Voices Across America

Discrimination against me for my chronic pain

Shane

State: Florida
Congressional District: FL08

Diseases

Chronic Pain, Mental Health, Migraine

Issues and Challenges

Shane has encountered: Access to Expert Providers, Geography, Medical Discrimination

My Story

I suffer alone with my traumatic brain injury. I already had social anxiety disorder,PTSD and chronic pain. I slipped and fell on a concrete ramp at my clubhouse, I cracked my head open and needed 14 staples in my scalp. I followed up with a neurologist and lots of tests. My occipital lobe was damaged and the MRI showed several lesions from the impact and EEG showed damage to some neural pathways. I also herniated several cervical and thoracic discs,for which I'll need surgery.

Now I have to live with chronic acute headaches, blurred vision, memory problems, concentration problems, reading problems, and vertigo...among other pain symptoms.

To make it worse, this has exacerbated my anxiety so bad and I can't find a serious psychiatrist to medicate me properly. They all want to start me back at square one with experimental combinations of the various junk meds. I know what works. I have spent thousands of hours and dollars in therapy and treatment before. I can't get any help.

The combination of these thing has begun to sink me in a deep depression and I am scared.

My Motivation and Inspiration

My motivation was my service dog, Lucy...But she passed last week. I have no psychiatrist, no meds, no Lucy and no hope left.

Every time I have to try to get help, I have to open up all my old wounds and pour my heart out to another doctor, therapist, etc. It feels like I am emotionally raped, over and over and over again. They listen to my desperate cries and screams and they just sit back and laugh at me, tell me to BREATHE and take an antihistamine.

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