TY - JOUR T1 - My life as a heartsink patient: living with chronic pain JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract SP - 75 LP - 75 DO - 10.3399/bjgp11X549153 VL - 61 IS - 582 AU - Name of author withheld Y1 - 2011/01/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/61/582/75.abstract N2 - I was like you once. Some patients would literally make my heart sink. Patients with chronic insoluble problems and their general misery often left me feeling exhausted. They seemed to come to clinic just to complain about how fed up they were. Then one day my life changed forever. After a ski trip I developed backache. When self-treatment failed I sought medical advice and ended up having surgery, which has left me with chronic pain. I have gone from being able to run, bike, and climb mountains to struggling with the stairs. … ER -