Pain takes over everything and untreated chronic pain can derail your whole life. Without treatment, pain takes over your body, and then it takes over your mind. It makes it so you can’t process information. It makes it so you can’t think. It makes it so you can’t remember because all you can remember is the pain that has taken over your body and your entire life.
Anyone who thinks that chronic pain can be ignored or permanently distracted from has never experienced pain. It used to be medically understood that pain inhibited healing. When I was recovering from my first c-section the doctor reminded me that I shouldn’t try to be tough and not take medication. He said that if I was in too much pain I wouldn’t move, and that would inhibit my recovery. So he gave me pain medication and then had the nurses force me out of bed and force me to walk around the hallways of the hospital. It was still horribly painful, but sure enough, I did recover quickly and didn’t feel the need to finish the bottle of pain medication he sent me home with.
Pain now goes untreated because of the opioid hysteria
These days my recovery story would be different. Two years ago I had my gall bladder out with zero pain medication. I was sent home with nothing. And even though it was a minor laparoscopic surgery, it took longer to recover from than my c-sections. It took longer for me to be up and about, it took longer before I could put on a real pair of pants because of the pain of my incision, and it took longer for the pain to go away.
Why is it that we once believed the pain was important for recovery, but now the pain is all just in the mind and something that we need to mentally get over? Why is pain no longer considered valid? And why is it considered synonymous with addiction? Addiction is a real disease, but it’s not a disease that people in pain have.
Consequences of untreated pain
I’ve talked about some of the long-term side effects of living in constant pain before. Poorly treated pain leads to:
- depression
- anxiety
- sleep troubles
- changes in personality
- reduced social life
- inability to maintain employment
- loss of energy
- high blood pressure
- stroke
A new study provides us with even more information about the long-term consequences of untreated pain. Researchers at the University of Florida showed that chronic pain also causes brains to age more rapidly, which then raises the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological problems.
“Our findings highlight the need to address chronic pain, not just in older individuals but in potentially everyone, as pain may have unintended consequences in the brain that we don’t yet fully understand.”
Yenisel Cruz-Almeida, PhD, a researcher at the University of Florida Institute on Aging.
For the three-year study of 47 adults, MRI scans were used to measure the volume or white and grey matter in the brain. 33 of the participants had chronic pain, and their brains were found to appear two years older than their actual age, compared to the healthy patients whose brains appeared four years younger.
Treatment for pain may mitigate the effects
The study also suggested that treatment for chronic pain could reverse those effects, as the participants who had received treatment in the last three months had brains that appeared younger compared to those who did not receive treatment.
This seems like an obvious conclusion for anyone who has ever experienced chronic pain, because of course treatment of pain mitigates the effect of pain. However, with the opioid hysteria causing so many doctors and politicians to claim that pain doesn’t really mean anything, this research study is vital.
The known consequences of untreated pain are significant, but this study points out that there are many consequences to untreated pain that so far remain unknown to medical science. People in pain are human beings in need of treatment, and to pretend that pain isn’t significant is dangerously negligent.
This is so true. My chronic pain is due to RA, diagnosed 3 years ago…and I am almost 70. My doctors (several over the span of many years) all told me to take NSAIDs for my complaints (tendonitis, arthritis, bursitis, etc) so I did and now have Stage 3 kidney disease as a result. I have moderate to severe degerative disk disease L2-S1, a bad ankle, both hands need tendon transplants and joint remodeling, and a total knee replacement is scheduled for next week. My pain medication is tylenol…because we have an “opioid crisis”. I am looking forward to a surgeon literally cutting off the ends of my leg bones so that I can temporarily have pain meds that will help with the other issues. It is appalling malpractice to allow patients to suffer this way. My quality of life is so poor that I am not sure if I can ever recover, regardless of how many surgeries I have. I may simply have to sit in a chair for the rest of my life. I have a pain management doctor who does back injections but has discontinued prescribing pain medication (I never had any from her) for her patients and instead is discussing meditation and yoga due to DEA dictates. While I am not suicidal, I know people who are rapidly approaching that state. The (non) treatment of chronic pain patients who are now forbidden to have access to medications that were specifically developed for them is apalling.
I admire your strength. Diagnosed with fibromyalgia 5+ years ago, we found a combination of meds that worked for me, then that Dr left, and the new one stopped them because of liver damage. I am supposed to get L5-S1 back injections, and that Dr is working with me, I finally have something for the muscle pain & spasms. I also found that I have bursitis now as well. I think if Drs were able to quickly see that a patient was diagnosed with RA, fibro, or any other actual pain diagnosis, it might ease up on lower class drugs that may help ease the pain. Stamp it on our foreheads or something…. lol…..
Excellent post. Thank you! And so true! Why are we drug addicted pariahs because we try to still live, despite our chronic pain? It’s become shameful to take pain meds. I’m finally at the point now, where I refuse to be shamed. Great post!!
Hi thanks for sharing this information. I didn’t know there was a problem to the effect of pain being only in our minds.
Interesting… have you experienced that first hand?
I know it’s not a good idea to pop pills, but when it comes to pain, I’m the first one to take Motrin.
Personal my struggle is depression and I take medication for it. I’ve considered taking CBD oil and know people who’ve been swearing by it. It’s supposed to help with depression and pain.
I’ve researched the topic and blogged about it. https://betterhealthnweightloss.blogspot.com/2019/07/cbd-oil-new-craze.html
But haven’t found the courage to try it.
Have you considered CBD oil? I’m hesitant because of potential side effects. AND I’ve never tried it before.
Great blog. Thanks for sharing. I had no idea pain aged our brains. Interesting.
SO now is the time for Graceful Acceptance of pain. As an awful lot of folk are being denied access to the substances that are proven to help us deal with our daily, nightly, may continual torture, it follows that a significant number of voters are in this cadre. Blogs and articles such as this and by the Mighty are likely to be central to the effort to get the powers that be to see sense.
How many of the people in danger of becoming addicted to opioids are actually of our number? That is, those of us who struggle just to live through the hours of our lives in any sort of comfort, whilst gracefully accepting quite monumental amounts of suffering. Or are they struggling to get through their own pressured and empty lives without headaches or a small cushion to lean on through their intensely boring and empty unpressured lives, needing just a little something to take the edge off?
Research into the effects of pain in our lives needs to be at the forefront of medicine, linked to more effective and sympathetic treatment of the symptoms of pain. As populations grow and age those who suffer and those whose working lives are wrecked, let alone family and emotional lives will increase in number. Do we all have to be customers of the drug dealer on the corner?
On my MRI scan my brain is significantly atrophied. My neurologist remarked casually that this is a symptom of chronic pain. Who knew? Well even atrophied my brain has done some research and what is happening to my fellow fibro warriors and their fellows in related conditions will be likened in years to come to institutionalised torture. The most effective treatment for chronic and acute pain is the correct regime for the individual concerned. Political and media opinion really should not be part of this relationship.
Suddenly fatigued.
Best wishes to all my fellows
M A WILSON
People who are effectively treated with strong medication seem to be an acceptable acute sufferring, even dealths, in this opioid crisis thing. The lack of thought put into the policy that scares the docs clearly stems from a lack of compassion for their fellow American sufferring acute chronic pain. I have never bought or sold a med of any kind in my life. Arthritic and degen in the neck and back, a squashed nerves in my neck, disc pushing on my spinal cord, pain every single day that ranges from burning, stabbing, shooting, electrical, muscle spasm lockdown, migraine, now fibromyalgia and depression n ptsd has brought me to my knees. They are still mulling over if i am disabled enough to get a few hundred to live on. The old me was so passionate about my studies, work, military most of my life (father veteran and lifelong soldier, me a brat, an employee and former spouse, as well as former stay at home mom). I saw this coming when heroin and fetanal became a crisis that ended up grabbing pain meds. Cbd isnt covered, this new pot thing is all out of pocket too.
We and others worse should not be acceptable casualties as this is figured out. I pray that those who see patients with prescritions as junkies take a closer look. Is this what they would do to their mothers and daughters?
We have a right to pain relief as patients, never forget that either. Soften those cold, ill advised hearts out there. Please. mrd
I heard about CBD Oil for years and a way to help and I didn’t realize that there is little THC so you don’t feel “high”. Since I was skeptical, I started with a low dose and now I’ve find the right formula (full spectrum, CO2, water-soluble) and dose for me. It’s natural and after just a couple weeks I feel more “balanced” and I did not feel like a truck hit me this morning. Apparently, it’s very nutritious with Omegas, Magnesium which is what we need with Fibro.
Best of luck to you on finding a good pain management regimen! Best, Laura
CBD oil can be safe. The challenge is that not all CBD oil is good quality, as there is no standard for production and content, so if you have an undesired result you will not know if it falls short because of poor quality or if CBD will not help you. CBD from hemp does not have the pshycotrophic THC. If it is extracted from marijuana plant it can have up to 3% THC.
I have been monitoring online people who have been helped and which product they have taken. Young living seems to have some good quality control and helped some. There are other less known producers who produce pharmaceutical grade product as well.
Early on, I had gotten an inferior product that irritated my stomach so have been waiting for established quality producers before trying again. However, I have found that putting some of the poor grade CBD in my epsom salt and soda bath helps relieve pain & ability to sleep better.
I have fibromyalgia, chronic, 2 knee replacements, have bone spurs on my spine and both shoulders, spinal stenosis, 2 bulging discs, nerve damage, and a disc in my neck that has worn down..I live in chronic pain every day of my life and am now using a cane because of pain in my leg (if I step up and put my weight on my right leg pain shoots from my knee to my buttock my right leg is numb and burns and my left foot/ankle has been numb for 2 years….long story short I have had too many injections to count because of my back, shoulders, neck, knees, elbows, wrist…I have osteo arthritis from head to toe…went to pain clinic for 9 years having injections, and taking tramadol which she would prescribe 180 50mg pills at a time when I went back to her after not seeing her for 2 years I still had half a bottle left…told her something had changed as pain was worse so after MRI showed all the problems she says back surgery is all that can b done…I don’t want that I know too many people that have had one and had to have repeated surgeries I asked her if she couldn’t just put me on tramadol again she said it would just mask problems which I said was what I wanted to do as didn’t want/trust surgery…she wouldn’t even give me a muscle relaxer as MRI showed I was having spasms while laying there having MRI …I told her she acted like I was some kind of druggie and showed her the half bottle pills I had left and told her check my record as I had been given oxy for knees when I had them done and she would c I never abused them or became addicted heck, she had even offered me oxy a few years before and I refused because I couldn’t function taking that stuff….I’m so tired of living in chronic pain, been to 3 choir practices, physical therapy and injections with no help it makes me mad beyond words that people who need help cannot get it but it seems addicted people can..I told the doc that a drug dealer could stand outside her office and sell stuff pretty easy because they knew a person who needed help wasn’t going to get it there and I have tried the CBD OIL and it didn’t help…I’m so tired of going through this every day I can’t get anything done for using ice/heat all day trying to find some relief and hoping I don’t fall and break my back when I try to stand up??