Lelena Profile picture
Apr 17, 2021 8 tweets 5 min read Read on X
Well folks...this is making the rounds thanks to the eagle eyes of @yahoocyd! (Thanks, Cyd!)

You read that right. 12 Steps For The Chronic Pain Patient.

Naturally, I have a few thoughts...

My initial reaction was disbelief, then utter dismay. Really?😔
chronicpainanonymous.org
Firstly...
The whole thing smacks of the pulpit, but let's dig in, shall we?

We are powerless over pain. Uhm...NO. Not at all.
That's what medicine, treatments, & coping mechanisms are for. Helping manage pain to a more tolerable level so one can be more productive & joyful.🤔🤷‍♀️
The second part of Step 2 begs a response as well.
"We admit that illness/pain makes our lives unmanageable."
No, I don't admit this at all. People living with #disabilities are creative & careful in how we manage our lives. This sounds like learned hopelessness AND helplessness.
Declaring total defeat is a world away from acknowledging hardships. I fail to see how this helps at all. 🤷‍♀️
Step 3-If I wish to commune with my Higher Power, I can attend church or pray on my own. This is beginning to resemble a Calvinist Cult. What is the goal? Conversion?😳🙄
Here's where the wheels start to really fly off the train:
Steps 4-7
Identify your sin!
Analyze your sin!
Confess your sin!
Beg for forgiveness!
Wallow in the inherent evil of your sin (b/c you are a despicable creature).😢
I fail to see why any of this is helpful/necessary.
I have no idea what any of this has to even do w/ #ChronicIllness or #pain. I'm not against taking responsibility for yourself & trying to improve as a human being. This is different.
Step 8:
I'm stunned by this one. Why would a sick person need to make amends? What did they do?
Step 9? You guessed it...KEEP making amends.
😳😳😳
Who came up with this horse excrement? Now I see what @billkinkle was saying. I wouldn't want ANYONE subjected to this festival of judgmental introspection.
Be Sorry! Be Ashamed! Beg for Forgiveness! Admit Defeat & Surrender!
Steps 10-11 continue to reek of a pulpit with a preacher telling people with #disabilities they are all Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, so fall in line.

Step 12 is to Spread the Gospel to others with #ChronicIllness & pain.

This is horrifying. No offense to 12-steppers.🥺

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More from @LelenaPeacock

Nov 13, 2021
I'd like to explain why #PainPatients & the #disability community is having a VERY difficult time w/this suite of articles about #ChronicPain.
I did find a more balanced view in some of the articles, & that's a good start for journos covering #ChronicPain. Sadly, it isn't enough.
For the past 7 years, #PainPatients have endured the draconian shift in #healthcare & attitudes toward pain & disability.

Countless patients lost their meds.
Many patients lost their doctors.
Some patients lost their jobs, their spouses, even their children.

Some of us died.🥺
In 2016, the #CDC unleashed their #Guidelines for prescribing #opioids for #ChronicPain.

The guidelines were adopted as a mandate in Rxing & the #StandardOfCare across the board.

Overnight, #PainPatients became a glaring liability for all doctors, & the consequences are harsh.
Read 11 tweets
May 15, 2021
Today I wish to honor @kathleenaie.
She was a Wife
A Mother
A Dear Friend, &
A Fierce Advocate for #PainPatients.

Kathleen passed away suddenly. She was & will always remain a force for good. She fought tirelessly for others.

We will miss her SO much. Thank you, Kathleen!🌸💚
She was ever-present & vocal about the issues #PainPatients face in medicine today.

Her mission in life was to help others in any way she could.

I believe her poor little body couldn't keep up with her heart & her passionate pursuit of restoring rights & medication for #CPP.
I admired her tremendously. I'm disappointed in myself, because I always meant to tell her how much I looked up to her.

I'm grateful I had the opportunity to know her, if only though our advocacy & shared passion for others.

I can only hope to be more like Kathleen. 🙏🌸💚
Read 4 tweets
Apr 18, 2021
We need change NOW. How is it that at no point during the encounters with this poor woman NO ONE seemed to notice she had mental deficits? A visit from APS would be more appropriate. This woman was terrorized by the police, not *policed*. #PoliceBrutality
nbcnews.com/news/us-news/c…
This is indefensible.

Miss Garner is 73.
She has dementia & aphasia.
She was failed at every turn.
Walmart employees wouldn't let her pay for the items she *stole*.
The cops used UNNECESSARY FORCE w/someone who couldn't comprehend them. How did everyone miss her #dementia?🤔💔
Would this woman still be alive if she was a BiPOC?

SERIOUS QUESTION.😔

As it stands, she suffered a broken humerus & a dislocated shoulder.
The @LovelandPolice unnecessarily escalated this situation. It should have been obvious she was terrifed & not quite *all there*.😢😢😢
Read 4 tweets
Mar 18, 2020
Dr. Kertesz addresses the doctors who believe no one should be started on #opioids in this tweet. I'd like to chime in as well.

I believe it should be a carefully thought out decision between doctor & patient. I'm a patient that benefits from #LongTermOpioidTherapy. A few notes:
I finally got a diagnosis that isn't half-assed. I have #EhlersDanlosSyndrome, among other things. It's extremely painful. It started to set in during college. I should have know that wearing a backpack shouldn't have been excruciating. It was. I didn't go on an #opioid regimen
for years, however.

I finally tried #opioids long-term around the age of 28. I was working as a freelance photographer. Hauling equipment around became so painful, I hit a WALL around the age of 30. I had to slow down, whether I liked it or not. I got married, & after that, my
Read 10 tweets
Jan 30, 2020
I have a grievance regarding my mom's care during her bout w/#sepsis. #dementia

At the end of October 2019, my husband & I awoke to find mom's breathing labored, & her mumbling to let her sleep. We let her rest. A fever spiked within the hour, & suddenly she became deathly ill.
She was twitching, sweating profusely, in full rigors, & unable to sit up/speak well. She looked TERRIFIED. I thought she had a stroke. Turns out, it was a high fever from an infected gallbladder. She landed in the #ICU. ALL her vitals were jumping around. It was horrible.
She landed in the ER & eventually the ICU. Turns out she had #sepsis from the infected gall bladder. The ICU's 1st step? Changing her meds around INSTANTLY. Specifically they rescinded ALL #opioids abruptly. After over a decade on them, she was thrown into acute withdrawal in ICU
Read 16 tweets
Oct 3, 2019
My name is Dawn Anderson, & today I should be celebrating my 54th brithday.

I was a grandmother, mother, aunt, & dear friend.

I was also a #ChronicPain patient.

I used #opioid medication to maintain a decent #QualityOfLife.

I was forcibly tapered from my pain meds in 2016.
I found other patients who were suffering because of the #WarOnDrugs, & I cried out for help.

I shared my story with journalists.

I wrote my PCP a letter.

I attended a #DPPRally with my daughter @AmandaLatronica. I'm so proud of her. She's a #warrior!

painnewsnetwork.org/stories/2019/3…
In March 2019, my kidneys failed me, & I ended up at the hospital.

I was strapped to a hospital bed & injected with thorazine because I was confused.

The pain was horrific & STILL-no one listened. #PainStigma

I decided to let go on March 11, 2019.

I refused dialysis, & died.
Read 6 tweets

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