11 Struggles Only People with Chronic Pain Understand
1. Putting on long pants
When your thoughts go like this:
- Can I lift my legs high enough? I’m so stiff I can barely move.
- How does anyone ever do this standing up? If I sit down on the floor to put them on will I be able to get back up again?
- What if I get stuck with the pants halfway on?
Help, I’m falling and I can’t get up!
2. To pee or not to pee
When you wake up because you have to pee, but you hurt too much to move so you lie there wondering how long you can hold it. You play a game of chicken, which will triumph pain or pee? Eventually, you realize you’re losing the battle so you get up and go, and then you can’t go back to sleep because of painsomnia.
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3. Long lines
You’ve got enough energy to run some errands, maybe go to the store. Then you get stuck in an endless line behind 5 people who feel the need to write a check and buy cigarettes. My inner dialogue in these situations goes something like this:
“Just get a credit card people, for goodness sake! Oh my gosh Shelley now you’re screaming inside your head at an old person. You should be more patient. You’re the worst. OH MY GOSH WILL ARE THEY GOING TOO SLOW! Calm yourself down, it’s not going to kill you to wait a few more minutes. MY LEGS HURT THOUGH AND THIS PERSON IS TAKING FOREVER.”
4. Bras
Anyone sensitive to pain knows that bras are basically knives digging into your side sanctioned by the Patriarchy to torture women into submission. I’ve found a few different kinds that seem to work okay on the good days, but on bad days they are still torture devices. The second I walk in the door to my house I throw that baby off. Freedom!
5. Weather changes
The weather can’t make up its mind. In one week it’s 80 degrees and sunny, and then suddenly it’s 40 degrees and raining. Your body is freaking out!
6. Keeping track of prescriptions and vitamins
Your medicine cabinet just isn’t big enough so you have a giant bin under your bathroom sink. You try to organize your pills but there are too many to fit in the pill organizer! You give in and use an app to track your medication. The problem is that you can’t always remember if you took your medication or not. Did you or didn’t you? If you did and you take another one you could seriously mess up your body. But if you didn’t take it and you don’t take another one then you could also mess up your body? You can’t decide what to do. You’re playing a game of Russian Roulette.
7. Exercise
You’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t. If you do exercise you know it will increase your pain levels so you will have to ask for more pain medication. If you don’t exercise the doctor won’t believe you’re really sick, you must just be depressed because you aren’t trying to get yourself better by exercising (‘cuz that totally works).
8. Being treated like a criminal for taking medication prescribed by a doctor
The dreaded moment has arrived. You clutch your prescription and tell yourself that a doctor believes that you need this medication so you’re not going to take any crap. Sure enough, the Pharmacist asks what kind of doctor you got the medication from. You remind them that it isn’t their business and they huff off to get your prescription. The interaction leaves a bad taste in your mouth and makes you feel like you’re a failure and a drug user. You remind yourself that if you were really a drug user, you’d have better drugs.
9. Hot or cold
Your muscles are hurting, but how will you ease the pain? Will you apply heat? Will you apply cold? Will you alternate between the two? How does the outside temperature affect the equation? This is getting complicated.
10. Feeling great one day and terrible the next
It’s finally happened, you woke up feeling okay. What are you going to do with this temporarily cooperative body? You’re going to attack your to-do list of course. You’re so excited to be feeling good that you start running around getting as much done as possible. Go you!
You wake up the next day feeling terrible. You should’ve taken it easier yesterday, but you were just so excited about feeling good. You’ve done this to yourself so many times that you can’t believe you did it again.
11. People trying to sell you magic cures
You’ve received a Facebook message from an old friend and you excitedly open it to find out how that friend is doing. The message starts out:
“I saw that you’re having some problems with your health, can I interest you in buying (insert essential oil, shake, or pills here)? It will cure you in just a couple of weeks and it only costs $99 dollars (in 359 installments). I’d be happy to send some your way!”
Oh joy, another person coming out of the woodwork to prey on people with chronic illness. These are the struggles that only people with chronic pain understand.
Laughed and cried. TY….I don’t feel so alone
I agree with every single word you said, all of it. Weather actually does impact the pain and you are so right. We moved from the North to Florida, hoping the warm weather would help. Then the rain came and when barometric pressure drops, the pain goes on a rampage! I am now more than 10 years into having AS and getting worse by the day. Some days I almost wish my life would end. I snap out of it as I look at my beloved husband who helps me at every turn. And there is my Faith. Maybe I have this so someone else won’t. I shuffle along, pray without ceasing and hope that tomorrow I can make dinner or clean the house or do laundry. Thank you to all here who commented. My heart goes out to each of you.
GREAT post!! I just laughed out loud! Thank you. These are all SO true! Oh my gawd, falling over while trying to get my pants on (or off). I swear my life could be a sitcom! Thanks for this morning’s (pathetic) giggle! ❤️
#2 and #11 especially ring true for me! I played the game ‘to pee or not to pee’ for what felt like hours last night lol