LIVING WITH CHRONIC PAIN WITH ANNA AND MAX

Author: Anna

  • Major Florida Attraction

    Name an attraction or town close to home that you still haven’t got around to visiting.

    Actually Disneyworld as well as all its attractions 😬😬😬😬

    Perhaps someday I will get there 😌 😔 as it is quite close!

  • Dear readers

    Unfortunately 😔 I have been really struggling lately 😕 Max the Cat and I have spent a lot of time being seperated also. I am not sure how long this will go on… and I certainly apologize. 😔

    God bless everyone 🙏 ❤️

  • Chronic Pain and the human emotion condition 💔 A vicious cycle..Mental health journey

    Dear readers,

    Most chronic pain sufferers deal with not only the pain but  anxiety  and depression as well. Anyone who endures constant pain is bound  to feel these other emotions. 

    The worse the physical suffering the more severe these other negative emotions can become. It is a vicious cycle, which constantly repeats itself day after day and it makes “living” or just plain “exsiting”even  more difficult.

    If perhaps you are already someone who was diagnosed by a psychatist as having a mental illness which requires medication the situation can be twice as challenging 🤔

    For example, I have suffered with severe anxiety and depression 🫥 most of my life and I do take medication for these issues. Unfortunately, as my chronic pain has grown steadily worse so has the severity of the depression and anxiety.. My medication doesnt provide much relief from my mental health symptoms anymore. 😬

    Over the past few months, I have noticed a negative change in my mental health symptoms. 

    It seems that I have been suffering with more severe and unmanageable panic attacks (almost every day) 😐

    Panic Attacks which can last for hours as my pain level and sleeplessness as well as other issues rise..

    I decided to mention this to my psychiatrist, he spoke with me and felt that I had developed a more serious mental situation.

    I am certain most have heard of bipolar disorder 😕  Apparently, I have developed a form of bipolar disorder called bipolar disorder with mixed episodes 😒

    Here is the definition…. “When a person experiences symptoms of mania/hypomania (highs) and depression (lows) at the same time or in rapid succession,creating intense inner turmoil with energy, agitation and hopelessness.”

    I feel that this more severe issue has been brought about by the chronic pain.

    Here is a short video 4 minutes perhaps you might recognize symptoms in your own mental health journey

    As for me,there has currently been a change in my medications to try and get some type of a handle on this new issue as I now navigate a new mental health journey.

    Think about how chronic pain affects your own personal mental health

    Chronic pain effects every aspect of the human condition 💔

    Thank you for reading 📚 ❤️

    Sincerely Anna and Max the Cat 🐈

  • Max the Cat says… CUDDLY BLANKIE

    Describe an item you were incredibly attached to as a youth. What became of it?

    Hello, readers 😊 this is Max the Cat here 😀 my human is a little under the weather so I will answer this question 😀 My human has a blanket 😀 that she got in her youth 😀 Its very comfortable 😀 I love to lay on it and make kitty biscuits 😀 😊 My human told me that she received the blanket as a gift from a former pastor who meant a great deal to her.

    The blanket features a woven design of a guardian angel 😇 helping a boy and girl across a tretorous bridge 🌉 Perhaps some of you recognize the image.

    Hmmm.. as a cat i am getting hungry 😋 😐 I hope its almost time for breakfast 😋

    Anyway, my human tells me that this gift from her former  pastor (who has since passed away)  is quite a coincidence because it features the very same design as her mother’s favorite photo (her mother who has since passed away)

    So the blanket is a great comfort to both of us ☺️ we take good care of it and treasure it…

    Well as a cat 🐈 I need to go now and wake up the human so I can have breakfast 😋 and please dont expect PURRFECT PUNCTUATION as I am a cat 😀

  • Simple answer 👌 😌

    What are your thoughts on the concept of living a very long life?

    I will take however long God gives me..😊

  • Sidetracked again 😬

    Dear Readers,

    Unfortunately, I have gotten a bit sidetracked from my journal again. 😕  I hope to be return because I do have several topics that I could cover..

    I hope everyone 🙏 had a wonderful holiday season and I am wishing ❤️ great blessings for everyone in the upcoming new year 🙏 ❤️

  • Wow 👏 this meme really says it all…

    I found this meme on Fb today! I think it really says it all!!

  • Short video on chronic pain and anxiety and depression 😢

    Dear readers,

    I had been searching YouTube for a good video to post 📫 that might possibly help. I havent had a lot of luck but I found this short video about chronic pain and anxiety and depression 😢 I know I suffer from a lot of anxiety especially during flares as well as depression 🫥 I dont know about yall.. The video briefly speaks about pain invalidation. (Which is something that I know a lot of folks have probably experienced) it also mentions how it would be wonderful when patients go to talk about chronic pain if mental health was also involved so patients didn’t have to feel like they were being stigmatized or like the pain was possibly all in there head… I hope this helps a little..

    God bless for reading 📚 and watching

    Anna and Max the Cat 🐈

    Anna

  • SpongeBob 🤣🤣🤣

    What’s your favorite cartoon?

    🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 very short answer SpongeBob 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

  • Custom Meme for Saturday…. Anyone else perhaps?

    Dear readers,

    It seems to be getting more and more difficult for me to explain this to folks these days 😕  especially doctors! and acquaintances!

    I am finding this the case more and more the longer the pain continues without an answer. 😡 Its very disheartening

    Has anyone else found this to be a similar experience perhaps with a spouse or family member?

    God bless 🙌 Anna and Max the Cat 🐈

    Sadly, im back in the hospital for a few days (which hasnt helped my case) upon another return. especially with the doctors 🙄 who are beginning to doubt it’s authenticity…

    Max has also  been getting visits twice a day from (expensive).pet sitters 😪 I really hope he is going to be okay 👍 I sure do feel guilty 😔

  • Its a time warp 😀 at Casey Jones

    Do you have a favorite place you have visited? Where is it?

    My favorite place 😍 in the entire world is Casey Jones Village in Jackson, TN My mother 👨‍🍼 and I used to visit all the time ⏲️  It holds very special memories for me. It has the homey and comforting atmosphere of an old county store. 😀 

    Gift shop

    They sell all kinds af things, old fashioned candies, dolls, lamps, soaps, sodas, they even have an old fashioned ice cream parlor!.There are also  many photos from by-gone days which line the walls 🧱 You feel as though you have stepped into a time warp back to the early 1900s 😀

    They also have a buffet of the best Southern food that you have ever tasted 😋

    Buffet

    There are southern staples such as macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes 🥔 covered with butter 🧈 green beans, Johnny cakes, fried chicken 🍗 🐔 and  fried catfish 😋 👌

    The people are so nice and you always come away full of delicious foods, and  perhaps with a wonderful new treasure, 😋

    Since my mother has passed and I am limited in my travel it is possible I may never be able to visit again 🙄 but it will always hold a special place in my heart ❤️

    It is about 70 miles from Memphis Tennessee (where I grew up) if you get a chance I highly recommend it..

    Thank you for reading 📚 and God bless you

    Anna and Max the Cat 🐈

    (Who is unfortunately 😕 home with a pet sitter)

  • Sidetracked

    Dear readers,

    I’ve gotten a bit sidetracked but I should be back soon!

    God bless yall

    Anna and Max the Cat 🐈 😻

  • Pain Scale Shirt 👕! Once again sent home with no relief or pain medications

    Dear Readers, I was going to post 📫 something else! Perhaps an inspirational Thanksgiving quote ✨️ 🤔

    However, upon having to call an ambulance again yesterday (and unfortunately getting one dose of iv torridal and then being once again sent home without any pain medication or pain control) 😬

    I was staring at the hospital walls looking at their pain scale chart for several hours,

    and  surprisingly when searching for a quote I found this pain scale Thanksgiving T-shirt ⚖️ 😅

    I thought perhaps, it might give any chronic pain sufferers a quick laugh 😃

    However, I did find this quote from the Bible as well, perhaps it makes sense 🤔 as we navigate through the holidays….

    God bless you all

    Anna and Max the Cat 🐈 😻

  • Max says… Turkey TV dinners 🍽 😋

    Do you or your family make any special dishes for the holidays?

    Hi 👋 everyone this is Max the cat 🐈 my human is a little under the weather so I thought I would write ✍️ a short daily prompt for today 😀

    In the last few years, our tradition has been a turkey TV dinner 😀 In my kitty opinion they are actually pretty good 👍 😄 it’s one of the only times during the year that I get turkey 😀 because every other time of the year my human says I am not allowed to have it!

    Anyways there are always mashed potatoes 🥔 with gravy 😋 as well as cranberry sauce depending on which dinners my human gets 😋  Sometimes she buys all three in separate containers 😀

    And then there is always dessert 🍨  and I usually get some 😀 I love pie 🥧 it’s one of  my favorites besides sugar free cookies 🍪

    I like apple 🍎 pie crust! Yummy 😋 and vanilla ice cream 🍦

    Hey im a cat 🐈 don’t expect the best punctuation 🤣

    That is all for now, wishing you and yours a puuurfect holiday 😊

    Max the Cat 🐈 😻

  • Cats. Cats 🐈 😻 and more cats..

    What are your favorite animals?

    Cats 🐈 are my favorite 😍 animal. Big cats 🐈 little cats! All kinds of cats 🐈 😻 lions, tigers, housecats 😀 they are all.so beautiful and fascinating 👌

  • Dear Readers for Thursday 😬🙄 We Must keep Going Despite current challenges

    Dear Readers,

    It has been a challenging week, so many things have been occurring. Dealing with them all, plus handling the pain has been quite rough. 😬

    Unfortunately, I was back in the hospital again over the weekend. Upon arriving home, I recieved a visit from adult protective services with the state of Florida, apparently someone had called due to my frequent hospital visits and expressed concern 😟 to the state  which was quite stressful and shocking  😲

    I have also been attempting to hire a certified nursing assistant as well as  trying to get home health care which requires quite a lot of hoop jumping as well as making a lot of phone calls which can be exhausting. 🙄

    I’ve also been trying to arrange care for Max the Cat 🐈 😻 as well as recieve visitors such as a new social worker and a one time nurse. I was also hoping to connect with a neighbor, but I am finding it difficult to explain to her my condition 😔

    Simple things can take a lot out of a person. (I am finding it difficult to keep so many things straight) all the while battling the pain 😢 as well as concern over Max the cats weight 💔 😢 and my own medications. 😬 and mental state.

    However, as any of my readers who face challenges know we must keep pressing forward to the best of our abilities….

    We all must keep going 💪 and remember that we are strong 💪 ❤️

    God bless and thank you for reading 📚

    Anna and Max the Cat 🐈 😻

  • My human and books 📚 by Max.. todays daily prompt 😎

    What book are you reading right now?

    Max says…Sadly, reading had become to difficult for my human in her current condition 😢 because it aggravates her facial pain 😢 😭 However, if she could read 📚 I think she would enjoy Steven King 🤴 (as she likes horror movies) However, as a cat I don’t particularly like them myself.

    I am more into books about fish and birds 🐦 😀😀😀 especially tuna! books about tuna are my favorite 😍 😋

    My human doesnt particularly have any favorite authors, she tends to just read about subjects that interest her, fiction or non-fiction. 😀 Perhaps, history, stories about family, mystery, relationships.. etc..

    ♥️

    Oh yes, I do remember one book that she read about cats 🐈 like me, it was called Making the rounds with Oscar. it was kind of sad… but a good read 📚 👌 and I also remember one author she liked his name was Wally Lamb i believe… and a book called She’s come undone..

    Hey, I am a cat dont expect puuruufect punctuation 😀

    Well, I have to go eat now, time to wake up the human!

    God bless

    Max the Cat 🐈 😻

  • Cleaning the litter box 📦 😌

    What part of your routine do you always try to skip if you can?

    Hmm……well I don’t particularly have a routine. I sleep 😴 when I am able and eat when I am able…..etc…

    So perhaps 🤔 I should say I tend to put off things such as light housekeeping (if that counts) 🤔

    The usual things such as washing the dishes or taking out the trash 🗑

    Actually though, the more I think about it, I usually should clean Max the cats 🐈 litter box 📦 by the time he howls for food in the morning 🌄 but a lot of times I wait and do it a little later!

    Yall have a blessed day 🙏

    Anna and Max the Cat 🐈 (with a clean litter box)

  • An Endless Cycle…Hospital, Pills,  Doctors not taking pain seriously 💊

    Dear Readers,

    I was back in the hospital 🏥 over the weekend, unfortunately due to severe pain as well as severe constipation. I did not necessary want to go, I called an ambulance to check me out but unfortunately was forced to go with them (something I didn’t realize they could do)

    I have been having issues with medications for pain. The hospital actually didn’t really prescribe anything except torridal (I hope that’s spelled correctly) which is a very strong NSAID (like advil) used for inflammatory purposes. It actually has stopped working for my pain but I do not have very many other options. I do have some leftover vicoden as well as oxycontin from other visits…

    It is a mystery why they do not work, however I still take the torridal which is consipating and very hard on the stomach. It is due to this that I am in a endless cycle if I don’t take the medicine the pain is to great but it causes severe constipation and then I  right back where I started.

    On another note the hospital wanted to try the drug neurotin for my pain. However, I only took it for a few days as the sedation effect was so great, I could barely lift my head from the pillow. They want me to continue the drug but I have not quite decided. I started with 100 mg and it would take a much larger dose to be helpful and would also take a great many weeks to find out if it is effective 😪

    Thirdly, the doctors at  the hospital once again blew off my pain. (Something I am no stranger too) They neurologist there was quite nonchalant and frankly callous (telling me to go find a pain management doctor because my tests keep coming up negative) He had no answers for me (neither did the head doctor who I told about the pain being so bad I was having a tough time functioning) He said take the neurotin and that should take care of it and he left the room.

    After going on 4 years of this I don’t quite understand why just because your scans come back negative the doctors don’t believe that you are still in great pain (it’s a big mystery) 😪

    Unfortunately, as of now the cycle seems to be a revolving door, constant hospital stays, consipating medicine (which doesnt work) and negative scans which doctors sont take seriously)

    If any of my readers have experienced anything like this please feel free to comment.

    God bless yall thank you for reading and have a wonderful day

    Anna and Max the Cat 🐈 😻

  • Teeth and tattoos 😬

    Name the most expensive personal item you’ve ever purchased (not your home or car).

    I would imagine that I’ve spent a massive amount of money on  my teeth for crowns and cavities etc..unfortunately 😬 which possibly could all be undone due to my inability to keep good dental hygiene due to chronic pain..

    In the past, I also spent quite a lot on some tattoos. Before my chronic pain hit my ex-boyfriend and I went down to Los Angeles so that I could get a memorial tattoo for my mother 👩 In the image of a ceramic angel that I gifted her.

    Earlier, in my 20s I got several Kanji tattoos on my legs and ankles. Kanji are Japanese lettering. I have a very large one here on my leg.. Unfortunately the message is not a very positive one. . It reads Empty Soul… The one on the ankle is more positive and reads courage..😃

    Thank you for reading 📚 and God bless yall

    Max and Anna the Cat 🐈 😻

  • Misunderstanding of Chronic Pain..

    I believe that this week I have never been so misunderstood in my pain, I actually had a pet sitter say to me”Why can’t you just be normal?”

  • Dear readers for Saturday and short update on condition

    Dear Readers,

    So much has happened lately 😕 I sure would like to start writing about it soon, however my pain has worsened and right now I am really uncertain what will happen to me or Max. There is still a possibility of moving into a place where I can get better care, however I am not sure how that would go and I don’t know how Max could go with me, so I have some very valid and worrisome concerns. I just thought I would let yall know, thank you for reading 📚

    P.S. one change is I removed my  nose piercings at the request of my dentist the other day which I have had for many years. The dentist wanted them removed siting perhaps they were contributing to my pain. I do not believe so, however I did remove them, even though they had been a strange part of my identity for many years. I now look totally different!.Lol.

    The dentist also said that I did not have a tooth decay infection as was previously thought to be contributing to my pain, but that I still have severe TMJ but failed to recommend anywhere to go for help 😢

    It was also suggested to me by a new psychiatrist that this issue was all in my head 😑 (frustrating but not surprising)

    God bless yall 🙏

    Yours truly and hopefully still together

    Anna and Max the Cat 🐈 😻

  • Chronic Pain Quotes for Saturday

    Dear Readers,

    Chronic Pain quotes for Saturday..

    MAX AND I LOVE ❤️ PUMPKIN PATCHES 🎃
    CHRONIC PAIN WARRIOR FLOWER COLORS 🌼 🌸

    Anna and Max the Cat 🐈

  • Dear Readers, Missing Max the Cat 🐈 MISSING YOUR PET

    Dear Readers,

    I am still in the hospital as they try to find a medication that can somewhat control my pain as I await transfer 🏥  to a rehab facility. So far, they have not had much luck with pain control, and I am concerned that I will not have much success if they do not.

    However, I have been away from Max the Cat for almost two weeks, and we have rarely been separated, I know that for those of you who have pets, you would most likely feel the same way and I greatly empathize. I imagine that Max (my pet) and I am sure your pet, if you were in a similar situation, would want you to continue to work hard and not give up so you can come home to them 😉

    Unfortunately, today is found out that his current pet sitter has not been giving him the correct diet, and I am concerned that he could have been harmed, so learning this definitely does not help the issue, but I will just have to trust.

    Just out of curiosity… if anyone would like to comment. How do you feel, or how do you cope when you miss your pet?

    Thank yall so much for reading 📚 and have a wonderful day.

  • Dear Readers for Saturday

    Dear readers,

    I apologize for not posting lately 😕 or keeping up with others’ work. I have been in the hospital 🏥 in celebration, florida for a week. Unfortunately 😔 I will also not be going home to my apartment 😕  I am going to go to a rehab facility for other medical issues as well as the chronic pain. Unfortunately 😔 here in the hospital, they still have not been able to get the face and bad teeth pain under control 😫

    Max, the cat 🐈 and I have been separated and I am not sure when I will see him again. I miss him very much 😢

    I want to say thank you to my readers and hope you all have a blessed weekend 😊

    Anna (and Max) even though he isn’t currently with me.

    I am still very much in the chronic pain fight!