Yahoo! News - Pain relief a human right, leading professor says

Yahoo! News - Pain relief a human right, leading professor says

Someone finally gets it. This is a step in the right direction but now all we need to do is get the doctors onboard. My time with pain has shown me the different kinds of doctors there are. Some will give you what ever you want if you ask, others will skimp on the pain meds and after so many weeks will cut you off for fear of addiction. My current PCP seems to have finally turned the corner on this though as after denying a refill several months ago but with me still being in pain he finally ordered the MRI that diagnosed the arachnoiditis. It was only then that he started to realize that this was not in my head and that my pain was real.

This is perhaps one of the biggest things I deal with everyday. When I am in pain I am not rolling around on the floor nor am I screaming at the top of my lungs. I tend to just find some place comfortable and settle in with a book, the laptop or just take a nap. People have a hard time understanding that I am in fact disabled. No walker, cane or wheelchair for me so I look like almost everyone else out there. It has given me a new respect for people I see parking in the handicap spots though. Just because you do not see the handicap does not mean it is not there.

While I understand that narcotics are addictive and can cause other problems many of us are facing lifelong illness that cannot be cured. Not to say they are the same but with diseases like cancer there is at least hope of going into remission, removal of the affected organs/tissue and other treatments that can allow a normal pain free life. With arachnoiditis there is no cure right now and there is very little they can do other then treat the pain.