Stress is a huge factor in pain. I personally believe this is a big part of why people feel things differently. Two people with the same injury will have very different levels of pain. There is also a factor of learned response. For example children learn that if they say "ouch" mommy will come running. So the child learns that making certain sounds brings a reward. Same goes for some adults who learn that complaining of pain brings a spouse or family members running.

Psychology is a huge part of the functioning of our bodies. Everyone should be required to see a pain psychologist as part of receiving treatment for pain. Unfortunately most insurance does not cover this and some doctors are afraid of losing their patient and refuse to refer to another doctor. Only when health care deals with these problems will we be able to control pain management treatment and abuse in this country.

I am so happy to hear of your success. I know in my case I try to keep stress at a minimum but when it creeps in I tend to get snappy and my family runs for cover. The serenity prayer has been a life saver many times.

While stress does affect pain, I don't know if I'd say with some conditions, it's as simple as, "don't be stressed and you won't have pain." Certainly having less stress can make you feel all around better but, I'm sorry, everyone has different thresholds of pain and to say someone who hurts more than Joe Schmo over here with the same injury just needs a shrink is a little, I don't know...a stretch. Hey, there certainly is that school of thought and that it's a learned response for attention but I personally don't think it's quite that simple.

But, for those for whom it is that simple, yay for you. For others it's not.

I have chosen to see a therapist because I do not agree with what the PM's are doing...I will not let these a-holes who think they are GOD treat me like a piece of garbage for some damn relief. It is not because I think my injuries aren't "bad enough" to cause pain. It's for me to help accept the pain, not to correct my injuries.

It was as irritating as this little witch in the office who said her friend's knees are "so much worse" than mine because she can't walk. Yet, doctors keep turning this "friend" away. Do I think this girl has problems with her knee? Probably...no doubt. Is it as extensive as bone on bone? Maybe not as there were clear MRI's. But obviously something is going on. But the coworker had no right to compare my pain to this girl's because one of us can walk and the other can't.

Anyhow, yes, everyone should get a therapist because it's good for the emotional health. I just don't believe it would take everyone's pain away.

~Michelle

10 being stressed makes my muscles tense

20 my muscles being tense makes my arm hurt worse

30 my arm hurting worse makes me stressed

40 goto 10

================================================

old programmers will appreciate that... and i hope people who are wondering what the numbers are for will get it too

its a vicious cycle and theres no way to break it

thats

all

life

is

...pain.

In any comment that I make I realize is just my opinion. This opinion should be taken with a grain of salt. I realize that some people have such pain is stressed or the reduction of stress would not help. I was actually surprised when my reduction in stress actually made a reduction in pain so in my case reduction stress is a reduction of pain.

Doc

im sorry if my post was innapropriate... im hurting a lot today and maybe i shouldnt have said that... a mod could delete it without hurting my feelings

sorry

As do I apologize if my comment was adversarial at all. It was not at all my intent. I just wanted to provide an alternative point of view. Your opinion is absolutely valid. It is very widely accepted as well. Even I believe stress plays a part. I suppose I am quite touchy this week due to pain and humiliation by doctors. So please please I wasn't picking on you. Consider it playing Devil's Advocate. ;)

~Michelle

Pain is a trick thing. I have an online chat buddy who lives in Puerto Rico. He has one knee that is virtually bone on bone, but he has absolutely no pain whatsoever. His doctor cannot believe he can walk without pain. He has to use a cane to get up and down stirs, but he has no pain. So his doctor told him I'm ready to replace your knee at anytime. Just come into my office and tap me on the shoulder when you have pain and I will schedule the operation. My friend is 65 years old.

I didn't have a lot of pain in my leg until I began treatment for my blood clots. While others have had bone shattering pain to the point they needed to be put on morphine for a month or two; or oxycodone. I have a high tolerance for pain. I grunted and bared a lot of pain and even worked in pain for 5 months before I went to the hospital. But now I have constant pain in my leg. Some say that if you do not have aggressive initial treatment for pain in the beginning, it can then develop into chronic pain. Some of the people who had terrible pain in their legs from the onset of their DVT now live normal lives without pain. Yet I am two and a half years out from my blood clot and I am still in terrible pain. So the pain issue is a very complex issue. Everyone does react to pain in very different and very real ways.

I've been wanting to tell you about my friend for a while, Michelle. I just keep on forgetting to being him up. His case goes to show you that you cannot judge one patient because of the symptoms of another patient. So I get really pissed off when people tell me they have back pain, or knee pain and they go to work everyday without any trouble. Well, if you can work in pain, or if you do not need pain medications for your pain, then perhaps your pain isn't all that bad. That's a no brainer. But these same people will call you weak for taking pain meds. Its just like when your doctor showed you his sprained ankle and said he can relate with you. Nope he can't! I'm sorry, everyone reacts to pain differently!

Jeremy,

I have to say this sounds very negative comeing from you.

I have pain from multiple sources a few being MS, a Degenerative Cartliage Disaease; which is classified as a Connective Tissue Disase, that has left me with Bone on Bone in the Right knee, and a Left Knee that has been rebuilt with rod, screws, and cadaver bone to the point that I no longer have "natural biologic nerve and blood flow in that leg, it doesn't function like a normal persons knee and calf would. I deal with constant DVT's in that leg as well as Nerve Pain, this along with multiple other diseases. Oh Yeah there's also the BiPolar which throws in daily stress, anxiety and depression.

My normal Pain Number is a 5 each and every day, if it goes higher than that, then I have trouble and need BT meds or an ER.

On top of and with all that I still work as an Accountant these days. I go to an Office 4 days a week for 5 hours a day and the remainder I do at home.

So there are several of us who Work and handle our Diseases and Chronic Pain daily. Hell, I've had 30 + Surgeries over the last 15 years and was usually working on a laptop by the next day afterwards, because I was the one who provided for my family, my ex-asshole drunk, didn't worry about much more than where his next beer was coming from.

Kat

Ex-drunk now that defines me. That is used to be my main source of pain relief. I am an alcoholic who used alcohol as a means of pain management. I understand that everybody's pain tolerance is different. At one time, my pain is gotten so bad that I tried to commit suicide four times. That's how much pain I was in. I still have my bad days as all of us to. But I don't have to compound my pain with stress. One thing I really do not like this when someone else tells me they understand when they do not suffer from chronic pain. Above all, I hope that everyone finds what they need to reduce their individual pain.

Doc

Well, you work in an office Kat. They also let you go home everyday and work from home. I do not have a college degree, so It would be very hard for me to get a job in an office. The only skill set I have is driving a truck. If I can't maneuver around the truck, or sit in the truck for long periods of time because my leg pain is always a level five, even when on pain meds, then who is going to help me go back to school for four years so I cam get a sitting job. For me in my current circumstances I'm pretty much screwed if I can't go back to driving.

I didn't want to turn this threat into an I have more pain than you have type of conversation. But if you are able t work, you are obviously receiving the proper level of treatment for your pain. I had someone who claims to be in severe pain tell me that they work without pain meds just fine. But they work in an office setting. I have a job that is physical in nature and requires a lot of mental stamina and physical stamina. I was looking at some office jobs but without college, and not being able to type 60 words per minute in the home row position, there really isn't much out there foe me. I can retrain, but without adequate transportation or money to pay for school, it's going to be a nightmare. I need them to find me a level of pain meds that will allow me to drive again!

Are you taking blood thinners for your clots, Kat? Do you wear medical grade compression socks to prevent future clots in your leg? I don't want to get into an argument over who has the most pain. All I know is that my pain is constant and it prevents me from performing normal physical activities. And that is with the compression sock, three Norco a day, and I spend 90 percent of my day with my legs elevated to enhance circulation. When I sit with my legs down the pain gets really bad. When I walk more than an hour a day the pain gets really bad. Everyone has different levels of pain. I have level 7 pain in my abdomen today, it starts three days ago. I can't even laugh or walk without it hurting. I'm not running to the doctor for it. I'm going to wait a few days and see if it subsides on it's own. I don't advertise all of my pain to the doctor and I never meant to diminish any else's pain. If some people can find the right level of treatment or inner strength to manage their pain enough to be able to work, then that is great. I have not achieved that level of pain management personally.

My leg does not work properly. I can take the bus to a store, walk around some, then after an hour or two my leg is heavy, throbbing, and like a dead piece of weight. No one has been able to tell me what is wrong for over 2 years now. I can't work standing up for more than an hour at a time, Does that make me a wuss? The last time I sat in an office chair a few weeks ago fir 5 hours my leg felt like it was 500 pounds. I had to elevate it all night before it felt normal again. If my leg pain went away today I'd immediately flush the pain pills and return to work. I applaud those of you who can navigate through the pain. When I stopped working a year ago as a dispatcher it was because I was snapping at drivers due to my pain levels. I couldn't pretend to be nice to people on the phone when I was in pain. The stress of answering the phones 12 hours a day, pain from sitting in a computer chair, and everything else turned me into an angry pissed off monster. What do I do just be in pain and act nice to everyone when I want to start busting things to pieces.

There was one phrase that bothered me:

Well, if you can work in pain, or if you do not need pain medications for your pain, then perhaps your pain isn't all that bad.

And I'm not making this about who's pain is worse.
There are things that you can learn from home like typing, 10key, medical transcribing,etc. There's Federal Grants, Financial Assistance.

And actually I think you should get a 2nd or 3rd opinion because it sounds like your under-medicated, and if you were medicated properly you might be able to go back to your dispatching job, who knows.

Don't get me wrong my pain stays at a 5 all day, everyday, there is no below 5 for me. But I've been doing this since I was 17 years old and it's just a way of life I'm used to. When it gets worse I have stronger BT meds or I go to the ER. I have 2 Knee Replacements, a Hip Replacement and a Shoulder Replacement in my near future, but it's not something I want to tackle right now so I'm not.

I've been "crippled/Pained" out of my first 2 Professions and now do Accounting as my last and current profession. And yes I can do part of it at the office, that doesn't mean it's a dream. I had to but a specific $459 chair so that I can sit comfortable and my bottom half of my body doesn't go dead. I had to buy a specific key board and I have to use specific mechanical pencils so my fingers don't go numb. Just because I sit in my office for 25 hrs. M-Th doesn't mean it's the easiest thing in the world. There are many days when my door is closed and people know if that door is closed don't open it, go write me an email. But as for my choice to work, I don't have one. I am a single woman who supports half of her 15 yr old sons expenses as well as all of my own expenses. So work for me is not an options. I've worked since the day I turned 16 and I'll work till the day I die.

As for your answer about the blood clot in my left leg, no I cannot take anything for it. I have a blood deficiency/clotting factor so if I took meds to break up the clot in my leg I'd bleed to death. I get platelet & pure red cell transfusions twice a month.

Now I didn't mean this to be irritable toward you, there are just things you can do to work if your willing to do the research and do the online training.

Hang in there and take care,

kat

There is no way back to the dispatching job as I was the owner of the company at the time. I didn't have to have a college degree to get that job. The company was failing due to my getting sick 6 months after I had built it up from scratch. I let the company go to my former partner. I have experience in the dispatching/brokering world of the trucking industry, but most jobs require college degrees or a customer base before they will hire you. I can type well, I just use the hunt and peck method. I could never get used to home row. Also, I already know people who went to school for medical coding and billing, they spend over 15k to do so. Neither of them have found a job in that field as most doctors are looking for experienced medical billers. The job market is tough right now. I read where new nursing school graduates are having trouble getting hired because all of the nursed with experience are re-entering the work force because of financial problems.

Any how, dispatching is a very fast paced job. You have to be able to quadruple task. I used to thrive on it. I used to have my cigs, my huge gallon cup of coffee, and a lot of energy. After the clots in my legs and lungs I got zapped from energy. I don't know if it Is from the actual clots or from the medication I'm taking. I wouldn't be able to run a company like this. I have too many bad days and bad energy days to do so. I can set up a company and do the payroll, or recruiting, a more less stressful job, but you have to be sharp as a tack to worn in operations. Driving is less mentally challenging, but more physically demanding. I'd prefer to go back to work by myself where I only have myself to rely on. I don't do well in a team setting.

I'm not a defeatist, but I know what I used to be capable of. I used to put in 16 hour days in front of the computer taking calls, booking loads, doing payroll, monitoring trucks, the whole shebang! I do have the occasional good day where I feel like I can conquer the freight world again, but then I get pain and it drags me down. The high's and lows of chronic pain are draining me mentally. When I work; and I've worked since I was 18 years old, I am always on time, and I give 100 percent of myself. I have had more managers, and even plant managers shake my hand for being such a hard worker. When I drove I had customers call my dispatcher and thank me for being such a patient driver. I would be mad as hell and ready to snap on people on the inside, but I would present a smile and do whatever it took to get load delivered. Sometimes that meant going to multiple business locations to track down air-freight paperwork. One delivery company I worked for would let me bid on my own loads. They wouldn't even call to track my truck because I was always early. Sometimes I would go to bed at 3 am and wake back up at 5 am and work all days. I still have a huge reputation amongst certain delivery companies to this day. I once drove 15 hours straight on a load on just three hours of sleep to get it there on time. I was thanked by the broker for doing a good job. I don't have that kind of energy these days. I feel like an old ass man. I don't want to take a job only to have to quit because of my physical condition. If I can't give my all, there is no point in starting a job just to fail it.

I am very conflicted about this. I like to work. But I feel so slow and messed up these days. I have literally not improved one bit since I got out of the hospital cept for I can talk now without gasping for air. But I still feel like shit, All I hear is that I should be better by now and no real explanation as to why I feel crappy. So when people jump on me for not working, or for being lazy, it makes me very livid. I just sit here in shock of what I used to be like and what I'm like right now. I wouldn't even be able to run away from a rabid dog if it was running towards me right now. Any how, I never meant to offend anyone on here, I was just saying that it ain't the same for everyone.

I used to be able to remember every load and what driver delivered it for the entire year off the top of my head. I also used to type more accurately than I do now. But things are not as they once were anymore. I'm having a hard time adjusting. I just want to break stuff all the time. I can't keep the anger on the inside anymore.