Pain and Loss of Self Worth

I’ve struggled with undiagnosed flank pain, brain fog and balance issues for five years. This year I’ve been in the hospital 4 times with anaphylactic allergy attacks, chest pain, neurological issues and now have excessive fatigue; again all undiagnosed. I’m now testing for sjogrens and mast cell disease to learn what is attacking my body. I’m only 70 years old. I used to hike, garden and live a vibrant life. I pray for the diagnosis that never comes. It’s all very complicated and I spend too much time trying to figure it out. Days stretch on between appointments keeping me from entering the Mayo pain program. I cancel most plans and I, too, feel dull and uninteresting. Did your diagnosis make acceptance any easier? Thanks for listening to my first time share.

I, too, am limited with what l can do for how long. I prepare meals in stages, then reheat what l need later
Cooking is definitely a challenge, but l made this adjustment, and my husband doesn't seem to mind.

I have total body arthritis, and take medicine for other issues that affect my balance.

I often wonder how many people think a good day is if they slept the night before. There should be more to life than just getting a good night's sleep!!!

I'm on a similar path, but less experienced than you, and while I sometimes fear the future I also know that medicine is advancing very quickly so each day is a step closer to answers.

Have you tried cannabis/marijuana/edibles?

Research it - there has been a lot of advances and you may find some additional relief and spark (no pun intended! 😆).

I hope you feel better!

Happy to share what I've tried.

I feel all of your pain after my own 17 year nightmare of intensifying pain that literally almost took me out. I’m able to share some amazing news that I never thought possible. My Allodynia pain nightmare has ended! In late February of this year, I was given the name of a functional neurology center in Minnesota that had helped some other chronic pain suffers, so I went to their website and requested a free phone consultation. I had tried about five functional medicine practitioners with absolutely no responses or they couldn’t help. This place was different because all they do is brain work. From the phone consult, the doctor was honest and said they had never treated anyone with Allodynia but felt they could offer some help. Well, after 17 miserable years and considering death my only option for relief, what did I have to lose. Without the boring details, I was in MN four days later and within two hours, my problem was diagnosed CORRECTLY (That is my stab in the heart of all the main stream half @#$! doctors who peddle pills and shots)! By the end of day-one, my pain score dropped from 10 to 5, day-two down to a sustained 2 and by the end of the week I had literally no pain. Allodynia is a two phase condition where pain and skin sensitivity go hand in hand. They felt with the continued follow up simple exercises the sensitivity should get better in about 12 weeks. It was better in half that time.

Now came the real work. I knew that my problem stemmed from an incident when I was 11 years old but it didn’t rear its ugly head until my 40’s and I’m now 60. So for the first time, I could have someone touch me and find all of the problem areas. That therapy has been painful but worth it. The person I work with is amazing and she has hit spots I never knew I had where there is scar tissue wrapped around nerves and muscle. It will be a process to get these worked out but I want to get my active life back before I exit this physical body.

I hope that history helps someone. The Functional Nuerology Center in Minnetonka, MN is where I got my life back. I’m not compensated in any way for sharing this so you can trust it as a possible option. Here is the key so you know ahead of time. These are brain guys, don’t let the chiropractic word scare you. Nothing they do is related to that stuff. You need to really think about your pain origin and know if your brain has stopped doing its job to resolve it. THIS IS IMPORTANT SO MY CAPS ARE INTENTION. STAY ACTIVE AND USE YOUR BRAIN DAILY. I HAD SOLD MY 32 Y/O FIRM AND RETIRED BECAUSE THE PAIN WAS SO HORRIBLE. THAT MADE MATTERS WORSE AND MY BRAIN HAD SHUT DOWN COMPLETELY ON THE SIDE I NEEDED TO STOP THE CONSTANT CYCLE.

I knew I had a brain problem but no other doctor took my concern seriously. I guess the patient is an idiot always. Sorry, I’m still bitter about the hundreds of thousands of dollars I wasted on them with nothing to show for it.

I hope someone who wants their life back finds this and it helps in some way. Either way, share it with others to share the good news of hope. I had lost hope and without it, life gets pretty dark.

How much did it cost

Their services vary in length depending on what you select. I did the full five day which consists of 3-one hour sessions with one or a two hour breaks. You will need those breaks so don’t feel it’s wasted time. I can only tell you what I paid in March. I do not know the current rates at all, so please ask them if you decide to check it out. I paid roughly $6,800+tax. They tax medical services in MN so it may be closer to $7,400 I think. If it helps here are some of my other costs: hotel for the week (Sunday-Friday) about $1,000; I drove my Tesla from the Atlanta area so it was about $100 total round trip. There office is across the highway from the Hampton Inn and Suites so if you wish, it is walkable. It snowed and was cold, so I drove. There is a grocery store across the street in a shopping area and an Olive Garden. I ate quite well for about $75 for the week and I was alone.

I know this is a heck of a lot of money, but having my life back was worth every penny! You can certainly say I referred you if it brings any value. My name is Keith Swiney and sharing that isn’t any news because as a national trainer and consultant, many know my story. I should mention just so are prepared in advance that 80% of their patients are under 18 including infants, so don’t be surprised you’re the only one with a drivers license. They server all pro sports and honestly know more about the brain than any neurologist I saw. Even Mayo couldn’t help me and politely told me I would be wasting my time coming. How sad is that to say on their site. Best wishes and if you can do it and it helps, you’ll look back and ask how can something so low tech solve such a problem you lived with so long and saw so many others seeking help. By low tech I mean no meds, no needles, nothing invasive at all. It’s so low tech I’m pissed at every doctor who stays in their box and doesn’t even consider new ideas. I now know they do it because it makes them rich. Why try something new, if the same old crap still makes you money. They truly don’t care if you get better! Stay positive and stay active!

Please give yourself a break. Arachnoiditis is VERY painful.

Can I ask you about your Alloydna. Where is it located and what caused it. I have this due to a surgical complication in my left chest. The thought of someone touching my skin in that area, makes me cringe. I have had this and what is called Post-thoracotomy Pain Syndrome for 24 year's. I had to take a complete disability from my career.

My goodness, my heart hurts for you. Mine was in my right scapula and the result of a nightmare incident when I was 11 years old. Short version is growing up in Chicago in 1976 when life was really challenging for many reasons. While walking down a main street with a friend there was gun fire across the street but out of sight at 11:30pm. Two men ran towards us, and not knowing what was happening, we ran following them in between two buildings into an alley. Unseen, I hit the braided steal parking lot divider, went around multiple times and slammed backwards on the cement. I opened my eyes to a snub-nose .38 in between my eyes and a cops saying, “son, I almost killed you”. I was so shaken by the gun issue, that I said nothing to anyone. I threw up for three straight days and tended the wire that had cut through my jeans, underwear, and deep into my groin. I just stuffed loads of toilet paper in the hole and pressed on it until it stopped bleeding a week later. How in the world my body hid the masses of muscle and nerves now wrapped in scar tissue from my scapula into my right side and further down my back for almost 40 years and then start hurting is beyond me. I share that with you to say, life is so strange and as crazy as what I’m about to share will sound, I hope you get it. I now know more about my soul and its journey in this incarnation than I would ever have imagined. That pain cost me so much that I truly thought of all the great ways to end this life. It hurt to breath, the meds caused four severe blockages in my hearts LAD. I was expected to die without another stent procedure to bring the total to 6 in 4 years. Then after retiring due to the misery, I started reading and studying again. I wasn’t focused on making money and having more stuff. I set a goal of understanding me in the final months of life. Just as I buried the blood, pain, and sickness from that event, I buried inside me every other pain I ever encountered. By opening that black vault of pain, I have come to know why I chose to come here and live this life, complete with all of the pain. I now accept that this was my souls plan when I selected my mother and the circumstances she would create for me to have substantial soul growth. Despite your beliefs, your life and all of the pain and joy were constructed by you. Only through my deep and extremely disappointing inner work, have I achieved this level of understanding, acceptance and learning. I blew up deeply held family secrets and exposed my own shortcomings as a husband, sibling and father. I have set about clearing all of the karmic entanglements and ensuring that everything I now do, has mutual value to all involved. Use this time to grow your soul and vibration. After all what could be more important to you at this moment when so much has been taken to make way for you to do this work. So much of the things you loved are not in reach, so grab hold of the closet and most important thing you possess…you.

Thank you for your kind words. I am happy that you have found a way to deal with your pain. I wish I could say that I am dealing with my pain as well as you. Unfortunately this pain controls my entire life. So hard to find any blessings in this. I wish you the best.