Brandie’s Chronic Pain Help
Donation protected
Hi there!
For those who don’t know me, my name is Brandie and I am an 18 year old who suffers from chronic pain in my lower abdomen. If you are unaware of what chronic pain is, it is pain that is ongoing for usually more then 6 months. I have had my chronic pain now for a year and have had a very eventful time trying to manage it. I have learnt a lot along the way about my body and what it needs but I’m struggling financially with all the medical bills. My family and I have spent over $30 000 on my surgeries to try fix my pain and have many more surgeries to come before I will be better.
what a pain flare up looks like for me?
when I experience a pain flare up, I get agonising pain in my lower abdomen that can only but controlled through the use of ketamine, the green whistle, fentanol, endone, pelexia, temgesic and lignocaine. Many of these I can only get when going to the hospital. As my pain gets worse I visit the hospital more regularly. The longest I’ve stayed in hospital was a month straight with a ligocaine and ketamine drip in my stomach. I am happy to say with nerve procedures completed by my pain specialist I have been able to spend a month out of hospital but that’s the longest I have spent out of there. I am averaging two times a week in hospital due to this uncontrollable pain. (It’s $400 a visit to go to the hospital with a pain management plan- this means I will actually get treated there where as public hospitals are more unlikely to treat me do to the drug addiction epidemic. I am not drug addicted however, I just require these strengths and high doses of medication to help me.) As well as the pain being uncontrollable it’s very danergous for me to go through as when I have these pain flare ups, I will go into seizures and faint from the pain being so extreme.
Why do I have chronic pain?
So long story short! I have A LOT of nerve damage that is wrapped around in my scar tissue due to, too many surgeries in a short space of time. All of which occurred in the EXACT same area. The surgeries I had were,
5 key hole surgeries to remove large ovarian cysts off my left ovary, which were causing a significant amount of pain
1 laparoscopy to remove pre-cancerous cells off my cervix that were causing significant bleeding concerns and slight pain
All the above surgeries occurred within 6 months so my body never had the chance to heal properly before moving onto the next surgery. I was never warned of the possibility of receiving chronic pain and nerve issues at any stage during these 6 months. My gynocologist started to refuse to see me saying he wouldn’t help me and it wasn’t until I saw my pain specialist that I started getting some relief (aka the one month out of hospital)
I have then had 3 PENS procedures done on my left ovary as well as 1 RF on my back to help reduce the nerve flare ups I deal with regularly, all these were done by my lovely pain specialist within the last 4 months. I still have many more surgeries to come that will hopefully help with the chronic pain I deal with today, but the exact number of surgeries I will need is unknown.
with each procedure being over $2000, and then the countless hospital visits costing $400 or more each time, as well as the cost of medication being over $200 a month, I’m currently going through some financial struggle and am reaching out for some aid so that I’m able to live my life. Due to the condition I’m unable to work or provide any income towards these procedures and the financial problems are becoming very stressful on my family.
So that’s my condition! It effects everyday of my life quite a lot. Some days I’m unable to walk because of the pain, I can’t plan to see anyone like friends until half way through the day so I know how my pain is going to be. I can’t sit for longer then an hour, can’t stand for more then two hours without laying or sitting down, can’t work. I am hoping to try university soon but I will only be able to attend if I get a surgery that works done.
Thank you for taking the time to read and understand a little more about the journey I am going through and,
Thank you to anyone that donates to help my family and I through this process! All the love and support is beyond appreciated!
For those who don’t know me, my name is Brandie and I am an 18 year old who suffers from chronic pain in my lower abdomen. If you are unaware of what chronic pain is, it is pain that is ongoing for usually more then 6 months. I have had my chronic pain now for a year and have had a very eventful time trying to manage it. I have learnt a lot along the way about my body and what it needs but I’m struggling financially with all the medical bills. My family and I have spent over $30 000 on my surgeries to try fix my pain and have many more surgeries to come before I will be better.
what a pain flare up looks like for me?
when I experience a pain flare up, I get agonising pain in my lower abdomen that can only but controlled through the use of ketamine, the green whistle, fentanol, endone, pelexia, temgesic and lignocaine. Many of these I can only get when going to the hospital. As my pain gets worse I visit the hospital more regularly. The longest I’ve stayed in hospital was a month straight with a ligocaine and ketamine drip in my stomach. I am happy to say with nerve procedures completed by my pain specialist I have been able to spend a month out of hospital but that’s the longest I have spent out of there. I am averaging two times a week in hospital due to this uncontrollable pain. (It’s $400 a visit to go to the hospital with a pain management plan- this means I will actually get treated there where as public hospitals are more unlikely to treat me do to the drug addiction epidemic. I am not drug addicted however, I just require these strengths and high doses of medication to help me.) As well as the pain being uncontrollable it’s very danergous for me to go through as when I have these pain flare ups, I will go into seizures and faint from the pain being so extreme.
Why do I have chronic pain?
So long story short! I have A LOT of nerve damage that is wrapped around in my scar tissue due to, too many surgeries in a short space of time. All of which occurred in the EXACT same area. The surgeries I had were,
5 key hole surgeries to remove large ovarian cysts off my left ovary, which were causing a significant amount of pain
1 laparoscopy to remove pre-cancerous cells off my cervix that were causing significant bleeding concerns and slight pain
All the above surgeries occurred within 6 months so my body never had the chance to heal properly before moving onto the next surgery. I was never warned of the possibility of receiving chronic pain and nerve issues at any stage during these 6 months. My gynocologist started to refuse to see me saying he wouldn’t help me and it wasn’t until I saw my pain specialist that I started getting some relief (aka the one month out of hospital)
I have then had 3 PENS procedures done on my left ovary as well as 1 RF on my back to help reduce the nerve flare ups I deal with regularly, all these were done by my lovely pain specialist within the last 4 months. I still have many more surgeries to come that will hopefully help with the chronic pain I deal with today, but the exact number of surgeries I will need is unknown.
with each procedure being over $2000, and then the countless hospital visits costing $400 or more each time, as well as the cost of medication being over $200 a month, I’m currently going through some financial struggle and am reaching out for some aid so that I’m able to live my life. Due to the condition I’m unable to work or provide any income towards these procedures and the financial problems are becoming very stressful on my family.
So that’s my condition! It effects everyday of my life quite a lot. Some days I’m unable to walk because of the pain, I can’t plan to see anyone like friends until half way through the day so I know how my pain is going to be. I can’t sit for longer then an hour, can’t stand for more then two hours without laying or sitting down, can’t work. I am hoping to try university soon but I will only be able to attend if I get a surgery that works done.
Thank you for taking the time to read and understand a little more about the journey I am going through and,
Thank you to anyone that donates to help my family and I through this process! All the love and support is beyond appreciated!
Organizer
Brandie Smith
Organizer
Kunda Park QLD
