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Chronic pains (headaches, back and neck)

Posted by Pray4relief @pray4relief, Sep 7, 2012

I have a hard time sleeping. I can never get comfortable, I'm in tears when everyone else sleeps around me. I have been diagnosed with spinal stenosis @27 , herniated disc, degenerative disc disease, annular tare?, sciatica and fibromyalgia. I also have headaches everyday of my life for years. I used to take topamax and it kinda helped for a few years and then it stopped and I started feeling very depressed on them so I stopped. I wake up stiff and just in constant pain. I try to live as if I don't have a problem, I want to enjoy my family. I figure I'm in pain no matter what so do as much as I can, while I can. I'm am however getting scared because pain is worsening. Pain always in my lower back and when I sit the pain radiates all Over my back, goes up the back of my neck and then my head feels horrible! I'm getting very forgetful , flustered, say things that arent right at the moment, just way off topic and hard to understand things. I was driving with my 13 yr old and I switched lanes and don't remember doing it, Stuff like that happens more and more. For a while now my head hurts so bad, getting nausea and dizzy even when I'm laying down. I would not want to take my life, my family mean to much to me but how can one live in so much pain?.. I'm hurting so much and I'm only 30, been 8-10 yrs in pain now and it's not getting any better but worst.

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Pray4relief | @pray4relief | Sep 11, 2012
In reply to @duncan "Thanks for sharing your situation. I have also had chronic back pain and headaches. Because of..." + (show)
@duncan

Thanks for sharing your situation. I have also had chronic back pain and headaches. Because of the pain, life just wasn't enjoyable. I couldn't think as straight as thought I should. I couldn't laugh at small jokes. General life just seemed trivial because the pain was bigger than all that. I tried many things, from physical therapy to chiropractic care and massage therapy. These therapies never permanently relieved the pain, and sometimes they made my pain worse. Thankfully, I did find two things that consistently helped me. They were The Alexander Technique and swimming. The Alexander Technique helped me become aware that I was tensing my muscles in my back and neck when I was stressed or even anxious (including when i was stressed about the pain). And this constant tightening of my muscles was contributing to the pain. I even become aware that i was tensing these muscles in my sleep. I also learned from the technique that I was breathing, sitting, and walking in a way that was harmful to my body. I began to stand up in class and use elevators. I even made a stand up and a lie down desk at my work so that I didn't have to sit down while I was working at the computer. I also realized driving was contributing to the pain so I started using public transportation. I also tried sleeping on the floor and other things.
Even after doing these things, I still had difficulty releasing some of the muscless that were locked in my back and neck because the pain was like blocking my mind from getting into the muscle and allowing it to relax. Swimming helped me relieve the pain for a while and it helped me "get into my body" so to speak. After a while I was finally able to release those muscles and relax them in my sleep. When this happened there was a significant and lasting decrease in pain.
These are the main points of the journey towards recovery. There are many other things that happened such as prayers, priesthood blessings, going gluten free, and choosing to serve others the best i can even when in pain. I'm still on the road to complete recovery but I know I have made tremendous progress and i have hope that I can keep making that progress.
You'll be in my prayers. If you have any questions please ask. And I highly recommend looking into the Alexander technique. Oh, I forgot to mention. My headaches went away when I started to do physical therapy , but my back pain got worse.

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The upper back pains could be,it started at age of 14, I had a pretty bad childhood and was always scared of my mother. I was told the physical abuse could've been a huge factor to my fibromyalgia. I was reading about the myafascial and it also sounds a lot like what I felt and still feel in my muscles. If you leave things untreated can cause other damage so some pains causing more pains, couldve been a factor. I've been trying to live stress free for years now and I'm happy it's just stressful living in pain everyday with no kind of relief.

REPLY
Bettyann | @bettyann | Sep 12, 2012
In reply to @duncan "Thanks for sharing your situation. I have also had chronic back pain and headaches. Because of..." + (show)
@duncan

Thanks for sharing your situation. I have also had chronic back pain and headaches. Because of the pain, life just wasn't enjoyable. I couldn't think as straight as thought I should. I couldn't laugh at small jokes. General life just seemed trivial because the pain was bigger than all that. I tried many things, from physical therapy to chiropractic care and massage therapy. These therapies never permanently relieved the pain, and sometimes they made my pain worse. Thankfully, I did find two things that consistently helped me. They were The Alexander Technique and swimming. The Alexander Technique helped me become aware that I was tensing my muscles in my back and neck when I was stressed or even anxious (including when i was stressed about the pain). And this constant tightening of my muscles was contributing to the pain. I even become aware that i was tensing these muscles in my sleep. I also learned from the technique that I was breathing, sitting, and walking in a way that was harmful to my body. I began to stand up in class and use elevators. I even made a stand up and a lie down desk at my work so that I didn't have to sit down while I was working at the computer. I also realized driving was contributing to the pain so I started using public transportation. I also tried sleeping on the floor and other things.
Even after doing these things, I still had difficulty releasing some of the muscless that were locked in my back and neck because the pain was like blocking my mind from getting into the muscle and allowing it to relax. Swimming helped me relieve the pain for a while and it helped me "get into my body" so to speak. After a while I was finally able to release those muscles and relax them in my sleep. When this happened there was a significant and lasting decrease in pain.
These are the main points of the journey towards recovery. There are many other things that happened such as prayers, priesthood blessings, going gluten free, and choosing to serve others the best i can even when in pain. I'm still on the road to complete recovery but I know I have made tremendous progress and i have hope that I can keep making that progress.
You'll be in my prayers. If you have any questions please ask. And I highly recommend looking into the Alexander technique. Oh, I forgot to mention. My headaches went away when I started to do physical therapy , but my back pain got worse.

Jump to this post

Duncan, I just want to add a Thank You for such a nice and helpful reply... It is always SO GOOD when there is an alternative to chemical drugs. They have their place...but I am one that will try anything BUT them if any thing else helps. Thank you again. Your reply made ME feel good just reading it!! 🙂

REPLY
AG | @ag | Nov 6, 2012

Dear Pray4relief,
I can indirectly relate to you, even if I don't feel pain my husband does constantly. He is in bed 24/7 and seldom goes anywhere anymore. He as you, feels sometimes very down and helpless. I just pray for all the people in the world that suffer from pain that somehow somewhere there will be relief soon. I hope things are a bit better for you this month. My heart goes to you, I wish I could do something..

REPLY
1 reply
Pray4relief | @pray4relief | Nov 6, 2012
In reply to @ag "Dear Pray4relief, I can indirectly relate to you, even if I don't feel pain my husband..." + (show)
@ag

Dear Pray4relief,
I can indirectly relate to you, even if I don't feel pain my husband does constantly. He is in bed 24/7 and seldom goes anywhere anymore. He as you, feels sometimes very down and helpless. I just pray for all the people in the world that suffer from pain that somehow somewhere there will be relief soon. I hope things are a bit better for you this month. My heart goes to you, I wish I could do something..

Jump to this post

Hi, thank u for your kind words. Since my last post I have went to neurosurgeon and he suggested surgery for relief. I am still not sure that's route I want to take? I had a spinal epideral which really really hurt in some spots. I felt worse for a week and a little better following week and now pain is coming back. I also just had MRI on my neck and have spinal stenosis in my neck c2-c6 I'm guessing that's why I have chronic headaches. I'm kinda just starting to go my own research on my pains and symptoms. Pain is getting worse in my arms and head is def scaring me. I'm paying all my pay checks to doc and they don't seem to want to help. I've never had such bad medical care than before I moved here.

How old is your husband? Has he been diagnosed? I'm 30 and have been dealing for at least 10yrs now. I really hope he starts to feel better. I still work even though at times in tears but I can't stay put, it gets me depressed. I have 2 kids and still want to do things with them even if its just watching them have fun. I hope you can get him out of the house to just walk around some. The way I see it is the pain is going to be there regardless if I'm home or out, as long as it isn't anything rough of course. I find joy in taking pictures of my family enjoying life. I'll keep y'all in my prayers, I hope he gets relief 🙂

REPLY
Shirley Grimme | @shirleygrimme | Nov 23, 2012

I had rotator cuff surgery recently and the pain has been really bad but I feel ashamed now complaining, knowing what you have been dealing with for years. I wish I had answers. I will pray for you and your family. I hope that somehow the doctors can find a way to bring you some relief so you can enjoy your family and the rest of your young life.

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