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Pensacola Woman Says "No" To Pain & Pills

Lindsay Myers
Victoria Stopp at the WUWF Studios

Victoria Stopp was 27 when an accident at work changed her life. Since then she has gone from doctor to doctor, tried new therapies and filled prescriptions for thousands of pills. Her story of living with constant, chronic pain is told in the new book 'Hurting Like Hell, Living With Gusto'. She spoke with WUWF's Bob Barrett about how she worked hard to remain active despite her condition.

Bob and Victoria talked about:

  • The idea for the book came from writing a blog about her experiences with chronic pain.
  • Victoria has always been active and athletic, playing soccer in school and in a women's league when she lived in Atlanta. She is also a runner and plays tennis. While she continues to run, she no longer races.
  • Victoria was injured while working as a medical technician in an ambulance. She assumed she just had a minor whiplash, but her life has not been the same since.
  • The doctors she saw for her injury kept writing prescription for pain killers. Those were all covered by her health insurance. Therapies like acupuncture and chiropractic care were either not covered, or the coverage was so limited that it might as well have not been covered.

victoriastoppLONG.mp3
Here is Bob and Victoria's full conversation.

  • Victoria says that when you are in pain, it is hard to say no to those pills. She has found some relief now with medical marijuana. 
  • She hopes people come away from the book realizing that they are in control of their own lives and they should not be controlled by their illness or injury.
Bob Barrett has been a radio broadcaster since the mid 1970s and has worked at stations from northern New York to south Florida and, oddly, has been able to make a living that way. He began work in public radio in 2001. Over the years he has produced nationally syndicated programs such as The Environment Show and The Health Show for Northeast Public Radio's National Productions.