Being 23 years old and a Guinea Pig… Or a lab rat, whichever you prefer… I’ve come up with a list of 10 things that Doctors don’t tell you about living through Chronic Pain.

1.  Okay. This is one that was already in the intro… Feeling Like a Lab Rat. Living with these conditions you will go through millions of doctors and be turned around left, right and center before someone figures out something it could be… And eventually you’ve made a billion loops and realize there are no closed ends. Chances are you will hear more doctors say “sorry we hit a dead end” than anything else.
2. Nobody FULLY understands you, unless they are going through the same issues. Face it, we have all judged people at one time or another. I used to be unaware of issues and what people could be living through, until I had to live through it myself. And no matter how much you talk to someone (close or distant) they won’t truly understand you.
3. Be prepared to meet non-medical Doctors. Everyone wants to help. Nice gesture, but if a DOCTOR who went to medical school for 10+ years cannot figure it out, your herbal tea recipe before bed won’t help either.
4. Exhausting schedules. I admire people who show me their schedules and say they are extremely busy… But once you have a chronic illness and have to see minimum 3-5 doctors/specialists per week, while attempting to maintain a job, training and school…. It becomes a challenge. And it’s physically exhausting on the body. You have to schedule all this in WHILE trying not to flare your body, or you could be out days-weeks depending on severity.
5. People will hate. Whether people live with Chronic pain or not, you will get a lot of hate, learn to ignore it and live your life. People who love you will stay by your side no matter what.
6.  Symptoms come…and come. Hell you will get new symptoms all the time. If some disappear it won’t be for long. BUT not everything is related to the same issue…there are lots of overlapping. So if you have one chronic disease chances are you have MINIMUM another.
7. Genetics. When you are unwell, most doctors don’t take a look at your genetics to see if it’s an issue in the family. As well, most doctors don’t look at the future possibility of whether or not you can pass it on to your future kids. However if you ask doctors can perform tests!
8. Social Life? Love Life? Good luck finding the balance of life in general. But if you’ve figured it out, please let the rest of us know.
9. Good Days VS Bad Days. Your days will be equivalent to a teenage girl who is PMSing… Up, down, up, down, up, down…. Embrace the challenges and laugh at them. You’ll feel better than always being angry at yourself.
10. Love yourself. Plain and simple.