Trigger warning: Self harm
If people look at you like you have two heads, no clothes on, and blood gushing from every orifice when you disclose that you use opioid medication for pain, you might be a Chronic Pain Pariah.
When someone says “you don’t look like you’re in pain” and you think, well, “you don’t look like an ignorant asshat, either,” you might be a Chronic Pain Pariah.
If you’ve ever bought out all the lidocaine in the pharmacy, you might be a Chronic Pain Pariah.
If you suffer from homicidal ideation when people ask if you’ve tried chiropractic, massage, acupuncture, reflexology, rolfing, craniosacral therapy, magnets, reiki, tui na, qi gong, tai chi, feng shui, yoga, homeopathy, Chinese herbs, equine assisted therapy, California poppy, marijuana, valerian root, hot and cold therapy, mindfulness meditation, cognitive behavioral therapy, biofeedback, aromatherapy, crystal therapy, colon hydrotherapy, a medical intuitive healer, visiting the healing vortexes of Sedona, ear candling, maggot debridement therapy, or trepanation to treat your pain, you might be a Chronic Pain Pariah.
If you’ve tried antidepressants, gabapentin, pregabalin, cannabis, Tylenol, and ibuprophen for your pain, and none of them work as well for your pain as opioid medication, you might be a Chronic Pain Pariah.
If you’ve never believed that over the counter pain relievers would work for you, but you’ve been so desperate for relief, you’ve actually tried taking “as much ibuprophen or naproxen as you want” and wound up with a stomach ulcer, you might be a Chronic Pain Pariah.
If you’ve asked for the opioid medication you’ve been given in the past to successfully treat your pain, spelled and pronounced it correctly, and then been accused of drug seeking, you might be a Chronic Pain Pariah.
If your doctor has postponed and rescheduled your appointment multiple times to avoid seeing you, you might be a Chronic Pain Pariah.
If your doctor has been arrested for the high crime of compassionate prescribing of opioids, you might be a Chronic Pain Pariah.
If you have thoughts of violence toward others when a new doctor tells you to try Tylenol or ibuprofen for your pain, you might be a Chronic Pain Pariah.
If you keep your opioids locked up in three different locations, including a safe deposit box, a bunker, and buried somewhere in your back yard, to lower the risk of theft and of completely running out, you might be a Chronic Pain Pariah.
If you feel disgusted when someone asks if you’ve seen the show Dopesick, because it promotes the false narrative that doctors prescribing opioids to pain patients are responsible for the “opioid crisis,” you might be a Chronic Pain Pariah.
If your home looks like a medical supply store, full of heating pads, neck and back massagers, braces for your neck, low back, or knees knees, an inversion table, tens units, canes, walkers, or rollators, and specialty cushions, none of which really help that much, you might be a Chronic Pain Pariah.
When you have 35 tabs open in your browser and they’re all articles about chronic pain and opioid hysteria, you might be a Chronic Pain Pariah.
If that TikTok bupe bro comes at you for saying the word “abuse,” you might be a Chronic Pain Pariah.
If you’ve considered moving to another state to get access to opioid pain medication, you might be a Chronic Pain Pariah.
If you’ve considered moving to another country to get access to opioid pain medication, you might be a Chronic Pain Pariah.
When you realize it’s easier to get a gun in the US than it is to get medication to treat your chronic intractable pain, you might be a Chronic Pain Pariah.
If you have suicidal fantasies about making a bloody mess for someone who harmed you, you might be a Chronic Pain Pariah. (Please don’t do it. Please try to get help first. Call or text 988 to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for a list of additional resources).
ChronicPainPariah.com 