Two Thursdays ago injured myself at the gym. I was doing a chest exercise when I felt a burning sensation in my chest where the pectoral muscle meets my right arm. Although I discontinued the exercize, little did I know what I was in for. Today is day 11 of constant, non-stop chronic pain. 3 clinics, one ER visit, and one round of physio-therapy and I am still in agony. If you live with chronic pain you already know the Canadian medical system does wonders in fixing the problem and healing, but when it comes to pain management, my experience over the past few days has everyone giving me different answers. Ice or heat? What is the cause of your pain? Do I take this or that? The doctor in the Emergency room at a local hospital told me it wasn’t broken and to just double up on Advil. Really? I waited for 4 1/2 hours to be told to double my Advil intake and no further tests?? Everyone seems to have their own idea of what I should be doing to ease the pain, none of them have worked thus far. Here’s what I have learned: If it eases the pain do it. There’s only one person looking out for you, and that is you.
