Thread by @purplemamabear

My daughter has been having some pretty bad pain days. She has struggled with sleep more then usual. Tonight she came & laid by me in my bed. Sheer exhaustion took over. She is ‘sleeping’ but it’s not restful. She is whimpering and moaning in her sleep. This is 1/

a reality of pain. Yes she benefits from opioids but she also uses other techniques; distraction, stretches, hot baths. The reality for many is that even when you employ distraction, mindfulness, as well as other modalities it is NOT enough. This is the last day 2.

of #PainAwarenessMonth and I go out with a heavy heart. There is still such harm occurring, such stigmatization, inability to access quality care. There is an effort to silence those that have benefited from LTOT by labeling and providing a DSM diagnosis. To those 3/

that work in the field I say ‘nothing about us without us’ our voices should be front in center. We bring value. No most of us are not physicians but we know our body, we know our illnesses and we bring a wealth of perspective to advancing care for those in pain 4/

in #partnership with you. I hope that when #PainAwarenessMonth comes around again next year that we can look back at the many beneficial changes that have occurred 5/