Chronic Pain Today

My IC has been relatively quiet lately. I know why it is, it seems like it doesn’t come around unless all other health crises have been put to sleep. In the past year I’ve had my gall bladder out, a breast cancer scare, a nail gun nail to the head, and a week’s worth of hospital stay for a kidney stone and SEVERE infection. So the IC has been nice and quiet. However due to the other things the pain has still been there, but instead of the nice dull aching pain I’ve grown used to it was replaced by burning stabbing pains.

 Now is seems that once again things are starting to rest again, because I’ve noticed that the IC flares from time to time again. Usually after I have ate something that I should not have ate (off the Bad Foods List) or I’ve just really over exerted myself without getting ample amounts of fluids into me.

 I rant, I rave, I try to forget that I’m living with a condition that affects every trace of my being, but then sometimes when I’m not looking there it is—-finding me.

The word chronic comes from the Greek word khronos, which means time. By simple definition, chronic pain is any pain that lasts over time. But really, what does that mean? Chronic pain was formerly defined as a pain that lasted over six months, then it was three months, and now it is widely accepted to be any pain that last longer than what normal healing time would be. It is also used to define pain that is caused by an unknown or incurable condition, such as fibromyalgia, arthritis, lupus, etc.

Effects of Chronic Pain
Chronic pain sufferers are four times more likely than others to develop clinical depression over the course of their lives. This decrease in the quality of life will affect social interactions, careers, religious outlooks, and other items in the individual. It may affect their sleep, which can lead to other long term health problems. The person may not be able to continue to work and therefore it can affect the financial status of the household and the self esteem of the person unable to work. Chronic pain affects everyone.