Chronic pain is driving me batty!

[Susang]

In spite of surgery, my nerve pain is continuing. There are days when I really think I'm going to lose my shit over it. Those of you with constant, unremitting pain; how do you cope?

[ProfessorGAC]

1. I Go Through Ups & Downs

I've gotten pretty good at blocking it out. It takes time and practice, i guess. When i have a real flare up, and the pain increases by double, it's a lot harder. That just gets me down, and i don't have a real plan. After a while, i either acclimatize to it or it subsides enough to block it out again.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying it is easy. It ain't! But, at the same time i've lived my life since my DX with the motto of "No Surrender". I will not let it get me, and i won't help it take me down.

Probably not much help, is it?
The Professor

[Susang]

3. My doc put me back on steroids today

He's calling this a "minor setback". Surgeons. :eyes:

I have to check back in two weeks to see if there's any improvement. Hopefully, I won't need any further surgery. :scared:

[WestHoustonDem]

4. I was on steroids for a year and a half. It really sucked.

I hope your dosage isn't too high and you're not stuck on them long term.

[Warpy]

10. I've been on Prednisone for 15 years.

I'm usually on the lowest maintenance dose there is, but when I have a bad flareup, I can go as high as 100 mg a day, something that makes me loony, breaks me out in zits, and destroys my ability to sleep while it causes me to pig out on a lot of bad foods.

As for pain control, I am allergic to NSAIDs, so I finally talked the docs into Tylenol with codeine. It takes enough of the edge off that I can function and I haven't increased my dose in many years. I long for the day when somebody comes up with a drug that blocks pain with no psychoactive side effects. When you're on narcotics long term, those side effects get irritating as hell.

[WestHoustonDem]

14. Have you tried Ultram/Tramadol? That's what I take when

my pain is too much for NSAIDs but not bad enough for Lorcet.

[Warpy]

15. That may be my next step, but

T-3 is doing OK for now, and it's cheaper than dirt.

[Maraya1969]

27. What are long term side effects of narcotics besides addiction?

I've been taking Darvacette for a while now but I can go days without taking it and then take it every day for a while. I also take Soma and it really seems to relax my muscles.

[ProfessorGAC]

18. Hopefully, Indeed

Any surgery is major, imo. It's always outstanding if it can be avoided.

Sorry it took a while to get back. I was in the hospital for a couple days. Had a high blood pressure event and, at the same time, esophigitis. So, the pain was too close to that of a heart attack to take any chances. According to all the test, my heart is perfectly healthy, so at least i found that out. But man, did i hate being in the hospital.

You take care.
The Professor

[Susang]

19. That sucks, glad you're okay

I had one of those incidents, so I get where you're coming from. I was taking a medication that gave me arrhythmia and raised my blood pressure; usually my blood pressure is on the low side. I thought I was having a heart attack and flipped out. They had me in the doctor's office all day, but apparently my heart is just fine. The medication however, is no longer part of my treatment plan. ;-)

Hope you feel better! :hi:

[ProfessorGAC]

20. Grazie!

I made it 11 minutes on the echostress, so the cardio guy had no doubt my heart was fine. No echo indicators, and the EKG was normal at rest and at stress. At least there's that! Now we just have to find the right meds and dosage for the HBP.

You get better too!


The Professor

[Susang]

21. I'm working on it

Started physical therapy yesterday, so I'm doing everything I can. Now my body just has to cooperate. ;-)

[FloridaPat]

2. I take this stuff: RE-LEV-IT. It acually works.

http://www.letstalkhealth.com/store/category/arthritis_auto_immune.php

[mopinko]

5. if this is true-

"CMO studies began at the US National Institute of Health more than twenty years ago. No harmful short or long-term effects were ever observed in anyone taking CMO, even at extremely high doses" then why doesn't it also say that cmo has been proven to ... relieve pain, reduce inflammation, cure wrinkles, whatever. anything.
obviously, if they could truthefully say any of those things, they would. if it has been studied for 20 years and only found to be not harmful, then it is USELESS! aka snake oil.

[FloridaPat]

7. Could be another one of those useless studies where they only

used men. Maybe it doesn't work on men. But it sure works for me so maybe it only works on females.

[mopinko]

6. so sorry susang.

when my pain is bad, i cannot think. i am so grumpy even the dogs hide.
lately i have gotten it down to a bearable, manageable level. it makes such a major difference.
i hope the steroids help. what kind of pain meds have you tried? are you doing physical therapy? share.

[Susang]

8. I'm just starting physical therapy

I wasn't able until now, since my muscles hadn't fully healed from the surgery. I've had Norco for pain (a Vicodin-like painkiller), but I'm so sick of feeling like my head is swimming through jello, that I've been taking as little of it as possible. I don't have an addictive personality, so I'm not too worried about that, but I don't want to have to deal with a physical dependency issue down the road.

I started the steroids this morning and my stomach is rebelling. I took the day off of work so that I could have three straight days off to deal with any side-effects. Yippee!

At least the dog and cat are happy. Even when I'm in pain and crabby, they're still happier when I'm home. The dog tries to steal my heating pad. Come to think of it, so does the cat! :D

[mopinko]

9. well, rest up and feel better.

and tell those critters to share!

[flamingyouth]

11. I'm going batty too.

I did go to my first biofeedback/relaxation therapy session this week, however. That was very interesting and seemed to help.

Ask your doctor if s/he thinks that might be an option for you. I've been interested in trying biofeedback for a long time because I've practiced yoga and meditation for years and am a firm believer in the mind/body connection. :hi:

[Susang]

16. My surgeon seems to think this will resolve

I'm not so sure. I hope so. I start physical therapy this week. :hi:

I also found out this week that my surgery was more complicated than I originally thought; they did a lumbar laminectomy as well as the microdiscectomy. The recovery period on laminectomy surgery is longer than on a microdiscectomy, my surgeon didn't know they were going to do one until they were in there, so he didn't give me any info on it beforehand. Because bone removal was involved, it could take months for me to get back to normal, if at all.

You're right, I do need to do some adjustments to my attitude, I just wasn't expecting another kick in the nut, metaphorically speaking. I'll be cool, once I find my equilibrium again. Like my doc said, it's just a minor setback, right? ;-)

[REP]

12. Believe It Or Not, I Got Used To It

Don't get me wrong - it still hurts (I have ulnar neuropathy, peripheral neuropathy, tendonitis, carpal tunnel, tenonsynovitis, et dreary c) all the fucking time and sometimes it's much worse, but most of the time I can ignore it. Yes, I do take Norco (which is hydrocodone, same thing as Vicodin, only 10mg instead of 5mg) but I can't take steroids or non-steroidal anti-inflammatories due to kidney failure and I can't get my PT approved (it's a WC injury) so I try to avoid annoying it by limiting my typing to no more than 15 minutes an hour, no vacuuming unless I'm tripping over hairballs, no lifting over 5 lbs with that arm, no squeezing, grasping, twisting, etc with that hand, etc etc.

[RedOnce]

13. A friend tried many things for her nerve pain.

She was one of the survivors in a fatal car accident. She found that DLPA (DL-Phenylalanine) helped take the edge off her nerve pain in a way that nothing else(including narcotics) did. It is an amino acid available at your health food store. It should be taken by itself between meals.

Two people I know found relief from nerve pain following back surgery by using a cocktail of anti-inflammatory herbs especially Boswellia Serrata and Nettle Leaf.

I hope this helps.

[REP]

17. B Complex Vitamins Are Quite Helpful

Not curative - not in my case, at least - but they do help.

[Susang]

22. Update!

Looks like I'm headed back to the big white tube for another MRI. My back surgeon is not happy with my level of pain and thinks that either
a) some disc material leaked during the discectomy and is pressing against the nerve,
b) a random piece of bone or disc material was missed and is pressing against the nerve,
c) one of my two other herniated discs has decided to harrass the nerve, causing me horrible pain or
d) I'm a big fat pain weenie.

MRI's on Friday, so I should have some news by Tuesday, Believe it or not, I'm kind of hoping for option "d". :P

[WestHoustonDem]

23. Good luck Susang. I'm glad your doctor is taking

your pain seriously.

[ProfessorGAC]

24. Well, "D" Is Obvious!

And of course, it's the best option, since it won't require more surgery. Hope they find something to explain the pain, though. Then, perhaps the solution won't be radical surgery.

Lots of options to mull over! Lots of them not so bad.

Good luck on Friday.
The Professor

[Susang]

25. It's that obvious, huh?

And I thought I was hiding my "weenieness". :cry:

[flamingyouth]

26. "A" could be a definite possibility

That pain hurts like hell.

Here's hoping for some resolution for you.

Have you had a chance to ask your doctor about biofeedback yet? It has really helped me. I'm now singing the praises of it to everyone I know who has chronic pain. I've only had two sessions but have already noticed a significant difference in the way I respond to pain.

Holding good thoughts. I hate MRIs personally, but it helps to pretend I'm riding on a train. :hug:

[blondeatlast]

28. I've just joined this club. My neuropathy has gotten pretty nasty.

I have been trying to exercise when it sparks up but sometimes it's just too much to ask of myself.

The pain was really bad last night and kept me up.

My sympathies to all of you who have endured this for a long time--I can barely cope myself and this is a very, very recent development.

I'm sorry to see so many afflicted with this, but at the same time, it is great to know that others share the burden.

Thanks to all of you; I'm gonna get through this.

[Susang]

29. Wow, sorry to hear that

Hope you're feeling better today. :hug:

[Liberty Belle]

30. Chiropractic treatment and massage therapy,

to keep the pain at a manageable level, plus an occasional glass of wine when the nerve pain gets too bad to cope with. (works better than pain meds, with fewer side effects for me.)

Miriam