LIVING WITH CHRONIC PAIN WITH ANNA AND MAX

Tag: blog

  • 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 🐈 😻

  • 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!

  • “Candy Fatigue,” aka Pill Fatigue No more useless pills, please!


    Dear readers,

    I  don’t know about y’all, but I certainly have ‘pill fatigue’. Y’all know those brightly colored things that come in a prescription bottle, those things that kind of remind you of little pieces of candy.

    Every day when I have to take mine, I like to imagine that they are brightly colored skittles, y’all know, the tiny candy that comes in all kinds o

    of flavors.


    If any of you have ever been on a strict pill regimen for anything, then you will be familiar. If not, that’s okay.

    When I came back from the emergency room last week, I had two more ‘candy’ pills to add to my collection. The doctor there prescribed oxyxontin  (believe it or not) for facial pain, as well as some ketorolac (which is prescribed as an anti-inflammatory for severe pain).

    I took this in the hospital as well as morphine. They really pulled out the big guns.


    So, unfortunately, I have to add these to my collection of colorful ‘candy’-coated misery that doesn’t work!

    Sadly, the doctor at the emergency room was quite rude and didn’t listen. I kept mentioning that strong pain medication as well as anti-inflammatories do nothing for my pain.

    I’m thinking, ‘No offense, lady, but I wish I knew what would work.’ Why won’t you listen and suggest something that might?’Why don’t you just stop prescribing useless.pills?’

    As some of you might know, when your doctor prescribes a new pill, the side effects can sometimes be worse than the so-called cure

    My medicine cabinet is already overflowing! No more useless  pills, please 🙏

    My psychiatrist is mad at me, too! She keeps wanting me to try new pills 💊 and I keep telling her, “No, thank you, I am already on five!”

    So, in conclusion, dear readers, I have pill fatigue.

    I don’t want any more to add to my ‘Candy Collection,’ except maybe some Valium (another psychiatric suggestion) because it might possibly relax the muscles in my face and jaw leading to some possible pain relief 😮‍💨

    If y’all don’t really understand, that is cool; I just thought I would throw this out there!

    Thanks so much, dear readers and subscribers. Have a wonderful day.

    Anna and Max The Cat 🐈 😻

  • Awareness 😀

    Why do you blog?

    I like to blog 😊 because I hope to make a few folks aware of the issue of having chronic pain. Hopefully, I might be able to help someone as well 😀 and perhaps make a friend 😀

  • Chronic pain specific therapy. Is there such a thing?.

    I have been doing some research lately because I was curious if there are therapists who specialize only in chronic pain. When I went to reddit, I saw a post 📫 where someone had mentioned a doctor like that.
    However, when I went to youtube, I didn’t see anything similar.
    It appears to “my knowledge” that there isn’t any therapy specialty that is chronic pain specific or living with chronic pain specific.

    I also asked my psychiatrist, and she said she had never heard of this either,so I suppose the lady on reddit was misinformed.

    While it is certainly true that a regular therapist can help you with your depression and anxiety surrounding the issue, I myself believe it would be quite difficult to find a therapist who really understands the condition

    As an example, I worked with a licensed clinical social worker about a year ago, but only for a few sessions. I, of course, told her all about the condition, but even so, it seemed by her conversation that she just could not understand the concept of being in pain all the time.

    I had mentioned to her that many simple things are difficult for me due to the condition. As I continued, she seemed to have not particularly like what she had heard, so instead of asking if I possibly needed a medical nurse for help, she threatened to call a mental health agency instead.

    This was certainly quite unfortunate 😕

    So, in conclusion, it appears there are no therapists who only deal with chronic pain. Perhaps I am wrong, but to my knowledge, I dont know of any.

    However, possibly by trial and error, you can find one who understands and is caring about your condition.

  • Introduction to Living with Chronic Pain with Anna and Max (the cat)

    Hi, my name is Anna,  I am in my 40s, and I suffer from chronic pain in my face. Unfortunately, it has been going on for years.

    In this journal, I write about my unsuccessful trips to doctors, my frustrations, and my fear as well as provide some informative information, some quirky daily promts some cute stories as well as some serious ones all with the hope for a normal life again one day.

    Currently, after my last neurologist appointment, I still have not been diagnosed. At this point, after suffering for so long, the constant pain has worn me down. I am no longer able to do most activities, 

    I am not able to drive anymore, so I have lost my independence. I have lost my individually as well, and I grieve for all these things. At this point it has become so disabling that I am not able to eat, or really take care of myself, I am in and out of the emergency room, and concerned that I will be removed from my current apartment and sent to a nursing home without Max the cat 🐈

    Any type of chronic pain is a real condition and one of the number one reasons people visit their doctors. I hope you, as the reader, are able to understand this issue better and hopefully be able to sympathize with others….

    Thank you 😊 for visiting, and please feel free to subscribe!

    Anna and Max the Cat 🐈

    AN AI PHOTO 📸 OF MAX THAT A FRIEND DID

  • Second appointment with Dr. El-Said (neurologist today) (birthday today).

    Dear Max,

    In short, the appointment did not go well at all. Exactly what I expected to happen, unfortunately, did.

    I don’t suppose it is not necessary to write a long letter about what happened 😕 at the office, because it was quite simple and something that has happened to me with every doctor I have seen for my facial pain.

    Dr. El-said said that he only treated Trigimina Neueolgia, and since the medication he gave me did not work, once  again I heard the dreaded words, there’s nothing more I can do, I will refer you to a headache specialist and a Tmj surgeon 😪

    Quickly on a side note, I did learn from the bloodwork that I got done at Quest Labs not too long ago, indicated a vitamin B-12 deficiency, so I was  prescribed some B-12 shots to give myself at home. I hope that  I will be able to administer those correctly.

    Unfortunately, when I was weighed, my weight was 84 pounds and not 88 (so I have lost 4 pounds within only two months) 😫 I am not dieting. I am only constantly losing, and this has me very concerned 😟  It is unfortunately an indicator of a very serious illness 🤒 for months and months I have been researching other issues that could cause this symptom, unfortunately most all of them lead to one. (But I just keep telling myself it’s because of the pain that I am barely eating because when I do, the pain is excruciating)  so im not getting many calories 😪)

    But that is neither here nor there. Today is my birthday 🎂 and I was hoping and praying for some good news 🙏 for at least some pain medication when it just becomes too unbearable   but unfortunately, it was not to be.

    I am debating whether to completely give up or not. because I am just so tired 😫 because again I have to start all over and I dont know if i really want to do that.

    For three years, I have been going to doctors, having all kinds of tests, everything with no result.

    I am not quite as depressed this time about this as I was with the other doctors because, like I mentioned, it was expected, but it didn’t particularly make for a very good birthday 😪

    Sincerly Meowmmy 😺