Chronic pain - "life changed in a split second"
Niki's 19 years of chronic pain and the struggle to wean off powerful painkillers
When Niki Jones was 31, she was having a ball, living in London with a dream job. In her own words, “working hard and playing hard”. But for the past two decades, her life has been a real struggle. Niki experiences chronic pain – and while she’s learnt to live with her symptoms, she’s now finding it really difficult to withdraw from the powerful painkilling drug, Fentanyl, that she no longer needs to use.
Chronic pain affects the lives of millions of people in the UK and yet it’s a poorly understood condition, one that is often misdiagnosed. It’s defined as pain that persists, even though there may be no obvious physical cause. It can ruin the lives of those who live with it. For 5 Minutes On, the ±«Óătv’s Health Correspondent Dominic Hughes has been to meet Niki at her home in the Brecon Beacons.
Image Credit: Tony Fallshaw, ±«Óătv
