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Why I left my tech job to work on chronic pain

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Re: Why I left my tech job to work on chronic pain

#61

Post by accrual »

quicktemp42 wrote: post #57

I’ve been struggling with chronic pain for almost eight months. It started when my orthodontic treatment caused the root of one of my teeth to break—it had already been weakened from a previous injury. The extraction was straightforward and only took 10 minutes, and I had an implant placed (with a temporary crown attached to my braces). Healing went smoothly, and the CT scans looked fine. But soon after, I developed…

Not a physician but how long have you had symptoms for? I've had dental work that took much longer than expected to heal.

The pulp in the teeth are quite sensitive and can inflame easily, and that inflamation has nowhere to go (being bound by the hard sides of your teeth and jaw), which can lead to constant pain. I once had a routine filling that took about 3 months to stop aching and I had to take ibuprofen every day during that time to be able to focus. Per the dentist, constant aching pain = it's slowly healing, leave it alone. Sharp intense pain = pulp is dying, need root canal. Granted, this is pain the mouth and not in the head like you described.

If it's been a while and it's still bothering you, I'd definitely consider having it removed too. It would suck to remove it and still have the headaches, but at that point you can start looking at other causes.

Re: Why I left my tech job to work on chronic pain

#62

Post by glasscannon »

j_bum wrote: post #55
glasscannon wrote: post #2

I recently decided to go all in on addressing chronic pain - a condition which affects an estimated 1/5 adults in the US[1] and nearly the same proportion in my country of Australia. This is the first of several blog posts exploring this invisible condition. If you're passionate about this space feel free to reach out, thanks! [1] https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/72/wr/mm7215a1.htm [data from 2021] - [Edit] Thanks so…

Hi Dan, I wanted to share a few links to articles on pain and circadian rhythms that I wrote during my PhD. Would love to connect if you have any questions. [0] Circadian rhythms and pain: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S01497... [1] The disruptive relationship among circadian rhythms, pain, and opioids: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neuroscience/articles/1... [2] Circadian rhythm disrup…

Would love to connect/chat. Will read over these in the meantime.

Re: Why I left my tech job to work on chronic pain

#63

Post by kccqzy »

kianN wrote: post #58

“As pain becomes chronic, it is increasingly associated with activity in the affective and motivational systems tied to avoidance and less closely tied to systems encoding nociceptive input” [1] I’ve been on the slippery slope of chronic pain. Minor post surgery issues caused me to change my routine and avoid certain activities which only exacerbated the issues, which led to more avoidance. Eventually I couldn’t walk…

> Minor post surgery issues

My wife has had two surgeries and each time she had a minor post surgery issue. One of them was an area that was tender to touch; another was chronic pain. Neither was mentioned as a possible side effect of the surgery by the surgeon. The main takeaway even if a bit extreme here is avoid all surgeries unless absolutely necessary.

Re: Why I left my tech job to work on chronic pain

#64

Post by anticensor »

kianN wrote: post #58

“As pain becomes chronic, it is increasingly associated with activity in the affective and motivational systems tied to avoidance and less closely tied to systems encoding nociceptive input” [1] I’ve been on the slippery slope of chronic pain. Minor post surgery issues caused me to change my routine and avoid certain activities which only exacerbated the issues, which led to more avoidance. Eventually I couldn’t walk…

Pain is a legitimate diagnosis, though.

Re: Why I left my tech job to work on chronic pain

#65

Post by tossandthrow »

ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #48

I was just talking to a friend of mine, yesterday, about what happened to me. In 2017, I was laid off of my job (of almost 27 years). I immediately started looking for work. Since the company I worked for, was a marquee-name company, I assumed that it wouldn't be hard. Boy, was I in for a shock. I almost immediately learned that no one in tech, is interested in hiring a 55-year-old, regardless of their pedigree. I co…

As someone who will, eventually, hit that age, I would love to hear more about that treatment?

My own impression is that the software industry is one of the industries where experience and qualifications are completely divorced.

So from my perspective one is really always back at square 0 when looking for jobs - including the need to prove oneself and stay humble.

Re: Why I left my tech job to work on chronic pain

#66

Post by nwienert »

CoastalCoder wrote: post #17
nwienert wrote: post #11

As someone who had years of undiagnosable pain and after many years (and more than one doctor trying to suggest it was all in my head) I just want to say to anyone reading who has it - Don’t let yourself be gaslit that it’s all mental. It seems some do have that, but there are also many hard to diagnose and completely valid physical health conditions that cause terrible chronic pain. And don’t give up on trying to fi…

Would you mind sharing a little detail about what the physical malady turned out to be, and why it took so long to diagnose? Sounds like an interesting medical mystery.

Combination of two autoimmune conditions, one Ehlers Danlos.

Actually EDS is interesting because it became a fad I guess on TikTok to claim you had it like Tourette’s, further exacerbating the above issue.

It’s got a wide spectrum. My dad had it so lightly he was just considered “double jointed”. I gained a further thing from mom’s side, which seemed to interplay poorly. Spent 19-26 basically having extreme nausea and vomiting episodes every month or two, often having to go to the hospital to stop it. Had other weird symptoms and pains before that and during too.

Did every scan, met tons of specialists. Kept getting referred down the GI side, had gallbladder removed for no reason.

At one point I was convinced it was psychological. This was after a second doctor suggested it. It sent me down a dark path for a few years of trying to figure out what was wrong with me - didn’t help my mental state was terrible from all the uncertainty, and I had developed anxiety about eating since basically any meal could end up in hours of extreme pain. I was a total wreck. Then it just cleared up finally at 26.

It wasn’t until years later I got the EDS diagnosis, and then a genetic test showed the other immune condition. When looking at the two lists of symptoms it was such an intense moment in my life, finally having closure.

Re: Why I left my tech job to work on chronic pain

#67

Post by nwienert »

marcinzm wrote: post #28
CoastalCoder wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would you mind sharing a little detail about what the physical malady turned out to be, and why it took so long to diagnose? Sounds like an interesting medical mystery.

Not OP but similar story with someone I know. Five years of many specialists that always ended in "all the tests are negative so it must either be fibromyalgia or psychological." Doctors never helped but eventually they empirically found that abilify and rexulti in very low doses (ie: half the minimum) made it just go away. Empirically based on the reaction to various medications it was probably some type of dopamine…

Dopamine can help autoimmune issues - if they haven’t seen a rheumatologist I’d recommend it.

Re: Why I left my tech job to work on chronic pain

#68

Post by ChrisMarshallNY »

tossandthrow wrote: post #65
ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #48

I was just talking to a friend of mine, yesterday, about what happened to me. In 2017, I was laid off of my job (of almost 27 years). I immediately started looking for work. Since the company I worked for, was a marquee-name company, I assumed that it wouldn't be hard. Boy, was I in for a shock. I almost immediately learned that no one in tech, is interested in hiring a 55-year-old, regardless of their pedigree. I co…

As someone who will, eventually, hit that age, I would love to hear more about that treatment? My own impression is that the software industry is one of the industries where experience and qualifications are completely divorced. So from my perspective one is really always back at square 0 when looking for jobs - including the need to prove oneself and stay humble.

Well, I found that independent recruiters were the worst. They all ghosted me. A couple actually hung up on me, as soon as they learned my age. In-house recruiters and managers were much better, but the interview process generally derailed, as soon as one single tecchie got involved.

I actually had one refuse to look at my [extensive] code portfolio, because "I probably faked it." One of the luxuries that I had, which I am eternally grateful for, is that I don't have to eat shit.

If reacting badly to that kind of treatment is "not humble," then guilty as charged.

I should add that I am a high school dropout, with a GED, and no matriculated education. Despite that, I ran a "skunkworks" team, employing some very good engineers, and was kept on by a very demanding Japanese corporation, where I was given an insane level of trust.

I'm pretty used to having to prove myself. I've spent almost my entire career, looking up noses. Someone with my background won't make it far, unless I know how to work well with un-humble people, and deliver the goods. I never was given much latitude. I wasn't really allowed to fail.

Re: Why I left my tech job to work on chronic pain

#69

Post by quicktemp42 »

accrual wrote: post #61
quicktemp42 wrote: post #57

I’ve been struggling with chronic pain for almost eight months. It started when my orthodontic treatment caused the root of one of my teeth to break—it had already been weakened from a previous injury. The extraction was straightforward and only took 10 minutes, and I had an implant placed (with a temporary crown attached to my braces). Healing went smoothly, and the CT scans looked fine. But soon after, I developed…

Not a physician but how long have you had symptoms for? I've had dental work that took much longer than expected to heal. The pulp in the teeth are quite sensitive and can inflame easily, and that inflamation has nowhere to go (being bound by the hard sides of your teeth and jaw), which can lead to constant pain. I once had a routine filling that took about 3 months to stop aching and I had to take ibuprofen every da…

It has been eight months and there is no tissue damage. Allergic reactions to implant materials are rare and usually stop an implant from fusing with the bone, but mine has integrated perfectly. I would consider removing it, except it is my upper central incisor... I kept waiting for braces to be removed etc but I'm running out of options now.

Re: Why I left my tech job to work on chronic pain

#70

Post by wincy »

mattgreenrocks wrote: post #22

I’ve been dealing with chronic reflux for about 8 mos now. On PPIs and they don’t seem to do much. But once I get away from my typical routine of work/dadding then all the symptoms vanish, even to the point of being able to eat foods that are not good for reflux: spicy things, tomatoes, a bit of coffee. In my case, this is absolutely a downstream symptom of something mind-body. Already been scoped and got a diagnosis…

All of my reflux went away last year when I started tirzepatide via my Zepbound prescription. I was having horrible heartburn daily and it’s just completely gone. I used to take tums and omeprazole literally daily, now it’s basically never.
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