How does the ER trip relate to my pain you ask?

    I hope the title makes sense?  Some of you may be wondering why I posted something about me taking my mom to the emergency room.  If you think about it, when does pain in someones back  usually happen?  When their moving and when your moving around a lot.  I’m writing this blog using my own pain as a base line so, which usually runs around a 5-6 (1-10) and this is with the pain-pump going 24/7/365 (Fentenal) and a daily oral pain medication (Norco), along with several other medicines for depression, sweats, constipation, a more fast acting and localized pain medicine.

     When you have chronic back pain (CBP) and I use this as reference because it is what I have and I am unable to reference say knee, shoulder, or some other chronic pain, but when you have CBP every time you take a step, bend to pick something up, stretch, sit or even stand for an extended period of time the pain you had changes, it morphs into something different, it becomes more intense, or pronounced, you start to feel the pain move from your back down into your legs or even us into you arms.  Even your upper back is now after only and hour of waiting around a hospital gone from the mild 5-6 (after 21 years of dealing with this, for me that is mild) to now a 7-8 and your still waiting for the doctor to come into the room, if you even made it to a room.  Now you are 2.5-3 hours into your ER visit and your played with all the equipment in the curtain walled room your in, walked up and down the hall looking for a restroom have sat on the only chair around and its been here since George Bush Senior sat in the White House so the cushion is now springs and the pain is yes this is right, made its way into your feet, hands, neck and head, with your pain level now elevated to an 8-9 or higher, your being told to relax, their coming, asked to sit down and you know all this is true but you are in so much pain it makes no sense. 

After 4-5 hrs in the ER, your living on ..

     You know as do your loved ones that when you get to being this person, the one with a pain level of 8-9 even 10 your not the same person as you are at a lower level.  For most pain sufferers who deal with pain 24-7, on waking up they are usually at their least pain from having slept, part of the night.  Then as they progress through their day, waiting to get into appointments, medical appointments themselves, driving to/from the appointments, kid issues, family issues, work “if they still do,” and more their pain levels (at least mine do) begin to rise and by mid-day it has gone up by 20-40% and then by 6 pm it can be another 10-40% or more.  So by the time the spouse, kids and so forth get home from work and school the person (Me) with chronic pain can be in need of a break.  One of my doctors suggested that I “daily” take a nap around that time to help defuse my pain and make easier on the family members.  I must say it works.  Even sitting here typing out this blog I switch my sitting position constantly and actually stand and type at time due to the pain radiating around every part of me that comes into contact with the chair I’m sitting in and I can feel this pain radiating up into my mid back on the left and into my right shoulder area as well as my legs.

     Now imagine taking me, and all my glory on a road trip (have to stop every 1 hr to stretch) or involve air travel, security alone with my internal pump is a vacation, at least it take as long as a vacation and you’ve never done this before, I feel sorry for you.  It has taken us and I mean “US” as in my wife, two daughters, son, and entire family 18 plus years, two cruises, trips to Disneyland, vacations to Santa Cruz, Las Vegas, seasons of kids sports, all three of them played almost every season growing up, school bleachers were hell and I did have to walk out of some of them because of the pain.  But it took us 18 plus years to figure out how to deal with it and I will say, we’re still trying to figure it out.  Reason I say that is because the pain I had 18-21 years ago, is not the pain I have today and it will not be the pain I have in another 20 years.  We all have a lot to learn still but as a member I have the best support any person could have.  So just because I act as my moms caregiver  and co-care with Trish for her brother who lives with us, I can proudly say I am also a caree and that I do have chronic back pain.