Dealing with Neuropathic Pain

 

One never knows what this is like, until one has it. Sometimes people look at you and start to doubt whether you are really in pain because you're always smiling and never complaining. Neuropathic pain is something connected to your emotional state. It can be sequelae from illness which is what you're stuck with even though you have healed from the illness to some extent.

Sometimes this pain can be twenty-four seven. In the end you kind of get used to it because it's there but there are so many other things going on that it stays in the back of your mind.  However, when you undergo a stressful situation, the pain that was around rated 3 out of 10 goes to a bursting 15. This is the kind of pain that even the clothes on your body bothers you and for sure you don't want to deal with other people’s drama drives you mad.

Last week I had one of these crises. Thankfully for medication, rest and sleep, the pain died down in four days. Now you might think that four days is a long time and it is don't get me wrong; nevertheless, you know that each day, thanks to the medication, the numbers start decreasing and then finally you can get the pain down to its usual 3.

The more people ask you how you are doing; if you are better; if the pain has decreased, the more irritating it is because it is something that you simply cannot control. It's something that takes you out of your comfort zone and makes you feel as if you were worthless, good for nothing, going to die due to the never-ending torture your body is being put through during that period of time.

 Even though you know that this pain comes from an emotional state, load of stress that you have been accumulating for a period of time, it hits you like the tidal wave or tsunami if you prefer to choose the latter. When you least expect it, the pain that was 3 is much higher than a 10. Once I asked my neurologist how they rated these numbers; exactly what that number related to in pain. He answered that a 10 was when I wanted to hit my head on the wall because the pain was so unbearable. I beg to differ with this number because 10 is not that grand. A 15 is when you want to be alone otherwise, you're going to smack somebody.

Pain relief medication does work. Breathing techniques do work. Watching a comedy series works. Reading a good book works. Being alone and not doing anything time related works.  Therefore, if you suffer from neuropathic pain, try to rest, and wait for it to die down before you can go back to your daily routine.

To those people who don't understand, I only hope that you never have to suffer from this.

Written:  May 2, 2022

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