I will not deny I am vintage...definitely not wine. Chronic pain is a demon and one will get no help other than the helps one provides for self. I am far lonelier in a crowd than alone...nice words from an old song and thank you kindly for your words. "Work your fingers to the Bone", etc.
Mayhap a few more trips around the sun will be the antidote..."gang aft de glay"...Burns.
@mamacita, @parius. I always kept diaries as a young girl! I've graduated I suppose to journals...stacks of them. Even the act of writing things down, for me is carthartic. It's helped me let go of many things. Even writing to someone who will never read it , for me anyway, is a way to let things go. To no longer hold onto things that hold you down is a gift you can give yourself to!
Hello @parus Nice to e-meet you here. I am Scott and I found your post interesting.
I do have chronic pain (knees, carpel tunnel, and lower back), I do fight loneliness as I just lost my wife to brain cancer, but refuse to call myself 'old' yet! 🙂
I believe chronic conditions can be the cause of many feelings of loneliness as well as isolating, which can also cause feelings of loneliness.
I fight my loneliness through reading as it also can take my mind off my pain. It also gives me topics I can then learn more about, e-chat with people about, etc.
I also spend some time writing, but that is more of a solitary pursuit for me, but I can really lose myself in it.
I also try and spend some time each day attempting to reconnect with someone from my earlier days. I've had mixed results with this, but when it works, it's been gratifying for both parties.
I will not deny I am vintage...definitely not wine. Chronic pain is a demon and one will get no help other than the helps one provides for self. I am far lonelier in a crowd than alone...nice words from an old song and thank you kindly for your words. "Work your fingers to the Bone", etc.
Mayhap a few more trips around the sun will be the antidote..."gang aft de glay"...Burns.
I will not deny I am vintage...definitely not wine. Chronic pain is a demon and one will get no help other than the helps one provides for self. I am far lonelier in a crowd than alone...nice words from an old song and thank you kindly for your words. "Work your fingers to the Bone", etc.
Mayhap a few more trips around the sun will be the antidote..."gang aft de glay"...Burns.
Hi @jude6x2
The emoticons you added to your message are stopping the reply from going through. If you post your message without the smilie faces and flowers, it will go through.
Hello @parus Nice to e-meet you here. I am Scott and I found your post interesting.
I do have chronic pain (knees, carpel tunnel, and lower back), I do fight loneliness as I just lost my wife to brain cancer, but refuse to call myself 'old' yet! 🙂
I believe chronic conditions can be the cause of many feelings of loneliness as well as isolating, which can also cause feelings of loneliness.
I fight my loneliness through reading as it also can take my mind off my pain. It also gives me topics I can then learn more about, e-chat with people about, etc.
I also spend some time writing, but that is more of a solitary pursuit for me, but I can really lose myself in it.
I also try and spend some time each day attempting to reconnect with someone from my earlier days. I've had mixed results with this, but when it works, it's been gratifying for both parties.
@Parus have you read any books by Fern Michael's? She has a great imagination and writes very well A series on the sisterhood a bunch of women vigilantes that go after the man who treats the women wrong ,like money hungry lawyers who put a women in the poor house and didn't win the case well the sisterhood tarred and feathered him .Just an example Her books keep you wanting more
I'm in that boat. Severe knee pain and fibromyalgia. My three daughters live across the country and then my husband and I moved. We've been here 12 years and I don't have any friends. Its my fault as I'm an introvert.
Diane
I know exactly how you feel. It is really hard to make friends, if you have chronic pain, and constantly have to cancel dates. And a lot of times, you can not see, where your pain is, and some people might think, you are making it sound worse. So I have withdrawn from the friends and neighbors, I had. Now after 12 years of pain, held down by opioids, I feel very lonely. Friends even say, you look and sound so great.
But I have a loving husband, who does see me in terrible pain and helps me to cope with it. I have started to sign up for sessions in computer and cooking and library book clubs, where I can cancel without having to feel bad, I used to get anxious days before I had an appointment to the point of having headaches, nausea and dizziness, besides my regular chronic pain. And the doctor was hesitant to prescribe Xanax, because of the opioids. So now I am weaning myself off them and it is not easy after 10 years. I am taking Lyrica or Gabapentin for my chronic pain. It seems like I am going in the right direction! Has anybody gone thru something like this? I am 72 years and have always been working, besides raising three healthy daughters. Had lots of friends and things to do, till I came down with chronic pain after open brain surgery
Me too. I have just read about a cream that is supposed to get rid of pain. I think ordered some and thought it did not work. I will try it again and let you know if it works.
@jimhd ...Do you not think it is a compound cream like most commly prescribed? My problem with it was the amount I had to use to get relief! My Dr seemed to think It was fine although I probably used 2x the amt of what was prescribed. She was just happy it gave me relief!
Chris Trout, Volunteer Mentor | @artscaping | Jul 31, 2018
@edda Thank you for sharing your social challenges as you live with chronic pain. Another issue that I find challenging is being away from the house when it is time to medicate or use topicals. And if you are driving, you need to be careful with dosages...when and how much. Then the pain ramps up and it takes a while to get on top of it. So sometimes it is just easier not to go out. With that being said, I do go to a walk-in mahjongg group of about 25 women....there are cribbage, bridge and other game walk in groups. Try the local library or community/senior center. Go when you feel up to it and enjoy while you are there. I have retained some of my volunteer work which I can do from home. I help build the database, send email blasts and create posts for Facebook...all for the local community center. I am also on the design team for the amphitheater and main building. The chairperson sends me digital files of the design project updates and then I Facetime with the rest of the team for meetings. Those are just some activities that have developed or continued for me since my chronic pain began and for which I have a whole ton of gratitude. We all need to be able to participate in activities that are beneficial.
@edda Thank you for sharing your social challenges as you live with chronic pain. Another issue that I find challenging is being away from the house when it is time to medicate or use topicals. And if you are driving, you need to be careful with dosages...when and how much. Then the pain ramps up and it takes a while to get on top of it. So sometimes it is just easier not to go out. With that being said, I do go to a walk-in mahjongg group of about 25 women....there are cribbage, bridge and other game walk in groups. Try the local library or community/senior center. Go when you feel up to it and enjoy while you are there. I have retained some of my volunteer work which I can do from home. I help build the database, send email blasts and create posts for Facebook...all for the local community center. I am also on the design team for the amphitheater and main building. The chairperson sends me digital files of the design project updates and then I Facetime with the rest of the team for meetings. Those are just some activities that have developed or continued for me since my chronic pain began and for which I have a whole ton of gratitude. We all need to be able to participate in activities that are beneficial.
Don't, I say Do Not give up on getting relief from pain. Hold your Doctor's feet to the fire until they find the drugs, the simulator or the drug pump that brings you relief. If they won't treat you, sue them for malpractice. This whole opiod mess is being laid at our doorstep and we didn't cause this problem and neither did most of our doctors. If you haven't tried a simulator or a drug pump, or drugs like Lyrica and Amityrptiline, you haven't tried it all. We are not drug addicts, we are old people who worked hard all our live and are now paying the price. We deserve better care than we are getting. I persisted and demanded treatment and I got a solution. I got a drug pump and small oral doses of narcotics along with other non narcotic drugs. I still have pain but I also have a life. I can't be a glass artist anymore but I can still be a husband, a father, and a musician and singer. Don't give up!
@mamacita, @parius. I always kept diaries as a young girl! I've graduated I suppose to journals...stacks of them. Even the act of writing things down, for me is carthartic. It's helped me let go of many things. Even writing to someone who will never read it , for me anyway, is a way to let things go. To no longer hold onto things that hold you down is a gift you can give yourself to!
@gracea..you ate very brave. And an inspiration to us all.
Please see above photobas it will not let me post reply
Hi @jude6x2
The emoticons you added to your message are stopping the reply from going through. If you post your message without the smilie faces and flowers, it will go through.
@Parus have you read any books by Fern Michael's? She has a great imagination and writes very well A series on the sisterhood a bunch of women vigilantes that go after the man who treats the women wrong ,like money hungry lawyers who put a women in the poor house and didn't win the case well the sisterhood tarred and feathered him .Just an example Her books keep you wanting more
I'm in that boat. Severe knee pain and fibromyalgia. My three daughters live across the country and then my husband and I moved. We've been here 12 years and I don't have any friends. Its my fault as I'm an introvert.
Diane
I know exactly how you feel. It is really hard to make friends, if you have chronic pain, and constantly have to cancel dates. And a lot of times, you can not see, where your pain is, and some people might think, you are making it sound worse. So I have withdrawn from the friends and neighbors, I had. Now after 12 years of pain, held down by opioids, I feel very lonely. Friends even say, you look and sound so great.
But I have a loving husband, who does see me in terrible pain and helps me to cope with it. I have started to sign up for sessions in computer and cooking and library book clubs, where I can cancel without having to feel bad, I used to get anxious days before I had an appointment to the point of having headaches, nausea and dizziness, besides my regular chronic pain. And the doctor was hesitant to prescribe Xanax, because of the opioids. So now I am weaning myself off them and it is not easy after 10 years. I am taking Lyrica or Gabapentin for my chronic pain. It seems like I am going in the right direction! Has anybody gone thru something like this? I am 72 years and have always been working, besides raising three healthy daughters. Had lots of friends and things to do, till I came down with chronic pain after open brain surgery
@jimhd ...Do you not think it is a compound cream like most commly prescribed? My problem with it was the amount I had to use to get relief! My Dr seemed to think It was fine although I probably used 2x the amt of what was prescribed. She was just happy it gave me relief!
@edda Thank you for sharing your social challenges as you live with chronic pain. Another issue that I find challenging is being away from the house when it is time to medicate or use topicals. And if you are driving, you need to be careful with dosages...when and how much. Then the pain ramps up and it takes a while to get on top of it. So sometimes it is just easier not to go out. With that being said, I do go to a walk-in mahjongg group of about 25 women....there are cribbage, bridge and other game walk in groups. Try the local library or community/senior center. Go when you feel up to it and enjoy while you are there. I have retained some of my volunteer work which I can do from home. I help build the database, send email blasts and create posts for Facebook...all for the local community center. I am also on the design team for the amphitheater and main building. The chairperson sends me digital files of the design project updates and then I Facetime with the rest of the team for meetings. Those are just some activities that have developed or continued for me since my chronic pain began and for which I have a whole ton of gratitude. We all need to be able to participate in activities that are beneficial.
Don't, I say Do Not give up on getting relief from pain. Hold your Doctor's feet to the fire until they find the drugs, the simulator or the drug pump that brings you relief. If they won't treat you, sue them for malpractice. This whole opiod mess is being laid at our doorstep and we didn't cause this problem and neither did most of our doctors. If you haven't tried a simulator or a drug pump, or drugs like Lyrica and Amityrptiline, you haven't tried it all. We are not drug addicts, we are old people who worked hard all our live and are now paying the price. We deserve better care than we are getting. I persisted and demanded treatment and I got a solution. I got a drug pump and small oral doses of narcotics along with other non narcotic drugs. I still have pain but I also have a life. I can't be a glass artist anymore but I can still be a husband, a father, and a musician and singer. Don't give up!