Disabled Community Megathread - November 11th, 2024 to November 17th, 2024
Unfortunately I don't have the energy to put together some info for the mega this week, hopefully I can pull together something for next week though. As always, we ask that in order to participate in the weekly megathread, one self-identifies as some form of disabled, which is broadly defined in the community sidebar:
"Disability" is an umbrella term which encompasses physical disabilities, emotional/psychiatric disabilities, neurodivergence, intellectual/developmental disabilities, sensory disabilities, invisible disabilities, and more. You do not have to have an official diagnosis to consider yourself disabled.
Mask up, love one another, and stay alive for one more week.
You're viewing a single thread.
134 comments
They actually gave you medication for your neck pain? No fair.
(I'm sorry you've been in pain.)
yeah actually. the doctors have been so good to me tbh. and yeah the pain sucks, it's a constant for me, but i deal, you know? and medicate where i can. it's the price i pay for having a life, and i am glad to be living.
pls forgive me, i must ramble about my situation. no need to read or engage if ur not feeling it.
Please, ramble all you'd like!
and this is all such a shock to me. i've had terrible care all my life and while i simply cannot trust doctors anymore i feel like they are actually helping me a bit now.
This is really encouraging to hear. I also have an earned distrust of doctors and the people I know who say "just keep trying" usually have no experience of how bad things can get for those of us in chronic pain or with chronic conditions that don't respond to textbook treatments. That you've found a change of fortune in a rural area is wonderful.
And
to anyone who shares medication with those without healthcare access.
i tell u the fucking number of antidepressants i've been forced to try for either chronic pain, insomnia, or anxiety (not depression), i feel like i've tried dozens at this point and absolutely zero positive effects have been experienced. i absolutely refuse to take another antidepressant in my life. i just need to be trusted. things get worse sometimes, i know what i need and i know my conditions and how they interact better than the doctors do, and i genuinely just need to be able go to the doctor and tell them what i need and have them listen
Sounds like we've had similar off-label antidepressant journeys.
They've just prescribed me a new antidepressant - in the same family as another one that didn't help with my migraines or cervicogenic headaches - and I have been leaning toward not taking it. Life is bad enough without side effects or withdrawal symptoms brought about from being too sick to make it to the pharmacy.
yeah, if you're trapped in that cycle of BS there is something to be said for pretending to take the antidepressants for a while, going back and saying it doesn't work, and repeat until they try something that is not an antidepressant. i literally don't know why they even prescribe it for depression, let alone low-evidence off label uses. it kinda feels like just being dismissed as the pain being psychosomatic - even if the doctor is not actively thinking that, the widespread use of it just feels so dismissive and ableist.
i really hope you find something that works. if it helps, my headaches range from cluster headaches, migraines, and stress induced headaches. the medications i've found help are
::: spoiler meds
sumatriptan nasal spray for cluster headaches and migraines (i don't really get the cluster headaches anymore but they told me to keep using the nasal spray because it's the same medication for migraines, just much much faster acting).
alprazolam for any type of headache
pregabalin is my nerve pain medication and it makes any type of headache, at least those that i get, better as well
obviously can't promise any of those will work for u but i figure it's worth mentioning in case any of those are things that u haven't tried.
:::
Oh, damn, cluster headaches? Those are the only ones I haven't tried. I've heard those are up there with kidney stones as "the worst pain that doesn't kill you."
absolute fucking hell. they seem to be on some sort of migraine spectrum and eventually they just sorta morphed into migraines. which also suck. the thing about pregabalin, is i'm prescribed it to take it all the time but i've basically found that i don't get the memory issues if i'm not on it all the time. and i don't get withdrawal either. if u were prescribed it i would suggest just taking it when u need it rather than continuously, and that avoids the memory issues.
and yeah fuck i'm sorry the triptans don't work, that's hell. i hope u find something that helps.
As someone both on antidepressants and pain killers, it's because some of them improve your dopamine receptors. My psychiatrist had me switch from stuff that was working to some other stuff that also works, but goes with my vicodin to make it more potent without actually increasing the dose.
But yeah....just prescribing someone an antidepressant and hoping it's enough to act as a painkiller by itself seems like nonsense lmao
yeah i know. it's not like they can never help people with chronic pain. but they don't help me and they give me so many side effects. don't work for depression either, the only thing that has ever worked is ketamine.
one of the times, an antidepressant, one that actually does affect dopamine receptors at higher doses, was prescribed by a specialist and i can believe they had my best interests at heart. but the other times, it was regular doctors who weren't specialised in anything, some of whom had already implied they thought my pain was in my head. including one who tried to take me off my opioids that were actually prescribed by specialists.