This post was originally posted on Blogger November 2, 2024.
Here are 10 frequent complaints and their potential impact:
Constant Pain: This may seem obvious, but the unrelenting and persistent nature of chronic pain is exhausting, demoralizing and actually traumatizing with the sharp pain fluctuations and sheer amount of pain signals assaulting the brain at any given time. It can lead to a reduction in physical movement you do in a day, sleep disturbances, difficulty concentrating, low self esteem and an overall decline in quality of life. I do my best for it not to consume me, but that’s not always easy to do. I have to work hard at it. I don’t even remember what it was like not to have pain. Everywhere I go and anything I do, my pain and the distress it causes, follows me like a shadow. There’s no escaping it. Being in constant pain makes it difficult to function. My brain is always busy with pain signals, so it doesn’t always allow for my brain to do other things without a lot of effort, even things I want to do.
Limited Mobility: Pain often restricts movement, making everyday tasks like walking, dressing, or even getting out of bed challenging. This can lead to social isolation, dependence on others, and feelings of helplessness. It also can make you feel like a failure and burden to your family and friends. Being reliant on others to manage even basic needs is not an easy pill to swallow and to be honest, it can be embarrassing. It affects your self esteem and self worth and makes you feel like you aren’t good enough. When you go from a capable, able-bodied person, to someone who needs ongoing help with basic daily tasks, it can take a long time to actually accept that. Being limited physically because of pain takes it’s toll and creates barriers to accessing life’s basic needs.
Fatigue: Chronic pain can disrupt sleep and drain energy reserves, leading to persistent fatigue. This further limits activity levels and contributes to a cycle of pain and exhaustion. Just being in a high amount of pain is exhausting by itself, nevermind the exhaustion you feel trying to manage day to day tasks and obligations. If you run yourself dry, it can cause a full body crash and could take days to recover from that. Something I’ve found helpful is to have a small fitness routine, and that has helped with my energy levels. My mother-in-law Val and I do our exercise video in Apple Fitness Pluses Workouts For Older Adults series twice a week and this last week I started doing Mindful Cooldowns stretching/meditation videos on the days I wasn’t exercising with Val. I definitely notice a negative difference in my overall fatigue levels when I skip exercising, and have come to enjoy the added mental benefits that having a regular exercise routine has given me.
Cognitive Difficulties: "Brain fog," difficulty concentrating, and memory problems are common complaints. This can affect work performance, social interactions, and overall cognitive function. My memory is really poor. Multiple times a day I’m losing track of what I’m talking about, or what someone else is talking about. My mind just literally goes blank and when that happens I panic. If it’s a bad day, commitments and obligations can be forgotten, only to be remembered hours or days later. I also lose track of what I’m supposed to be doing really easily if something grabs my attention. I get distracted easily and many times get up to do something, only to get distracted and forget while I’m off being distracted. This too can cause me to remember hours or days later that I was supposed to have done, which affects your self esteem. It’s embarrassing to be so forgetful, and that embarrassment can cause you to isolate yourself. I also have a really hard time multi-tasking. I have to focus so hard on the one thing that I am doing, that the thought of doing anything else at the same time is overwhelming. So things like cooking a big meal or doing something that requires you to read multi-step directions, are too overwhelming to do on my own, and I often require help.
Mood Changes: Living with chronic pain can take a toll on mental health. Depression, anxiety, and irritability are common, further impacting relationships and overall well-being. I don’t really suffer from irritability very often, but I’m definitely affected by my depression, anxiety, medical and physical trauma PTSD and panic disorder. Pain changes your brain. It changes the way your neural pathways travel. WIth the pain taking up space in different areas of your brain, your neural pathways have to adapt, and that means they change the way information is routed in the brain. It essentially has to take a detour, and that detour causes your brain to process differently. Process slower and in a way that doesn’t always make sense. This is just one more thing that affects self esteem. When it feels like your capabilities are under attack by your body and mind, it can’t help but affect your mental health in a big way. The sadness and grief I feel over what I’ve lost some days could swallow a person whole.
1. Sleep Disturbances: Pain can make it difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep. Poor sleep quality exacerbates pain, fatigue, and mood disturbances, creating a vicious cycle. I have been working on my sleep over the last few months, and the key to my success is having a consistent evening and bedtime routine and waking up around the same time every day. I have an awful time staying asleep because when I move in my sleep, I’m often woken up by pain shooting through my body, and that can cause me to be awake for hours in the middle of the night while my household sleeps. When that happens, instead of being frustrated trying to go back to sleep and clock watching, I get up, take an edible, and do something quiet that’s not on a screen, like reading or colouring, before going back to bed. Doing a quiet activity that’s not on a screen helps keep my mind busy on something so that I’m not ruminating or getting frustrated with myself in the quiet of the night. Some nights I wake up to my legs throbbing, and in the quiet of the house, I can hear them beating in the same way you can hear your heart beating. This is very distressing in the middle of the night, and makes it very difficult to get back to sleep, even if you are exhausted.
2. Medication Side Effects: Many pain medications come with unpleasant side effects like nausea, constipation, drowsiness, menstrual issues, or even addiction. These side effects can sometimes feel as debilitating as the pain itself. I have a lot of side effects I deal with from the medications I’m on, and while they are not pleasant, for me, not being on a vital and much needed medication and suffering because of it, is far worse than most of the side effects I experience. I got so much going on in my body from my Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) and my neck and back issues, that most side effects are tolerable, because the way I’d suffer if I wasn’t taking the medication is just so much worse. My medication allows me to have a life that’s more than being confined to my bed because I’m in too much pain to function.
3. Lack of Understanding: Many chronic pain sufferers feel that their pain is not taken seriously by others, including healthcare providers. This can lead to feelings of isolation, frustration, and inadequate care. I am really lucky that my doctor believed me and took it seriously from the get go. I’ve always been treated with respect and care and most importantly, believed when I described how bad it was. I was never dismissed or made to feel like I’m making a big deal out of nothing or that I’m imagining it. I don’t know what I’d do if I had to fight for treatment. Pain is hard to put into words because it’s so complex, and affects every nook and cranny of your being, so having an understanding doctor, that understands the severity of it, and can treat you accordingly, is very important.
4. Financial Strain: Chronic pain can lead to job loss or reduced work hours, creating financial instability and stress. The cost of medications, therapies, and medical appointments can also place a significant burden on individuals and families. We are so lucky that we have benefits with my husband’s job, and that I had worked long enough to collect Canada’s CPP federal disability pension, but not everyone is as lucky. This also impacts your self esteem and can mean feeling like a further burden on your family.
5. Loss of Enjoyment: Chronic pain can make it difficult to engage in hobbies, social activities, and things that once brought joy. This loss of enjoyment can contribute to feelings of hopelessness and depression. This is definitely a big thing that I struggle with. Pain takes the joy out of even the most joyous activities and social engagements. When everyone around you is having a good time, and you are quietly suffering with a brave face and would rather be at home, in your own space, it’s hard to really truly have a good time. Even my moments of joy, or rather as much joy as I can feel, are always at a minimum, a little tainted by the pain, and I can’t help but wonder what it would be like if my pain just disappeared. Who would I be if I didn’t have pain? Would I know how to experience true joy and overwhelming happiness again?