Osteoarthritis pain as well as neuropathy in my feet.

Hello @mrmacabre, It's not much comfort but I can say you are not alone living with chronic pain. I have idiopathic small fiber peripheral neuropathy but don't have pain, just numbness and some tingling. I also have degenerative arthritis in my spine and joints and have had one knee replacement along with a few other health conditions. It's great that you have a supportive wife and family. I'm blessed with an awesome wife also that has supported me through all of my different health challenges. It sounds like the Gabapentin isn't helping as much now for your neuropathy pain. The Foundation for Peripheral Neuropathy has some great information that might be worth scanning through to see if something might provide more relief - https://www.foundationforpn.org/living-well/.

There are members who have been treated through a pain rehabilitation center and found it helpful. There are a few discussions that you might want to scan through - https://connect.mayoclinic.org/search/discussions/?search=pain%20rehabilitation%20center. Have you considered other non medication treatments or alternative therapies for the chronic pain?

I saw an article in the Washington post this morning about a new fda approved drug called Journavx. I don't know a thing about it so can't comment on who it might be appropriate for, side effects or patient reviews . If you do a Google search you may learn more . Good luck.

First of all I empathize with the chronic pain from osteoarthritis. I feel your pain, literally, people without arthritis don’t understand. Even the young 30-40 something year old Drs that treat us. They have not arrived. I have OA in my feet ,hips, severe in low back, and severe in hands. I also have hypo thyroid and a slow gut. I thank God for my slow gut because it has kept me from using antidepressants, pain pills and large doses of gabapentin. I take fish oil, osteo biflex, boswalia, hyaluronnic acid, and alternate Sam E with Tumeric. I could take them both but tumeric causes stomach irritation. I also take Magnesium before bed which helps me sleep and I do probiotic and enzymes for my gut. I take in the morning about one hour after breakfast Only 100mg of gabapentin and 100 mg of Celebrex. Heat pads are my best friend and sometimes ice wraps. I also take 10,000 u D3/ with K2. Lack of D3 causes inflammation. Get your levels checked and go sit in the sun if you can. I eat a clean diet and stay active. I have to put the mind over the matter and keep moving. Since your not working a job you can take rest periods and use ice or heat to the areas of pain as needed. I would recommend seeing a functional med Dr. they will give you ways to treat you naturally and maybe get you off most are at least decrease your dosages. Of course my pain management Dr wanted me to take an enormous amount of gabapentin too but I was so stoned and I couldn’t feel myself urinate and not to mention the increase in already bad constipation which I’m on Linzess for. All said there are alternatives to antidepressants and pain meds. All those ruin your body. I also have developed a high pain tolerance and have accepted my lot in life. I would do the stem cell therapy but unless you are wealthy it’s unaffordable and I’m not. I am also going to start making my on L Reuteri Yogurt. I here it’s good for your gut and inflammation. I currently eat Stonyfield probiotic Yogurt. All said I know how chronic pain can get the best of you. I pray God heals you. Count your blessings. You mentioned your family. You are a blessed man! Today my oldest grand daughter drew me a picture of a beautiful flower and sent it to me via text. She lives 750 miles away. We see each other via FaceTime about twice a month but can only visit maybe 3-4 times per year. The 9 hour car drive is hard on arthritic lower back. Pray always and Don’t give up!

My wife and I are very lucky, our daughter and her family only live 1/4 mile from our place, and our son and his family are about 50 miles north of us. Growing up, my grandparents lived 1200 and 2000 miles from us, so we rarely got to see them.
I tried taking magnesium to see if it did anything for the pain, but it didn't make a difference, so I stopped taking it a couple of years ago. I've been taking a couple of probiotics for several years, but unfortunately, I'm lactose intolerant, again. This means that I can't eat anything containing milk, butter, or whey anymore, which really restricts what I can still eat.
I have looked into the stem cell therapy, and even if we could afford it, there's no guarantee that it'll help. I just want the pain to stop.
I have developed a very high tolerance to pain over the course of my life as well, and I do whatever I can to just ignore it and/or deal with it every day. Other people, even your own family members, can't fathom how much dealing with chronic, never ending pain every day, of every week, of every year feels. It affects EVERYTHING in your daily life, and it wears you down, both physically and mentally. It's no wonder I'm on 2 anti-depressants.
I deal with the pain by listening to music for several hours a day, every day. I'm also heavily tattooed, and have been getting work done for 25+years. I've got close to 200 hours of getting tattooed on my arms, my back, and my chest, which has definitely helped me control my reaction to pain.

Hi. I saw the title and thought that it was me. I have osteoarthritis in my spine, peripheral neuropathy in my feet and shins, and a few others that are, but aren't relative except for the plantar fibromas that are attached to the muscles in my feet. Like you, I also have an extremely high pain tolerance. And Tattoos, not quite as many as you, I dont think. I take a lot of pills every day. Right when I wake, mid-day, night. Every case is different, I know. There are so many factors that go into it. But, like you, I have been in degrees of pain from mild to excruciating every moment of every day for over three years now. One thing I should say before I whip out the drug list, one of those issues that i wasn't going to mention but it is relevant is that I also went Sepsis. That, my friend, really kicked everything else up a notch. I take Gabapentin, Pregabilin, Duloxitene, in daily regimented doses plus Acitiminiphine and Narco as needed but I am very careful with the Narco.
If someone had told me how this feels before, in my other life, I would not have understood. I might have thought I did. You know, the old pain tolerance thing. I pulled my own molar out of my head once with a pair of needle nose pliers once when I was working up in the Cascade Mountains and I couldn't get to a dentist. I can take pain but this is different. It never stops and sometimes I think if this is how the rest of my life is going to be, it's not worth it. I used to remember what life was like before all thisbut somewhere in this last year it has became pretty hazy. The doctors don't even have a name for what is all wrong. I don't really have anyone except my wife but heres the deal. She needs me. So the only thing I can do is keep on.
I just began with the Mayo groups , like this one, this week. I am hoping to learn, help, and have an outlet. Maybe it will take some of the burden off of her.
So, now that I have given you my credentials, LOL, maybe we can compare notes on stuff we try. I gotta go right now but I will check back. I have a foot and calf massager that is as close to relief as I have found. I have had a few but this is my second one these. They are not all the same. It wont load my photo if you want i will give the info later. I have to go right now but will check in later. Good luck T

Thank you for your reply, it's nice to know that there are other people who share the same ailments, aches, and pains that I've been dealing with for over a decade. I'm beginning to think that my doctors don't know what to do with as a whole, and just call me a medical mystery.

Sounds like you have run the gamut.
After two failed lower back injections, I have returned to daily doses (when needed) of Hydrocodone, prescribed by my doctor.
It keeps me on my feet.
Massaging a numb leg hasn't helped. The injections left a permanent foreign substance in my system. And the chronic back pain persists.
We learn to live with it. Keep moving!

No thanks needed. As for doctors, some are better than others but unless it's something obvious it's a crapshoot. After I had emergency surgery for the spinal infection, cage replacement then sepsis, I had no Idea, at that point,what I was in for. I heal quick, you know. But after the surgury I couldn't bend over without my leg kicking backward. I couldn't get any answers from anyone of them but they were all giving me a lot of pills and I was overwhelmed. None of the doctors communicated with each other. I ended up getting a second opinion. They said I was a very complex case. I had to literally draw pictures for them because I had so many different issues that by the time we would go over all of them, they would forget where we started. Kind of funny. We know the names of some of my issues but for others. I have had every test done that they threw at me at least twice. Expert here and expert there. So many MRIs I lost count. Eventually I had to tell them that I couldn't afford to keep paying for tests that produced no results. Plus if you can't cure it, I don't care what name you call it. But the good thing is that when I find something that might be relative, I send it to him and he will look into it so we can dicuss at my next visit. So don't quit looking. Sorry, I tend to ramble. The way it happened to me, though, overnight. I don't think I accepted it for the first two years. I try to not let it show too much because it is a bummer. I found out who my friends are. Nobody. Oh well, it could always be worse.

Try tramadol/day with tizanidine/muscle relaxer at night and stop all the surgery!!! You are creating more scar tissue with much more pain!! Try stretching every morning and night/ gets easier over time!

I empathize with you all as I also fall into all these categories. Out of the blue I woke up one morning and my feet were numb and tingling. I’ll never forget that day. June 12, 1012.
I probably chased a cure for 5 years at least. Traveling out of state, sought what I thought were the “best” doctors.
Only to be told there was nothing they could do for me and it would just get worse over time.
I have tried everything and there was’t anything that took it away. My opinion is pain meds just make everything else worse. So I quit that.
Best thing I can say is find something besides sitting that takes your mind off it, best you can. Move around. Force yourself to be social with people without complaining to them (because people hate that). Join a pain coping group. Go to your house of worship and get support.
Lots of good suggestion that are posted on this page. Best of luck to all of us that suffer…..