Tag: mental pain

ramblings 28

by Midnight Demon, posted in cauda equina syndrome, CES, Chronic pain, chronic physical pain, physical pain, psychache, writing

I’m hurting tonight. Left leg is swollen and hurts like a SOB. I hope I get some sleep tonight as I got to get up early tomorrow. I have an appointment with a group leader I hope to get into a group with. I don’t know if it will work out as the walk is a hike from the T station. I’m worried I might not make it. I’ll bring my cane tomorrow just in case my leg is in support. I know it is because it is snowing out.

Today was my niece’s birthday party. I made chicken wings for the party. They were gone by the end of it. Everyone loves my chicken wings.

I got a paper I need to revise for an upcoming blog post. I have had a chance to do it today and doesn’t look like I am going to do it tonight as I am pretty medicated, or will be. The pain started when I woke up this afternoon. My sister kept calling me like every friggen hour on making the wings so I didn’t get much sleep. I hope it doesn’t last long because it will drive me crazy and it doesn’t help me walking.

I hate waking up early for any reason but tomorrow I will make an exception and go to this appointment. I hope it is for the good because I really want something that gets me out of the house and maybe help my mood somewhat.

The Price of Walking

by Midnight Demon, posted in cauda equina syndrome, CES, Chronic pain, chronic physical pain, depression, mood disorders, physical pain, suicide

Twelve years ago I lost motor function in my feet and legs. It was caused by a disc fragment that was pressing on my nerves. I had to have surgery to remove it. It was the size of an almond. The road to recovery was not an easy one. I had to relearn to walk again with a walker. It took a few months before I felt confident enough to walk with a cane. Took me several more months of walking with the cane before I grew dependent on it and decided to walk without it. My balance was still somewhat off but I was walking.

Today I am walking with a price. I never learned to walk properly and my left foot never regained full strength like my right. So instead of walking heel to toe, my left foot decides to do a swerve maneuver and cheat to get to where it needs to be going. I can’t watch my feet where they land but this is what my physical therapist sees when I get evaluated. Most of it has to do with fatigue. Once I get fatigued, the swerving starts and pulls at muscles and tendons that should not be involved in walking. That is where I am at today. I have pain in my leg and foot and ankle all because of this disc. But it’s a small price to pay. Least I was able to regain something of what I lost. But it cost me my job. I am unable to work because I cannot walk long distances without fatigue and pain. Even though I have done my job for years the wear was just too much. Even today if I walk too long or stand too long I pay the price of pain. I wear an AFO, least I am supposed to. I haven’t worn it in a few weeks because I don’t go out much anymore. I might go out 3 days a week if that. I go out to get my coffee and maybe write a little outside of the house, to break up the routine of nothingness. I was once an active guy. Now I have nothing to do for hours on end. I was once working two jobs. Now I have no job. My income consists of my SSD and long term disability I get from work. I don’t think I can go back to work at the job I was doing. It was too stressful and chaotic at times. Long hours on your feet walking around a huge lab. Just getting there I was hurting.
Now my doc wants me to go back to physical therapy. I have thought about it but I keep wondering if it will really help. I do the exercises, I stretch, but I see no benefit. All it does is cause more pain than what I was in. My neurologist wants me to start this new pain physical therapy program that is supposed to help those with injuries like mine. But I am too scared that I am not going to be able to afford it with the copays every other day or every week. I can barely keep up with my own psychotherapy copays. That what truly is stopping me. Just knowing I have to pay $15 per visit for something that might or might now work for me. I wish I could just join a gym and walk on a treadmill but those days are over. I can barely walk down a block or a few blocks without pain. I rather just take my pain meds and do as little as possible. Hence why I don’t leave the house as much anymore, even if it is for a cup of Starbucks coffee. It used to be the one joy in my life, now it’s nothing but a hassle. Another price I have to pay for learning to walk again.

Thing is even if I go to this special program, they aren’t going to see the pain that I am in right now. It’s almost one o’clock in the morning. That is when the pain really gets going. So how am I going to portray myself as having pain when before 9 pm I am not in pain and feeling ok? It sucks because I would love for them to see how swollen my foot gets at this time. How much my foot throbs in pain, how much the zaps make my foot jerk, or the vise like pain that has me crying out in agony every night. The pain gets so bad that all I can think about is death and suicide. That is the price I pay for learning to walk again. And the price is too high.

Because no matter how much I pay my copays, no matter how many visits I make to the physical therapists, they are not going to be with me as I am crying in agony wondering why I am living this life. So Monday I will call and make an appointment with this special physical therapy group and see what things they will show me that I already know in the twelve years of living with this bullshit. Because in all these years, I have yet to regain strength in my foot, despite all the exercises they have given me. I truly have lost the motors of my foot because I got hit with this a second time at another level that left me with foot drop again. I think that if I didn’t get this a second time I probably would have been ok and not be in the predicament I am in now.

blah 2

by Midnight Demon, posted in Chronic pain, mental disorders, mental illness, mood disorders, psychache, suicide, suicide attempt, transgender, writing

Mood has shifted just a little bit but I still have not left the house for anything. I just feel like my world is coming to an end and there is nothing I can do about it. Least today the numbness wore off just a little bit to let some feelings in so I can write a bit.

Got a bunch of paperwork, one for the group therapy place and the other from my long term disability place. Each packet is like twenty pages. I have my work cut out for me. Though I hardly have the energy to do it. I still need to get my taxes done. I keep saying tomorrow and tomorrow comes and goes. I feel weighed down though I don’t know from what.

I stopped taking the birth control pill last night to hurry things up. I figure there is no point taking them for the rest of the week if I am just going to stop them anyway. I’m kind of scared because I don’t know what kind of havoc this is going to place on me mentally. So far there has been no change in my menses and thankfully I don’t have any cramps. But the wearing of female products I still killing me. I just have gotten so used to not having a menstrual cycle that now it just feels so overwhelming. It’s making me so depressed and suicidal that all I can think about is ending my life because I don’t want to go through with this. That is what my suicidality is truly about. Not being able to cope with my false identity. And I am really pissed off that no one really cares except for my therapist. She is kind of freaked out right now as my mood is unpredictable. I know my friend that I have been writing with is kind of worried too though she is pretending she is not. I just don’t have many people to talk to about this. I feel that it’s too much information or just to hard to try and explain.

I just don’t know if I will be ok during this period. I know my shrink is worried since my post the beginning of the week. I still want to cut but the feeling come and go. I haven’t yet but that doesn’t mean I won’t. I hate that I love walking about in t-shirts all the time. If I start wearing long sleeve shirts my family might notice something off. Cutting is a huge thing to cover up. I used to not care when I was a teen, but now that I am an adult it still is kind of hard to cover up when you have a 7 yr old that smells band aids a mile a way.

BLAH

by Midnight Demon, posted in Chronic pain, depression, mood disorders, psychache, suicide, suicide attempt

That is how I have been feeling the last two days. I just feel like the end of the world has come upon me. I don’t want to do anything, I just want to sleep.

Monday I have a meeting with a group therapy leader and I am thinking it is just too much to go. I want to but in this state all I want to do is fuck it all. I have no energy to eat, though I have forced myself to have a little of something. And to drink my slim fast shakes. Today I had Chinese food and I didn’t even enjoy it or finish it. I guess I will have it for later or tomorrow.

My sister texted me today saying she hasn’t seen me. Well I don’t feel like going downstairs. I don’t feel like going out. I just want to be left alone, away from everybody. The next few weeks are going to be rough and I am not sure how I am going to handle it. I am beyond coping right now.

The group leader sent me a packet I am to fill out. It’s like twenty pages long. Some intake. I hardly feel like writing a blog let alone fill out twenty pages of god knows what. I am so tired. Maybe I will just deal with that tomorrow and sleep the rest of today. I have never felt this bad before. I have never had this loss of energy and motivation before. This really sucks. I know most of it has to do with my menses. I just feel so defeated. Like I was going to make this huge change and was expected it to go kind of rough but I was NOT expecting my menses to show up and wear me down. Six weeks I have had this and seems like I will have it for another eight to nine. No one cares how much this is humiliating me. To have to wear female underwear and female products for this long is just draining the life out of me.

A good friend gave me a good tip. When I can take my sister’s car, I am going to go to Stop and Shop and buy all the asparagus they have and buy a bottle of Alleve. Hopefully something will work.