A therapist, especially a pain psychologist, would likely be beneficial. You need help to grieve the loss of the future you envisioned and strategies to manage the pain and build a support system. My old primary believes that many people who have chronic pain diseases also develop PTSD. I know that I fit most of the symptoms.
I would also recommend seeing a great neurosurgeon sooner rather than later. Learning about surgical options, even if you're not ready for that step, helps a great deal, just knowing that there were options.
Best of luck.
The last time I saw my regular Dr. he asked if I wanted to see a Neurosurgeon. I said "I don't think I'm at that point yet." Then he said that he only had one other patient with TN and that he'd decided his quality of life on the meds was so low he wanted to see a Neurosurgeon. So he gave that patient a referral and said "I'll keep you posted on how things go for him." I said thanks.
Since then I've been thinking about it but it is so hard to find information. This group here is a lifesaver because I've seen two people who've posted about positive surgery results and now I at least want to see that surgeon to get more information, if nothing else.
I'm going to make an OP of this because I want to thank everyone. Some people say I've helped them but I feel the same way about so many of you. Knowledge is power.
Mental health is so important for you right now. Im 36. I've been down the dark path. Ive begged for helped, and did the work to become better with the help if a counselor. I do recommend therapy.
Its okay to miss out on today when you have tomorrow. Its okay to live in the present. Its okay to be sad. Remission will come, and when it does... take life by the horns and run with it. Then, when you have a flare.. sit back down and focus on mental health and pain management.
Its okay to do things your way instead of everyone elses way.
If I had time to squeeze a counsellor in right now, I would. I have a fight with my manager about working from home. Emailing someone who could help with this used up my entire lunch break yesterday.
I lost my oldest son last year,
the list of stressors goes on and on.
I've lost the people I counted on in times like this as well. My friend with a PhD in psychology passed away from cancer in 2020. There was barely a funeral for her that I could only watch on a website.
I won't grieve the loss of my old life just yet. And my coping skills and stress management skills are pretty good after many losses and traumas over my lifetime. When I'm really feeling the stress I channel the spirits of my friends, my Grandma, my dad, etc. and it helps a lot. They may be gone but they left me with so much good advice.
Seriously, I plan to see a counselor as soon as a little time is freed up.
If you can afford it. I really liked BetterHelp. It doesnt take insurance (unless its been upgraded), but it does take fsa/flex/etc cards. They cant diagnose or prescribe. You really have the option to find the person you mesh with, and since its online you can have a session on the go.
Sometimes I don't know where some of you live, etc. I'm in Canada and I have an employer (for now) ๐ค๐ปthat has a program that offers a certain amount of free counseling. I know I should use it while I've got it. But seriously I spent all of my time last summer helping my son as much as I could. So I have a lot of my own life to catch up on. I know when I start seeing some progress in just getting certain things done I'll feel better. Easier said than done with TN of course.
But getting things done also includes resting and taking care of myself. I'm currently lying on my couch with my feet up.
Hey, a lot of people are doing video visits nowadays. See if your free counseling can be a video visit, and then you can have therapy while you have your feet up. ๐ just a thought.
It's currently too hot to do anything here. I even had to bring in all of my garden inside. Good thing they're all in beds/pots. They couldn't handle the heat either.
A therapist, especially a pain psychologist, would likely be beneficial. You need help to grieve the loss of the future you envisioned and strategies to manage the pain and build a support system. My old primary believes that many people who have chronic pain diseases also develop PTSD. I know that I fit most of the symptoms. I would also recommend seeing a great neurosurgeon sooner rather than later. Learning about surgical options, even if you're not ready for that step, helps a great deal, just knowing that there were options. Best of luck.
The last time I saw my regular Dr. he asked if I wanted to see a Neurosurgeon. I said "I don't think I'm at that point yet." Then he said that he only had one other patient with TN and that he'd decided his quality of life on the meds was so low he wanted to see a Neurosurgeon. So he gave that patient a referral and said "I'll keep you posted on how things go for him." I said thanks. Since then I've been thinking about it but it is so hard to find information. This group here is a lifesaver because I've seen two people who've posted about positive surgery results and now I at least want to see that surgeon to get more information, if nothing else. I'm going to make an OP of this because I want to thank everyone. Some people say I've helped them but I feel the same way about so many of you. Knowledge is power.
Mental health is so important for you right now. Im 36. I've been down the dark path. Ive begged for helped, and did the work to become better with the help if a counselor. I do recommend therapy. Its okay to miss out on today when you have tomorrow. Its okay to live in the present. Its okay to be sad. Remission will come, and when it does... take life by the horns and run with it. Then, when you have a flare.. sit back down and focus on mental health and pain management. Its okay to do things your way instead of everyone elses way.
If I had time to squeeze a counsellor in right now, I would. I have a fight with my manager about working from home. Emailing someone who could help with this used up my entire lunch break yesterday. I lost my oldest son last year, the list of stressors goes on and on. I've lost the people I counted on in times like this as well. My friend with a PhD in psychology passed away from cancer in 2020. There was barely a funeral for her that I could only watch on a website. I won't grieve the loss of my old life just yet. And my coping skills and stress management skills are pretty good after many losses and traumas over my lifetime. When I'm really feeling the stress I channel the spirits of my friends, my Grandma, my dad, etc. and it helps a lot. They may be gone but they left me with so much good advice. Seriously, I plan to see a counselor as soon as a little time is freed up.
If you can afford it. I really liked BetterHelp. It doesnt take insurance (unless its been upgraded), but it does take fsa/flex/etc cards. They cant diagnose or prescribe. You really have the option to find the person you mesh with, and since its online you can have a session on the go.
Sometimes I don't know where some of you live, etc. I'm in Canada and I have an employer (for now) ๐ค๐ปthat has a program that offers a certain amount of free counseling. I know I should use it while I've got it. But seriously I spent all of my time last summer helping my son as much as I could. So I have a lot of my own life to catch up on. I know when I start seeing some progress in just getting certain things done I'll feel better. Easier said than done with TN of course. But getting things done also includes resting and taking care of myself. I'm currently lying on my couch with my feet up.
Hey, a lot of people are doing video visits nowadays. See if your free counseling can be a video visit, and then you can have therapy while you have your feet up. ๐ just a thought. It's currently too hot to do anything here. I even had to bring in all of my garden inside. Good thing they're all in beds/pots. They couldn't handle the heat either.
Yeah, these counsellors all do video visits so that's a plus.