It has been a long time since my last post. It has been quite difficult to put pen to paper, I haven't been in the right head space.
My pain has been absolutely horrendous. It has gotten worse and worse, to the point where it leaves me incapable of doing anything. Trigeminal Neuralgia has taken over my life, despite my valiant efforts to fight this monstrous condition. The pain is so intense now, it's difficult to function. I do have good days, where the pain isn't as bad. It allows me to be normal for a while, paint a smile on my face and pretend that everything is fantastic. That is almost as hard as dealing with TN. I will write more about that soon.
What is normal though? Are any of us normal? I don't think so. I have had so much time to reflect on why TN has decided to invade my brain, why I have horrific Migraines and why I have Fibromyalgia. I admit I have spent quite a lot of time feeling sorry for myself. That was foolish, as it serves no purpose. I see things a lot clearer now, it's like a cloud has lifted. We are all unique, we all have our own little quirks and issues. Some happen to be worse than others, and some people seem to have everything laid out in front of them. Why is that??
I have been grieving for the life I used to have. My job, friends, and freedom. Trigeminal Neuralgia has taken it away, snatched it out from under me almost 5 years ago. I am now almost accepting the inevitable truth that I will have TN for the rest of my life. It's a hard pill to swallow, but I know things could be a hell of a lot worse.
My pain is awful now, so bad that I cry my eyes out. I bury my head in my pillow to hide this from others. This is my Battle and I must fight it. I have wonderful support. My family are there when I need them, and I do need them often.
Fibromyalgia has also decided to wreak havoc on my body. It's insane. I feel like an old woman at times, every bone and joint in my body scream in pain. My shoulders, elbows, hips and feet are really bad. I am always tired, even if I sleep. It's wearing me out. I have an appointment with the Rheumatologist soon, so lets hope he will have a magic wand and make it go away. If not, I will just have to keep going. Taking things day by day, and sometimes hour by hour. I have managed so far, no point stressing about things I can't control.
It's been a very long time since I posted anything. Everything has been very difficult and up in the air. In my previous post I mentioned that I have had lots of new symptoms. I thought I was getting a bad flu, but the dreaded flu never came, but the pains became more frequent, more widespread and a hell of a lot more painful! I went to my GP, and he thought I may have Fibromyalgia. It was a preliminary diagnosis, as I only had the pains and aches for a couple of weeks. I was advised to just carry on, and hopefully the pains would subside. Guess what, they didn't.
Along with the joint pain, my skin is so sore. Clothes feel so heavy, and I am so weak ordinary everyday tasks seem like a huge burden. I am also constantly tired, whether I get some sleep or not. My GP says that it's fatigue, another damn symptom of Fibromyalgia. I have been to my doctors many times since Christmas, and both doctors in the practice agree that as well as Trigeminal Neuralgia, I do have Fibromyalgia. But, Fibro has to be properly diagnosed my a Rheumatologist, so I am hoping with every fiber of my being that it's not Fibro. I would prefer something else that can be cured with some magic pill. Having one incurable Chronic Illnesses is bad enough, but two??
My Trigeminal Neuralgia and Migraine pain has gotten worse than ever before. The intensity is severe, the constant burning on both sides is so difficult to handle. The shocks are quite frequent, there are days when the shocks are only a couple of seconds apart. Those are extremely dark days, and there is nothing I can do, and nowhere I can go for help. I have vowed never to go to hospital again. The more I think of it, the more I realise how badly I was treated while there. My new Consultant lied to me, straight to my face. After I was discharged, I was promised I would be seen as an outpatient within 4 weeks. That was in August 2016. It's now March 2017, and I am still waiting for my appointment. This Doctor has helped to completely destroy my faith in the health system here in Ireland. (Which is not hard.) She lied to me, patronised me and she was quite aggressive and really mean. I was at my most vulnerable while there. I reached out and asked for some help, but all I got was false hope and lies. I will never go back there for help. I have to go back for outpatient appointments, but I will never go to A&E and if I ever do get a letter from her, I will tell her what she can do with it. I am still angry about this, and I realise that it can't be just me. How many other people out there have been treated cruelly in our hospitals?
Living with constant excruciating pain is such a battle. Trying to stay as positive as possible, plaster the fakest smile on my face is intolerable, but necessary. Someone very wise said to me recently, "We are all fantastic liars," and she is so right! What do the majority of chronic pain patients say when someone asks how they are?
Do they say;
"I'm ok,"
"I'm fine,"
"I'm good thanks,"
or
Do they say;
"I feel like s**t"
"My pain is really bad today"
"It feels like Freddy Krueger is tearing open my skull, while battery acid is running down my face and some crazy person has attached jump leads to each nerve."
I bet most of us go for the 1st option, where we lie and pretend that everything is sunshine and daisies. This deception is necessary for most of us, but it is draining and exhausting.
