My Pain Today Will Be My Strength Tomorrow

Disabled people are directly harmed by the limitations on pain medications, and are so unlikely to get addicted to them it’s absurd to created the limitations for all disabled people with chronic pain it’s direct violence against us. and not only have the limitations been ineffective with regards to stopping people from abusing prescription pain medication it’s lead people to actually become addicted to harder street drugs because they had no where else to turn for their pain management whereas if they stayed on  monitored pain management prescribed by a watchful doctor they would have never developed such an addiction.

Drug addiction isn’t some fucking horrible plague on society, and the disabled people who are addicted to opiates are addicted because they literally cannot function without them. Without their pain medications they could literally die. There’s no way around it. 

So yeah it’s good to say not all disabled people seeking pain medications are drug addicts, but you know what some are, because they literally have to be. Not every illness is curable, and many of these incurable illnesses cause pain so horrible you literally cannot live your life. There is no way around them being addicted to the medications that allow them to live. 

This happens a lot in school:

A disabled kid goes to school.

A teacher is initially friendly and optimistic.

The teacher expects that their teaching will make the kid’s disability irrelevant.

Eventually it becomes clear that the kid’s disability is going to stay important.

Then the teacher gets frustrated, gives up, or stops being nice.

Sometimes this is overt and sometimes it’s subtle; it’s always hurtful.

A lot of kids go through this over and over during childhood.

And, it often persists into adulthood and becomes a lifelong thing.

It hurts. It does damage.

And it means that people with disabilities are often suspicious of immediate kindly optimistic affect,

and may take a long time to trust that you won’t reject them for being disabled.

If you’re teaching, be careful not to come in with the expectation that your teaching will erase disability or render it irrelevant.

It won’t.

Instead, start with the expectation that disability will matter and that you will be teaching students with disabilities.

Disability acceptance is a key emotional skill for effective teaching.

If you think around disability, it’s nearly impossible to apply any creativity to accommodating it.

Took that pain scale I reblogged yesterday into my physical therapy appointment, and my PT and I agree that that version of a ten doesn’t really leave a lot of room for all of the fucking horrible things that can happen to a person (as in the description for 10 isn’t extreme enough - according to that chart I’ve been at a 10, yet there are so many other things that would be way more painful than anything I’ve experienced) so I made my own pain scale, based on my experience, but leaving room for escalation. I’m typically between a 2 and a 6.

0 - no pain

1 - I only notice pain when I think about it, or when painful area is touched

2 - low-level pain, but constant enough to be continuously aware of it

3 - Pain is at a distracting level, but I can ignore it enough to do most of my normal activities

4 - Pain is very distracting, and I start avoiding more of my day-to-day activities, for fear of making it worse.

5 - Pain is constantly on my mind, and causing the avoidance of many activities/going home early from work/canceling social plans.

6 - Pain is too bad to leave the house or do most activities. I mostly just want to be lying down.

7 - Pain is bad enough to cause dizziness, nausea and/or vomiting. Can’t focus on anything else.

8 - unable to get out of bed/off of floor, need help getting medical attention

9 - Like 8, but more so, to the point where it’s difficult to request required help due to pain

Know what sucks? Allergic reactions. They’re kind of a pain in the butt, and not all of them are worth doping yourself up on Benadryl.

As an alternative to the irritation of just pushing through it, take a look at this list of some herbs with antihistamine properties (along with their other uses), if you’re interested in giving them a shot. 

If you aren’t a fan of home remedies, consider taking a look at this article on harnessing the power of the placebo–it might change your mind!