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_Sky said:
Yes, well... I isolated myself from "others" for several years. During that time T plodded along helping me realize that I can't live up to other's expectations. That's really good stuff for everyone, but required for those of us who are not fully able to...

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Sky,

This point of "other's expectations." is so true for me. I live in an elderly/disabled apartment community with about 50 units and I being in my 30's am the youngest here. I have given up on trying to convince some of the elderly, that aside my mental illness, I do suffer from chronic pain and am not able to do many things I did do when I first moved in around 5 years ago.

I no longer attempt to push the 'clinical depression' point of being a legitimate medical condition, and other emotional issues, however when I am suffering in the middle of a pain flare and am in major spasm and just am barely able to make it out of the apartment. I now at this point no longer leave here to go and do recreational or entertainment type of things the average thirtysomething would do.

My activities as tolerated are to generally go to the Doctors appointments most of which are monthly and also some bi monthly and weekly. I find myself being told over and over 'NOW HOW OLD ARE YOU?" and I do know that by the senior years pain and health are major issues for some but not for all.

Also, I find it difficult to explain in my apartment community that they are reflecting back on when they were in their 30's and their ADLS and working. Not realizing that when it comes to chronic health conditions, that age plays no mercy in the factor of health and pain. I know that I have been told in my cervical spine I have degenerative disk disease, as well as spinal stenosis C4-5 and C6-7 as well as 2 disks bulging in the cervical spinal area snd bone spurs growing and narrowing the spinal cord area causing frank stenosis.

Sorry got off track here, the point I am making is that although I am disabled from employeement, I still have to manage all the appointments to the Primary Care Physcian, the specialissts, the refills of the medications to be picked up at the pharmacy and my pharm has drive thru thank goodness. Along with dealing with all the paperwork and medicare prescriptions approved and those needing prior authorizaation and the prescription drug formularyy as well as managing the meds and self admistering them at the proper times and the one trip that is the most monthly difficult for me is the 'Pain Management' center itself as it is over an hours drive and by the time I get to the hospital find a parking spot, hopefully have already pre registared the day before, and then to the outpaitent pain clinic itself and back to the car drive for an hour and get prescriptions filled, then finally home to the apartment, I am so exhausted from the visit to the pain manaagement center I have to stay in my chair for at least a day of resst to do it all over again in 28-days. Ugggh.

I apologize for the lengthly post, only finding it to know others have to go through a recovery time after getting in and out of the car many times and all done in one day and appointments, away from the comfort of favorite chair and for me about 10 assorted bed pillows for positioning and posture......and on and on.

Thank You all who took time to read this. KrzK101