Chronic pain

Usually defined as pain lasting longer than 3 months, I unfortunately know from experience how debilitating and downright depressing chronic pain can be.

Over the last decade, I’ve made many changes in my lifestyle, my healthcare routines, and my diet to try to eliminate as much pain and inflammation from my body as possible. But I still get flare ups. 

Most recently, I’ve seemed to have developed a pinched nerve in my neck. My neck and back have been a source of discomfort for as long as I can remember. I took a big fall off the top of a large slide when I was 2 years old and started getting chiropractic care for headaches in elementary school.

For the last 5 years, I have been getting chiropractic care every 2-3 weeks, and for the last few years I’ve also been trying to do masssge/cupping once a month. I take curcumin, a turmeric derivative that is supposed to be good for reducing inflammation. I try to go for a walk and do some kind of yoga or stretching on most days. 

While I use to get migraine headaches as often as once or twice a week in the past, they are now few and far between. I had one on  Labor Day weekend, but before that I can’t remember when the last one was.

I don’t know if you’ve seen this pain scale or something similar in the past, I snagged this one from the internet. 

When I was doing accupuncture a few years ago, every time I would come in (2-3 times a week) I needed to assess my pain level on this type of scale. 

Right now, this back/neck/arm pain is about a 7 or an 8. It hurts all the time, it’s all I can think about, it’s keeping me from some of my daily activities. Sometimes it hurts so bad that I could almost cry. Not almost, I could cry. It’s bad. Even with ibuprofen, muscle relaxers, a stick on pain patch, Aleve pain relieving gel, and CBD, it still hurts and distracts me from life and work.

I’ve considered going to urgent care, I even took my insurance card with me today just in case. Why haven’t I? I just keep hoping and praying it will get better on its own. I’ve had similar pain in the past that resolved itself in a day or two. This has been going on for over a week.

Maybe I’m also just unsure on what they can or will offer to help. I don’t want addictive narcotics, I’m not a fan of needles but would tolerate a shot of something if it would bring relief. 

Fast forward 48 hours later:

I went to Urgent care. They took my blood pressure, temp ect and then a nurse practitioner came to see me. She didn’t examen me at all. Didn’t ask to see where it hurt, didn’t lay a hand on me the entire time I was there. She listened to me, quickly prescribed me 2 new drugs to take, and advised me to up my ibuprofen dosage to 600mg every six hours. 

I am hopeful that it will help and things will calm down and heal. Being in constant pain is so draining. It can definitely change a persons mood and demeanor. I try really hard to not let it affect my parenting but I do lose my temper sometimes or seem distant or distracted by the pain.

Have you had experience with prolonged or chronic pain? What has worked for you? I’d love to hear from you in the comments.