Chronic pain sufferer given hope after 13 years

Image caption, Hannah said many people did not believe she was in pain

A woman who has been struggling with chronic pain since she was a child has been given a glimmer of hope.

Hannah Wood, 25, from Gosport, Hampshire, experiences persistent pain in several areas of her body - including her neck, back and ankle.

After a 13-year-long quest for answers she has been diagnosed with a condition that stems from a trapped nerve.

She has decided to speak out after a BBC survey found one in four people live with chronic pain.

"I feel like I am constantly being stabbed, like sometimes there's someone holding a knife in any of the pain areas such as the ankle, the knee, the lower back," Ms Wood said.

Her struggle began after she had her appendix removed when she was 12 years old.

She and her family have been searching for a diagnosis ever since.

But it was only recently, and thanks to a steroid injection she paid for privately, that Ms Wood was diagnosed with a condition called anterior cutaneous nerve entrapment syndrome.

"I had so many people not believing me for so long. I even started thinking I was crazy," she said.

Image caption, Hannah's family spent years trying to get answers

What is chronic pain?

  • Persistent pain that lasts more than three months, despite medication or other forms of treatment
  • Secondary chronic pain is a pain which tends to be caused by another condition, for example, arthritis, endometriosis, cancer pain
  • Primary chronic pain is a condition in its own right - there is no known condition other than the pain itself - this can include conditions such as fibromyalgia or complex regional pain syndrome
  • Chronic pain is often confused with acute pain - a short-term pain such as a broken bone or a torn muscle

Ms Wood's father, Bob, said his family tried all it could to get answers.

"We had to be there pushing it all along, doing our own research, sending out the emails, asking for assistance, asking for scans. We had to be pushing it for 13 years," he said.

Ms Wood will have to have her pain relief implant removed and will need an MRI scan before she can begin fundraising for further treatment.

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