Elsie Long
It may seem hard to believe that a person could be told to have a baby to cure their chronic pain, but that’s exactly what happened to long-term endometriosis sufferer Jean Cheney, a resident of Macedonia.
“I honestly asked one of my specialists, ‘Do you want my baby?’ Because I’ll give it to you, if you tell me it’ll cure me, which you can’t because we know it won’t,” Jean said.
The 37-year-old travel writer has had six surgeries in 14 years and her chronic pain “is constant.”
The treatment has not been easy and he always has to travel.
“Just because you can’t see it, doesn’t mean it’s not there. Just because you can’t relate, doesn’t mean it’s not there,” Jean said.
Endometriosis is when tissue, similar to the lining of a uterus, grows outside this layer and in other parts of the body, and can cause pain and infertility.
Jean is one of the millions of Australians who struggle every day with their invisible pain, and why Chronic Pain Australia (CPA) is organizing National Pain Week from 25-31 July to increase awareness, accessibility and affordability
A CPA spokesman said chronic pain is misunderstood and the leading cause of disability in the country, taking “so much” away from a person, including their ability to work, be social and do what they love.
“In Australia, we have seen a lack of action and funding to support people with chronic pain services. Demand for chronic pain care continues to outstrip existing service provision,” the spokesperson said.
“General practice has few critical resources for the burden of chronic pain and has very limited access to specialist multidisciplinary pain management services.
“Most multidisciplinary pain management programs in Australia are conducted in large tertiary settings, where location and waiting times act as major barriers.”
A 2020 study by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) found that “one in five Australians aged 45 and over live with persistent and ongoing pain”.
According to the AIHW, chronic pain lasts beyond the normal healing time after an injury or illness, usually three to six months.
“It is a common and complex condition, and the pain experienced can range from mild to severe,” said the AIHW.
“The defining characteristic of chronic pain is that it is constant and experienced most days of the week.”
Jean can attest to that, as can Macedon Ranges resident student welfare co-ordinator and cancer survivor Amanda Summers, 50, who was sick of being told her pain was all in her head.
After nearly a decade in near-constant pain, Amanda had surgery for a herniated hip and was relieved that this would be the end.
But it wasn’t. After a month, the pain returned. Her doctor recommended another ultrasound, but everything was clear. Despite this, he was still in pain.
When she went back to her doctor again, she said his response was, “You’re making it up. There’s nothing I can do about it.”
He came and went for years before discovering that he had suffered a cartilage tear and developed a cyst in his hip.
“[The specialist] he said, ‘You definitely need a hip replacement, you have arthritis, you have this cyst and you have ligament tears and cartilage tears, but we’re not going to give you a hip replacement because you’re too young and we don’t like to give you two.’ “, he said.
As a two-time cancer survivor who just wanted to spend the next few years comfortable and free, Amanda said, “Well, how long do you think I’m going to live?”
“I live with pain every day, I have to limit all my activity. If someone says, ‘Do you want to go for a walk in the woods?’
The mental toll of misdiagnosis, dismissal by medical professionals, and inadequate pain treatment is heavy.
Gisborne furniture designer and resin artist Carmen Hofman was 38 weeks pregnant when she broke her ankle about a decade ago, an incident she said changed her life.
She, like many others, has had to take painkillers for years to cope with everything since her breakup, which resulted in a fusion in her ankle that caused nerve damage.
For two years since her ankle procedure, she has been living with chronic pain and was recently diagnosed with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome.
“Now I’m on two different types of opioid medications, which I don’t want to, but I have to because I can’t function without them. I’m also on more drugs that are anti-depressants, anti-epileptics, not for those reasons, but for the nerve pain,” she said. to say.
Carmen, a mother of two girls, said chronic pain had changed who she was as a person, because it was “a battle every day”.
“When I broke my ankle, I lost a part of myself that day and I never got it back, because pain changes you,” she said.
It was finding a passion for making furniture during confinement through her Oakfield Designs project that has been her saving grace, as well as finding a doctor who believed in her.
“[It was] like meeting an angel,” he said.
“Every GP I saw before I found [my doctor]they just put me off as fat, as overweight, as not exercising enough, that’s all they say… you just have to listen to your own body and say, “No, there’s something really wrong here”. ‘”
Details: www.nationalpainweek.org.au/.