Im very sorry you are living a life where pain rules your life. i am in the same situation and finally reached the same point before a large family reunion around a family member's wedding on the other side of the country. i knew that the plane trip alone would leave me in a lot of pain and 6 days of parties, ceremonies etc were more than i could handle. So I sent a text message to everyone in advance that if I left events early, arrived late or was a no-show, it wasn’t because I was anti-social or mad at anybody but I just have to lay down on my heat pad frequently and I just couldn’t function otherwise. Everyone seemed to understand and I didn’t feel like I was constantly trying to push through the pain. Unfortunately, unless you’ve experienced chronic acute pain, most people don’t realize how debilitating it can be. I hope your friends will be more understanding. Take care of yourself.