regarding the pain issue...it doesnt hurt the pancreas more if you have pain its just telling you its inflamed. So when it is inflamed I don't eat or eat very little like baby food...I sometimes can't be NPO because my sugar crashes. It is more a mental issue i have not taking pain meds also seeing alot of people become addicted to it as well....Oxycodone is equal to heroin as far as how it hooks you and reels you in. It also can mimic pain...there is a tems i forgot it at the moment will bring it up in another topic.
As far as celiac plexus nerve block....i heard good and bad things about it and in teh long run....I need to know when my pancreas is acting up that i need to go to the hospital....and only way i know is when my pain is so unbearable that even oral pain meds dont work....so there are good and bad sides to each remedy.

I am pretty good at hiding the pain, unless it's a 10, only had 10 pain once that was when I had a staph infection in my kidney & they put me in a coma for 3 days because they couldn't control the pain, then after the infection was doing better they brought me out. That was painful, because your whole body hurts, even blinking your eyes.. So to me that was a 10.

Now when my back goes out or when my cp is really acting up and the pain gets to a 7 I will take dilaudid, since that works best for me. But I take Aleve every day and put ice packs on my abdominal area or back ever 4 hours..I HATE taking narcotics...

Yay Miss Sophie!! :) Amen about the I"I hate taking narcotics!"
Hugs

I hide my pain too. At the beginning my surgeon would always ask me how I was coping, I of course would say it isn't that bad cause I wanted to go home. She would look at my mom and ask if I was lying. My mom would then rat me out, lol. Now my surgeon knows me so well that just by looking at me she can tell how I am doing. I try not to go to the hospital unless I can't manage at home, my friend who is a doctor told my mom to look for signs. Like not talking as much, sleeping a lot, and I get really irritable when the pain is intense. I find when I am at my worst I always have a severe migraine for days and that's when I know I need to go in. I cry when I am alone in my room, but I also breakdown sometimes in front of my family. I hate to look weak but it is important not to keep it all bottled up. I am on Hydromorphone contin 3mg twice a day, I want to stop it but my surgeon wants me to wait until I see the pain clinic in March. I also take dilaudid 4mg every 4 hours for breakthrough pain, I try to go 6 hours, but then I play catch up on the pain and sometimes have to go to the hospital to get it back under control. My surgeon is worried if I stop the pain meds I will just spend all my time in the hospital. It is a vicious circle, I hate taking meds. I am so sorry you are having a tough time financially, I am lucky to be in Canada where all my hospital visits are covered. I would be broke if I had to pay, have spent about 51 days in the hospital this year and that's not including Er visits. I hope things get better for you, and if you need to talk I am here for you! Lindsay

I fully understand what you mean.

I tend to hide my pain as well...or make less of it. I will admit to being in pain but deny how bad it is (say I'm at a 4 when I'm really at an 8). I'm not sure why I do this...maybe it's because admitting I'm in extreme pain is a sign of weakness? Who knows.

I hate having to go to the ER for pain control. I hate being looked at as a drug seeker. I have pain meds here at home and I will use them...when the pain gets to be unbearable. Oftentimes, I STILL tough it out at home. What...am I a glutton for punishment?

Every time I go to the ER, I'm afraid they'll keep me. My last 2 ER trips resulted in hospital stays...the first for 22 days, the second for 8. I spent practically the entire month of November in the place.

I admit to being stubborn. I just feel that I should be stronger than the pain. So far, I've taken everything this disease has thrown at me. It has knocked me down, beaten me up and almost left me for dead. I have fought back. By hiding the pain, though, I don't think I'm doing myself any favors.

I sometimes hide it too.
With CP we are still walking upright and taking care of ourselves. So because of that everyone thinks we are ok and dont realize how miserable we feel sometimes.
I dont want people to pamper me and treat me as if Im incapable, but a bit of understanding would be nice. If ppl knew to just not judge us during the time we cant go on and we have to lay down or whatever.
People expect so much of us because they see us walking and moving about. We women especially have it hard because even if we are miserable and tired from the pain meds we still have to keep the house hold and kids a going.
I feel like a total wimp and failure sometimes because I dont always do so well at the wife and mother thing because Im feeling bad that day and lots of other days.
I see other house wives making neat crafts, cooking up giant nice meals, keeping their house super clean with super clean looking kids and I wonder how they do it all. Then I get to feeling ashamed and guilty because I cant even keep the laundry and dishes done, it's en endless battle 24/7.