Feelin Mo' Pain

 

The Dreams of Patient Storyteller

 

Wildest Dreams of Patient Storyteller

I hope my posts can be of assistance to other person(s) with chronic pain (PWP) and would really like, as my most sought after Christmas present for being such a good boy this year (I'm actually 57 yo), access to an effective low-dose analgesic (painkillers). Accordingly, this blog could also be called "How an Opioid could have Extended my Life". I really hope this effort helps reduce the shame and stigma associated with people seeking pain relief in order to simply live a relatively normal life. PWPs are regarded by some as weak, dependent, deficient, whiney. Often PWPs simply retreat from work, social events, interaction with people as I have done. Almost all of my interaction with people is now digital. But, in perfect world, no, correction: in a compassionate world, many PWPs would not have to live this way. 

Goals of Patient Storyteller

(I) What Patient Storyteller really wants is quality of life, something that has been deteriorating for the past 7 years because of year-after-year worsening arthritis including pinched nerves in the lumbar region  of the spine (stenosis) and an advanced (50° thoracic) spinal curvature know as scoliosis. 

(II) Patient Storyteller is seeking relief from chronic daily pain (CDP). That journey will be an uphill battle as the only intervention that I know to be effective is now so highly frowned upon (anything opioid-related). I am told by authoritative sources that I will likely never be granted that relief until my health reaches a catastrophic state, e.g., final six months of battling cancer.

(III) Patient Storyteller would also like to improve society's understanding of CDP and empathy for those seeking pain reduction under wholly understandable circumstances. (here's a LIST of the conservative treatments I have tried, since you're probably asking "Have you tried this...?")

My condition has been ramping up for 7 years. Ergo, I won't recount all of the painful, goofy, ridiculous and discouraging events that led me into personal, social, medical and legal difficulties here.  Maybe I'll make a sub-page of that some day.

Instead, this is a foreword-looking ongoing account, i.e., work-in-progress, not-finished-so stay-tuned, of my final effort to seek meaningful relief from chronic daily pain (CDP).

FAQ: Why is my Blog called "Feelin' Mo' Pain" 

MAY THE RACE BEGIN: 

Aug 2/2021. Patient Storyteller phoned and left a message at his Family Physician’s office concerning the intense pain that I suffer nightly from 5 – 11pm. Pain appears shooting down one leg or both because of a very debilitating condition known as Spinal Stenosis (think Sciatica, its evil cousin). It’s a form of arthritis in the spine that crimps down on the body’s principal nerve, the sciatic nerve, enough to make walking, standing and even sitting a painful proposition. I also have arthritis in both knees, both hips and tendinitis + RSI in my right (dominant) arm that now greatly limits typing, computer use, precision work, almost anything tactile.

Storyteller has a great deal of respect for his Family Physician (FP) and staff who have been very helpful in so many areas of my life and so will not be identified. They are courteous and receptive and responsive in so many ways. Chronic pain is one of the hardest nuts to crack in medicine and FPs can usually do only so much. Soon, the patient will be referred to a chronic pain or other specialist.

Aug 5/21: Telephone Appt with my FP where I explained I was becoming desperate with pain, seeking painkilling prescription i.e., low dose narcotic (I’ve tried every other conceivable step) so that I can move/exercise, and that in evening times, I have high heart rate, high blood pressure and mental jitters because of pain. He acted by:
· Increasing an antidepressant dosage at my request
· Referring me to a heart specialist (Aug 18)
· Referring me to a pain clinic (Oct 31) at which I previously received treatment.

Aug 18/21: Cardiologist Appt. She's very proficient and efficient.  My heart is structurally sound. I have a tachycardia and a high resting heart rate (107 BPM) possibly for all my life or for at least 10 years. She acted by:
· increasing my betablocker (??) at my request to help me control evening jitters and better help me get to sleep.
· Arranging a halter monitor test.

Aug 19/21: Contacted Tele-Heath Ontario to discuss this matter with a medical professional. Essence of conversation: I should speak to my FP. 

Aug 23/21: Independently, I contacted the Pain Specialist at a Very Good Hospital to inform him and request that I am seeking a pain medication to get active, mobile again and to curtail muscle atrophy and weight gain. On Aug 26/21, he indicated that the Pain Clinic is not authorized to issue narcotic analgesics and that the person best placed to make the decision is my FP. Specialist will contact my FP with letter to that effect.

Aug 30/21: I faxed a copy of Email from Pain Specialist to me to my FP. Earlier in the day, I asked the office if they had received the letter from the Pain Specialist (no). I offered to contact Pain Specialist in a few days to inquire about the letter.

Sep XX: Appt with FP to discuss prescribing a low-dose pain killer for mobility purposes.

Sep 7/21: Appt with Cardiologist to install heart monitor for a 2-day period.

Oct 31/21: Video Appt with Pain Specialist at WCH.