I took pain meds for my back last night. I'm a little groggy today, and the pain is back. I'm going to have to admit to my doctor that I have arthritis. Which means admitting it to myself. Getting old sucks.
Gah, I sympathize. Admitting to myself that yeah, it was time to start calling myself "disabled", that it was time to suck it up and buy/start using the wheelchair, was so hard.
At least once you admit it to your doctor, you can start getting treatment? One thing that for me makes the difference between getting out of bed & not getting out of bed are lidoderm patches (topical lidocaine) -- most doctors don't know about them because they're only FDA-approved for the treatment of shingles of all things, but they are so awesome for pain relief.
You can wear up to three at a time, for 12 hours out of every 24 (although my doctor lets me wear them for 18 hours, but you're really not supposed to).
And yeah, the FDA is a little behind. :P A lot of people use them for chronic pain, and I know a lot of people for whom it's a godsend.
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At least once you admit it to your doctor, you can start getting treatment? One thing that for me makes the difference between getting out of bed & not getting out of bed are lidoderm patches (topical lidocaine) -- most doctors don't know about them because they're only FDA-approved for the treatment of shingles of all things, but they are so awesome for pain relief.
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(also, that is crazy that it's only approved for shingles. wtf.)
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And yeah, the FDA is a little behind. :P A lot of people use them for chronic pain, and I know a lot of people for whom it's a godsend.
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