There are severe side effects to long-term chronic pain. However, because of the recent hysteria about the “opioid epidemic” there have been some discussions by doctors and the CDC about how patients in chronic pain just should accept their pain. They suggest people with chronic pain use “nonpharmacologic therapy” such as massage, physical therapy, etc. Unfortunately, their suggestions don’t take into account the cost of such therapy, most of which is not covered by insurance. This often leaves people in chronic pain with no treatment, and the effects of the lack of treatment for long-term chronic pain are not something that doctors and the CDC ever address.
Brain fog
For me, this is the most frustrating side effect. I can live with a lot of things, but the loss of cognitive ability has massively affected my life. I used to be smart. I graduated from college and always planned to get a master’s degree, but now that is no longer a possibility. I look at things that I wrote in college and I don’t understand how I could ever have written them. Back then I took my ability to concentrate and write a cohesive sentence for granted. Nowadays I:
- lose my train of thought in the middle of a sentence
- can’t complete basic math problems
- forget something the minute I hear it unless I write it down
- can’t remember names
- can’t remember words
- on my best days, I can barely write a coherent blog post
- miss being able to think.
Insomnia
Last night I was in agonizing pain because I’ve exercised too much this week. I couldn’t go to sleep because I was in so much pain. This is what we chronic pain patients call Painsomnia. It’s a terrible cycle of:
pain –> no sleep –> more pain–> definitely no sleep –> even more pain
The cycle just keeps going and going until you’re in such a massive flare that you can barely function. If I want to live my life like a semi-normal person I have to stop the cycle before it starts, and that’s impossible to do without pain medication. My usual coping techniques (yoga, Epsom salts bath, heating pad etc.) are not enough to stop the cycle they only help me cope.
Reduced social life
When you don’t feel well the majority of the time you learn to make priorities and usually, those priorities are based on survival. When I’m not feeling well I drop off the map. I don’t make phone calls, I don’t initiate texts, and I definitely don’t participate in anything social. If I disappear it’s because I don’t have the physical energy to interact with other human beings. Not being social reduces my stress levels and preserves my energy for basic tasks that aren’t optional, but it also makes me feel lonely and isolated.
Pain wears down your immune system and changes your sleep habits which can lead to long term fatigue Click To TweetChanges in mood
This is a complicated side effect that has an abundance of interesting science I’m not qualified to decode. However, here’s what I do know about how chronic pain can affect mood:
Chronic pain impairs the hippocampus which is the part of the brain that regulates learning, memory, and emotional processing. Additionally, when you spend a prolonged period of time in pain the brain rewires itself to anticipate future pain, which makes you constantly wary and causes anxiety. You live always waiting for the other shoe to drop, and not surprisingly this can make you cranky and emotional. It also makes it difficult to deal with even small hiccups that wouldn’t normally be a big deal.
It’s not easy to live while you’re constantly waiting for the shoe to drop. I’ve noticed that I rarely look forward to things anymore because I never know if I’m going to be able to do them. Last year every time I tried to make a commitment I would have a kidney stone, so I stopped getting excited about anything. I reasoned that there was no reason to get excited because I’d probably get a kidney stone anyway. This absolutely took a toll on my quality of life, but I had a hard time finding a way to change the pattern while I was in it.
Loss of energy
This is another complicated side effect because it can stem from several things all related to pain. Insomnia is caused by pain, depression caused by pain, inflammation, non-restorative sleep, or just because pain wears a person down draining their energy and sapping their motivation. Pain also wears down your immune system and changes your sleep habits, leading to long-term fatigue and no easy fix.
Doctors often pretend that pain is a mind-over-matter kind of thing, but the truth is that being in constant pain wears on your body no matter how much “nonpharmacologic therapy” you try. If we’re really going to have a productive discussion about opioids and chronic pain the long-term side effects of chronic pain need to be part of it.
I just came across your blog today! My name also is Shelly and I have Firbo as well. Thank you for this post as it mirrors exactly how I feel and what I struggle with.
Fibro has changed my life, but I am determined not to let it destroy it.
I have been taking medications for over 5 years now and currently am trying to go “all natural”. Completely off the T3’s but the pain level has really ramped up and now experiencing more fatigue.
Thank you for being candid and I am happy I found your blog, you have another follower!
I’m always glad to see another Shelly! I love your attitude, I feel similarly. I’m determined to still live a good life, even if it’s not what I originally envisioned.
Thanks for a great post! I often say the thing I hate most about my fibromyalgia is the brain fog. Obviously, the pain isn’t pleasant, but I can deal with that a lot better than I can the cognitive dysfunction. Everything you said about it is true for me also. At least we’re aware of it and can do things to help function, right?
Chronic pain comes in so many sizes! Always messes w/ ability to function. And folks don’t get it if you explain. My body cannot function w/ Rx med for pain or muscle spasms etc. I had to provide for my fam w/ kids…. they did not get it either.
Tried many, MANY, natural/ alternative ways of dealing w/ the herniated discs pain. Found some that worked pretty well. Lately, Using and recommending for others w/ all kinds of pains….Turmeric, also some other supplements orally and topically. Alternating w/ some Essential Oil blends. Not using the same thing every day/ all the time/ may give your brain a trick and the nerves a twist! Not sure on that but that’s my story for sure! nearing 30yrs….. Mary Wright RN, CFCN
We must make sure when we talk about our us of turmeric, do include the fact that anyone that takes blood thinners, turmeric is not good to take. always always check with a pharmacist before trying anything new, natural, herbal, or whatever. Please state that whenever you state what works best for you. Thank you! + I am happy to hear tumeric works well for you! Hugs
Thank you so much for putting in words the pain I’m suffering,.
It’s been six long years and the specialist and pain management Doctor have had me going around in circles, stimulators, discs removed,
Ketamine infusion (10days in hospital) radio frequency and the list goes on and then we start all over again. So I finally with the approval of my GP have said good bye to these so called specialists and am now waiting to start again with a highly renowned specialist but I have had to wait 3 months my appt is in August and I’m also starting a program in physio, Pilates, hydrotherapy etc but it is going to be a very slow process as sneezing puts me in bed for days!
My flame up has lasted 8 weeks without a break so I’m not in the best frame of mind and I do have faith I will at least get from a scale of 10 in pain to a 6 or 7.
Anyway thank you very much for making me feel like I’m not alone.
Take care!
Wow, that is The only way I know how to describe your blog, I have been trying for 11 years to explain to my husband how I feel and you just nailed it. I have everything that you listed so I am going to make him read this. A short version of my story. I’m a walking, talking, breathing miracle. I had an ATV accident and I was rushed by abulamce to the nearest hospital. I never dreamed what would happen next because at that time my adrenaline had kicked in and I wasn’t feeling any pain. I was told that I had broken my neck in 2 places and I was being flown to a trauma center 45 min away (15 by helicopter) when I got there and was taken off the backboard I don’t personally remember anything. But by my neurosurgeon’s account he informed them that I may not make it through the night that they need to call the family in. He went on to tell them that there are two main arteries that run through the C Spine (vertebral arteries) one on the left one on the right they lead blood to your brain. When I broke my c1 & c2 it completely severed my right vertebral artery. I also had a blood clot sitting at the base of my brain. There was no way he could perform surgery on me under these conditions because I definatly would not make it. In fact they could not put me in a halo or my family couldn’t even touch me. Each day gave them hope but I was out of it for 10 days. When I woke up that’s when the pain hit and boy did it hit. I couldn’t move my Limbs at that time but I could care less at that time. I was just thankful to be alive and could look my kids in the eyes and know I was going to watch them grow. I did eventually regain all moment in my limbs before leaving the hospital but I did have to learn how to walk again. I’m not complaining just telling my story. When I was able to finally come out of the brace I went through intense PT but never regained left to right range of motion in my neck. This baffled the dr’s and PT. But being out of my job doe so long I lost my ins and couldn’t see my neurosurgeon any longer. I was married a couple of years later and I lived with a pain that was indescribable. I got ins back and went back to my dr. They did new MRI and Ct
They learned the reason I didn’t regain motion is that my c1 never healed. It’s called fibrous nonunion. Basically I’m still waking around with a broken neck. It’s just held together by a webbing. So I was immediately put on Disabilty and pain mangent. I have always worked, I was very athletic, I lived life to the fullest. I’m human I do get a gy because I can’t do the things I once did but when I find myself getting mad I remember what God saved me from. I know he has kept me here for a reason even though life isn’t fun I do get to see my kids grow and I look fwd to having grandbabies one day. I know I said this was going to be short and I did make it as short as I could. If this helps anyone with the sleep. I had to be tested for sleep apnea. I have the rare kind because of my spinal trauma. It’s called central sleep apnea. I would stop breathing over 200 times a night. My brain is not sending the right signal to my lungs to make me breathe so the type of machine I’m on is basically a non invasive ventatoe, it’s called a bipap st. Not cpap like the usual. It has helped me so much so maybe that’s for someone I don’t know. It’s just hard to explain to people because on the outside I look like a normal person but on the inside I struggle to even get out of bed because of pain and some days I don’t. It embarrasses my kids friends and they know what I went through just like my husband does but they say “just get up and push yourself” as my neurosurgeon says, with my issues there is no pushing yourself through. It’s just refreshing to hear your stories and read this blog. I’m def going to share it. Thank you all and God Bkess you. My prayers are with you all
I’m so thankful I found your site. This is how I feel.I’m sorry I’m not alone.I have nerve pain all over my head and neck, back, down my right arm and hand.My Doctor have me on all kinds of meds . Alot of time I can’t think right. and all the other things. Thank you for letting people know we aren’t alone.l Will be praying for all of you .Stay strong!
OMG, I can’t believe that there are so many people living the same life I am!
All of your stories just tug at my heart.
I’ve been a care taker my whole life.
Not professionally…. just in most of my spare time of nights and weekends. First, helping my Mom take care of my Dad. My Dad passed away then Mom needed help. Mom passed away then my brother and only sibling started having trouble regulating his blood sugar. AND he had a wound on his left foot that wouldn’t heal AND he lived in another state! I started to help him in 2007 and after an amputation of his left leg in 2009, he passed away in 2012.
Getting back to me now that I buried my entire family…… I was diagnosed with Fibro 30 years ago. I’m on disability and my husband still works. When he gets home at the end of the day and the house looks the same as it did when he left, he is not happy. I have tried to explain it and have even given him stuff to read, but he won’t even read the whole thing!! I watch him reading and he maybe reads 5 words per paragraph!! I think he doesn’t want to understand it, so that he will have an excuse for getting pissed off or pout whenever he feels like it.
Oh my gosh, that’s enough from me!
Shelley – I love your blog and I feel so connected with all of you lovely ladies that felt compelled to reply to Shelley!!
I too, have had back issues for years and had 4 surgeries. The last one was a fusion of S1 thru L3.
Let’s all follow Shelley so we can stay in touch! Best wishes, Hugs and God Bless All of You!
Thanks so much for your kind comments Debra. I’m glad you shared your story. It’s so frustrating when those we love don’t take an effort to understand what we’re going through.
If doctors don’t want to prescribe stronger medicines then why don’t they invent them, instead of draining us of everything that helps?? A lot of them are just taking patients that can pay a lot of cash for their treatments that don’t work for
subsiding terrible pain.
Weren’t they suppose to go to Medical School to HELP people???
I found you to be spot on, especially about brain fog. Thank you for the excellent information.