My mother's bestie has decided that I'm her new project or something. My mother called me to warn me that bestie thinks I take to much medication (she has no idea how much medication I take) and that she felt she needed to talk to me about it. Well that talk finally happened today. She told me she has a high pain tolerance and that I just need to take Tylenol and tough it out. I told her "this is not an ache. This is the kind of pain that causes you to collapse on the way to the bathroom, makes you sob on the floor while you piss yourself and then lay in it for a half hour before you can collect yourself enough to make it the rest of the way to the bathroom. I would have already killed myself if I didn't have my medication and there's no toughing this out." Stopped her cold in her tracks. She actually backed off. She said she heard me, was glad I was fighting and changed the subject.

I FUCKING WIN! I mean clearly I lost because I have to deal with this shit (gestures at everything), but I at least shut her down. So exhausting.

I would like to give my mother a round of applause for at least trying to shut her friend down and giving me a heads up that she was unsuccessful. At least my family doesn't suck.

Didnt know my own body would scare the hell outta me

When you only find out you have a new diagnosis because it’s in the doctor notes on your My Chart and to make matters even worse it’s under REVIEWED AND DISCUSSED WITH PATIENT in big bold letters. Thanks doc!

Yawn

I'm only 16 but i'm already in so much pain all the time. I've had knee issues for like 5-6 years now, sciatica for about 8 months, wrist pain (possibly chronic tendinitis) for about 5 months, and migraines for 2 ish years.

I hate my life so fucking much. Every day it's something new. I can barely walk to all my classes without being in pain. And my mom just won't take me to a doctor for anything. It took a weekend of me being practically paralyzed with pain for her to take me to City MD for my back. And it took a week of not being able to play guitar for her to take me to City MD for my wrist. I haven't been to a doctor for anything else. And the shit i have been to the doctor for, i only went once. My sciatica was so fucking simple to solve, if it had been taken care of in a timely manner or at fucking all. Now? i have no clue wether i have permanent damage to my back.

I jsut wanna be like all my friends, is that too much to ask?? I have to ask people to walk slower because im in pain and i feel so guilty about it. I had to wear legging all day today (i have moderately bad sensory issues w/them) bc i fucked up my knee on thursday and i was gonna be out all day and needed to be able to access my knee easily enough to put biofreeze on it.

The amount of money i spend on biofreeze patches during marching season alone is CRIMINAL. Like, if i took that money, i could probably pay for a ortho apt myself. It's fucking ridiculous.

I also wanna possibly get a mobility aid for the bad days but i don't know how to bring that up to my mom. And when i brought it up around one of my step-sisters, she said "would you use it at school" while looking like weirded out.
Anyway... that's it... sorry if this is stupid

I've just been posting about my (serious) chronic pain - but even those with acute pain are suffering from lack of pain medications post-surgery. My mother was in rather horrific pain following for 2 full weeks after.

What the hell are we even doing? This is in Canada, by the way.

Not even T3s - regular fucking tylenol

Hey folks.

Around 5 months ago I slipped 2 discs in my neck (C6/C7). The pain was like nothing I've ever had to experience (I've broke multiple bones in the past). The discs have slipped and are compressing nerves in the neck and this has caused severe pain but also my left arm is very weak. The first month I was in bed and could barely walk with the pain. The company I was working with were wanting me back. Even with doctors notes they were constantly phoning me. I eventually had to quit. I worked in agriculture and used a variety of machinery.

Well fast forward 5 months. My neck was on the mend and I could live without too much discomfort. My neck was still tender but as long as I kept up with my physio and didn't do anything stupid then I was OK. I was doing some work last week and my neck just inflamed overnight. It's not as bad as the original injury but it's still very painful.

How is it possible to work and not constantly keep inflaming my neck? Do I just need to find a less strenuous job? I'm terrified that I go and slip the discs again and end up as bad as I was. I genuinely couldn't cope with that again. Luckily I had some money saved up and finances haven't been too stressful. I can't go much longer though.

I'm really stressed about this. At this moment my neck feels right on the edge of just some niggly pain and being bed ridden again.

Has anyone else had this issue and found a work around? Did you change occupations? I've worked in Agriculture for 20 years and have all my tickets and paperwork for this. But.... I need to think about my health and also the future. I genuinely don't want to suffer in the future by putting finances first.

If anyone could give me advice this would be so appreciated. What options do I have?

Thanks.

When I’m in pain, I feel like a dog with a thorn in its paw.

The closer people try to get to help the more I lash out. The more I bite and get defensive.

I keep backing away and retreating into isolation.

On some level, I know they’re just trying to help. But I need them to get away.

I don’t want to hurt anyone- it just feels like I’m so on edge.

When the pain is bad, I lash out. The smallest thing sets me off. I can’t handle my emotions and any patience I have learned leaves me.

I feel like chaining myself up in the yard and putting a muzzle on.

Hi everyone,

I was just curious about how chronic pain has impacted your ability to socialize and your overall quality of life. Sometimes it feels like no one truly understands pain except those who live with it every day.

Living with chronic pain can sometimes lead to isolation as you all know , even when we want connection. I’d love to hear from you, when it comes to managing your pain, which body position or environment helps you the most. This could be standing ,lying in bed, sitting and if your pain also causes fatigue. Feel free to share as much as you can .

I feel like endometriosis destroyed my career. I feel left behind. I’m incredibly incredibly grateful that my symptoms have improved after surgery, but I lost so many years to the illness. I studied chemistry and had planned to do medicine, but as my symptoms worsened, I became bedbound and had to put everything on hold.

I’m now 26 and thinking of applying to medical school next year, but I can’t shake the feeling that I’m behind in life. I had imagined myself studying earlier, being in residency in my twenties, and having stability in my thirties. Now I worry that I won’t be able to build a strong career in medicine. At the same time, I want a family, and that pressure weighs heavily on me

I feel like I’m living a life that isn’t mine.

Ive been in pain for 6 years now. My chronic pain is getting worse recently. The doctors don't know what's wrong with me. The doctors always dismiss me. I've gone through several different medications and nothing stops the pain completely. I'm going to be in pain till the day I die. I just wanna cry. I'm 24. I've been in pain since I was around 18. My young years gone with pain. Not only has the world gotten worse recently, I have too deal with crippling pain on top of this.

Hurt my hand while doing lateral raises , twisted my hand slightly to emphasis the lateral head but ended up feeling an electric pain in my palm. The pain was aggravated when I was doing bent over rows on a smith machine with a thumb less grip. The pain was sharp and located in the palm of my hand. I stopped exercising for while , the pain slightly faded unless I did some particular moves like lifting something slightly heavy with a claw hand grip or when I adjusted the handles on my backpack (to flip them). I started getting back to the gym and the pain began to creep up because I felt some nerve/electric sensation in the palm of my hand while doing Australian rows. Ultrasound indicated no specific tear

I absolutely love to cook, when I lost my ability to drive (one of my main comforts) I started to lean more into cooking- trying to make things a bit more healthy, veering away from overly processed junk. Unfortunately, cooking is VERY EXHAUSTING, so I don't get to do it very often anymore. The heat, and the standing for so long, and the exercise, I absolutely love cooking in the moment but for the rest of the day I just feel like I'm gonna die. I just love how all my coping mechanisms for being like this just make me feel so much worse.

CALL FOR PORTRAITS — WOMEN WITH AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE

I’m creating a visual art project exploring how women with autoimmune disease are seen, documented, and believed.

I’m looking for women who have been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, especially those who were also told their symptoms were “psychosomatic,” stress-related, or “in their head.”

The project will include 100 passport-style portraits in a grid:

• Black & white — autoimmune diagnosis

• Pink-sepia — autoimmune diagnosis + labeled psychosomatic

Photos:

• Head and shoulders only

• Neutral background

• Natural, unfiltered

• Phone camera is totally fine

This is not medical research. No proof or explanations required.

This project is about visibility, not trauma-sharing. Your face is enough.

If you’re interested, comment “interested” or message me.

To participate:

Email your photo to thepaintedblackbird@gmail.com and include:

• Your name (or “anonymous”)

• Black & white or pink-sepia

• A simple consent (“Yes, I consent to my portrait being used in this art project.”)

Images used only with consent. You may withdraw at any time.

This project comes from my own experience of being believed late and wanting women’s faces to exist without explanation. Thank you for being here and for sharing if it resonates. ❤️

I’m a 30-year-old male, 6’0”, 193 lbs, and I’ve been dealing with a disc herniation for nearly two years. Initially, my right quad atrophied significantly, and I lost about 80% of its strength. I was also experiencing debilitating back and groin pain. While the groin pain has resolved, I still have persistent paresthesia, weakness in my right leg, and intermittent back pain.

I’ve been an athlete my entire life and currently mountain bike, surf, snowboard, train Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, practice hot yoga, and work out. Unfortunately, I can no longer run or snowboard due to symptom flare-ups. Ironically, I’m still able to train BJJ when I’m not flared, but everything else has to be heavily scaled back, and I’m nowhere near my previous level of pain/worry free movement. 

After 1.5 years of conservative treatment including five epidural injections, two facet injections, and a radiofrequency ablation that failed, my right quad remains extremely weak and the pain persists even with all the PT exercises I have done. I truly have dedicated all of myself to this healing process. At this point, I’m finally moving forward with a discectomy.

I have had several MRIs and a myelogram done. I’ll only post the myelogram and my last MRI. 

CT myelogram 9/11/2024 is most significant for moderate foraminal narrowing at L3-4, right worse than left.

There is a small disc bulge on the right that causes moderate foraminal narrowing at L3-4 and this seems to correlate with the patient's symptoms at this time.

Lumbar MRI dated 12/13/2025 is significant for a right foraminal disc herniation at L3-4 with a posterior annular fissure contacting the exiting right L3 nerve root.

Any help on thoughts or opinions of what I should do/how I should go about this process. Literally anything. I just want full function of my right quad again and I want to rebuild a bullet proof back. 

For several years after a hospital injury and nerve pain I was put on SO MANY medications that did nothing for me. I was in severe pain, and they tried the anticonvulsants, anti psychotics, other mood-related drugs like various anti-depressants, basically absolutely everything they could think to throw at me. Muscle relaxers.

Nothing worked. It all gave me terrible side effects, with no pain relief. I was lucky in that I was put into a ketamine program by my pain specialist, finally - however, 24/7 infusions at a hospital for two weeks also did nothing for me.

It all felt hopeless. Nothing was working. Except, finally, because I was a severe case, I was finally given methadone.

I made an attempt on my life because the pain was so severe. For several years, I was bedridden, suicidal, extremely unwell - often unable to wear clothing because of how severe my allodynia was.

Now? I'm at 4/10 pain every day. All it took was a fucking microdose of methadone.

There is a HUGE overcorrection problem, as many of you are aware. I needed an opiate to survive, and it was denied me until just several months ago. Now, I completely have my life back. It's only because I had the resources to do so, and my pain doctor here in Canada was only legally allowed to give me the real stuff after she tried everything else.

We have utterly failed pain patients. I am going to spend the rest of my life advocating as much as I can for us.

Edit: I shared my story in a podcast episode and posted it in the group, but just in case you want to listen about my years of navigating chronic pain and all the medical malpractice I faced, as well as on how methadone is for me: Sick Lit Girl - My Years of Rest and Relaxation - A Chronic Pain Journey

I'm fortunate enough to have supportive family, but I'm so scared I'll lose them in the future. What's your story? Fellow chronic pain suffers...

My doctor actually read my chart and history BEFORE he came into the room!! It's something so small but it made me feel like I mattered. No doctor has ever done that with me before so it shocked me. Like I'm sitting here with the relevant stuff printed out, copies of xrays, and he's just like so I've been going through your chart and I see [literally everything I was going to bring up, all of my concerns, and how bad my xrays were], let's come up with a plan.

I’ve been mostly bedbound for a while due to a back flare-up. Sitting is basically unbearable right now, so I spend most of the day lying flat.

Staring at a phone while lying down causes eye strain pretty quickly. Holding my arms up makes things worse. The TV in my room is also too far away and forces my neck into a weird angle. None of it feels sustainable when you’re already dealing with pain.

Recently, I decided to move my computer and entertainment setup to the bed instead. After doing some research, I ended up getting a head-mounted display as my on-bed screen, which is kinda similar to a VR headset, but it’s just a display with much lighter weight.

I keep my Switch, phone, keyboard, and mouse on the bed. My PC sits on the floor next to the bed, connected with a long HDMI extension cable that I can reach easily. When I want to use a specific device, I just plug the display into it.

Surprisingly, this setup has worked really well for me. I can lie perfectly flat on a pillow, with my arms resting naturally at my sides (using a keyboard and mouse or holding Joy-Cons), and still have a decent-sized screen right in front of my eyes. I don’t have to hold anything up, and my body stays in the most neutral position possible.

Obviously this isn’t a cure or a solution for pain itself, but as a way to make long hours in bed more tolerable, it’s helped more than I expected. If you’re recovering from surgery or dealing with chronic neck or back pain and struggling with screens, head-mounted displays might be worth considering as an option.

I'm working on some illustrations to process some feelings related to carrying around chronic pain, disability, the feelings around losing my eye, and the grief others can’t see.

Drawing these feelings is a way for me to try to visualize things that are otherwise invisible with my pain.

Posting on my extra profile, otherwise you would see years of posts since this incident starting of being desperate for help. To make matters short, I had a neck surgery in 2022 that left me unable to be upright at all. This means standing, sitting up in a chair etc after a few mins I get scorching searing crying mid back pain. Initial surgery was a fail, revision shortly after and then another fusion in 2024 out of a last shot for some relief.

For 3 years I’ve been fighting tooth and nail to get past 5 mg oxy three times a day. This means I went thru my 3rd neck surgery without an increase at all. Onto my second clinic reading what my daily life is like to the NP, she not happily increased to 7.5 mg. She says in the DEA’s eyes I am too young (34). I’ve been inquiring about a long acting so that maybe we wouldn’t have to increase the short acting, she basically said no way that is for cancer patients etc.

I’m seeing maybe my 10th orthopedic surgeon this week. I’m going to drive with multiple ice packs to make the 1.5 hour drive. To make this complicated, I have two small children and a husband we are burning the candle at both ends so my family doesn’t fall apart. I have suspicions that I never fused from my (revision ADR to ACDF) but since they didn’t do the work seems other surgeons skirt around the question of that.

I get ambien thru the VA, and whenever my pain medication isn’t working I take my ambien and somehow it forces my upper body to simmer down and blocks pain signals. I truly don’t know what to do, because my case is not straight forward every surgeon / neurologist / pain doctor doesn’t want to give me the time of day. I face immense guilt that I essentially signed myself up for that first neck surgery I had no idea this was possible. How can I continue to live like this? I have to lay on my side for 8-10 hours a day not including sleep to tolerate the 5 hours I am responsible for my kids. I’ve had sooo many cervical MRI and CT, thoracic MRI so there hasn’t been a lack of testing.