Chronic Pain Support Group
Physicians and professionalsdefine pain as chronic if it lasts longer than three to six months and is persistent. It's distinct from acute pain that is a direct result of injury or trauma. This support group is dedicated to those suffering from chronic pain. Discuss treatments that have worked for you, find advice for your specific experience, and find support. You're not...
Hi- I haven't been around b/c I was on my annual trip to NYC. I arrived a week ago, saw some great shows, then they closed it down Sunday in anticipation of the Hurricane. (WAY too early as we weren't hit until Monday, mid-day.) My BF and I were ready. We had a suite at the Sheraton Times Square, were told to prepare for power outages, evacuation, etc.
We were very diligent. We bought water, bread, pb&j, food, batteries, extra flashlights, etc. I was there during the blackout several years ago so I knew what we'd need. We kept our laptop, cell phones and Kindles charged at ALL times, returning them immediately if we had to unplug them for any reason.
Sunday night we went to bed. Before that we had a good dinner, listened to some wind, and watched TV. ALL NY network channels covered the storm, no shows at all. But we had Showtime and Lifetime and other channels. We woke Monday (after a great sleep b/c it was SO dark and SO quiet!) to see a bit of rain. The flooding you see on tv came from the rivers & bodies of water. We didn't get much rain in the Times Square area. No thunder, no lightening. No electricity or tv loss. It was kind of like a snow day back home, except you couldn't go out.
Monday we heard about a crane that fell partially from a building and was just hanging there in the winds. We were told that they were evacuating buildings near there for safety. We could see the emergency vehicles come and go but a huge building was blocking our view. So we assumed we were safe and continued to follow rules.
About this time, my RSD foot was starting to ache a lot. I say ache b/c that's not normally a word I use. I say "hurt". Now, with weather changes, my body does feel more pain, and that storm sure did her best to make me say "ouch!" I tried to hide it from my friend as we were so stressed already. She had to return to her home in RI for work and I had to FLY home on the 30th of October. Well, that flight was cancelled, As was every flight I rescheduled. I travel for a living so I know how it works. And I spoke to the people on the Platinum line and got info I was not happy to share. Such as, Newark Airport (the one I use to fly in and out from DTW) was w/o power and having terrible problems with flights even after power was restored. But I'm jumping ahead...
So the storm hits, we prepared, (over-prepared) and we were amazingly lucky! No power outages. Not even a flicker! We did lose ONE TV channel, an HD version of one of the networks. So we really didn't lose the network, just HD. NOT a problem in the LEAST! MILLIONS of people were out of power but not us!
On Tuesday it was quieter and we KNEW we weren't going home. But we both had high hopes for Halloween. We spent the 30th walking around a closed Times Square. A few drops of rain that afternoon but Hurricane Sandy was over in the weather sense.
Then came the worst part. We could NOT get home. No trains or buses or planes leaving. They opened JFK partially on the 31st but not Newark or La Guardia. No flights to DTW from JFK available. My airline is telling me to keep booking for the next day, then when cancelled, book again. Reports said most of us were going to stay there through the weekend.
Then my back and shoulders went. My stomach, too. Acid reflux 24/7. My RSD leg was on fire despite the fact that I was resting and taking meds on time. If I did drift off I would have nightmares. So no sleep from the 29th till I got home.
So after the hotel extended our stay (no discounts but no price gouging either!) we talked about getting a car. Long story short, we hired a car service on Halloween to drive us from NYC to Connecticut, where my friend's parents were waiting to take us the rest of the way! My pal got home and I got dropped at the airport where we had discovered a one-way ticket home (via Baltimore) that was UNDER-priced! (NOT my airline, of course, that would be convenient. It was Southwest. Dull but functional!)
It all went SO smoothly that I wish I could tell people back in NY that if they're stuck, they have other airports to deal with. After about a 3 hour ride (seemed like LESS) and no traffic or downed trees, I arrived at the airport! Then many hours later I arrived in Baltimore and then HOME by 840pm!
Now that's the story of what happened traveling. What happened with my body is confusing. I am stressed out of my MIND! I feel as if I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. We found out the day after the storm that the crane that was swaying in the wind, was literally out my window with a huge, tall building between us. It was so close. But again, we made it.
Now I'm SAFE. But my leg is twitching, my stomach is churning, I cannot sleep, I cannot relax, and I feel like crying every few minutes. Yes, my RSD pain IS worse, as are my non-RSD bursitis and pinched nerves. But I've dealt with RSD pain for 16 years. So WHY am I so stressed? I'm HOME!
I thought maybe anyone out there had info on extreme or immediate stress as relates to chronic pain? I can deal with the pain and I see my CP doc next week. But I have a 3 year old who missed me SOOO much and I him, and I hate having to tell him to be careful with hugs, etc. And he sees me crying at the drop of a hat.
I have nothing invested in NY- I feel terrible for the people there, but personally this should be over. I slept in my bed last night and am writing from there now. I cannot sleep and that alone could be causing the pain to worsen. But I'm not used to this much stress. Or how it manifests itself. I've been self-reliant for so long that I am confused by my reactions. All the bad things we heard did NOT happen to US. We were safe. It was terrifying, but we were safe, warm, fed, etc.
WHY am I still feeling this way? And is THAT causing me the extra pain? I'm just so tired, so confused. My birthday is Monday and my hubby suggested THAT might be stressing me but that was a joke.
CAN stress like this make RSD/CP worse? What to do about it? .Anyone?
We were very diligent. We bought water, bread, pb&j, food, batteries, extra flashlights, etc. I was there during the blackout several years ago so I knew what we'd need. We kept our laptop, cell phones and Kindles charged at ALL times, returning them immediately if we had to unplug them for any reason.
Sunday night we went to bed. Before that we had a good dinner, listened to some wind, and watched TV. ALL NY network channels covered the storm, no shows at all. But we had Showtime and Lifetime and other channels. We woke Monday (after a great sleep b/c it was SO dark and SO quiet!) to see a bit of rain. The flooding you see on tv came from the rivers & bodies of water. We didn't get much rain in the Times Square area. No thunder, no lightening. No electricity or tv loss. It was kind of like a snow day back home, except you couldn't go out.
Monday we heard about a crane that fell partially from a building and was just hanging there in the winds. We were told that they were evacuating buildings near there for safety. We could see the emergency vehicles come and go but a huge building was blocking our view. So we assumed we were safe and continued to follow rules.
About this time, my RSD foot was starting to ache a lot. I say ache b/c that's not normally a word I use. I say "hurt". Now, with weather changes, my body does feel more pain, and that storm sure did her best to make me say "ouch!" I tried to hide it from my friend as we were so stressed already. She had to return to her home in RI for work and I had to FLY home on the 30th of October. Well, that flight was cancelled, As was every flight I rescheduled. I travel for a living so I know how it works. And I spoke to the people on the Platinum line and got info I was not happy to share. Such as, Newark Airport (the one I use to fly in and out from DTW) was w/o power and having terrible problems with flights even after power was restored. But I'm jumping ahead...
So the storm hits, we prepared, (over-prepared) and we were amazingly lucky! No power outages. Not even a flicker! We did lose ONE TV channel, an HD version of one of the networks. So we really didn't lose the network, just HD. NOT a problem in the LEAST! MILLIONS of people were out of power but not us!
On Tuesday it was quieter and we KNEW we weren't going home. But we both had high hopes for Halloween. We spent the 30th walking around a closed Times Square. A few drops of rain that afternoon but Hurricane Sandy was over in the weather sense.
Then came the worst part. We could NOT get home. No trains or buses or planes leaving. They opened JFK partially on the 31st but not Newark or La Guardia. No flights to DTW from JFK available. My airline is telling me to keep booking for the next day, then when cancelled, book again. Reports said most of us were going to stay there through the weekend.
Then my back and shoulders went. My stomach, too. Acid reflux 24/7. My RSD leg was on fire despite the fact that I was resting and taking meds on time. If I did drift off I would have nightmares. So no sleep from the 29th till I got home.
So after the hotel extended our stay (no discounts but no price gouging either!) we talked about getting a car. Long story short, we hired a car service on Halloween to drive us from NYC to Connecticut, where my friend's parents were waiting to take us the rest of the way! My pal got home and I got dropped at the airport where we had discovered a one-way ticket home (via Baltimore) that was UNDER-priced! (NOT my airline, of course, that would be convenient. It was Southwest. Dull but functional!)
It all went SO smoothly that I wish I could tell people back in NY that if they're stuck, they have other airports to deal with. After about a 3 hour ride (seemed like LESS) and no traffic or downed trees, I arrived at the airport! Then many hours later I arrived in Baltimore and then HOME by 840pm!
Now that's the story of what happened traveling. What happened with my body is confusing. I am stressed out of my MIND! I feel as if I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. We found out the day after the storm that the crane that was swaying in the wind, was literally out my window with a huge, tall building between us. It was so close. But again, we made it.
Now I'm SAFE. But my leg is twitching, my stomach is churning, I cannot sleep, I cannot relax, and I feel like crying every few minutes. Yes, my RSD pain IS worse, as are my non-RSD bursitis and pinched nerves. But I've dealt with RSD pain for 16 years. So WHY am I so stressed? I'm HOME!
I thought maybe anyone out there had info on extreme or immediate stress as relates to chronic pain? I can deal with the pain and I see my CP doc next week. But I have a 3 year old who missed me SOOO much and I him, and I hate having to tell him to be careful with hugs, etc. And he sees me crying at the drop of a hat.
I have nothing invested in NY- I feel terrible for the people there, but personally this should be over. I slept in my bed last night and am writing from there now. I cannot sleep and that alone could be causing the pain to worsen. But I'm not used to this much stress. Or how it manifests itself. I've been self-reliant for so long that I am confused by my reactions. All the bad things we heard did NOT happen to US. We were safe. It was terrifying, but we were safe, warm, fed, etc.
WHY am I still feeling this way? And is THAT causing me the extra pain? I'm just so tired, so confused. My birthday is Monday and my hubby suggested THAT might be stressing me but that was a joke.
CAN stress like this make RSD/CP worse? What to do about it? .Anyone?
You are a self reliant, smart person and found a way out. Now its all about what your BODY is feeling, not your brain. Your brain may be telling you that the immediate danger / threat is over. Your body is reacting to the stress you felt toward the last few days.
Its not like you don't feel the stress that everyone else is feeling, its all around TV... people in the hotel... the uneasiness all around. Whats going to happen? How bad will it be? Im SO scared but I have to remain calm, at least not show it or FEEL it right now... I just need to get through it - get outta here- get home...!! IF it were me... the home part? I would do ANYTHING to get home, be with my child, and get in my OWN bed!
It doesn't matter "who has it worse" or WHY someone may "deserve" to be MORE stressed out than you. Your *body* doesn't know the difference... stress is stress.
It may be too early to be concerned about PTSD... (at least you know yourself enough to know if it gets to be too much.) I think once you SLEEP and sleep WELL... it will help to think about what happened with a fresh perspective.
Be kind to yourself, try to relax as much as possible and allow your body time to process all of this. You have been through A LOT> Think about it... your stress may have even started at the get go- I think I would have started to stress a little at the thought of preparing for a storm -- let alone *THE* storm. Its the unknown of what *could* happen. Yes, its possible to go have fun and walk around etc but ... maybe there was an underlying stress brewing... maybe waiting for the other shoe to drop- so to speak.
Sorry for the ramble- just want you to feel supported... what you went through sounds very scary all the way around!
Gentle hugs.
To me, your feelings sound something like "survivor's guilt". I think your emotions are completely validated...you have been through an incredibly stressful situation. But on some level, you might feel "guilty" that you were one of the lucky ones who did get out safely. This is a form of PTSD and it is completely understandable.
You never expected to experience the chain of events that happened while you were there in NYC. Things COULD have turned out much differently for you, had you not been safe in that hotel. What if you had chosen a different hotel or stayed in a place that was flooded or heavily damaged? I'm sure all these thoughts are in your head, as well. People were killed in this disaster, for goodness sake. Not to stir more bad thoughts to the mix, but just trying to say that it's no wonder you were, and are, so stressed out.
So give yourself a break, Jen. Sounds like you did everything you could. You were in disaster mode, mentally, and terrible things were happening all around you. You are safe and sound. You need rest. You need your family. Take care of yourself. Talk about it when you feel like it. We are here...and we care.
Sending you love and hugs,
Lori
I'm slowly getting back to normal. I haven't watched any NY coverage in about 2 days and that helps. I hear it and see it online but I'm trying to give myself some space.
Friday night I slept well, and will again tonight, I'm guessing. Last night was up and down so I've given up but I'm sure tonight will be better. The pain is up and down as well, but I can deal with that.
Again, thank-you. It means so much to me to be allowed to vent and not be chastised. I keep so much in that allowing myself to let it out is a good thing.
Bless you all- and thanks. :)