Sometimes, i really despise our media, both electronic and print.
Thanks to their alarmist rhetoric about the "prescription opioid epidemic," my doctor is now too afraid to treat my arthritis with what he has been prescribing me for the last couple of years. i'm being referred to a pain specialist. I am genuinely concerned how expensive the visits and the medication is going to be. I can barely afford what I have now, and I have insurance.
I'd gladly choose winter over summer here in south Georgia, but the cold weather seems to have brought in barometric pressure changes that leave me wracked with painful joints that even Hydrocodone is having trouble dulling. My friends Pam, Linda, Lisa, and Korey have seen me at my worst when just sitting hurts. Physical pain will suck the life right out of you, and I've been too sore to enjoy my usual social outlets. Yeah, I've pretty much crawled under a rock the last few weeks. I'm beginning to understand my late mother's sour disposition ... and that frightens me.
The accident I was involved in 6 years ago changed my life forever, and I'm still dealing with medical issues even today (do not disillusion yourself into underinsuring yourself and your family when it comes to vehicle insurance). Yesterday was my 30-year anniversary of my employment with the Georgia Department of Corrections. People keep wondering why I don't retire. it's because I can't afford to live on 60 percent of what I'm making now. I still have bills to pay. File for disability? That will take around 3 years, and even then, that's not a guarantee. How will I make ends meet in the meantime? Nope, I'm not going anywhere. Now, I am lucky in this area: I love my job, I'm good at what I do, and i get the satisfaction of helping my coworkers and making their tasks easier to do. There are days it takes all my strength to make it in to work, but I'm grateful to have a job in this day and age.
So if anyone has experience in dealing with a pain specialist and can help me understand what to expect and what's reasonable, I'd love to hear/read your input. I know arthritis pain is inevitable, but i just want to live my life and be a productive person without being penalized because a few people weren't responsible enough to use prescription pain killers. Is that too much to ask?
Okay, rant over. I'm crawling back under my rock ...
