Wednesday, December 03, 2008

On Chronic Pain

Some people experience, to a greater or lesser degree, some form of chronic pain.  Migraine sufferers, for example.  

     It is useful to understand that in general, such pain is not caused by the actions of of other people, though some sorts can be triggered by changes in the weather.

     Usually, anyone who suffers chronic pain for any length of time knows how to treat it (my first choice is to treat it with contempt but ibuprofen is a good second option) and in general, the best thing you can do to help is to not worry too much about it.  For the sufferer, it becomes part of the scenery -- an annoying part, it is true, but there it is and there's no point stopping to boggle every time you encounter it.

     Yes, it's frustrating, but so's beating your head against the wall.  In either case, the fix is the same.

9 comments:

  1. home made rice warmers help. I hope you are feeling OK. .

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yup. Tylenol for me, but best of all is to keep the mind active and not dwelling on insignificant irks. On occasion I make a funny face, with the intermittent whimper, but neither is to be noticed.

    Besides, I feel a bit piker. Many of the people I know have been scraped from the road at some point, and been candidates for the toe tag brigade. They have reason to whine, and don't.

    ReplyDelete
  3. It changes your perception of pain after time. When asked by Docs about different "pain" feelings, I can only say, "I may have a different perception of pain". Yes, the broken foot hurt, a lot,...sort of.


    After all the other things I took for so long after the wreck with the drunk ('93), Aleve is all that works for me without feeling like I've just drunk drano.

    Hang in there.

    Wv= unnese


    Malamute

    ReplyDelete
  4. "For the sufferer, it becomes part of the scenery -- an annoying part, it is true, but there it is and there's no point stopping to boggle every time you encounter it."

    I hear you; if I ever woke up in the morning without being in pain, it would scare me and make me afraid to get out of bed. Funny how pain can get to feel like normal after enough time.
    Personally, I get no relief whatsoever from ibuprofen, acetaminophen, or aspirin when the weather plays games with my back, so after the last 60+ years it has just become one of those things you get used to feeling.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Whoops, that should be 30+ years; I need another cup of coffee...

    ReplyDelete
  6. Migranes, bad knees and.... other types of injuries have followed me around a while.

    Sometimes they physically prevent me from doing things, at which time I usually take pain meds, or get steroids.

    Rest of the time? the aches and pains have become... like annoying friends that you keep around anyway. I've grown accustomed to them.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Drill Sergeant Dailey said that pain was the greatest sensation in the world, because it let you know you were alive.

    Of course, people lie to recruits all the time.

    Word: hyparrie. Either parrying in high line, or a whole lotta hype goin' on...

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm curious to see what the chronic stuff will be like (arthritis runs in my family). My daughter used to boggle when I'd accidentally bash myself bloody on an overhead cabinet without crying out in pain. I told her that yelling wasn't going to fix anything, so why bother? That practice seems to actually blunt most pain for me -- keep quiet and it sort of goes away. Slamming the car door on my hand truly put this concept to the test, but my daughter says I passed with nary a whimper.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Spoken like a true Stoic: either the pain will kill you, or it will go away!

    Chronic pain is a different animal to acute pain. It can take getting used to; it will neither kill you nor will it go away. On the other hand, it's only pain; like a loud noise or a bright light, you can get used to it and go on with all of the other, more interesting things in your life.

    ReplyDelete

Comment moderation is enabled. Your comment will not be visible until approved. Arguing or use of insulting or derogatory language will result in your comment going unpublished: no name-calling. Comments I deem excessively partisan will not be published.