Continuing Your Education With Pain

Today I am signing up for a new distance-learning program that will allow me to get my BSN.  This is the serious road to finally let me get to where I want and need to be.  But how can I study; take my classes online; and soon, go to clinicals a few hours a day, with pain??  This on top of a full-time nursing job?  This schedule is hard for those who do not get setbacks due to pain!  Add on the mental and physical stress of experiencing pain while trying your best to be attentive in a tough program.  This will certainly be a challenge.  

This was a situation that I knew I needed to research deeply before deciding. What was I deciding? Was the question IF I wanted to go through this program?  No!  I wanted this as soon as I saw it was available to CA nurses.  The biggest question was: Can I do this?  I have a medical issue that affects every area of my life.  Can I do it?  Of course I can do it!  I have done much harder things in my life and made it through just fine.  Above all else, this is what I need to do for me.  For my career.  For my future.

What about my pain?  As my son said, "Mom you may as well do something that you really want to do even if your hurting; these days will pass anyway."  The days do pass.  So quickly now.  And when we look back on our life, have we made the very most of our days?  Were there things that we could have been doing to help our future?  This also can be much easier said than done.  

California Nurses lost our distance learning and education online abilities about 4 years ago.  The program was discontinued here, although it is still running fine in other states.  I did some of that program years ago.  As I just posted on the Nurses site I belong to: "Isn't it odd how different our state's laws are, and how they affect each U.S. nurse in what they can learn online, what is available to them; Why we are not looked at in a National sense instead of a state by state basis."

So, a new, and in my opinion, much better nursing program comes along in the place of the old program.  It is harder, it is longer, and in the end, I will have two big accomplishments in my life through this program.  I am excited and almost do not think of my pain in the mix.  I am on the computer in my off time anyway.  (I love to learn and was a 4.0 student in my in-person nursing classes I was taking when my father was diagnosed with colon cancer and very shortly was admitted to hospice.  That changed the trajectory of that course of action to obtain a higher degree.  I was blessed to be my dad's caretaker in his last days but had to withdraw from a full load midterm.  I asked my professors if there was any way to come back and finish the second half; I knew the answer before they gave it to me--No.)  Then there will be clinical days, in class after class.  That scares me, not the classes themselves, I love clinicals.  It is the fear that my pain will get in the way.  Things can sound good then real life happens and....my pain makes decisions for me.  Yet I am determined and excited.

And if, after a day at work, I sit down to study, take a test, or read a lesson from one of my Professors; and I have pain, what do I do?  For one, I can assure you I will be in pain after work.  That puts me in the recliner with the heating pad.  I can mix furthering myself and pain.  This program was exactly what I needed.  It will also help take my focus off my pain which has been shown to be a fantastic way to lower pain levels tremendously! We, as pain sufferers, that want to do more with our careers but know we cannot go back to school, there are ways. I can tell you some places to check out in an upcoming post.

I wish you a low or no pain day.....

Emergency Rooms And Other Oxymorons

How do we alert others we are hurting? Pain is a subjective issue; only we can tell, express, or in the worst of situations, show when we cannot speak.

Pain will be expressed by grimacing, crying, clenching of the body's muscles, holding of the area, neurological changes and other signs.

When we know that we are in so much pain that we need to be seen by a doctor, and it is that wonderful time of day that gives us only the choice of going to an Emergency Room.

Believe me, I do not just go to ER's for the hell of it, and I have seen both sides of the medical side of ER's to know that I will be waiting a while.

What does "wait a while" mean? Is it an hour? Is it less? I know that there are many people that need to be seen before me. Why did I go? For PAIN relief, and to be checked that this was not 'just' my regular pain, forbid it was something else.

My pain the night I went to the ER was rated a 9/10. The pain scale is a zero for no pain, and ten for pain that you just cannot stand any longer; I equate a 10 being burned alive.  Since I knew the levels of my own Chronic Pain, and what was as high as I could go without seeing a doctor, I knew that this was not normal pain for me.  I was very worried that this could be something else in the thoracic area of my spine.  I signed in and saw the Triage Nurse, who I told my pain level to, my medications, who assessed me, and then sent me back out to the waiting room.

If a patient has vocalized a nine out of ten pain, through tears, raised voices, or other signs of great pain; that patient needs to be seen ASAP.  I live with severe pain every day.  I can't roll around on the floor screaming in agony-I have learned how to deal with pain on an ongoing basis.  I don't look the same in pain, as someone who does not experience pain daily.  Just because I have chronic pain, there is no reason to treat me any different than a patent in pain that does not suffer from it chronically.  And here is the sad thing about chronic pain, it can be acute.  I have chronic pain with acute bouts.  Pain that spikes up off my normal chart of pain levels.  These events are frightening.

I have stopped myself from going to the ER before during these acute times, because I knew about the waits. I knew that staying home and sweating through the pain would be more comfortable (howewer miserable) and more reasonable, not to mention, cheaper. Unfortunately, this time, I knew that not seeing someone wouldn't be too smart.

After the triage nurse sent me out to the waiting room that night, I went back and sat with my sister and niece who had taken me.  We waited.  And we waited.  My niece was so kind when she saw me trying to sit in a hard chair, she asked for a pillow and blanket and gave them to me.  My sister held my hand and prayed.  Here is where I needed to be taken back into the ER, through those huge, ever-closed-do -not-pass-go doors, and at the least given a gurney to lie on.  No one in 9 out of 10 pain should ever be made to SIT through the wait.  NO ONE.  It is inhumane.

When 3 hours had passed, I was hunched in my chair, trying to get into a semi-fetal position to 'help' my pain. ha. Didn't work.  When it had neared nearly 4 hours of waiting, I told my sister I was ready to go home.  We had seen group after group go in, and I was the only one in the waiting room.  I knew I couldn't sit there any longer. "Take me home", I told my sister.  I had meds there, and a bed.  This had just gone too long, and I went up to the nearest person in the front lobby and told them nicely, that I was leaving, I was in too much pain to wait any longer. What? Is that the Oxymoron here?  I was in too much pain to wait any longer and was going to leave the Emergency Room. hmmm.

Here is what I was told: "Your pain level is so high that you need to see a doctor, all the other people have been seen by a Physician's Assistant, and we are waiting for a doctor to be free to see you."  I understood that way of thinking.  I had seen the ambulance come in while I was waiting.  Yet I didn't understand why they made absolutely NO effort to make me more comfortable.  And here is where we get to the subject of how some medical personnel are completely uninformed about chronic pain patients, and how they view us: Drug-Seeking patients. That is another post.

I got home, I took my prescribed amount of pain medication (proving I was not a drug seeker) including something to help me sleep, and that was that.  I was home, I was more comfortable, and eventually I went to sleep.  Waking up the next morning, I had to laugh a little at how I had been to an EMERGENCY ROOM for an emergency of unbearable pain, and had not seen anyone in 4 hours.  I know in the back that they were working on patients that needed a doctor, and ER doctors are overworked and have to decide who can be seen by a PA, delegate as many patients to them as possible, and the docs see the 'tough' cases. Guess I wasn't 'tough' enough!

And as I thought back on the night before, I wondered: How long would I have been left to sit there? And I'm happy I didn't stay to find out.  After all, I was just another emergency in the Emergency Room.

May your pain be low enough to stay out of the ER!!!

Opiates and Digestive Problems

By the time most people have made it to a Pain Doctor, it is not unusual for these Pain Patients to agree with their doctor to start on (or continue) Opiates. From Hydrocodone, (Vicodin), to Morphine, opiates can and will slow your digestive system down; especially problems with constipation.

It is important to up the water intake, but not go overboard, or you can end up with water intoxication. It has happened to me as I pounded down bottle after bottle of water. Luckily, I lived with a doctor who noticed it before I did. He said I was starting to talk a little incoherently. (And all this time I thought that's just how I talk!!) I had started swelling terribly in my feet also. Water intoxication can cause: abdominal cramps, dizziness, lethargy, vomiting, convulsions and coma.

Your doctor will probably suggest that you take "Colace", a stool softener. That helps, but doesn't fix the problem of the constipation itself.

Suddenly on scene comes yogurt, little bottles of liquid, and cheese that have active cultures targeting the digestive system. "Activia", was the first on the scene here in America to be advertised for this. They have a 14 day guarantee too.

I tried "Activia", and was absolutely astonished at how well it does work. If people that do not take Opiates are having that type of trouble, and are getting relief with these products, just imagine what it could do for those of us that are always in a semi-state of constipation. I tried it for the 14 days, and was not looking for anything 'back' after those two weeks!

If you suffer from chronic constipation due to Opiate use, or any other reason; give Activia a try. There is one thing about products that work. We have to USE them! I can forget easily to eat it every day, until I changed my routine to include it in my snacks every day. Get in the habit of eating it. If you don't like yogurt, there is cheese as I mentioned, and the little drinks. You can throw them in with your water bottle in the morning or whenever you go to work, or have it ready at home if you don't work outside the home, and make it part of your daily routine. I always have it in the refrigerator.

Constipation is not funny, or fun. It is a state that your body does not want to be in. It causes great pain and affects what jeans you can fit into. Without getting too technical, these products support having a natural, easy bowel movement; anyone who has sat and sat and sat and waited-- to only end up having a bowel movement in great pain, these digestive-helpers will make such a big change in the pain area that you will want to get some ASAP.

Oh, and drink an extra bottle of water for the day....remember, not too many!!

I wish you a low or pain-free day!

Welcome To My New Site!!

I want to thank my readers on the other Blog I have been on since February. I left a link on my last post to this site, and here we are!! Not so bad eh?? I will still be learning more here also, but will always concentrate on my content and focus to my readers.

In the life I find myself in, the never knowing how I am going to feel physically every day, brought a sharp stab in the area that has Neuropathy when I opened my eyes and moved. I sleep on the couch, a love seat size, it is a reclining couch and I have both recliners up, put my heating pad against where my back will be, and fall asleep usually to the TV. A doc was very surprised that I have to sleep downstairs in the family room and not in my own bed and room. I told her that if I try sleeping in my bed, I always feel as if I need a divider or something hard for me to lay against. In other words, I need my couch. I need the support against my back all night. As far as I've seen, I don't know of any beds that have a magic 'hard' piece raise out of the bed. Heck, they make beds out of adjustable air, can't they do something else with beds keeping in mind not everyone can sleep in a regular bed.

Sleeping downstairs in the family room is really not that bad. I am right next to the door that leads out to the backyard and my doggie stands at to go out. A lot. At night. Also, I know I am waking at odd hours, and instead of turning over to go back to sleep, I am wide awake and get up to make a cup of decaf coffee. I watch a bit of an old movie, and back to sleep I go. Some night I'll try my bed again. In the meantime, it is the perfect place for a lot of 'things'. Fold laundry, put receipts and other unloaded pieces of paper from my purse....just kind of has become a catch-all. I did go through all that yesterday and it looks like a bed again. Inviting looking during the day, but at night, some nights, I will say that I'm going to sleep in my bed. And I awake another day on the love seat. Ah the best laid plans of mice and men!!

Time to get my other posts over here from the old site....just a few of the good ones!!

Thanks for stopping by, and as always...
I wish you a low or no pain day.

Shauna :-)

A Morning of My Chronic Pain, But Now I'm All Here

Hello Dear Readers,

To introduce myself, my name is Shauna, and I am writing this Blog to not only share with you my daily challenges in a life of Chronic Pain, but also the ideas that have worked for me in different situations. Maybe some will help you out too.

Facing travel, for instance, may be a 'hassle' to those that don't even think about pain every day; but travel to us Chronic Pain Patients is a scary word. It entails the flare-ups in our pain while we do the packing--bending and lifting, even with 'help', the positions that are asked of us to get ready for a trip are not those in our book under, "Things that don't cause more pain!"

Since this is my first post here in Blogger, I will be setting up my page, etc. The format is new to me so don't be surprised to see something in an odd spot on the page. I have been writing a Blog through Blog Tool Kit, and I find it very hard to put in widgets, counters, fun links....so I'll try that here.

And of course, I wish you all a day of low or no pain!

Shauna :-)