Chronic Pain members - Welcome, please introduce yourself

Hi Debbie, I vam going through menopause and my pain got worse, I have cramps all over my body. I am not on medication but I also take the same vitamins and magnesium is really helpful. With my mood going up and down plus the pain (sometimes I cry until I sleep) I feel exhausted. Some days, mostly weekends, it feels like a dementor (Harry Potter movies) just sucked the life out of me...😢

Oh nooo I’m so sorry to hear this! It sucks bigtime..I’m sick of it xx

I have a lot of sympathy for you Claudia. It is hard to live with the chronic pain and then to have family who think you should push through it like an athlete is so hard. My family thinks my fibromyalgia and osteoarthritis is not as bad as I make out and although my knees are getting so bad it's almost time for a knee replacement I should just keep walking and pushing it..

I am so sorry for you, and for all of those who do not ha e the support of the family. It os the same to me. They always ask me: what happened this time for you to be in pain? As we know, it is a sum of events or sometimes one event, but the pain never goes away. In my casa it becomes stronger or weaker, but it is always here. Like whitenoise... I hope you can find some emotional support outside your family, because it is hard enough as it is and no one deserves to go through it alone! 🤗❤️

I have a question and do not know how to start a new topic. What would make urine test negative for hydrocodone when I take it EVERY DAY? I had Dr appt on the 16th, Monday, and was told the hydrocodone wasn't in my system at last lab test which was Oct 21st. He said only the xanax showed up and I only take a quarter mg daily of that. I have been seeing this pain management doctor for over 10 years and have to do a urine test every visit. It upsets me very much to have something like this happen knowing that you have done nothing wrong yet it affects you negatively and there's not a thing you can do about it. The doctor asked about people having access to my meds, which to me is irrelevant because that would have NOTHING to do with it not showing up in a drug test. I thought about doing my own investigation and contacting the lab that ran the test. I am supposing I have access to my lab results. I called the office back to have the doctor make sure it was MY chart he was looking at because he mentioned a different date when referring to my previous appt. They called back and said no error was made and that if he mistakenly said 24th instead of 21st for my previous appt, it did not change anything. He wants me to bring the bottle next time, again, that would have NO affect on the medication not showing up. Whatever happened, happened after I left the doctor's office that Oct 21st appt. I'm just trying to get to the bottom of this. I do not like it when things don't add up when there's no reason for them not to. I take a MINIMUM of 3 hydrocodone a day so there is ZERO reason for them not to be in my system. It's just not possible. I have no idea where to start. How do you begin to defend yourself against a lab? I know they aren't perfect and mistakes can be made and I'm itching to start trying to figure out just where things run amok. I might add also that my daughter, who is a dialysis nurse in Georgia, I'm in Florida, tested positive for morphine last month at a doctor appt. She doesn't even have access to that drug. I have to do something. I can't just sit and do nothing for 2 months to find out if the urine I left on Monday is going to test ok. It almost feels like I've been wrongfully accused of a crime and my hands are tied and I'm at the mercy of a jury, who got fed the wrong information. Would I be in the wrong, legally, to try to figure out where the mistake was made? Maybe the lab just forgot to input information so it just wasn't there, in my chart results, but could still very well be in the lab report itself. All I know is it is driving my crazy. Thanks in advance for any help or advice I get on this matter.
Carol

@mkovacic Hey - fellow saphenous sufferer, did you have the neurectomy done and how are you today?

Hi Kelsey, my name is Craig. I am diagnosed with chronic pain, intractable pain and High Impact Chronic Pain with Cognitive Impairment. I suffer from CRPS Type 2 Stage 4 and a Broken Medical and Mental Health System. I am an advocate for Pain Patients and I pray that Doctors and the Government end this war on Pain Patients and to find a way for real Pain Patients to once again experience some form of Quality of Life that has been stolen from them and, to hold the Medical Community Guilty for robbing us of our Civil Rights, dignity and for some Patients the very lives they struggle to live. I say a Prayer every day for those in pain and for my girlfriend who has colon/liver cancer now for 5 years and has struggled with chemo treatments every week during those 5 years.God Bless You ALL> Craig

@mhpd9 i feel for you I had a L4-S1 fusion in 2023 because of an accidental twist at 3 weeks and a nurse practitioner a week later telling me I can bend, twist , lift up to 25 lbs I went home and bent to dry my lower legs and had a burning in my back that never improved. After 4 surgeons saying nothing is wrong I seen 2 at Mayo Clinic that found out a screw come loose in my back and their recommendation is a pain stimulator which I’m getting the permanent one put in Tuesday. Being fused into the S1 was a mistake it’s affected the anal nerves and if I rub the tailbone the pain goes to the testicles. I haven’t been able to sleep in a bed for over 7 months because of sacrum is so tender it causes my feet to go numb when laying down. I went thru pelvic therapy which helped tremendously. My legs feel like fireworks going off never know which nerves going off in my legs, even the vibration of the bass in church triggered the nerves in my legs. I went from working full time and about falling occasionally when I bent over to disabled at 52 walking with 2 canes or a Walker and can’t pass up a restroom, if there’s not a scooter in stores I have to leave if I walk 150 feet I’m lucky. I have learned one thing don’t give up if a doctor won’t listen don’t stop until you get an answer. I always print out a list of questions for each doctor to look over and one today said it helps them when doing their dictations. I’m on a lot of medication but seem to get quick relief with Salon Pas patches or now I’ve started using the roll-on you can cover more area. I have to see 2 heart doctors, a Neurologist, Pulmonologist, Hearing, Endocrinologist, Rheumatologist, Urologist, Speech Therapist, Massage Therapist, Pain Management, Physiatrist, Water Therapy, so my schedule is full it was at 5-6 appointments a week for several months. I have to Thank God for a loving wife that’s helped me thru all this. Looks can be deceiving as the picture shows I could show and tell we had 1’ of snow or I could show the whole picture that we only had 6” of snow on top of the curb , I know people judge why’s he on the scooter or using a handicap spot if they only know the truth

Hi!
I've been a long-time lurker of these boards, I feel it's now time to introduce myself.

My name is Jon, I'm 65 & I hail from Upstate NY, near the Canadian border. I'll start my intro with a laundry list of past (relevant) surgeries:
8/06 - C6-T1 fusion
10/09 - L3-L4 Lam.
12/6 -L4-L5 Lam.
5/18 - L2-S1 fusion
9/22 - C4-C6 fusion
1/23 - Left shoulder RTSR
10/23-Rt. shoulder RSTR
2/24 - L1-2 PLIF
3/24 - Right leg perineal nerve untrap
----
So I'm fused top & bottom (C4-T1 & L1-S1), & have been in fairly constant pain since "the big fusion" in 2018. "Severe Central & Foraminal Stenosis" has been mentioned in my most recent neurosurgeons diagnosis.

I've had numerous steroid injections up-&-down my lumbar/SI joints, with limited success. I take Diclofenac 50mg-2x/day, methocarbomal for breakthrough pain, & have been trying to self-medicate with CBD/THC for a while now, also with rather limited success. I've even tried kratom, which really helps but makes me feel wonky, & is unregulated, which makes that option scary.

I really, really don't want to go down the opioid rabbit hole, & after 4 low spine surgical procedures, I'm not sure that we'll be able to cut our way out of my pain.

My recliner is my 2nd. best friend (FYI: my wife is the winner! 😊)

I'm fairly comfortable reclining, but now have very weak legs & radiating pain, I believe coming from SI joints, along with pain & "pressure" @ what I believe to be just above L1 fusion.

Additionally, since an unfortunate stair incident 2-mo. Post right RSTR, my right shoulder is compromised (prone to subluxation, & tingling ranging from my neck, down my scapula, which got cracked during my fall) - this was bad luck, I'm wondering if I farther compromised my C-spine.

So both arms are weak, & it's painful to lift anything but the lightest loads.

In short... Weak & painful arms & legs & low back, along with the accompanying legs neuropathy... but besides that, I'm great! 😁

Seriously, I'm at my wits-end here, trying to figure-out my next move: my thoughts are to try to score a comprehensive spine study (past studies focused EITHER on lumbar OR cervical spine) at one of the major spine hospitals (HHS/NYU-Langone... or of course Mayo, but that's a LONG trip for me). My last surgeon (who describes my spine as "complex"), has graciously offered to assemble a package to present to wherever I choose/whomever accepts my insurance.

My pain mgmt. Doctor seem reluctant to move forward with implanting SCS or intrathecal pump, he calls them "hail Mary procedures", for when everything else non-surgical fails.

I believe myself to be at this point, but I'm not ready to pull the trigger on either, without a full spine study, which I'm willing to travel to wherever, to have performed.

Chronic pain... it certainly is character-building, I feel I'm now reduced to thinking-about only chronic pain - it sucks!

Man, if it weren't for bad luck, you wouldn't have any luck at all. I had L5-S1 fusion back in 2017 to supposedly fix spondylolithesis. Not a pleasant experience. The surgery was supposed to help with my lower back pain due to a ski fall. It did NOT help with the pain. Perhaps it stabilized my spine, but I will never know. It has been said that spinal fusions are one of the biggest cash cows for orthopedic surgeons. Who knows? I thought that I had seen a lot of docs, but you are the clear winner. I wish I could wave my magic wand and do away with all the pain that all us who are dealing with this terrible issue.
Have you had a trial of a spinal cord stimulator? It can help a lot of folks. You do the trial for 5-7 days to see if it will help with the pain. If you get at least a 50% reduction, then the permanent implant can be considered. Wish you well in the coming year.