Pain Deniers – from “Pulse Voices” where both those providing and receiving healthcare write about their experiences.
The stabbing pain in my abdomen jolted me awake at 3 a.m.
Four broken bones, giving birth to two babies, gallstones – all minor aches compared to this. At the hospital they found no reason for my pain. The blood tests were normal. I had no fever. They sent me home.
It went away, and then it happened again two days later.
I was hospitalized and taken off food. It got better again, and then it came back.
I was referred to a pain clinic.
The first one refused to see me.
They said that I must be drug-seeking despite a letter from my doctor.
The nurse at the second clinic told me I wasn’t in pain but seeking painkillers to get high.
I ended up back at the emergency room. Without examining me, another doctor lectured me on the dangers of opioid pain medicine.
When the blood tests came back normal, he sent the nurse to tell me to go home and take Tylenol. With the pain at ten out of ten, I asked her to help me get to the lobby. She left me alone after tossing the discharge papers at me.
She had no time to waste on a patient she viewed as an addict – as if addiction was a matter of choice rather than deserving of treatment.
My doctor believes something is wrong but he doesn’t know what it is.
He sends me to a surgeon.
The surgeon sends me for a CT scan.
When it’s over they leave in the IV and offer to push me in a wheelchair to the surgeon’s office.
I don’t understand until the surgeon says “You have pancreatitis. You need to be in the hospital. You can die from this.” I vomit in the little sink in the corner while waiting to be admitted.
I know that the people who abuse pain medicine to get high have made health care providers suspicious and distrustful, and this has led to my suffering and lack of appropriate treatment.
Yet we share a common need to be treated for what ails us, whether that is an inflamed pancreas or an addiction to pain medicine. Instead, we all end up being mistreated.
If you do medicine right, we do not all look the same.
Shirley Phillips
Nashua, New Hampshire
EDS and Chronic Pain News & Info 
Hi Shirley: It’s rotting society. That treatment would be the same in Canada except for the reasons you’d be refused pain med’s is a well-documented ‘scam’ whereby Hospital nurses/ physician’s/staff are diverting thousands of opiates into their own pockets -while giving you/pain patients saline solution.
For the past ten years. Government knows this. Hospitals know this: No one is charged. No one goes to jail. While legitimate pain sufferer’s languish in agony as the hospital/nurses decide to get “high” while making $80-$100K/year.
Welcome to ‘Canada’ where we make everyone BELIEVE we’re better ! A country of political/ institutional jokers/morons. Corrupt as can possibly be. For decades. And no interest to change.
And a flagrantly impotent ‘political’ public the reason why such corruption/thievery continues, recklessly unabated.
pj
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UNFORTUNATELY, THIS IS MORE THE NORM NOW, IT SEEMS MOST DOCTORS AND NURSES SHOW GREAT IGNORANCE AND CRUELTY WHEN THEY TREAT PATIENTS LIKE THIS, PATIENTS BEING THE OPERATIVE WORD, AFTER 37 YRS OF THE DAILY USE OF PAIN MEDS WITH NEVER A PROBLEM, SUDDENLY, I AM NOW KNOWN AS A DRUG SEEKER, A LOWLY WORTHLESS PERSON WHO DOES NOT DESERVE MEDICAL CARE OR RESPECT, AS FAR AS I AM CONCERNED ALMOST EVERY DOCTOR IN THIS COUNTRY IS GUILTY OF COWARDICE AND IGNORANCE AND THEY SHOULD BE ASHAMED TO CALL THEMSELVES DOCTORS, FOR THEY ARE NOT WORTHY OF THE TITLE, FOR THOSE WHO HAVE CONDEMNED ME TO THE TORTURE OF HELL, I WISH THE SAME FOR THEM, SEVERE CONSTANT UNRELENTING INTRACTABLE PAIN WITH NO TREATMENT, COMPASSION OR RESPECT
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I’m so sorry you are forced to suffer like this. I think the situation will get better as more and more doctors speak up about the insanity of what’s being done to pain patients.
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HAVING JUST REREAD THIS ONE THING REALLY STUCK OUT EVEN THIS PERSON HAS BOUGHT INTO THE CURRENT NARRATIVE RE CPP HOW SAD THAT SHE BELIEVES THAT WE R THE CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM WHEN IN FACT THE RATE OF ABUSE BY CPP IS LESS THAN 1% YET WE R TREATED AS DEGENERATE PEOPLE EVEN ADDICTS NEED MEDICAL CARE THIS MORAL JUDGEMENT THAT BEGAN IN THE EARY 1900’S NEEDS TO BE CHANGED OUR GOV’T HAS CREATED A HORRIFIC GENOCIDE SCANDAL AND BRAINWASHED MOST AMERICANS WITH LIES AND TWISTING FACTS AS FAR AS DOCTORS GO YAH THERE R A FEW BAD ONES VERY FEW IT IS EASIER TO SUE A DOC AND TAKE AWAY ALL OF HIS ASSETS THAN TO GO AFTER THE CARTEL THESE CASES SHOULD B HEARD BY OTHER DOCS NOT CIVILIANS IT IS EASY TO BRAINWASH A STUPID JURY TO CONVICT A DOC WHO IN REALITY HAS DONE NOTHING WRONG OUR GOV’T NEEDS TO GET OUT OF OUR DOCTORS OFFICES AND LEAVE OUR TREATMENT TO THEM NOT THE DEA & POLITICIANS {WHO KNOW EVEN LESS}
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