Category Archives: Health

Mistrust, Disgust & Humiliation, Part One

Posted on by
Reply

If you know me, then you know of my struggles, or some of my struggles at least. My last post was a direct reflection of the disgust and mistrust I have for the medical profession in trying to deal with those struggles. This post, an explanation of what I have been dealing with in the last umpteen months!!

My doctor had been telling me for years that I am too young for knee replacement surgery. Even though I have bone on bone damage. Even though she knows I have bone on bone damage. My pain level has increased significantly over this past 6 years, as you can imagine. It’s not like I can stay off my feet to avoid doing any more damage to my already damaged knees. I have a life to live, chores to do, obligations, as anyone does. I have things I want and need to do just like anyone else.

So, I’ve been religiously taking my pain meds so that I can do what I want and need to do. Damage to my knees progressed, pain level increased and so my activity level has decreased. The pain is sometimes unbearable. I am unable to exercise the way I need to exercise to lose weight or even maintain a steady weight. I have struggled with my weight for many years; since my thyroid went wacky back when my first child was born. It took 5 years after that to even get a diagnosis – after I was already 100 lbs over weight!

I’ve tried many diets – low calorie, low fat, low carb, high protein, cabbage soup diet, mediterranean diet, and more – over the years. I have lost a few pounds here and there but nothing of enough significance to keep stressing myself over a diet. Not enough weight lost on any one diet to warrant continuing to deprive myself of everything that tastes good! But I digress. I do that often. More in another post later about dieting.

In February, I was in to see my doc for my routine annual exam. I had asked her about trying a new pain medication because my pain was getting worse. She wouldn’t give me anything else. She said there’s nothing else I can take. WHAT? Give me a break! There are plenty of medications for OA pain relief out there! I think she thought I wanted narcotics. Nope. I just want quality of life.

So, now things get really intense and I get to where all I see is RED. She asked me if I had considered knee replacement surgery. I lost it! I raised my voice and reminded her that she’s the one who’s been telling me for years that I’m too young for knee replacement surgery! She said, “Yes, but there are other treatments and they will do knee replacement depending on severity……” Yadda, yadda, yadda. I don’t remember anything else she said because I was so angry and in total disbelief! I told her I had considered a pain clinic nearby that specializes in knee treatments so people can avoid surgery. She said she had heard many people having good results there.

I had every intention of checking out that pain clinic personally, but I ended up back in the doc’s office with a UTI just a couple weeks later. I asked her then for a referral to see about knee replacement surgery. She said, “You’re too young for knee replacement surgery.” Red! I said, “I wish you’d make up your damn mind! Just 2 weeks ago you asked me if I had considered it!!” I wanted to kick her in the face! I was in the perfect position to do so, up on that exam table!! It would have hurt like hell with my knees as bad as they are, but I would have received great satisfaction in doing so. She tells me that there’s a process; first I will have to have x rays and discuss options with a specialist. She must think I’m stupid. I know I’m not going to make an appointment with a specialist and then be scheduled for surgery that very same day! I know there’s a process. So, I said, “I realize that, I’m not stupid. If you would just set me up with the specialist I will take it from there.” She did. Appointment made. This was just the beginning of another experience I won’t soon forget.

To be continued…….

Want Respect? Show Some….

Posted on by
Reply

I am not a political person. I am not a religious person. I have my opinions and I have my beliefs. Just as you have your own beliefs and opinions. If you want me to respect YOUR opinions, then you must also respect mine. Keep it to yourself if you can’t be respectful. Simple as that.

When I say I am not a religious person, that doesn’t mean I’m not spiritual. I have certain beliefs and I choose to keep my beliefs to myself. Why? Because my beliefs are my personal choice. That makes them personal and I keep personal things to myself. I wish everyone else would too. I believe everyone has the right to his or her own beliefs but that doesn’t mean that they need to share. They don’t have to take every opportunity available to tell people all about it and push their beliefs on others.

(That’s the biggest problem with social media. Everyone feels the need to tell everyone how they feel or what they believe….. That’s a blog post for another day!)

A Helping of Thanks with Sarcasm on the Side

Posted on by
Reply

I would like to thank the medical profession for not helping me in the last 10 years. I don’t know how I could possibly live my life without pain.

A special thanks to my doctor, who has been telling me for years that I am too young for knee replacement surgery. This allowed the bone damage to worsen and the pain to increase, rendering me unable to work and to become more sedentary every year. I love the ‘fat me’ that I have become due to decreased activity.

I can’t forget to thank the referral doctor for the humiliation, which is good for the soul I’ve heard. Thanks for pointing out that I am fat. I would have never known that without your ‘help.’ I really appreciate the ‘fat shaming’ because without it I would have felt good about myself that day. Oh, and please pass more thanks on to my doctor because NOW I know that 50 lbs. ago I could have had knee replacement surgery regardless of my age. I really am happy that I’ve suffered all these years so you both could make sure your bedside manners, understanding, and compassion were top notch.

Special thanks to my best friend, fondly named Michael Cane, who has been faithfully by my side for the last 4 years. Without Michael, I would have fallen more than the 4 times I did. The embarrassment of those 4 times was more than enough times to make me feel hopeless.

Of course, I can’t forget Peter Potty, who has been my constant companion during the night. It’s nice when I don’t have to walk to the bathroom at 1am, 3am, and 5am when I have to pee.

**************

In all seriousness, I am thankful to wake up every morning, albeit with pain. I am thankful for a lot of things but it sure as hell isn’t the medical care I have received in the past 10 years!!! It’s no wonder people don’t go to the doctor. It’s no wonder they don’t trust doctors! I’m in that very same line now.

Some Will Never Understand….

Posted on by
1

Something has been on my mind lately. (Well, something is always on my mind! I can’t help that.) I’ve been mulling this certain thing around in my head for nearly a week now. I have to write about it to get it out of my brain!!

A friend of mine, read something I had posted on Facebook about chronic pain issues. She messaged me about it. She said she had read several things I had posted about chronic pain and chronic illnesses, and even some personal things about my own situation. She said she couldn’t help but notice how focused I was on my pain. Immediately, I felt defensive.

HER: Why are you always focused on your pain?

ME: Because my pain is a huge part of my life. Everything I do or don’t do is based on my pain level.

HER: If you just forget about it you’d be happier.

ME: How do you know I’m not happy?

HER: Because you always seem to complaining about your pain.

ME: You ain’t even heard complaining yet!! I save that for my therapist.

HER: You see a therapist and you still focus on your pain?

ME: Yes, I see a therapist. She has been very helpful in teaching me how to deal with my pain and other issues.

HER: What other issues?

ME: That’s none of your business.

HER: Ok. I still think if you’d just stop focusing on your pain, you could live a better life.

ME: You have no idea, and you never will until you are faced with a chronic illness, how hard it is to even get out of bed on some days. You will never understand that just taking a shower sometimes takes all the energy you have for that day. You don’t realize how much time it takes to do any given task because of your pain. You have no clue how depressing it is to not be able to just go and do the things you have always enjoyed, such as hiking, site-seeing, playing at the park or going to the zoo with the kids/grand kids, making bath products, fishing, shopping for hours on end at the Mall, planting a garden every Spring, rearranging the furniture, volunteering, washing the car, holiday celebrations, birthdays, cooking, going to the movies…. You don’t have a clue! When you have a chronic illness, your entire life changes! Everything is different. You approach things differently. You do everything differently. I hope to God, you never have to know what it’s like to have chronic pain!

HER: Isn’t it just arthritis?

ME: (Seriously wanting to punch her in the face!) It’s not JUST arthritis! It’s arthritis in my entire lower body, from my hips all the way down to the joints in my toes. It’s a degenerative disk in my spine and arthritis working it’s way up. It’s arthritis in my fingers, that gets bad when it’s extremely cold and even worse if I don’t crochet every day. It’s arthritis, that has resulted in knee bone damage with severe pain! I walk with a cane because sometimes I am very unsteady on my feet. I can’t sit, stand, or walk for more than 20-30 minutes at a time. I am in pain 24/7. I get NO relief! I don’t even sleep well due to the pain!!

I hit send on the messenger….but I wasn’t done. I had to stop this conversation.

ME: Don’t say anything. You are seriously coming close to ending this friendship. I’m done with this conversation.

That was the end of it…. I haven’t heard squat from her since. That’s ok because I don’t need the drama. I have enough to deal with. 

Honestly, if you don’t have a chronic illness, then you will never understand completely. You can try. You can also try to be more understanding of those who DO have a chronic illness. They really could use your support.

0301e0562d5bb7b355b9b848c88ae16f

Learning & Moving Forward

Posted on by
2

The last 5 years have been extremely trying. I’ve had to deal with more than I ever imagined I would, and at times thought it would never get better. I spent hours upon hours upon hours crying my eyes out. I have felt helpless, and hopeless. I’ve felt anger and sadness. I’ve suffered through many panic attacks and raging depression. After a couple years trying to pull myself up with not much success, I began seeing a therapist. With her help, I learned a lot about myself, and other people.

My therapist has helped me make sense of much of what I was feeling. With her guidance, and my hard work to meet her challenges, I can finally say that my life is getting back on track. I don’t think I could have done it without her help. You may think these things are a “no brainer” but when you have been raised a certain way, treated a certain way, and had to deal with so many issues, it tends to overwhelm a person!! You sometimes lose yourself while trying to process things, and some things are shoved under the rug because they are too hard to deal with.

Some of the things I have learned along the way are:

*I have learned that the guilt and shame that I carried for so long, was NOT mine to carry. I am not responsible for the actions of others, and I have made peace with events of the past.

*I have learned to set limits and create boundaries. Just as I don’t allow just anyone to come into my house, I cannot allow just anyone to enter my mind, and my life and drain me of my energy or place unwanted expectations on me. I do not have to allow negativity from others to bring me down. I do NOT have to engage in their drama.

*I have been a caregiver for all of my adult life. I have always put everyone else’s needs above my own. I put my needs on the back burner, thinking they were not important. I have learned that it’s not selfish for me to take care of ME! My needs are just as important as anyone else’s!

*I am a logical thinker. I’ve learned that if I can’t make sense of something, in my mind it’s hogwash. I get along with those who are like-minded. I don’t mix well with people who do not think for themselves. I don’t understand people who follow anything blindly.

*I’ve learned that there are certain people whom I cannot help simply because they won’t help themselves. I can’t keep throwing them a rope and letting them pull ME under! Some people are emotional vampires, draining you of all the energy you have. It’s ok to take a step back (or several) and protect yourself! I know I don’t have to let them drain me anymore! (This goes back to setting limits and creating boundaries, as mentioned earlier in this post.)

*I’ve learned that my thoughts, my opinions are just as important as anyone else’s. All through my childhood, my mother stifled me. I was ridiculed for voicing my opinion, for asking questions, and for asking for what I needed for ME. I may still keep my mouth shut at times (because even though I have the right to say it, doesn’t mean I should) but I no longer let the fear of what others think, keep me from using my voice.

*I’ve learned that I can forgive myself for the mistakes I’ve made in my life. We aren’t handed an instruction book when we first venture out on our own, when we enter a new relationship, or when we begin having children. We have no clue how to do it, but yet we figure it out along the way! We make mistakes. Sometimes the mistakes are small and sometimes they are huge, but we learn as we go and we have to forgive ourselves for the mistakes we have made or we will drown in the “shoulda-woulda-coulda” mentality.

*I’ve learned that others will never understand my chronic pain if they have never experienced chronic pain themselves. I can explain until my head explodes but they won’t understand that I can’t do the things they think I should be able to do. They don’t SEE anything wrong with me, so they think I’m just lazy. They can’t see how tired I am, how much I hurt, or that I’d just like to crawl in a cave and never come out again. I don’t have to explain anymore. I’m good with whatever they think about me. I just pray that they never have to experience chronic pain themselves! (If you need to understand chronic pain, a good place to start is with “The Spoon Theory.” Google it. There is no better way to understand than this.)

And last, and I am definitely not finished learning….

*I’ve learned that you just can’t fix stupid!! I get so irritated with people doing stupid and inconsiderate things that I could just pull my hair out! I am still working on this one, but I’m getting better at just letting it go!! I let things get to me too easily sometimes. It seriously affects my mood when someone pulls out in front of me on a busy road, or when someone zips through a parking lot right behind me, even though I’m already half way out of my parking spot, or when a group of people are having a “reunion” of sorts in the store blocking the entire width of the aisle. When you approach, they turn and see you but still make no effort to move over so you can pass through! UGH. I could go on and on….. These things aggravate me to no end. I always try to be courteous and watch for others around me when I’m out and about. I know they have things to do just as I do. So, why don’t they behave the same way?

All in all, my life may be a bit difficult but I am moving forward. I continue to see my therapist and work on my issues. I use to think “I will never see a shrink because I can’t talk to a stranger about personal things! That’s what friends and family are for!” Well, I was wrong for thinking this way. Yes, it’s good to talk to friends and family but some things are too deep and personal to share with them! Sometimes, a complete stranger can see things more clearly. A trained therapist can actually help you figure things out!