Chronic pain wandering around here and there~

My mom is 79 years old this year, but even though she has had a lot of hardships since she was young...

I haven't had any major illnesses. About 17 years ago, I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and had half of my thyroid removed, so I am currently taking the hormone medication Synthroid.

Elderly people, just like that, are taking hypertension medication and cholesterol medication~~

 

Of course, since you're older, it's natural to feel pain here and there.

There are many areas of pain that are truly unbearable, and those painful areas keep changing, with different symptoms each time;;;;

I'm really unsure where to start or which department to visit first.

 

I also dislike going to the hospital itself, and I can't figure things out, so I've been very worried lately.

Firstly, the symptoms that are especially frequently observed these days...

 

The first one is itching.

He said his whole body is so itchy~ I think it's because of dryness, so I applied plenty of cream, but it didn't help.

He can't wear even slightly tight clothing because it makes him feel itchy, so he wears men's trunks that are one or two sizes larger for his underwear.

You can't even imagine bras. You can't wear clothes that aren't made of cotton at all.

 

The second is, it's a recurring pain that keeps moving around here and there.

It seems you've been visiting the ophthalmologist for almost over four years due to eye pain, but there has been no improvement at all.

There are only 2 to 3 types of eye drops to be used, and even if I go to a large hospital, there is nothing particularly bad or problematic; they just say I have cataracts.

Cataracts are not a disease that causes pain, but my mother says her eyes feel so stuffy and painful.

For a few days, the headache was so severe that I couldn't sleep.

One day, she said her chest was stabbing and she couldn't breathe well.

The next day, I was in so much pain in my lower back and sacrum that it was very difficult to get up and sit down.

Chronic pain keeps moving around here and there~~

 

The third one is, this is what I'm most curious about~~

A callus-like thing has appeared just above my tailbone since a certain day~~

When you went to the Korean medicine clinic for acupuncture, the doctor cautiously mentioned that it looked like a pressure sore.

My mom really doesn't sit or lie down for long periods... She usually spends the whole day tending to her plants and doesn't go out much, so she rarely stays in the same position for long; it was quite surprising.

Anyway, I was so surprised by the word pressure sore that from that day on, I started dressing the wound and bought pressure sore ointment and applied it diligently.

This kid keeps losing and falling, keeps losing and falling, and never disappears; instead, the affected area is gradually getting larger;;;;

Maybe it's because blood circulation isn't good in elderly people;;;

Can pressure sores develop even if the patient is not lying down like this???

Anyway, I will go to the dermatologist this Saturday, but;;;;;;; I am feeling frustrated, so I am writing here first.

 

He has poor eyesight and can't understand words well, and the places where he hurts keep increasing everywhere.

You can't sleep or eat.

I'm sorry to hear that, but I don't have a way to help.

Where should I go and what tests should I get done to finally relieve this frustrating, sporadic pain all over?

Should I get tested for an autoimmune disease, or would a whole-body PET-CT scan reveal anything;;;

 

Are there any people who have suffered from chronic pain and sought treatment, perhaps because it's not really a physical illness but a mental one?

How do you take care of your elderly parents who are suffering from various ailments?

I would like you to give me some advice~~

 

 

While reading various articles out of concern, I came across this writing. Could it be a disease of my mom's heart???

 

Many chronic pain patients say that their pain moves around. Often, severe back pain occurs first, followed by shoulder pain the next day, and in some cases, foot pain becomes severe before severe lower back pain appears. When pain moves around like this, patients have no choice but to search for specialized hospitals and visit various clinics.

 

In the case of one patient, a diagnosis of chronic rotator cuff tear was made. In fact, there was no major injury; the pain developed after engaging in slightly intense exercise. After experiencing the pain, the doctor diagnosed a rotator cuff tear. However, just before shoulder surgery, the patient developed back pain on the same day.

 

Meanwhile, the patient says, "Forget about the shoulder pain; now my back hurts so severely that I need to treat my back pain first." Eventually, to treat the back pain, the patient visits a specialized back pain hospital.

 

The migration of pain in patients with chronic pain is a very common symptom.

The movement of pain in patients with chronic pain is very strange. When the shoulder hurts, only the shoulder should hurt, and when the back hurts, only the back should hurt. However, pain seems to move around inside the body like a bead. Additionally, a peculiar symptom is that depression often accompanies the pain; when depression worsens, the sensation of pain diminishes. Conversely, when the pain intensifies, depression tends to lessen.

 

The phenomenon of pain moving is a normal response. It is not a physical problem but a way for the mind to hide tense emotions by creating pain throughout the body. Therefore, no matter how much you try to find the cause of the pain in the body, new pains will emerge, leading to other psychological issues. The fundamental cause of pain is unconscious emotions.

 

*When pain moves around here and there, recognize it as an unconscious avoidance mechanism of the brain. The more repressed and negative emotions there are, the more the pain in chronic pain patients may appear in only one area or all over the body. However, this is not surprising, and there is no need to be frightened or scared. Recognize that the sole cause of this pain is the negative emotions within your mind. Understand and convince yourself that it is a defensive strategy of the brain. For example, the idea that pain appears here and there is nonsense; it is an unconscious avoidance mechanism to escape negative emotions. Repeat this to yourself and persuade yourself.*

 

How should chronic pain be treated?

I too have suffered greatly over four years, visiting both traditional and Western medicine clinics due to chronic pain. Modern medicine is overly focused on physical and scientific aspects, ultimately missing the patient's true problem and only obsessing over symptom relief.

 

The cause of pain is not physical therapy. Until now, patients with chronic pain have been treated with advanced equipment and artificial surgeries developed through scientific and medical advancements that did not exist in human history. However, the number of pain patients continues to increase. In Africa and developing countries, people live healthily without medicines, surgeries, braces, good shoes, or healthcare products. The Maasai walk barefoot for dozens of kilometers a day.

 

If you had walked barefoot on the soil in Korea, medical professionals would have pointed to it as a cause of herniated discs. However, in Korea, despite using expensive sneakers, health aids, medicines, and medical supplies to correct and supplement the body, there are actually very few physical activities, yet the number of pain patients is much higher compared to African laborers like the Maasai.

 

The reason is simple: the cause of the pain lies not in the body but in the mind.

 

The relationship between chronic pain patients and their families is important.

Pain patients have tried all physical therapies, even meeting with famous university hospital doctors on TV. However, there has been little improvement, and they soon become discouraged, thinking they have contracted an incurable disease. They also tend to be excessively success-oriented, perfectionistic, and self-critical. Ultimately, these personality traits suppress their anger, leading to unconscious, repressed anger within. Many of them also grew up in environments with strict, principled fathers and success-oriented mothers.

   

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The cause of pain is born from the relationship with parents. It is often characterized by oppressive, perfectionist, and coercive parents, and the resulting relationship between children and parents is a phenomenon that occurs quite frequently in modern society. However, these overly goal-oriented tendencies can unknowingly lead to chronic pain, which is an inexplicable type of pain.

    

Pain relief requires consulting a specialist in pain psychology.

The cause of pain is an emotion such as repressed anger in the unconscious. Without resolving this emotion, the pain will persist. Even after taking numerous medications and undergoing surgery, the pain continues. Patients become more eager for physical treatments, take more medications, and seek more specialized medical professionals. Ultimately, they forget the true cause of the pain and keep visiting more doctors.

 

The treatment methods that pain patients have used so far are physical approaches. The cause of chronic pain is unconscious negative emotions, which is the mind. Try approaching the cause of pain differently now. Then, you can restore your life, which has been stained by many efforts, sacrifices, and suffering up to now.