Since my last post I've noticed that frustration is building in both of us. This is centred on communication, as you might expect. Rama is also quite cantankerous about the pain from her osteoarthritis in her right arm and spends a good deal of her time complaining about discomfort. There is no doubt that the pain is at times fierce and eye wateringly agony but at the same time I think that she allows herself to dwell on pain and imagine it to be worse than it is. Boredom is the key here:  she has too much idle time to ruminate on her ills.

This has led to some horizon lighting storms at home as the two of us battle each other's will. Much of this is related to the administration of pain killers. Our doctor has recommended using a patch which releases a close cousin of morphine into the system continuously for 7 days. It takes time to get the dosage right and this is the issue. We started with a 5mg patch which was useless for pain relief and have crept upto 15mg but Rama is still demanding Endone tablets. She does need these occasionally when there are pain spikes but she insists on taking one every 4 hours which I'm resisting. I think it is psychological in that she equates the tablet with pain relief but doesn't really believe that the patch will do anything. I suppose it's a tactile response: take a tablet and pain is relieved. Do nothing and pain stays.

The battle will continue but it is wearing. We'll see the doctor again this week and possibly up the patch dosage to 20mg.

I have tried diverting Rama's attention away from the pain but with limited success. Somehow I've got to get her past the idea of swallowing a tablet as the solution to all her ailments.