My Story 2

The crunch time came one day when, after a day of lectures, I felt so utterly exhausted and in so much intense pain that I could no longer find the physical or emotional strength to walk home. My mind was in turmoil; I simply could not think for the intense searing pain ripping through my head, neck and shoulders, and the only thing left to do was to get into the university doctors surgery, just across the road, and ask to see a doctor.

I attempted to explain to the doctor the pain I was in, but the feelings overwhelmed me, and I just cried and stuttered, and then winced as the crying made my head pound even more. Whatever I did, I could not escape. The constant unrelenting physical pain, the onset or severity of which appeared to bear little or no relationship to any particular activity, together with the emotional exhaustion and total frustration at the whole situation was driving me mad.

The doctor gave me some ibuprofen, and the thought that I may now have something which could break this cycle gave me the strength to make it home. I had no idea what to expect, so I waited until I was home before I took one.

About 5 minutes after swallowing the first tablet, I felt a real sense of relief flow over me – these tablets were the first thing I had experienced that could actually take the edge off the intense muscular pain and tension that I had across the shoulders, up the back of my neck and throughout my hips and legs, and allow me some control over breaking the cycle of pain and frustration.

For the next few years, Ibuprofen, often combined with paracetamol, became a sacred part of my life.

next...