Dear Ms. Bowles,
August 2012 was my first head-on experience with the cuts in funding to
the health service; cuts that were made in order to furnish the bank-debt had
filtered through to the front-line directly affecting people like me.
I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 1999 but it was not until
2002 that the most disabling symptom of my disease appeared - I had developed
chronic nerve-pain. I was referred to the pain clinic and we began, together, a
journey to find a way to control the pain while avoiding the side effects of
most conventional forms of pain control such as addiction, drowsiness and an
altered state of mind.
I was and always have been employed; to stay this way it was necessary
to avoid opioids completely.
My pain consultant is very dedicated and tried to find a way to give me
as much relief as possible. In 2008 I took part in a trial where lignocane (a
local anesthetic) was infused to my spinal fluid through an intravenous drip;
not only was this treatment inexpensive (€34 per infusion), within 24 hours I
was completely pain-free and for the first time in six years I no longer
required painkillers. It was and is
life-changing. For the following four years I received lignocane infusions
every six weeks and lived an almost normal productive life.
In August 2012 the Pain Clinic I attend lost three-quarters of its
resources as a direct result of funding cuts. I was due to receive a lignocane
infusion the same week, an appointment that was cancelled. I was to wait three
months and endure unending chronic nerve pain. I was reduced to my bed for a
period of eight weeks, no longer a productive member of society, wife or
mother. I received my infusion in December but due to the delay, it was not as
effective and the relief was only partial and short-lived. There are no words
to adequately explain what chronic pain feels like. What I can say is the volume of medication required to have a short break
reduced me to a state akin to a living death; I was either sleeping or taking
more pills to induce sleep.
I am one of many thousands of people in Ireland whose life has been
turned upside-down as a direct result of cuts to vital health services. The
decision to make such drastic cuts to the resources at the Pain Clinic have
proven to be uneconomical as I now engage with extra services such as out-of-hours
GP visits (on average eight home visits per month at a cost to the health
service of €100/visit). The lignocaine infusion costs €34 and provides total
pain relief for an average of four weeks. Then there are all the extra
medications I use to treat the pain or the side effects caused by the pain
meds…
It is a battle I am having to fight unnecessarily to pay the debts of
banks; why?
Jennifer
Galway
