For the past few months, I’ve been meeting with a psychologist at a university-hospital pain management unit (PMU). There are several of these mental health professionals who work within “my” PMU, because chronic pain is known to be associated with depression and other mental health Read More …
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) is similar to the National Institutes for Health (NIH) in the United States, in that it provides funding for research. CIHR research grants funnel taxpayer funds to researchers, in order to benefit the health of all Canadians. This Read More …
If you’ve been following along with my patient journey, you might recall that I’ve had a number of nerve blocks since my diagnosis 3 years ago: Stellate ganglion blocks Axillary brachial plexus blocks Some chronic pain specialists and researchers feel that these nerve blocks are Read More …
Yesterday was something of a milestone in my patient journey. Three years since being diagnosed with CRPS, Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. Or RSD, Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy, as it used to be known. Whatever the name, it’s a horrible disease. Not well understood even within the Read More …
A few months ago a part of my world collapsed, although I didn’t realize it at the time. I was diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment, or MCI, as a result of a rare autoimmune and neuro-inflammatory disease. I’ve had the disease since mid-2016, so had Read More …
I just left my family physician’s office, a-g-a-i-n. Don’t get me wrong; he’s a really nice guy, a genuinely kind person! But I really wish I didn’t have to see him every few weeks. It feels as though I’m wasting his time, asking him to Read More …
