Life with Autoimmune Diseases & Chronic Illnesses

pain

I hate when doctors ask me to rate my pain from 1 to 10. HATE IT. it’s hard to tell anymore. what used to be a 8 is now like a 4 because i’m used to it. i’m tougher. because i’m saving the 8 for when it’s a normal person’s 20. Although i feel like saying “4,” i feel like it makes it seem like only a wussy irritation when it still hurts as bad as the  8. i don’t want to be used to it. i just want it to go away. 

or maybe give us a pain scale from 1-100. I want to say 8 so they take me more seriously (or maybe they do already, I don’t know). but i mumble “four” and pray they read between the lines. 

Chronic Pain person’s scale:

1.  why even bring it up?
2. meh, minor irritation
3. alright I don’t like this at all
4. this sucks
5. time to take something
6. yikes, time to double the dose or take a nap or both
7. i hate my life. i hate my life. i hate my life.
8. deep breathing, take a bath, grit teeth, take more meds. try not to panic.
9. call the doctor
10.  ER.

Regular person’s scale:

1. this sucks, post pain status on facebook
2. time to take something
3. take a bath, deep breathing, try not to panic
4. double the dose or take a nap
5. call the doctor, possible trip to ER
6. go to ER
7. probably dying
8. demanding morphine 
9. all out hysteria 
10. childbirth. 

What do you fellow spoonies think about the 1-10 scale?

i think i figured out where the hopelessness comes from. 

when you’re chronically ill, life loses it’s possibility. you never wake up and wonder what you could go do, you don’t make plans. you just bear down and merely try to exist through what you have to.

fibromyalgia-fairy:

staphonhope:

I understand why the leading cause of death for fibromyalgia patients is suicide. With a normal person, they just want the pain to end. But most of the time their pain is emotional pain. With a fibro, its both.

I am in so much pain right now. I am emotionally unstable. I hate this. This may not be a life threatening disease. But it is threatening my life.

It’s so sad that i can understand and relate to this. I’m here if you want to talk. Stay strong.

(Source: autumnarrows, via my-lupus-state-of-mind)

I slept 16 out of the past 24 hours. 

I’m not a napping type person, sick chick or not, but my body was definitely in charge today. as it should be. after weeks of running and running and a particularly uncomfortable day yesterday (fibro and ibs flare), I needed rest, whether I had time for it or not. 

yeah, I missed class this morning. no, that doesn’t feel great. but in my book, listening to your body comes first. 

you only get one. 

wishing everyone well, 

s.

If there is once thing I need, it’s for society to sympathize less, and empathize more.

fibromyalgia-fairy:

What do you guys do that help combat extreme fatigue?

the 15 vitamins, yoga, and healthy eating aren’t cutting it

help?

acupuncture

acupuncture

acupuncture. 

I’m interested in finding people. If you’ve got or are close to someone who has Fibromyalgia, please reblog. I’d like to get to know you all.

(Source: thelassthalassophilia, via my-lupus-state-of-mind)