Life With Chronic Drama

2026 has arrived and there’s never been a day without drama. Of course, I wouldn’t expect anything other than that. Living with chronic illness means that drama is built into your life. Every disease has symptoms and the symptoms add plenty of drama.

I guess most of the time drama means pain. Since I have diseases with overlapping symptoms I’m not always sure which disease is affecting me. I guess, most of the time it doesn’t really matter. My specialists only treat symptoms anyway.

The past few days brought me some unexpected pain…..toothache. My dentist just filled a cavity and wasn’t sure that it would hold. Most of my teeth are patched together. Too many years of a Sjogren’s dry mouth along with Ehlers Danlos made it inevitable. I’m sure not everyone has this problem from Sjogren’s, but it is a very common dilemma.

Usually when a crown or filling falls off I’m not in any pain. I don’t have to rush to the dentist. This tooth is killing me and I’ve already left a message for my dentist to see tomorrow morning. When he put in the filling, he said that there was no other way to save it. I’ll need to have it pulled. This is going to be my second tooth pulled.

I’m guessing there will be talks of a bridge or something? I dread the day that I need dentures. I’ll never have implants because they are too expensive. I’ve also read that the process might be worse for me than dentures. But, even that isn’t a sure thing with dry mouth. I also hope that the huge doses of Ibuprofen won’t destroy my kidneys, but I can’t stand this pain!

My chronic pain takes all that I have on a normal day. I pace my activities, like taking a shower or putting food in the oven for supper. On a normal day, I can do these two things. I’ll need to rest a great amount after completing each task. I write in between tasks that use my energy. Some days my time is interrupted by nausea, dizziness, or circular flashing lights. Each can keep me in my recliner.

Life is so annoying, because I don’t know what to expect. It’s not just a day-to-day thing, it’s a minute-to-minute thing. I can walk to the next room without any bad symptoms and then walking back I’ll have to hug the walls while I’m seeing bright, blinking lights. There’s no rhyme nor reason to the crazy symptoms. I’ve had nausea off and on for forty years.

The dizziness, loss of balance, and blurred vision have been so hard. I’m so thankful that my life doesn’t have all the symptoms at the same time. I know that the silent problems are still there and possibly getting worse, but I am not having to face them. I can put them out of my mind, because there is always something that is screaming at me.

For decades I only lived with invisible chronic illness. In the last five years I’ve actually developed visible chronic illness. Neither one is worse than the other, but onlookers only see what’s on the exterior. I have found that sometimes I feel a little bit defensive when others can only believe there is real pain if they can see a wound, braces, or a wheelchair. We can’t change other’s perspective, but we can change resentful feelings.

Those feelings don’t help anyone. I’m still working on the ability to ignore other people’s impressions. We all want to be believed, but there will always be those who are dismissive (even doctors). In my case, I do better to try and find another doctor, without getting angry. Being content is difficult, but I will keep trying.

 “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” Ps. 34:18

Please leave a comment below.

@2026, copyright Lisa Ehrman

Disclaimer: I’m not a medical expert. This post contains my experiences and opinions, ffand is not meant to be taken as medical advice. If you have a medical concern please consult your personal phyiscian.