Constant Pain

Hello fellow Spoonies,

This blog post attempts to explain the Constant Pain myself and other Spoonies go through and how it affects our every day lives. 

One of my earliest memories I have is me sat on my mum’s lap in the hospital waiting to be seen by a specialist for my “poorly tummy ache”. Before I had even reached my first birthday, I had seen gastroenterologists due to stomach and bowel problems; I was in a lot of pain and by the time I was 5, I was on a prescribed medication to help with this. So, when I tell you that my Chronic Abdominal Pain is constant and incurable, believe me -I’ve been suffering since before I could even remember.

After years of tests, scans, fad diets, exercise routines and appointments with specialist doctors, I was finally diagnosed with Chronic Abdominal Pain at age 14. Chronic Pain by definition, is pain that has lasted more than 12 weeks; however, it often persists for months or years. For me, it is a lifetime.

Having to cope with constant pain is a complex skill that only those who have will understand. As a Spoonie, I do things in levels of pain that other people wouldn’t even dream of getting out of bed in. Everything is a challenge, from getting out of bed and having a shower to walking around town or even writing this blog post. Although my current diagnosis is Chronic Abdominal Pain, that does not mean that only my abdomen hurts. My whole body is in a constant state of agony, with my abdomen being even worse than the rest. Every day I feel pain from my toes, up my legs, to my hips and lower back, all through my torso and neck and then down my shoulders, arms and fingers.

Constant pain affects people in many ways: emotionally, physically, socially and even economically. Chronic Pain can affect me emotionally, because on the bad days my mind runs wild with reasons why I may deserve the pain I have and how weak I am for not coping with it like I should be. Physically, there are days when I am unable to move or walk at all, and I spend a lot of time in the bath or doubled over in bed trying my hardest to relax the pain just even a little bit. The pain also stops me from going out and spending time with friends and family because I am not able to cope with leaving the house or travelling far. I am unable to work a normal job due to the pain holding me back, and the money that I do earn goes straight back out to prescriptions, alternative therapies and private doctors.

Everyone who suffers from Chronic Pain can relate to this in different ways, but we learn that we must accept that we will be in pain constantly, and to be aware of our limits in order to not push further than we can go. This is a constant struggle and something that people have been attempting to master for years, but like someone with Diabetes avoids eating foods high in sugar, Spoonies make accommodations in their life to avoid flare ups.

As always, I value any comments or suggestions :)

Love and Spoons,

Allie x x x