Go, Prettyday! You could not have said it any better!

"Then they could do a story on a young woman who looks healthy and makes an effort to look good no matter how she feels, and PAY!!! for the research of her visits to Pain Clinics and invasive testing; she could publish a dramatic timeline on how long it takes to get an accurate diagnosis, and the eroding of her self-confidence along the way!"

OK, since you manage to look good most days, your back CAN'T be hurting very much! Aren't you BRAVE? Having had cancer didn't break YOUR spirit! Your good attitude helps! Who NEEDS all those drugs?? Not YOU!!

Let me tell that cretin writer ONE thing...if I didn't have painkillers for my back AND when I went through the surgeries for breast cancer, I'd never have gotten out of bed, put on my face or fixed my hair. I couldn't have made it to the CAR. How DARE that woman/man mess with something that they so completely DO NOT understand?

Walk a MILE in OUR shoes, you journalistic idiot, and THEN make your judgement. We're NOT a bunch of junkies here.