– Life has taken a different turn than I thought. Ten years ago, I would not have thought that this is where I would be today. 34-year-old May-Elin Imset lives on the farm where she grew up, on Løten in Hedmark. Two years ago, she was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, which is a chronic pain condition. In addition, she has chronic migraines. Before that, she lived an active life. – I enjoyed myself best when I could juggle many things at once. I flourished and had steely control. The more hectic, the better. Over the past few years, life has changed and the pain has gradually taken control of her life. She is now applying for disability benefits due to the illness. – It feels a little unfair, that you want so much, but you can’t do it because your body doesn’t want to. Photo: Jorunn Hatling / news – I sit and wait to become disabled because that’s what my body needs. It fails to function normally. Most women are affected – Women have more frequent pain and they have pain of more intensity than men, says Tone Rustøe, nurse, researcher and professor at Oslo University Hospital. Pain specialist Audun Stubhaug and nurse Tone Rustøen are both professors who have extensive experience with pain patients. Photo: Roy Pettersen / news Together with professor and pain specialist Audun Stubhaug, she has written the report “Prolonged pain is a women’s health problem” which is discussed by Sykepleien. There it is established that many pain conditions that affect women in particular receive little attention from the healthcare system. According to the report, the disorders May-Elin is affected by are far more common for women than for men. Up to nine out of ten people affected by fibromyalgia and fatigue conditions are women, and migraines are two to three times more common in women than men. – What is the reason why women more often have long-term pain than men? – Pain is often complex, and as many as 58 per cent state that they do not know the cause of their pain, says Rustøen. – What do you think about it? – There is a lot we do not know, and it is clear that it is more difficult to get treatment when you do not know the cause of your pain. But the cause can also be linked to differences in female and male hormones. Women are greatly influenced by the hormone estrogen, while men have higher testosterone levels. The researchers believe this probably gives women a lower pain threshold and a higher risk of some long-term pain conditions. Disease that does not seem to May-Elin tries to live as normally as possible. Collecting wood and putting it in the stove takes energy. Photo: Marit Sirum-Eikre / news Pain disorders are often diseases that those around them cannot see. – Many women have felt rejected by the fact that these are common female complaints that everyone has. But for some, these pain conditions can have a dramatic impact on their whole life, says Stubhaug. Many people who live with pain have a complex picture of the disease. – What I’m concerned about is that everyone should get a thorough and broad survey, says Tone Rustøen. Photo: Roy Pettersen / news – We must not only focus on pain, because many of those who have lived with pain for many years also have other symptoms. It could be fatigue or sleep problems. You can become depressed or be afraid because the pain doesn’t go away, says Rustøen. She believes it is important to be able to look more holistically at treatment and also help patients with other symptoms. Fantasizes about tearing out his own jaw – I’m alone so much, that it’s good to have someone to talk to, says May-Elin about the cat Ida. Photo: Marit Sirum-Eikre / news May-Elin Imset knows well how life can be dominated by pain. She gets tired quickly and needs to rest often. She also has problems maintaining her concentration over a period of time. The pain is also intense. – Sometimes I feel like tearing out my upper jaw – because it must be nicer not to have an upper jaw, she says. She says that the pain often tears in her jaw, from one ear to the other. – It is one of the most tiring pains. She makes lists and plans to be able to carry out simple tasks. She spreads the work of washing a machine with clothes over several days. May-Elin spends several days washing a machine with clothes. She puts in the washer and dryer one day. After that she must rest. She spreads the process of cleaning away the clothes over several days. Photo: Marit Sirum-Eikre / news Pain is often a cause of sick leave and disability Around three out of ten adults state that they have long-term pain, and pain is an important cause of long-term sick leave and disability, according to the Institute of Public Health. There are many different types of pain. Getting the right pain treatment can make the difference between a difficult and painful life – and a life you are satisfied with, believes Audun Stubhaug. Photo: Roy Pettersen / news – The most common type of pain is muscle and bone pain. Neck and back pain is the most common pain that causes disability or sick leave among both men and women, says pain doctor and professor Audun Stubhaug. According to the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, musculoskeletal disorders are the main diagnosis for 35-45 per cent of doctor-notified sickness absence in Norway and are a registered diagnosis in 29 per cent of disability benefit cases. – How important is it that those affected get help? – It is very important. It can be the difference between a difficult and painful life in solitude or having a fairly good life that you are satisfied with, says Stubhaug. FHI on long-term pain Around 30 per cent state that they have long-term pain. There appears to have been a slight increase in the incidence of long-term pain. More women than men are affected. Pain in the musculoskeletal system is the most common type of long-term pain. Around 50 per cent of disability cases can be attributed to long-term pain, the health surveys in Trøndelag and Tromsø show. Many cases of long-term sick leave are also due to long-term pain. Chronic pain is defined as persistent or constantly recurring pain with a duration of three months or more. The most common is pain in the musculoskeletal system, but pain from other tissue types is also frequent, including pain from internal organs. It is common to distinguish between two main types of long-term pain: Neuropathic pain is pain caused by damage to the nervous system. Common causes are physical trauma, surgery and amputations, stroke, diseases affecting the nervous system and late damage after chemotherapy. Nociceptive or inflammatory pain is pain caused by damage or disease in tissue, such as e.g. inflammatory reactions in muscles, arthrosis or arthritis. Source: FHI – Women’s health must be taken seriously The status of women’s health must be increased and it must be ensured that knowledge about women’s health reaches the health services. This was among the proposals in the Women’s Health Committee’s report which was presented on 2 March. – We cannot have it so in 2023 that half the population’s health is not taken seriously, committee leader Christine Meyer said in connection with the presentation. The committee proposed that a women’s health billion be set aside for work on women’s health and the importance of gender for health. Living with the pain May-Elin spends a lot of time alone on the farm at Løten, and tries to adapt to a new everyday life. Photo: Jorunn Hatling / news – I would have liked to use my head and work, be part of a community, feel that I am contributing something or other. May-Elin tells of a sadness behind the facade. – I hadn’t planned for life to be like this. It feels a little unfair that you want so much but can’t. Now she is trying to adapt to her new life. – You can search and search in the health care system and go on an eternal search for some miracle cure, but it probably doesn’t exist. Then the question is, what do you do with your life, says Imset. Need for more knowledge – It can be shameful to walk and have pain for a long time if you don’t fully know the cause, says Rustøen. Pain disorders must be taken more seriously, the researchers believe. They agree that there is a need for more knowledge and more research to be able to provide better treatment to people living with long-term and often disabling pain.
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May-Elin’s life is put on hold by pain – news Norway – Overview of news from various parts of the country
