@janicejoplin6 Helen had some important questions. I've learned since first being diagnosed with depression, anxiety and PTSD 20 years ago that medications are tricky. It took at least 2 years of trying one antidepressant after another to land on one that didn't have weird side effects and lifted my mood, even just a tiny bit. At the same time I started 1 mg of Clonazepam, with a 2nd mg as needed. Five years later I was starting to feel more depressed again and my psychiatrist prescribed another medication to add to my antidepressant. Several years later my neurologist prescribed Cymbalta for my neuropathy. It didn't do anything that I could tell to the neuropathy pain, but all of a sudden I was motivated to do things that I'd put off doing for years. I still take it for that reason.

I visited a pain therapist for 6 sessions and heard her talk about a lot of things, but I took away only a couple of helpful hints. Chronic pain and depression are cyclical. I had a somewhat minor surgery in December, and the antibiotic I took afterwards degraded the tissue in my Achilles tendons and ruptured both of them. I went into surgery looking forward to a better quality of life and a week later I found myself in a wheelchair, non weight bearing for 6 weeks in boots. Two weeks ago I finally got to be upright, partial weight bearing with a walker.

I'm still in the middle of a pretty dark time, with no idea what the outcome will be. And my feet hurt all the time, worse now having to wear the boots 24/7. Knowing that it isn't forever should help, and it has in the past. But when you're in the middle of something unknown it's hard to project a time when things will be better. I think I need to work on patience and waiting gracefully.

Jim