Chronic Pain members - Welcome, please introduce yourself

I had my rectum removed. The gastroenterologist said that sometimes the surgeon leaves a bit of muscle, which when stimulated with mucus from the upper regions of the remaining piece of the rectum, causes the muscle to tighten to the point it starts off feeling like ball in the butt and then followed by sometimes extreme pain.

Hello. @reeneyed girl721. You are not alone in your painful circumstances. After a ski fall eight years ago, I also felt like I was sitting on "hockey pucks". Even through all my treatments, that feeling has never left me. Unfortunately, most pain docs do not have the time, compassion(as @philipsnowden has mentioned), and EMPATHY. My current pain doc has thirteen patient rooms. They are generally full when I go. Ten minutes is the usual visit time for me. How do you deal with patients' issues in ten minutes? After a year he still does not know my name or what caused my condition until he rushes in and scans his notes. Quite disheartening. I really wish you some kind of success in finding relief with the spinal cord stimulator. I had one that worked quite well for a couple of years. I am going for a consult this week with my neurosurgeon to see about having a newer, more sophisticated model implanted.

I’m Jessica and I have fibromyalgia with a side of IBS, Pelvic Floor Dysfunction, Depression, and a number of other issues. The years of dealing with this and being isolated have now given me severe social anxiety. This is especially hard since I used to be an outgoing people-person. Just trying to take things one day at a time.

I am one of the lucky ones that the radio ablasion works for but my fibermyalgia still flares up in that area because I landed really hard on my coycx. Doc told me every bad injury will come back to haunt me with the fibermyalgia and I will feel the pain more intensely. He is right , my flare ups are in the areas that I have been in the areas that have been injured in the past. An ice pack on my butt helps me cope.

I may not experience it to the extent that you do, but I am quite familiar with the sensation of having sand in my eyes, the difficulty blinking, and the overall discomfort. I underwent Lasik surgery about 20 years ago, which is when I first started to notice dry eyes. I always keep a bottle of eye wash handy as it provides quicker relief than lubricating drops, although I use both. A warm compress can also be beneficial. Goggles are an effective solution, albeit not very socially acceptable; however, if they are the only way to find relief, perhaps enduring a bit of embarrassment is worth it. It might be wise to rule out Sjogren's syndrome, an autoimmune disorder, if you haven't done so already. Nevertheless, I believe the treatment options remain similar regardless of the cause. This is minor in my life as I am dealing with Fibromyalgia, Lymphedema, Hip Bursitis, Coccydynia and low back pain. I feel 15 years older than I am. The reality is that when things aren't working right, we suffer through the day to day. I feel for you, and I hope you find some answers.

I concur that it's challenging to find someone who will consider your situation comprehensively. After an extensive search using Google, ChatGPT, blood labs, and symptom analysis, I managed to identify some potential causes. I compiled a summary sheet outlining my goals for the appointment, including the lab tests I believed would be beneficial. My doctor concurred with most of them and provided explanations for a few. To my surprise, my doctor dedicated a full hour to our meeting and commended my thorough preparation, which led to progress on several issues. However, the primary concern remains my coccydynia and lower back pain, for which a solution has been elusive despite consultations with my primary physician, an orthopedic surgeon, and spine and pain specialists. It's quite exasperating. It was hopeful to hear your neurostimulator helped for a few years. I hope you can get an updated model and get some relief.

I agree, it seems that every pain or injury is intensified by Fibromyalgia. The doctors appear to be baffled. Up to this point, it's been a process of trial and error, with the errors predominating. Your remark about ice packs resonated with me; I grabbed mine while writing this post. Ice packs provide the best temporary relief for me, especially during long car journeys. With numerous doctor's appointments 1.5 hours away, I rely on someone to drive me so that I can use my cushion, apply ice, and reposition myself more often. Its just not the life I wanted. But reality is - got to accept where I am at

Your remark about long car drives to Dr's appts hit home.
I take an ice pack with me in a shopping bag and sit on it so I can sit longer. I also use a tens machine my shoulders , back and coycx. It allows me to delay the pain until I can get back home and cope with it better.
We become such great inventive survivors don't we!

It's been awhile since I posted anything. I have however followed other postings on Adhesive Arachnoiditis. I was 1st diagnosed in 2006 by my neurosurgeon at the time and confirmed via numerous other neurosurgeon and neurologists and pain mgt doctors. I've had 9 back surgeries and have an implanted spinal cord stimulator that was replaced 2 x. The spinal cord stimulator/battery are MRI compatible. I no longer turn my SCS however because as my Adhesive Arachnoiditis has progressed, my SCS use increases my pain quite a bit. Several drs , of various disappoints, have advised me to not use it for that reason. They also agree with each other that I should not have my SCS removed, as to do so could put me at high risk of becoming paralyzed if any of the nerve clumps from my advanced Adhesive Arachnoiditis were knicked or even minimally damaged. My 24/7 severe pain has spread from just my lumbar spine to now also being pretty advanced in my Thoracic and my Cervical spine also. The 24/7 severe pain has spread to my arms/hands/ legs/ hips...
My fingers lock several times a day as do my toes. My feet are never numb - and I can't feel the ground. But despite the very advanced numbness in my feet, they very often feel like they are on fire and I also experience very sharp and hot jabs of intense pain in various locations of my feet. Jn my Cervical spine, I can no longer straighten my head up at all. It tips downward my left shoulder and I also can't tip my head back at all. I can not lay down at all because of the severe pain & as a result- I can't go to bed at all. I literally live in my recliner chair that I can raise my legs on , but that I can not tip the back of the chair backwards at all due to increased pain. I pretty much am only able to cat-nap from 15-22 minutes a couple times each day because of my 24/7 severe pain. My pain is so severe that I have what the drs all call "severe pain episodes " where my severe pain spikes very suddenly, & intensly that it causes me to so much that it causes me to thrash around and yell out & then ultimately pass out from the high level of pain during these severe pain episodes 14-54 times each day. I can no longer take any pain medication at all as I have developed Hypercapnia & have had to be hospitalized 4 different times as I became unconscious & unresponsive from my shallow breathing (which I've had since I was a child). These 4 times, I almost gave God a big hug & a kiss... Every doctor, clinic, hospital... all say they are sorry - but there is nothing that can be done to help me with the pain and progression of my Adhesive Arachnoiditis... They all wish me well, but they tell me that since Adhesive Arachnoiditis is so rare, not only in the US but also throughout the world, there is no treatment known that could help me. I have reached out to so many drs and hospital and clinic - but I'm told the same thing again & again. I'm also told that no research or clinical trials are happening because of the rarity of Adhesive Arachnoiditis- and to the degree that I have it. I would appreciate feedback about others experiences with Adhesive Arachnoiditis. Thank you for taking the time to read this and in sharing yiur experience & thoughts. God bless you all. mmata

Sorry archie2, as I was writing my response to your posting - my hand jacked and what I was entering disappeared. Things that make you say " hummmm" Sorry. But, I really do appreciate your offer to try to be available to myself and others with AA. That's very kind of you archie2. Did yiu know that today happens to be "World Kindness Day" ? It really does make a difference to be kind to others. We never really know what others are experiencing at any given moment or any given day. Maybe saying a simple "hi " to someone we encounter, or to give someone a smile really could be helpful to that person. I try to keep an "attitude of gratitude" each day. As I see the new day starting, outside my living room window, I try to name in my mind, and in my heart the various people and things that are a blessing to me. I repeat this at the end of each day too. I know that acknowledging the difficult things in our life is important too, but I try to not allow those dufficult things to overwhelmed me. Trying to maintain an "attitude of gratitude" is like taking a big - deep breath , at least it us for me. I hope that this suggestion is helpful to someone else as they deal with various issues.
Thank yiu again archie2. I hope that you have a blest day in a variety of ways. With peace-filled wishes - mata