Summary
Our Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement member, Irene, recently spoke to the Alleviate research team about her experience of living with pain since developing shingles in August 2020. Watch the first of four episodes in our ‘Pain Awareness Month’ series.
Irene is part of Alleviate’s Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) team and in this first episode of our series, she describes how exhausting it is living with pain following developing shingles in August 2020. This resulted in a diagnosis of Post Herpetic Neuralgia (PHN) that has left Irene with nerve damage in her back. Irene describes in detail the pain she experiences and how it can be difficult to get motivated when living with pain.
Irene is part of Alleviate’s Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) team and in this first episode of our series, she describes how exhausting it is living with pain following developing shingles in August 2020. This resulted in a diagnosis of Post Herpetic Neuralgia (PHN) that has left Irene with nerve damage in her back. Irene describes in detail the pain she experiences and how it can be difficult to get motivated when living with pain.
“The pain was unbearable; I felt like I was rolling in glass”
PAIN AWARENESS MONTH – IRENE SOULSBY
Irene believes that by being part of Alleviate, she can help raise the profile of pain research by sharing her lived experience. Irene credits the group as being a fantastic support and is still hopeful that her pain will improve and that in the future, she will live a pain free life.
The Alleviate Pain Data Hub is a £2M collaborative project funded by a consortium of funders including Versus Arthritis and the UK Medical Research Council. The project is led by the University of Dundee and involves partners from across the UK. Alleviate is one of nine HDR UK Health Data Research Hubs.
More information is available on the Alleviate Pain Data Hub website, subscribe to our newsletter for regular updates or join our community. Follow us at @alleviate_data