I dont understand how Thomcat is so very Pleasant and Upbeat

[La Lioness Priyanka]

i had some pain yesterday and turned into bitch from hell.

i just dont get how the man is in constant pain, and is still so pleasant and upbeat.


anyone have any clues?

[ThomCat]

1. 15 years of having to deal with it every single day.

You reach a point where you just want to feel good about something, anything, even if you have to push past the pain to do it.

And being social really helps you deal with chronic pain. People who find ways to be social find ways to survive. People who don't find ways to be social don't make it for very long.

I'm able to be pleasant and upbeat because you're helping me hold on. :hug:

[La Lioness Priyanka]

2. yay!

you should have seen me yesterday.

i was unpleasant!

[ThomCat]

3. I hope you apologized to Lisa

and thanked her appropriately for her endurance. :P

[Tyler Durden]

7. Know how you feel from a different angle.

I sometimes get an "F5" migraine that lasts a few months. The last biggie only hung around a day or two, but I've gone through years of a low grade headache.

Sometimes you just get used to it, and sometimes you're almost afraid it'll go away, because when it does you'll only be in dread of the inevitable return.

Hope you are coping well.

[ThomCat]

9. Ugh. I get migraines frequently.

But I'm very lucky that they usually only last a day. I once had a 6 month headache, and I really, really don't ever want to deal with that again. :(

I definitely know what you mean about the dread when the pain goes away. You're afraid to enjoy the lack of pain, because it might come back again at any moment. You wait for it and anticipate it.

:hug:

[lizziegrace]

12. Once I had a few brief moments when I felt no pain at all

I went into a panic until I found my pulse. No pain is so foreign to me I feared I was dying. ;)

[ThomCat]

15. It's really sad when a lack of pain becomes a warning

that something might be wrong. :cry:

[lizziegrace]

16. It certainly is....

:(

[Tyler Durden]

17. Weird, isn't it?

Sometimes it just GOES AWAY and you get dizzy from overcompensating. When a REALLY big one lets up, I get double vision and tinnitus.

[Tyler Durden]

13. Yep. I live and die by the migraine.

Tension/stress triggered vascular clusters. They even shot my head full of some shit a couple of years back when I was feeling a little desperate. Left my head feeling uncomfortably "cold" for about a week then I was dizzy for about a week then the migraine came back.

I've learned to live with them, same as you; it just fucks with my concentration, impairs my memory a little and slows down my typing. When I absolutely have to get rid of one for a while, DARVON or if I need it gone for a day or two, Oxycontin.

[ThomCat]

19. I currently have 2 meds I can't take because I can't handle the

side effects. And as bad as the side effects are, the benefit just isn't enough and doesn't last long enough. It sucks. :(

There is a surprisingly large community of us with chronic pain here at DU. That's why I post about this stuff here. I know there people here understand. :hug:

[Oeditpus Rex]

4. Yup

It's because of a rather special photo.

[ThomCat]

6. Yes, it is.

:blush:

Special photos definitely help. They keep the, um, spirit up. :P

[lizziegrace]

5. He's one of a kind

:hug:

[ThomCat]

8. Naw... I refuse to be unique.

I'm one of many people trying to deal with whatever I can. You're one of those people too. :hug:

[lizziegrace]

10. Chronic pain forced me to make a choice

try and make the best out of life or wallow. Is it that way for you? Don't get me wrong - I wallow. I have to work hard at not letting it comsume me. :(

:hug:

[ThomCat]

11. We all wallow in pain on occassion.

I have to push myself through deep depressions on a regular basis. It comes with the pain.

It seems like other people are sometimes happy by default. We have to work at it. :)

[Tyler Durden]

14. I try to feel lucky.

After all, it's a HEADACHE. It's not like it's LUPUS, or RA. It could be infinitely worse.

[lizziegrace]

18. True

I get migraines a few times a year. I have trigeminal neuralgia (cranial nerve disorder) and the nerve on the right side of my head fires constantly. I had 14 teeth root-canaled until I finally got a diagnosis. It liked to fire in my lower jaw. :( I've also got tendonitis in my right arm (and must use a computer all day for work - ouch)

Could be worse though...and it's not terminal. ;)

[Karenina]

20. I LOVES ME SOME THOMCAT!!

:hug::loveya::hug:

[ThomCat]

21. Thank you, Karenina!

:hug: :*