Opinion: Five things I wish I knew earlier in my journey with chronic pain
Though my losses to #chronicpain over the last decade have been steep, I have also gained much through the experience.
I’ve been living with chronic pain for more than a decade.
It began in 2009 with nerve damage after emergency groin surgery. Four years later, I fell and hit my head. That fall led to a constant headache, a whistling sound in my ear, back and hip pain, tingling and numbness in my hands and feet, electrical shocks in my legs, muscle soreness, and random pain and burning sensations throughout my body. Years later, after numerous doctor visits and tests, I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, tinnitus, neuropathy, chronic fatigue, and depression.
I had a hard time adjusting to the pain. I let my symptoms control me. My quality of life suffered along with
