I’m Seeking Pain Relief, Not Pain Pills. I’m Seeking Pain Management, Not A Miracle!
Such a hot button topic with chronic pain is pain relief, pain meds, and pain management. People think that those of us suffering with chronic pain conditions o seek pain meds, this could not be further from the truth. People who suffer with chronic pain and chronic pain conditions seek ONLY one thing, pain relief, or pain management. Unfortunately, many pain conditions, especially fibromyalgia, are conditions that are vastly misunderstood. There is very little understanding about fibromyalgia, treatment, and management of this condition. Sometimes the most painful misunderstanding about fibromyalgia is what it truly is, and how to actually manage all aspects of it, most especially, the pain aspect of it.
For most people suffering with fibromyalgia, we suffer from other conditions that also cause pain. Autoimmune conditions, arthritis, degenerative disc conditions, spine issues, and so many other things to vast to list. All of these conditions, on top of fibromyalgia cause us pain, daily pain, unrelenting pain, intractable pain, and most of all, uncontrolled pain! So what do we really want out of life, pain control, pain management, but most of all, understanding of our pain! So why can we not get the pain relief we so desperately need????
Well, right now, the best answer for that is, the current opioid epidemic. I’m not here to start a debate over this issue, but simply to discuss how it affects people like us. People like me who suffer every day, people who seek to have more good days than bad, people who want the sharp edge taken off what we feel every day, from now on. First and foremost, people who suffer chronic pain and pain conditions, all we seek right now is some small amount of relief. If we told an average person that from now on, each and every day, they would have pain, not just a headache or some joint pain, but pain, all day, every day, pain.
Pain that will disrupt their life continually, pain that will make doing “everyday” tasks almost impossible, pain that makes it difficult to sleep well, pain that makes working difficult to impossible, pain that throws a wrench in your social life, your family life, your day to day life, pain that makes enjoying life, well, impossible! If we told the average person that this is their life from now on, well, I don’t think the masses would be silent!
Those of us suffering the way we do want nothing more than some hope, and some relief. There are people who have been able to “work the system” to get pain meds, hence, there is pain med abuse, pain med addiction and opioid drug addictions. And sadly enough, some of those affected by addiction and abuse were simply seeking pain management. Because of these issues, the healthcare system has been left reeling!
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Unfortunately the ones left suffering are the ones who stand to benefit from pain medication, and need them to help live a somewhat “tolerable” life. This is such a broad topic to try to tackle in one article, so many avenues to cover and such a touchy and controversial topic. But rest assured, people with chronic pain want to be heard, we want a voice, we want a say, we want a choice. And as I write this, the headline on the local news talks about overdose deaths. No wonder we struggle to have our voices heard!
Now please understand I am not trying to promote unnecessary, or un-needed use of pain meds, I’m not even trying to normalize the use of pain meds. My hope is for more options. More pain relief options that do not ultimately lead to legitimate pain sufferers to feel like a “drug seeker.”
There are a handful of medications available to “treat” the pains related to fibromyalgia, that can’t be dismissed, however, many people who suffer with fibromyalgia also have a slew of additional diagnoses that can, and do cause pain, as well as the pain from fibromyalgia, but our options and access to proper pain management are very limited, and, some of the treatments for fibromyalgia do not work for a vast number of us which makes our options severely limited! And, the drugs that are out there, well, some of us have serious reactions to them or they simply do not work for us.
We want to find a medication, a therapy option, a treatment plan that will help relieve some of our pain. The road many of us have been down is the path of uncertainty and failed treatments. Medications and therapies work different for everyone, I’ve voiced this over and over again, and, what works for one, may not work for another. The side effects one person suffers are vastly different than what another deals with. No one person has identical body chemistry to another. The tricky part about pain management is that what works for one, may or may not work for another, not all people respond the same way to a specific medication or treatment.
What we need to find is a path of hope. The hope that the “alternative” therapies will be beneficial and hopefully plentiful, the hope that our options for pain relief will be improved and expanded. The hope that if/when we need pain relief, we will not be made to feel like a drug addict. We also want to hope that we are able to final a doctor who will help us, not doubt us. With having fibromyalgia, we struggle enough to have people even remotely understand what we deal with every day, let alone having our doctor medical professionals question the validity of our pain and suffering.
Sadly we are now in a time where if we suffer any kind of pain, we are immediately dismissed or judged. This has to stop. The medical profession needs to be able to get to the point where they know enough about the PERSON, and the PATIENT to know what they really need. This may or may not include the use of pain meds. But the more they understand the patient AND the person, the more they will hopefully see the whole pic, not just a screenshot, and be able to work WITH the patient to find a solution, or develop a plan. If you are not at that point with your doctor or healthcare provider, it’s time to find a new one, which is where I currently find myself.
Also Read:
- What everyday task feel like when you have fibromyalgia
- Things that i have discovered help me deal with fibromyalgia
Sometimes it’s hard to advocate for ourselves, especially when it’s related to chronic pain conditions. But we can’t give up! We have to keep fighting for US! We have to fight for our lives and hopefully find a common ground or reasonable treatment plan. No one with a chronic pain condition expects to live completely pain free, we know that is a completely unrealistic goal. But what we can hope to find is a treatment plan that addresses most, if not all, of our needs, and we are offered a plan to try to meet those goals, and most of all, we want a healthcare provider who is understanding of our struggles and is willing to not only listen to our needs, but is willing to help us try to reach a pain management goal, no matter what the treatment plan entails.
Whether this happens tomorrow, next week, next month, or is years away, we all seek the same outcome. Those who suffer chronic pain conditions just want validation of what we suffer as well as options that we can look at so that we can “live our best life!” So we aren’t necessarily seeking pain meds, we are seeking pain control, we don’t necessarily want pain meds, we want pain management. But most of all, we want understanding and support!
Related: Ways to offer help to someone with chronic illness/Fibromyalgia
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