Brain Injury Matters

Chronic Pain

So, here at 51, I’m learning new things all the time about chronic pain. I have a terrible sleeping pattern. If you didn’t know? It’s terrible, I love a good afternoon kip. I try to keep it just to the weekends, but it’s not always a given. It’s not seven days a week, most people would blame my years of working in hospitality. I always thought working in clubs had its own category, but apparently, it’s lumped in with restaurants and cafes.

Then, there’s having a brain injury. Also, messes with your sleep. Then, disability, depression, taking anti-depressants, etc. then the racy Lady Hormones. Must I go on? I mean, I hear rumours about people getting eight hours of sleep a night. I mean, who are they? They must be killed.

But the eating. I didn’t know fitting in three meals a day every day was hard for people with chronic pain. I just thought it was just me. I am not a morning person, so I sleep later. I therefore eat breakfast later. I have a light breakfast then get out and do stuff. I don’t prioritise lunch. I’ll eat lunch late, then I’m full. I skip dinner a lot. Sometimes, I’ll have the motivation for dessert. If that’s ice cream, because that has a separate stomach, right? Like, cows have four stomachs.

So, I know my brain and my body is constantly going between I’m digesting, going into a food coma, and I’m happy, but too full and it’s all a vicious cycle that I don’t know how to change.

Did I mention, after my kip on a Saturday I have my later lunch so much later, people have been known to comment that I lived a rather bohemian lifestyle? Yeah, that happens.

Note: any suggestions of killing or murder is not an actual threat intended to harm. Do not go and kill people that sleep better than I do. Just gently nudge them and remind them they don’t know how good they have it.

Week so far

Week So Far!

Monday went to a DDAC (Darebin Disability Advisory Committee) meeting as a BIM member (sorry Brain Injury Matters) and a local resident. As have recently participated in some training (VATT) Voice at the Table Training so I can attend meetings and have my opinion be heard and valued. Rather than just being a token member with a disability.

I’d be happy to go to a meeting and not feel inclined to go to a meeting and find myself facilitating. Impossible!

They asked me to be a member of the DDAC! There were some ‘Service Providers’ at the meeting who are obviously concerned they won’t have a job when the NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme in case you missed it), gets rolled out across the North/East of Melbourne.

They like to ‘bang on’ about being there for their clients who have little independent living skills or might be intellectually handicapped, but it take me to tell that person she needs to change ‘hats’ when she’s at those meetings. She needs to put on her ‘Advocacy-Hat!’ and not be wearing her ‘Self Advocacy hat!’

advocacy-hat

People seem to go to those meetings with their ‘problems’ and there never seems to be a sharing of how to ‘problem solve’ these issues.

People don’t know how to solve them or who to go to, to fix said problems.

Anyway, left DDAC and went to have 2^nd x-ray to find out what’s causing pins and needles in my right hand.

FYI That’s my good hand!

hand-x-ray

X-ray of the day was of my ‘upper back/spine/right shoulder’ (Note: despite having to go up a flight of stairs they couldn’t do the lower back x-ray at the same time. Had to book to go back Tuesday.

Had planned to ‘smash out’ the last Episode of Walking/talking Dead before Chiropractors.

Rang Darebin HACC (Home and Community Care) to arrange a Carer so I could get to 3^rd x-ray and spent the next hour being bullied because people can’t read the DAMN FILE!!!

Got a migraine and was in bed by 11.30pm. When I’m in bed that early for the night, you need to consider ‘Will Helen Wake Up Dead??’

So it’s now Wednesday afternoon and I’m still feeling seedy from the migraine.

Super week so far!!!