kazbern said...
Being in pain really sucks. Even if it's not the worst pain, just constant low grade pain can really tear you up, emotionally.
I have a friend who's a physiatrist. She works with injured vets. She was telling me about a patient who complained over and over again about something really minor - none of his DRs were worried about it because he had much bigger issues going on. Finally she heard his complaints (for maybe the third or fourth time) and realized that a simple change in meds would probably eliminate the problem. She did it, and the patient was so very, very grateful to not be suffering that annoying and debilitating side effect. It totally changed his outlook on his life.
I think that when we are under the weather, inflammatory process is increased, or our appetite is not right, we might not have any specific terrible complaint but overall we are just not happy. And it can make you feel sad. I totally get it.
Such a good post.
Quoting in its entirety because it speaks to me. (Not literally. Not that mad - yet >_>). I've noticed for a
long time now it's the minutiae of this disease which grinds me down more than the occasional, big flare-ups. The constant feeling vaguely crappy and run-down; the stomach discomfort running into low-grade pain; the increase in anxiety and decrease in enjoyment of food; the feeling that nothing will work; the constant feeling of guilt because I'm reluctant to change my diet; the bloating; the erratic toilet habits (would rather have watery diarrhoea 10x a day than this); and so on, and so forth.
The acute flare-ups are not fun, for obvious reasons, but because of their relative rarity seem to me to be a lot easier to take on the chin. It's the feeling crappy every single day which truly wears down the soul. If you're lucky, you may have days when you feel less crappy - almost, but not quite, 'normal' - but you also know you'll never be 100% healthy again. It's heartbreaking.