PAIN x4

A while back, I wrote an article about my experience with three different pains over the last several years. I was going to update it because of some new developments in my health situation, but I decided to just write a part two. If you haven’t read the other blog post, I called it Pain x3, so I’m calling this one Pain x4.

In the last post, I discussed 3 major pains I’ve suffered from in the last twenty-four years, with each one accelerating in intensity. Starting with terrible back pain from Deteriorating Disc Disease, to toothache pain, and a kidney stone. In my blog post, I said the stone was the worst pain I had ever felt. But, little did I know that the worst pain I have ever experienced in my life was not from that kidney stone as I thought.

I had never had a kidney stone before, so I really didn’t know what kind of pain they caused. All I knew was that other people were saying they were really painful. After about seven weeks, I passed a small stone, but the pain didn’t get any better. In fact, it was getting worse.

I was going to work every day, and doing my best to do a good job, but I was hurting constantly. Even though I was taking the two pain medications prescribed by my doctor, plus some over-the-counter pain medicine, the pain would never completely subside. In fact, on several different occasions, I was in so much pain I was actually bent over, and couldn’t straighten up completely.

Finally, the night before my next doctor’s appointment, I was in the shower and decided to push in on the knot in my lower abdomen, and it popped back inside. That was it. I was convinced it was a hernia. I had been telling the doctors I thought I had one, but I thought it was higher up, around my belt line. Sometimes it felt like butterflies in my stomach and I could feel, and sometimes hear a gurgling in the right side of my abdomen, and the pain was so bad. Then, I started to feel a knot in my front pelvic area. Sometimes it was there, and sometimes, it wasn’t. When I sat and relaxed it was inside, but when I was walking at work, or when I ate something, it would come out, and it would hurt pretty bad there and also in my stomach and abdomen. My doctor visits were always early mornings, after I had been resting, and hadn’t eaten anything for 12- 15 hours, so that’s why my doctor couldn’t find the problem.

One day, I finally convinced her to send me to the hospital for a CT scan. The diagnosis was an Inguinal Hernia. It was actually a Direct Inguinal Hernia. It was not in the Inguinal Canal, but in the connective tissue in my pelvic area; the white stuff that connects the muscle to the pelvic bone. I had to get it fixed. It was so painful, I could barely function anymore.

My doctor contacted a good surgeon she knew and made me a pre-op appointment. It took a few more weeks to actually get the surgery. By then, the pain was so bad that I was actually looking forward to the surgery, but I had no idea what kind of pain I would have to suffer through after the surgery. If I had, I don’t know what I would have done.

After the surgery, I was in so much pain I could barely function. They gave me some very strong pain medicine, but I was still in misery. Initially, the surgeon had said I should be able to go back to work in a week or so, on light duty. He said, Two weeks at the most. When the week was up, the incision was healing very well and I got the stitches out, but I was still in a lot of pain, I was very weak, and the swelling still had not gone down.

The pain in my abdomen was still there, and I was still getting sick almost every time I ate anything. It was a whole month before I was able to go back to work and I still had to be on light duty. I couldn’t pick up anything over ten pounds the first week, then it gradually increased each week.

I finally got over the surgery, but my stomach was still hurting and I was still getting sick almost every time I would eat anything. The pain would radiate all around my stomach from my abdomen up to my lower chest. It was still almost unbearable at times. I was more convinced than ever that I had a hernia in my right lower abdomen, but the doctor thought it was my gallbladder.

She sent me back to the hospital for an ultrasound, which found multiple stones. By then, I was in so much pain that I didn’t hesitate when she said it needed to come out. Again, the time it took to get the pre-op appointment, and the surgery took forever. It was almost another month.

I think it was two weeks after the gallbladder came out before I could go back to work, but guess what. I still had the same symptoms I had been having. It was going on for about a year and a half at that point, and I was getting worse. Somewhere around this time, I got COVID and was down for a while.

After I recovered from that, I asked my regular doctor to send me back for another scan and focus on the area where I thought the problem was. I was afraid it was colon cancer because my dad had that several years back. She didn’t find anything on the scans, so in my desperation, I made an appointment with the surgeon who had fixed my hernia. This time, I ate breakfast before I went to the appointment so I would be affected when the doctor saw me. He examined me and immediately said, “Yep, it’s a hernia. We need to get some fresh scans to see exactly what’s going on, then we can fix you up.”

Finally, after more than two years, I got some relief. I was back to work in 2 weeks, on light duty, of course, but I was feeling so much better very quickly. Praise the Lord. That was over two years of CRAZY!!!

So, in conclusion, I have suffered severe back pain, terrible pain from a toothache, gallstones, and a kidney stone. I have pain from deteriorating disc disease, a deteriorating hip, and Arthritis. I’ve had two bad car wrecks, and 5 surgeries, but none of those things have given me nearly as much pain as that hernia in the lower right part of my abdomen. That was some kind of pain and I hope, and pray that I never, ever have to suffer that kind of pain again.

I’m so thankful to God for giving me the strength to make it through those two years of terrible pain and frustration, and I’m so thankful for my wife, Linda, and for her prayers and patience, and all she had to do for me. I love her so much. She’s a true blessing from God.

So, whatever you’re going through, whatever you face, and whatever pain you have to suffer, just remember that “God is with you if you’re with him” (2 Chronicles 15:2). Stick with him, love him, praise him, and trust him. Things are not always good, and we will suffer at times, but God has promised to be with us in whatever we go through, and remember that the pain won’t be forever. So have faith, and hope. Never give up. Keep looking for the light at the end of the tunnel, and for Joy in the Morning.

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PAIN x3

In 2005, I was diagnosed with Deteriorating Disc Disease, which affects my spinal column which affects every other part of my body. It's not just back pain, it’s body pain as well. For the past 15 years now, I’ve suffered from this body pain. I have bad days and worse days. It has been pretty severe at times. I never imagined I could ever hurt as bad as I have because of my back. I’ve said many times that back pain is the worst pain I’ve ever felt in my life, even worse than all the bicycle wrecks and car wrecks I’ve had. I don’t say this for sympathy, but to make a point.

One morning, I woke up with what I thought was an earache. As I moved around and started talking, I became aware that the pain was actually in my jaw, and my face was hurting around my eye, nose, and cheek. In fact, the whole left side of my face, and head were hurting. I finally realized I was suffering from a toothache. The pain was excruciating, so I called the dentist's office.

A few years earlier, I had been diagnosed with a heart murmur, and the doctor told me that I would have to take a round of antibiotics before I could have any dental work done. I told the dentist this, and they gave me a round to take for a few days. I think it was 3 days if I remember correctly. So I had to suffer a few days with that pain before I could get the bad tooth out. I remember telling my wife that the pain I was feeling from my bad tooth was worse than any back pain I had ever had. I would rather have back pain than a toothache.

Flash forward several years to November 2020. I started hurting in my lower right abdomen. I was sure I had pulled a muscle picking up something heavy at work, so I tried to take it easy and be very careful when picking up things so it would heal.

A week or so passed, and I wasn’t getting any better. In fact, the pain was getting worse. Then I started worrying that it was more than a pulled muscle. Maybe it was a hernia, or perhaps it was something worse. After looking on the internet to diagnose what it might be, I was more confused and worried than ever. I finally decided to go to the doctor and see what was going on and maybe get it fixed. I made an appointment. Of course, it was two weeks later when I got to see her. By that time I was in a lot of pain. I couldn’t even cough or sneeze without terrible pain. I was having to ask for help at work and I was taking a lot of pain medicine.

The day of the doctor’s visit finally arrived. After several rounds of tests and blood work, the doctor said she thought it might be a kidney stone so she prescribed some medicine to help me pass it, along with some pain medicine and a funnel to pee in to catch the stone when it comes out.

I still wasn’t convinced that was all that was going on with me. The severity of the pain and the large area affected couldn't be caused by a kidney stone, so I went to the hospital and got some X-rays done, and sure enough, they said they found a kidney stone.

Now to my point; I’ve once again found another pain that is worse than back pain. I hope and pray that I never, ever have another kidney stone. I’m hoping, and praying right now that it will hurry up and come out.

A lady at work said her husband had one, and she told me the terrible pain he went through before passing the stone and said that’s what I had to look forward to. I didn’t know if she was trying to help me or trying to scare me to death. Lol. Then she said it would be alright and would be over soon. Then she looked at me, and said, “This too shall pass.” That’s a famous line of comfort often spoken when people are going through a hard time. I appreciated her comforting words, and then I got the joke. This too shall pass. Hahaha.

Later, I was thinking about that line of comfort. It means that the bad things that we’re going through won’t last forever. I’ve lived by that philosophy for several years now. That’s how I made it through those days with that terrible toothache and the way I make it through all the pain caused by my damaged backbones, and I’ll make it through this pain caused by this kidney stone by realizing that it won’t always be this way. I won't always be in pain.

One day Jesus will return, and give us our new bodies, and we’ll never have to suffer from pain again. We’ll be free from the tortures of this life, and we’ll live forever; no more pain, and no more tears. I’m looking forward to that day, and I hope you are too. When you hurt and suffer from pain, just remember that no matter what you’re going through, it will not be forever. You will have relief someday if you’re a born-again child of God. If you haven’t trusted Jesus as your Savior and had your sins forgiven, then I invite you to do that today. Don’t wait until you get to doing better, or get yourself cleaned up. You’ll never do it. Come to Jesus just as you are, and he will clean you up. He said in the Bible that he’s the only way to be saved. Today is the day of salvation. We’re not promised tomorrow, so do it today. Jesus is waiting.

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© 2021 Teddy Lynn – All Rights Reserved

My books are available in paperback and digital format on Amazon @ 
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DRUNK DRIVING IS BAD, BUT THIS COULD BE WORSE

I love writing, and I write about many things. I try to only post encouraging, inspirational things on my blog, but once in a while, I need to vent. If it’s something I think needs to be brought to everyone’s attention, I’ll post it. I did that a few times in the past when I wrote about Common Courtesy and Unprofessional Professionals.

Well, now I need to rant about something that happens to me almost on a daily basis. Several months ago, after a near-miss with another driver, who was on my side of the road, in a curve, I tweeted a line that went something like this; “I’m tired of seeing someone, every day, jerk their steering wheel to get their car out of my lane, and back on their side of the road.” Rarely does a day go by that it doesn’t happen, and I don’t do that much traveling. Usually, the driver swerves in plenty of time, but I’ve had some close calls. It’s not the same driver most of the time either. It’s just becoming too much.

This morning I had the closest call yet, without being struck by the offending vehicle. I thought it was just the typical, everyday occurrence, but I guess the driver didn’t look up soon enough. They came within inches of us and almost side-swiped my Jeep. I’m not the best driver in the world, in fact, when I was younger I was pretty careless. Now, I usually drive as close to the edge of the road as I possibly can, and when another car gets close to me I don’t have anywhere to go except in the ditch. This morning, it was so close and fast that all I could do was hold the horn down and cringe.

When I first noticed the number of these incidents rising, I remember several times asking, “What’s wrong with people?” Well, I think I have it figured out. More and more drivers today are not paying attention when they’re behind the wheel. Sounds simple, but it really becomes more complicated when you think about the number of reasons they are distracted.

We all have a lot on our minds. Many people don’t get enough sleep. Many are talking on the phone, and way too many are texting while driving. These things alone are enough to cause plenty of wrecks and near misses, but as impossible as it may sound, there’s a much bigger and much more dangerous reason why many drivers are distracted these days.

I’m not trying to be funny, but many people on the road today are high. Simple as that. The majority of drivers today are on drugs. You may think that’s an exaggeration, but several major studies have shown that 70% of U.S. citizens take drugs every day. CBS News, reporting on one of those studies, had this to say: 

“Researchers find that nearly 70 percent of Americans are on at least one prescription drug, and more than half receive at least two prescriptions, reports CBS Atlanta. Twenty percent of U.S. patients were also found to be on five or more prescription medications.” 

“Often when people talk about health conditions they’re talking about chronic conditions such as heart disease or diabetes, Dr. St. Sauver stated in a Mayo Clinic press release. However, the second most common prescription was for antidepressants — that suggests mental health is a huge issue and is something we should focus on. And the third most common drugs were opioids, which is a bit concerning considering their addictive nature.”

Drugs not only impair thinking and reasoning, but they also cause reaction time to drop considerably. That’s for the ones who are on legal drugs and take them as directed. What about those who take more than the directions say? Then there are those who take other people’s prescription drugs and those who take illegal drugs. Now many want to legalize marijuana so they can drive around high, making the roads even more dangerous. Really, they don't even care anymore that it's illegal. They drive around smoking it all the time now. And that smell; People who smoke marijuana these days smell just like a skunk, and they're walking, and driving around everywhere risking their lives and the lives of others. I've heard all the arguments, but anything that makes you high is harmful and dangerous, and it definitely lessens the smoker's reaction time in traffic.

There’s more. These may not be as strong as marijuana and other narcotics, but Caffeine and Nicotine are drugs, too, and they adversely affect the brain as well.

I understand we all have problems. We all have aches and pains at one time or another, or all the time. Some pain may be temporary, some may be chronic, and sometimes it can only be controlled by medication. I’m not against medicine when used “as needed”. It’s sad though, that so many are on antidepressants. It’s the second most common prescription. I know depression is a serious thing, but I think many are often misdiagnosed. For the ones who actually do suffer from depression and anxiety, I don’t think pills are always the answer.

Many of the problems go away when we turn to Jesus and give everything to him. Studies have shown that people who believe and trust in God, have less stress than those who don’t. Things are just better when Jesus is in your life; When you know that you have a purpose in life. When you know that he's always there to help you, you can make it through anything.

So, if you’re on any medications, please take them as directed, and stop taking them as soon as your problem is gone. If you’re on strong medication that impairs your thinking, or your ability to stay on your side of the road when driving, then please park your car, and get someone to drive you where you need to go. Protect your life and the lives of others. Please, do it before it’s too late.

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My Blogs
https://teddylynn.blogspot.com
https://teddylynn.wordpress.com

© 2016 Teddy Lynn – All Rights Reserved

My books are available in paperback and digital format on Amazon @ 
https://www.amazon.com/Teddy-Lynn/e/B01MZDB6L6