Hey Jennijojo,

First of all, I'm so sorry to hear about your diagnosis. And secondly, I totally understand the pep talk thing that you referred to about people assuming it isn't that bad. It is that bad, on some days it is unbearable, I've been there, so I am so sorry that you are having to endure this. You mentioned that you are worried about work, are you full time? Because if you are, I might suggest talking to your employer to see if you can cut back on your hours a bit. I have found personally that this has helped while I have been trying to deal with having a majority of bad pain days, especially when you are new to it and trying to work out how to manage the pain. If this is not possible, the best thing to do is to build up your file with any helpful information, which would include maybe starting a pain journal, in which to document pain levels, moods, treatment progress and test results and maybe even dietary triggers for your pain. As far as the pain getting in the way of work and being afraid how much it will affect you, I totally understand because mine is in my dominant arm. I have found that you really need to gauge your pain level, and try to only push yourself as much as you can before horrible pain sets in. This is harder to do some days more than others. My biggest piece of advice is take it one day at a time. Some days you will be able to do more than others and that is okay. We are here for you!