During this recuperation period, my mind has been working overtime thinking about the circumstances that have brought us all together here. Over the years, I could've/should've done SOOOO much better in advocating for my own care. It is tough because our problems are so little appreciated by the medical community. The fact that ARD is not widely recognized by the medical community keeps me from being bitter now about some of the assessments of my condition that were tossed my way over the years.
I have been thinking about how I should've/could've followed up on all of these...ahem......"helpful" assessments. Here's my idea. Read through the following list of comments that I have received from professionals....mostly physicians....some physical therapists....over the years. I was STUpid to have let some of these assessments slide. But then, you know how it is when you hurt. I do know how I would handle this sort of drivel now, but maybe by throwing light on my own ineptness, this can serve to help others. Send me your ideas about how I could've/should've handled these comments that would not have left me stuck...for months and years....before once again reaching out for help. Get the idea? This is like a page in a workbook....a practice session in nudging our fellow fallible human beings, who happen to be in the medical profession, toward responsibility for their sometimes less-than-stellar dismissals of our complaints. Here goes! (I'll try to collect comments and put them all together in some sort of coherent fashion if you all send me ideas.)
"You are just a tight-assed woman with a little myofascial pain." "The barium enema shows that you have the gut of an 80-year old." NOTE: I was 45 at the time. "You just need to get up and get moving." "All women have pelvic pain from time to time." "You have a Type A personality...more susceptible to stress." "Your problems are postural....stand up straight." "You just need to work on your abs and stretch out those tight hamstrings." "We don't really if the pain is physical or mental. Either way, you need help." "You need the pain to feel alive." "How is your relationship with your husband?" "There is a pain loop in your brain...you feel a bit of pain when you are stressed and you feel more stress when you feel pain. It's a vicious cycle. You need to break the cycle." "I have nothing to offer you."