I'm not being immodest or anything when I say this but I'm a pretty tough dude. I mean, I am resilient and have a fairly high tolerance to physical pain. I'm good with it. I don't know what it is, I just seem able to compartmentalise it away, deny the pain-receptors in my brain or some such thing - Maybe I have no brain?
It has served me well though over the years. I still succumb to the pain of the worst type of wound in the world to sustain, a paper cut, however in the main I deal with physical pain really well.
But needles freak me the fuck out!
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I don't cry or anything, but I hate them, a lot.
This is strange considering that I'm diabetic and needles are a large part of my life. When I'm getting one I watch it; That's my defence mechanism. It's sort of like me challenging the needle...Dominating it. Fuck you needle, fuck yoooooooooou!
Inside I'm not feeling that way, but it gets me through.
Tomorrow I'm scheduled for a needle, a very unpleasant one so I'm told.
I've been suffering through a shoulder impingement since October last year. I've been seeing an osteopath and physio, have had accupuncture, X-rays, ultrasounds and various other pokings and proddings, and all the while I've been unable to raise my arm over shoulder height without intense pain in my left shoulder, and a numb arm. It has been agony at times, and an extreme pain in the ass at the best of times. Nothing has worked yet, so it's time to bring out the big guns.
I won't go into the ins and outs of it although tomorrow I'll be having an ultra-sound-guided cortisone injection deep in my left shoulder and...I'm not looking forward to it.
The idea is that the injection reduces inflammation of the bursa, a part of my shoulder found between the rotator cuff and acromion bone; It basically provides a cushioning effect between the two and the tendons permitting freedom of movement, which I do not have currently. The inflammation leaves me with a feeling of intense pain in my shoulder and upper arm/outer bicep area and makes my whole left arm go numb. Sleeping is awful too and it's been months since I have had more than four a night. Sleeping only four hours a night is good for writing on hive and getting things done, but not good for me
The injection is supposed to shrink back the inflammation of the bursa allowing the physiotherapy treatment, and time, to help heal the issue. Something like that anyway.
Tomorrow won't be the first time I've had guided needles as I had one in my heel a couple years back, right in the bottom. It went in over an inch. I'll be honest, that one brought tears to my eyes, many, many tears. I'm hoping tomorrow is not that painful although I have been told to expect it.
Part of the problem is they can't put a local anaesthetic in first; They add that into the cortisone injection and put it all in at once so, one injection, one round of pain...Then ten to fifteen minutes later, no pain, theoretically. That's what I'm focusing on; The no pain part.
Anyway, this is happening at lunch time, so if you never hear from me again it's because they killed me.
So, now you know my kryptonite...Needles.
I want to know yours. What do you fear, what procedure, or activity makes you cringe. Comment below with all the painful details. If you don't have one give me a medical horror story...I need something to take my mind off tomorrow and thinking about you in pain is preferable to thinking of myself in pain. Thank you in advance. 馃榾
Design and create your ideal life, don't live it by default - Tomorrow isn't promised.
Be well
Discord: galenkp#9209
