to grit their teeth and get on with it, until they collapse completely - which I assure you, they will eventually.
Which brings me to the second misconception that many people have about chronic pain sufferers: that is, that they are faking it in order to not do something, or to get disability benefits. That is pure bollocks! My brother-in-law fell off a roof while helping out on an emergency roofing job during a massive storm. The bones in one leg and ankle were severely broken, and completely crushed to a powder in the other ankle. The doctors initially contemplated amputating his foot, but decided to attempt reconstruction instead. It's been years of surgeries, of breaking and re-breaking the bones in order to get them to set properly, and he still suffers from hellish pain, as well as complications. Almost since the the accident happened, he's had to fight to keep his disability payments coming, because some bureaucrat or another periodically decides that he has to be faking his disability.
The problem isn't only with bureaucrats, though. Doctors are just as guilty. I once waited two years for an appointment with a chronic pain center, in the hopes that they might be able to advise me on ways to cope with my own issues. When I finally got to see the doctor there, she refused to look at my x-rays, or any other reports (MRI, etc...). Instead, she glanced up and down the length of my back, poked me once or twice, then told me she wasn't signing any reports for insurance, disability, etc... and basically launched a preemptive refusal to prescribe painkillers, in case I was some sort of junkie looking for a fix. For the record, I had no papers for insurance that I wanted her to sign, and my own doctor has a hard time getting me to take the medications he prescribes for me because I hate feeling stoned. I nearly collapsed emotionally and psychologically after that appointment. I'd waited two years for coping strategies, and came out humiliated by false assumptions and accusations. After more years of suffering, I saw a colleague of that same doctor in the hospital sports medicine department, and he did a proper examination that determined, due to several conflicting conditions, the only thing that could be done for me was to control the pain, and cope with it. There is no way to completely cure it.
Yet I still keep trying to rise above what my body allows me to do. Unfortunately, a person comes to a point where they have to choose between being drugged out on opioids (and still being in hellish pain), and throwing in the towel. I suffer from a bone and back pain that does not let up, even at night when I try to sleep. This is not uncommon among chronic pain sufferers, by the way. Night time pain is quite common, which means there is no relief, day or night, for many people. You can try your best to hide it when you go in for a job interview, but ... it isn't that easy to hide. I know; I've tried. At work, or wherever, I've snuck off to a quiet corner to swallow a few painkillers in the hopes of covering up the fact that I was barely able to move anymore. The end result? Well, I may have hidden the disability, but I could still not move around fast enough to meet the job requirements. You can hide only so much, I guess.
I honestly dread the future, and what it holds. I've seen a lot of people hit rock bottom and not be able to get back up again due to issues beyond their control. So here I end my rant, and thank you for listening.
