Travels with chronic pain

[PPSN_JudyB]

A friend with chronic pain forwarded me this. What do you do when you can't sit though ?

Thoughts ?

travelswithpain.com/

Judy

[jacquieb Volunteer]

I read thru most of the article and gave up I am afraid.. it told me absolutely nothing! Sorry.

The only answer is to stand, move around as much as you can, or perhaps take extra strong painkillers to get you thru it.

[LizHamill]

That's an excellent question!

Can I ask some follow-up q's so that I can find and write a good, thorough answer?

What do you mean when you say you can't sit, exactly?

Are you confined to bed or a specific set of positions in which you must lie down?

Can you stand or walk at all?

Can you attain a seated position with any comfort? If so, how long can you hold that position?

Are you totally housebound?

If not, can you go to the doctor's? The pharmacy? The grocery store? Further?

FWIW, I'm a chronic pelvic pain patient myself. None of those questions are meant to be at all judgmental or facetious. I've had trouble with sitting off and on for years, though I've never been unable to sit (except right after surgery).

Thanks for linking to me!

Liz

[SuzyQ]

Hi Sue here,

I read your article with interest, and then read many more! You are an inspiring writer, very readable and accessible.

However, I am a chronic pelvic pain sufferer of 18 years. Travelling is one of the hardest issues for me. Today, Wet Bank Holiday Weekend, we drove 280 miles to a wedding tomorrow. It took us 9 hours. I was in agony. My pelvis hurt because my nerves are trapped. I had shooting pains up my vagina but couldn't get comfy. My bladder felt full, but when we stopped I couldn't go, it just burned.

I wanted to stop more frequently, but my husband said "Press on!"

Extra morphine made me sick.

We arrived at our Hotel at 11.30, but after a bath and a stretch I can not settle. My husband is snoring & I am lonely & crying with the burning stabbing pain. Tomorrow we attend the wedding, posh shoes, nice frock, black circles under my eyes from not sleeping! So extra make up!

Everything has a cost, pay back I call it.

I love to travel & see new places, but when you only have 36 hours, and the same journey to do again the pleasure wanes. And with the best will in the World & all the positive thinking I can muster, next week will be worse.

It is difficult to look forward to that.

The wedding will be lovely though

Thanks, Sue xx

[SuzyQ]

The wedding was lovely!

But I fainted in the bathroom in between the service and Reception..

It is hard when everyone says how well you look, but inside you feel like crying!

My husband has had enough! I slept all today.

Payback for a day in fancy dress.

I won't be travelling anywhere for a while!

Sue xx

[helenlegs11 Volunteer]

Hi Liz,

I think Sue's story answered your questions in part, I doubt that many 'can't sit' in the physical sense (I've got a one cheek, leg out that works best) but the consequential pain from sitting (or standing or walking) is the problem. As Sue said 'payback for a day in a fancy dress' Sometimes it's worth it.

[LizHamill]

SuzyQ: I am sorry it's taken me so long to comment back--I tried when you first posted, but I was in a motel room with a bad Net connection and my comment got eaten.

How long did it take you to recover from that weekend trip to the wedding? For me, it would have taken longer to recover from that trip than the trip itself took! I was horrified to read that you'd fainted in the bathroom, and hope you're feeling better by this time.

I wish I had some miraculous advice that would make a 9-hour car trip pain-free. But I don't. The only way I know of to make that kind of trip bearable is to make it longer so you can break up the time in the car into reasonable chunks. Like, two days driving to, two days driving from. At least.

I can't do the "push on" instead of rest thing either, and I know that insisting on long rest breaks on road trip can lead to marital discord. (I have trouble being neutral about men who insist on getting their way at the expense of their wives' pain. Long story involving my now-ex-husband.)

There are some things I can think of that could help make a nine-hour road trip slightly less awful. I'll post about them on travelswithpain as soon as I can.

[ncoplin]

I too have a very hard time traveling. If I am driving I make frequent stops and try to walk around as much as I can. I have the one cheek leg stretch too. I am so lucky to have a very understanding husband. As he gets older he has to make more frequent stops too! There is no easy answer but I agree with making the trip a little longer to keep you from sitting in one place too long.