Home→Forums→Tough Times→Does physical pain make you depressed?
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June 23, 2017 at 6:38 am #154662RebeccaParticipant
As some of you know, I broke my right wrist about a month ago. I had surgery to insert plates and many many screws. It was multiple breaks to my radius and ulna. The recovery process has been soooo slow and painful. I have never really had to deal with pain for this long and let me tell you, it sucks! I have empathy for those of you out there dealing with chronic pain. The medicines they prescribe for pain are effective but the side effects suck. Ibuprofen and tylenol only do so much… I told my doctor I didn’t want to be on the heavy pain pills anymore so he prescribed me tramadol, which still makes me dizzy and extremely sleepy, but it takes away the pain pretty well. It is really hard not to focus on the pain, and to not let it interfere with social interactions and daily tasks. It makes me very sad and kind of hopeless at times. Not to mention, the narcotic medicine makes me feel a little tearful as well. Anyways.. how do you deal with your pain? I salute those of you dealing with chronic pain.
June 23, 2017 at 8:02 am #154676AnonymousGuestDear Rebecca:
Yes, physical pain does make me depressed. I fear it, when it happens I fear that it will last and last. If it is a strong enough pain I will take the strongest pain pill (or injection) available, sooner than later.
I hope your wrist heals … sooner than later, take good care of it and of the rest of you.
anita
June 23, 2017 at 4:40 pm #154748RebeccaParticipantI’m sorry to hear that Anita. Thanks. I am healing very slowly, and that is kind of concerning to me. How do you react to pain pills? Any bad side effects? Do you have support/someone who understands your chronic pain?
June 23, 2017 at 6:43 pm #154750Hana LParticipantHi Rebecca,
I feel that it’s important to be compassionate with yourself, and not set expectations (eg I want to heal by x number of weeks, and when that doesn’t happen one might get angry with oneself and wonder what is wrong). Different people take a different amount of time to heal, and it also depends with how each individual handles pain, a very subjective matter.
Also different people react differently to pain pills, sometimes being drowsy is the main side effect and definitely be careful when you’re doing daily activities eg having a shower (there is a risk of accidentally falling down) or handling sharp objects like scissors or knives (to prevent any injuries). Some other side effects may include vomiting and nausea, or constipation, and there are different ways of handling these side effects. It mainly depends on what your doctor prescribes for you, do ask the doctor or your pharmacist what side effects to look out for, and get some written information about the medication you are on.
Do take care.
Hana
June 24, 2017 at 9:21 am #154794AnonymousGuestDear Rebecca:
I currently do not suffer from physical pain, fortunately (relief!), so no I don’t have a chronic pain situation. My last ongoing pain was a result of falling off the deck, as I shared with you on a previous thread. I took prescribed pain pills at that time, for a lesser time than prescribed (have leftovers). They didn’t take all my pain at the time, only a portion. My reactions to them- fine. The pain was strong enough and I was willing to endure any side effects, like drowsiness. I stopped taking them when the pain was no longer intense, and besides, like I wrote, they didn’t take away all of the initial or residual pain.
I learned to move slowly as a result of that experience and kept that habit, mindful. Mindfulness is a way to prevent future injuries (and not exacerbate current injuries), as you know.
Post anytime as you go through this slow healing process, wishing you the full recovery.
anita
June 24, 2017 at 3:56 pm #154840ElianaParticipantHi Rebecca,
Yes, I feel that pain can interfere with our well-being and moods. I am in the same boat. In the past two months, it seems like it is never ending, and now I am getting depressed because the bills from hospitals are coming in and x-rays. I am on SSDI disability, and only on medicare, and Medicare does not cover alot.
Over the course of two months, my chronic, severe back pain has gotten worse. (I had a bad fall off a horse during a horse jumping show, going over a large and talk water jump. I was an experienced rider, but I have the horse the wrong signals, the horse fell, and I fell hard breaking several vertebra in my my back and neck, in a coma. Since then I have been in Pain Management, on constant Epidural inhections, prescribed opioid and narcotics for pain, chiropractors.
I also from time to time get trigger point injections in my upper back. The opiods wreak havoc on your digestive system, and I have to take medication just to go to bathroom. I have to see a colon and rectal specialist this week, making me severly anxious. Now, I think I have two hernias that I have to get looked at, plus many other pains and problems, that interfere with the quality of my life. Yes, it can be depressing.
June 25, 2017 at 8:30 am #154898AnonymousGuestDear Rebecca:
Little did I know when I wrote to you yesterday, that today, 24 hours later, I will be in a state of pain and immobility. Last night, same day I posted here, on your thread, I got up from my reclining chair and lost my footing. I was tired and was not aware that it could be dangerous for me to get up from the chair. Never had a problem before getting up from this chair. The flip flops I put on were part of the reason I lost my footing, I believe. Again, didn’t foresee it being a problem. And so, didn’t practice mindfulness getting up. I twisted my foot badly, the pain was intense enough, followed with nausea, the feeling of needing to vomit. Used ice, went to bed, but slept very poorly, couldn’t relax. In the morning, felt again, nauseated. Got up, put some weight on the foot and realized it was not a good idea.
I was, until yesterday, very active- a long walk per day (3.5 miles), plus yard work of 3-5 hours per day. I know I will not be able to do either today, tomorrow, and I don’t know for how long.
I noticed FEAR was the first and foremost reaction, causing the nauseated sensation. I noticed significant increase in tics (Tourette Syndrome, lifelong), I noticed that suicide thoughts occurred to me as a fast solution to the pain and fear of not being active anymore, gaining weight (I have a history of anorexia/ over-exercising). I noticed the great fear of not being able to walk, to use my body. I noticed my low-distress-tolerance, wanting to escape it any which way.
I also noticed the return of magical thinking: I was wondering if I was punished for posting here, on your thread yesterday, stating then I was not experiencing pain, and so I was not qualified then to reply and so, I was … made qualified. Part of me believed this. I noticed paranoid thinking, someone wishing me ill and … causing this to happen to me (the “evil eye” magical thinking).
Well, I am now qualified, sitting here with my foot wrapped tight, unable to put weight on it (crawling, intend to get and use crutches later). So, yes, I am qualified, unfortunately. If you would like, we can communicate here, on your thread, and maybe help each other in our struggles- I would like that, let me know, if you will
anita
June 29, 2017 at 7:42 am #155504HarrietParticipantHi Rebecca,
Yes physical pain can definitely make you feel depressed. For me it makes me feel very anxious. I have a chronic pain condition that comes and goes – usually the pain isn’t super severe but it’s severe enough to upset me. The only medication I can take for nerve pain are anti-depressants as they can work to reduce the pain signals the nerves are churning out. For me, there is a significant correlation with my mood/ anxiety on my pain. When I’m anxious, stressed or upset the pain amplifies by hundreds. It’s also worth remembering that this is not only psychological but physiological too. Stress, and only emotions can produce stress chemicals which actually amplify the severity we feel pain.
There is an amazing book I would really recommend for you (and others dealing with chronic pain). It talks lots about the two elements of pain (primary and secondary). Primary is the raw sensation of pain, secondary is our reaction and emotions related to the pain e.g. thoughts like “when will this stop?” “am I going to be in pain for ever?” “I can’t cope with this” etc. It’s much much easier said than done, but the book explores how you can tease apart the primary pain from the secondary and ease your suffering. I’m still working on this everyday, and was very sceptical at first, but honestly you can gain a lot of control over your pain with your mind.
In terms of meds – the antidepressants I take do make me incredibly sleepy and drowsy which is unpleasant. I also don’t find they help significantly, although with nerve pain they have to work over many weeks and months to diminish the pain.
Keep strong, and let me know if you want to talk anytime.
The book can be bought on Amazon – it’s called “Mindfulness for Health: A practical guide to relieving pain, reducing stress and restoring wellbeing” by Vidyamala Burch”. If you don’t want to buy the book they have lots of helpful articles on their website which can give you a taste. They also have some of the free meditations you can try:
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