Pain, will you return it?

If you're a chronic pain sufferer, there is a nurse who is looking for input for an article she's writing. The questionnaire is pretty easy, and I enjoyed filling it out.

The details are here:
Seeking Patient Perspectives on Pain

The reason I want to write this article is because after almost two years on the other side of the fence, so to speak, it's become glaringly obvious that there is a need for the healthcare community to hear first-hand how it feels to be treated with discrimination simply because you have a disability that isn't visible to the naked eye. Being refused treatment in the ER, being accused of drug-seeking behavior, and not having access to adequate pain relief complicates the issues at hand and may, in fact, make the pain and suffering we face worse than it already is. Chronic pain sufferers deserve just as much respect and dignity in treatment situations as any other person with a disabling disorder.

My answers to the questionnaire injected my experiences as a fat chronic pain sufferer. It's aggravating to have some ignorant jackhole tell me to "just lose weight" (some of you will remember that troll!) to fix my pain. I also very occasionally get contemptuous looks from pharmacy personnel when I pick up my pain prescriptions.

It will be interesting to see the article when she writes it. I hope that it will at least mention the fat perspective.