Needed: A Better Pain Manager

Option A: Take pain meds, feel ok, wake up with hangover - a BAD hangover.
Option B: Don't take meds, wake up in semi-excruciating pain with no hangover.

Given that those are the current options, depending on how I'm feeling, sometimes I take the medication and sometimes I don't. Last night, I took option A. Today, small hangover. Thankfully, Eric made me breakfast before he went to work. :)

There's a problem with mental patients: sometimes they think "sick people take pills. If I take pills, that means I'm sick. If I don't take pills, I'm not sick." Not a recommended course of action because, obviously, the pills help make them less sick. However, it does apply to the otherwise healthy sometimes. Taking medication just reminds me that I'm sick. Yes, I know medication helps me feel less pain. Yes, I know I will feel better if I take them. Yes, most of the time I take my meds and control the pain.

There are times though, that I think I don't feel that bad, so I think don't need to take them. Then the pain gets worse. There are times I take the wrong pain killer for the type of pain I have. (Yes there's different pain meds for different kinds of pain). Then, not infrequently, it happens that I can't take the pain meds I want because the ones I took earlier haven't worn off yet. Or there are times that I don't have the right pills with me. Sometimes it's too much effort to get up and get medication. Or worse yet, I don't want to deal with the side effects, specifically nausea. (If you know me at all, you know I hate feeling nauseous. It causes panic left over from my last go-round with cancer)


So yes, pain management is an issue. Mostly because it's a pain to have to manage pain. Not because my doctors don't prescribe the right stuff, but because sometimes for multiple reasons, I don't follow what they prescribe. The patient is the only one who can manage their own pain, and I need to be a better pain manager.

That's my thought for today
Love from NYC.

P.S. For pain management nurse and for the wannabe pain management nurse who's reading my blog, no yelling. I took my meds this morning too.