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High pain tolerance
I have constant deep inside upper left abdominal pain for over 4 months. Doctors still don't know how to treat my constant abdominal pain because I have a high tolerance to pain. I look fine on the outside but my abdomen and the inside of my body isn't good. In 2019 I had a small bowel obstruction and had a couple surgeries. I now have 2ft of my small intestines left and I have all of my large intestines. I am able to eat food. I do LR IV fluids 5 times a week to help with dehydration but no other treatment for my Short Bowel Syndrome condition/symptoms.
Constant abdominal pain not related to food, gas,bloating or indigestion. Abdominal pain doesn't change with bowel movements. Moving around/walking doesn't change my constant abdominal pain. Resting doesn't change my constant abdominal pain. Stretching abdominal exercises don't help my constant abdominal pain. My pain level is at a constant 6 out of a 10 even with a high pain tolerance level.
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@arbez
I see a social worker and she has said several times that I am handling things very well.
@tjanet Glad you are seeing a Social Worker regularly, they can be invaluable.
@arbez
I haven't noticed any improvement with having a social worker.
@tjanet Maybe not, but just keeping you sane and giving you a place to dump your emotions (instead of on family/friends) is worth something.
@arbez
I don't stress about my health issues. Seeing my social worker doesn't help my health issues at all. I don't have depression. My mental health is very good.
Waiting for a referral to go through to get a nerve block in my spine to see if that helps my constant abdominal pain. I am hoping that will help since my GI doctor doesn't know what to do.
@tjanet Maybe you don't need a social worker. Most people find it helpful to help with the anxiety, stress, frustration and yes sometimes depression that goes along with long bouts of pain and the issues that arise because of it. Issues like impacts to interpersonal relationships, trying and failing to get answers to your medical problems, financial impacts (time off or loss of job), inability to do things you used to love doing, etc.
Just passing on advice from someone who has benefited greatly from therapy. If you aren't benefiting from therapy you should probably save your money.