Pain Enters the Picture


I am currently over 50 and I have led a rather active life.  Dominic and I have hiked 3 miles to a castle in Europe and thought nothing of it.  We spent days walking in the woods, bicycling, and just plain going.  I worked out for years and spent hours and walked miles on treadmills.  At one time I could squat, press, and lift hundreds of pounds.  I like being active.  These last few weeks I have ben in pain.  My doctor is a little stumped as am I.  I got a backache at GRL and it hasn’t stopped since.  The muscles in my back, neck, and shoulders sometimes have a mind of their own.  Last week I didn’t write at all on Thursday because my arms hurt to hold above the keyboard.  This kind of pain really sucks!  And I know that there are a lot of my friends who suffer from chronic pain and soreness.  To you I want to say that I am getting a new understanding of life.  Spending days just trying to find a position that’s comfortable and pain free can take hours.  Medication works for a while, but the pain only comes back.  This has bene my life for the last few weeks and I know for some of you, its been part of your life for much longer.

Let’s talk about sleep.  Poor Dominic.  Last night he woke me up because I was snoring and asked me to roll over.  I had to tell him I couldn’t because the way I was laying was the only way I could be comfortable and pain free.  Now my husband is a sweetheart.  Did he get angry?  No.  Keep in mind that he had to get up and go to work this morning.  I remember him leaning over to kiss me and then he got out of bed and slept in the guest room and this morning, he came in to check on me to make sure I was all right before going into work.

Pain sucks!  There is nothing else to say.  But having someone who understands, cares, and is willing to stand by me through this, makes the muscle pain tightness just a little less.

25 Responses to “Pain Enters the Picture”

  1. Donna A

    Gentle hugs. I do hope you find some relief. Chronic pain messes with every aspect of your life.

    Reply
  2. Alma

    There is beauty in the real and you just found it.

    Reply
  3. Rennie

    I hope you feel better soon! All my good thoughts and wishes going to you! It’s a terrible thing to feel unknown pain, but it sounds like you have the best support!

    Reply
  4. Jen CW

    It’s hard to really comprehend how pain can affect your life until you are in that situation. I hope that they find the cause soon or at least find a way for you to be more comfortable.

    Reply
  5. Leah Baxter

    I just wanted to mention that getting to the gym helped me tremendously. My knee and hip pain is gone! Even just a couple yoga classes a week might make a difference. Dominic sounds like a wonderful man : )

    Reply
  6. Cathy Baker

    Oh honey I’m so sorry. I have suffered back and leg pain for 20 years. I feel your pain. My husband of 27 years is my rock and my soft, warm shoulder. I can tell you there is happiness and love through your pain with great support. We have had fun and adventure through it all. Never give up.

    My recommendation for you is find the best doctors to listen to your complaints and work towards the best for you. Everyone’s pain is different. Now that being said: my massage therapist is the best friend I ever made. Good luck to you my friend and I wish all the best to you. Hugs

    Reply
  7. Susan Rawlings

    All I can say is a positive attitude and loving support is sometimes all you need. But you do have to find out what is causing it, hope you feel better soon. The world would be a sadder place without your books.

    Reply
  8. L Nevel

    Have they checked your heart? At first I thought you were going to tell us you needed open heart surgery. God Bless and you and Dominic will be in my daily prayers.

    Reply
  9. Denise SC

    Sending you hugs and healing wishes Andrew. I’m glad Dominic is so understanding. Makes all the difference in the world.

    Reply
  10. Susan Reaves

    I recommend water walking at you local pool, if there is one.

    Reply
  11. Sunne

    I highly recommend osteopathy. Google it if you don’t know it (I actually had to get 47 before I realized that this actually exists). You can’t go wrong with it.
    Hugs – get better soon.

    Reply
  12. Sunne

    I highly recommend osteopathy. Google it if you don’t know it (I actually had to get 47 before I realized that this actually exists).

    Reply
  13. Janet Fair

    Have you considered chiropractic or massage? Also, untreated sleep apnea (snoring) can cause the pain. Hope u feel better soon!

    Reply
  14. Angelo

    All the best, Andrew….

    Reply
  15. Karen Rich

    Get well soon thinking of you and tell that wonderful husband of yours he is a gem.

    Reply
  16. LeeAnn

    I totally understand. For years, staring at 20 I would have such bad back pain, it got to the point that I couldn’t walk. I had to crawl everywhere for a week at a time. I started going to a chiropractor and slowly it got better. It even happened when my kids were very young. My oldest, who was 19 mos old at the time, had to hand me his brothers diapers etc and get bottles for me out of the fridge. He was a huge help. As was my husband who, after working all day, would come home and put me to bed and take care of our boys. Luckily it has been about 10 years since I have been bad enough to require laying on the floor to sleep. I hope you get your problem worked out and get relief soon. Your Dominic is a keeper as are you when he is ill. <3

    Reply
  17. Ruby Curtis

    Try a heating pad and switch off with ice and follow the doctor’s advice

    Reply
  18. Sarah

    I get acupuncture to help with migraines and shoulder pain, also massage can help. Hope you’re feeling better soon.

    Reply
  19. tJess

    Agreed … I swear by acupuncture and chakras / meditation for pain relief. Magic!

    Rest up and be well, Andrew. Unselfishly, my wish is for you to get past the pain. But hey, selfishly, we need you to keep writing. Your books are also magic!

    Reply
  20. Liz

    I always hear my husband’s mother telling me, “Don’t get old, Elizabeth, it’s not good.” I go one further and tell everyone that getting old sucks, seriously sucks. I haven’t seen a mention on whether the pain is joint or muscular but I have both……probably you do too……yeah, seriously sucks. Anyway, no matter how fit and healthy you are, like a well oiled machine, there is wear and tear on joints that builds up over the years.

    Both my husband and I take Glucosamine and Chondroitin plus Omega 3 & 6. The first two jointly (‘scuse the pun) work on the cartilage which connects and protects the joints. I have added a link to the bottom of the page which gives some good advice. My husband swears by Green Muscle extract capsules that we import from New Zealand and I’m now taking these in addition to another capsule that provides both plus the Omegas. It takes approximately 6 weeks to notice any significant difference but, trust me, it does help the pain as it starts to repair the damaged and inflamed areas. It’s not a panacea but it does reduce the pain and delays the rapid onset of further damage…aka it slows down this inevitable aging of the joint a little bit.

    The other thing you can do, if it’s joint, is wear an elastic brace so the joint is a little supported. You know how sometimes you’re walking along, minding your own business and the *insert expletive of choice* knee decides to go sideways. Plus, going up and down stairs, it’s not just the joint but the connective tissue from the muscle to the bone that’s also feeling its age. This applies for all joints and you can get wrist braces etc etc. Speaking of wrists, if you get signs of carpel tunnel, get it operated on immediately. the longer you delay, the more muscle mass you lose and the weaker the hand and wrist becomes. Surgery for my left wrist was done under a local anesthetic and took 15 minutes. I regained full use of the hand but I had lost muscle mass which then took some time to build up again.

    I’ve also found that we suffer more from electrolyte depletion more as we age. I live in the tropics so this applies to me more but if you do go to the gym, you need to be aware that, if your body is lacking in electrolytes, you will get cramps as the body is stripping the electrolytes out of the muscles for essential bioelectrical functions elsewhere.

    Then, there is soft tissue wear and tear. We all suffer from the obvious signs of gravity and loss of elasticity to the outside of the body but we fail to consider the inside. The major veins in the body have a tough job pushing uphill 24/7 so there are non-return valves that assist. Unlike a water pump of car fuel pump, we can’t replace these easily. My latest joy at night is discovering that these lil’ darlin’s love to give you a painful time when your sleeping. I can only sleep on my back now as lying on my side for two long causes them to ache. My Dr suggested elastic support stocking (sexy???…I seriously think not!). However, they are almost impossible to get on or off and even they can hurt. I do know that there are blood vessel conditioners available that can be taken orally. They generally prescribe them for people with…*cough*… hemorrhoids…….which is of course just a big ol’ blood vessel needing to be improved or removed.

    Now, the main reason I wanted to contact you, and found this first, is there a link to tell why you decided to use Geoff Laughton as a pen name? I was just wondering if it was to keep the books separate from your mainstream romance novels or if there was another specific reason.

    http://www.arthritisvic.org.au/Complementary-Therapies/Complementary-Therapies/Glucosamine-and-Chondroitin

    cheers
    Liz

    Reply
    • Andrew Grey

      Geoff writes YA and I wanted to keep the stories separate because of the audience. 🙂

      Reply

Leave a Reply