Facial Pain Awareness Month

October is Facial Pain Awareness Month! 💙

I have had facial pain for thirteen years now. Developing it at age seventeen (though I often wonder if I have been experiencing symptoms as young as thirteen), was a huge impact on me. It has not only caused chronic, at times unbearable pain, it has also affected me emotionally and mentally. Facial pain may be in the face and head but the whole body is effected.

Facial pain awareness is needed not only for cures, but for others to understand the struggle that I and so many other rare facial pain patients go through on a daily basis.

Having facial pain requires a strength that many of us do not realize we have until we start fighting this ongoing battle.

It's a fight that we are not alone in.

I'm thankful for the facial pain community, you all have been a light to me on days when the pain felt like it would drown me. Finding everyone a few years ago was the game changer I needed. I love and appreciate each of you.

We are warriors.

Follow The Medical Zebra on Instagram! Scan the QR code below!

Comments

Angel

Many people don’t understand the depth of virtual friendships. Virtual friendships are real friendships. Just because they come about from connecting with someone online doesn’t make them less of a friendship. Those of us with rare chronic illness, our virtual friendships are formed from the chronic illness world itself. You connect with those who already understand what you are going through. These friendships are special. The chance of coming across someone in person that has the same rare condition, is rare like the condition itself. Because of that, these virtual friendships are that much more meaningful and impactful. They touch your heart and life. Angel. When I think about her I always think of three things. Butterflies, makeup and how much I thought her name fit her. We met through a support group for Trigeminal Neuralgia. The funny thing is she messaged my identical twin asking for advice and looking for someone who wou...

Disabled and Loved

ID for accessibility: Photo of couple lovingly holding hands. There is a myth that needs to be broken. That myth is that people with a disability and chronic illness shouldn’t fall in love or be in a relationship. I have had chronic health conditions since my childhood. In my teen years my conditions became more severe and multiplied, I developed the rare condition of trigeminal neuralgia (though I would not receive my official diagnosis until almost a decade later). I remember the fear that struck me, "Who would want to be with someone with so many health conditions and who may not even be able to kiss them?" From an early age, I was taught I was a burden and undeserving of love. I was a "burden" to my parents, my pastor, my Sunday school teacher, and even to a supposedly loving god. Once my health conditions started showing up and getting worse, I was then a burden to a future spouse, if I should even date or find someone who wanted t...

Scars To Your Beautiful

I wished I could put into words what it feels like emotionally and mentally to be a chronic illness patient. Some days, it’s just a routine of taking your medications, going to your doctor appointments, pain, fatigue medication side effects etc. Some days it’s just normal to not be normal. Other days, like for me today, I’m crying. I’m crying because yet again, I’m facing another health battle. There’s a sting to this battle though. Because I have faced it before and well, thought I had won. Even my doctors called me a success story. And even used my case at a teaching conference. I held on to those words and was damn proud of myself for winning against this yet another rare disease. And one that left me with visible scars and insecurities. When you are a chronic illness patient, sometimes you get used to being sick, but please don’t mistaken that with being okay with being sick. Maybe some individuals are. Maybe I’m just not accepting of the fact that I have chronic i...

The Medical Zebra

Search This Blog