Chronic Pain members - Welcome, please introduce yourself

@jbss77 Hello, I am 82, fibro, chronic pain, and results of multiple mva where i was rear ended. Everyone's success is very individual. I have been to pain clinics and am on opioids which has allowed me to have a decent QOL. Mindfulness, yoga, QiGong, Taichi and walking have all combined to have a decent life. You tube has many videos to help my brain learn to befriend my pain. I know it sounds silly , but this is what has saved me.
Keep on trucking

@heisenberg34 I had my pain pump removed because I developed arachnoiditis. But when it was implanted the docs were willing to see me weekly to change dosages. It allowed me to up my dose fairly quickly. It is something you might ask about

@laura1970 It's great that you had a doc who was willing to change the dosage so quickly. I will ask my guy, but he seems reluctant to do anything out of the ordinary. What are you doing for pain relief these days if you don't mind me asking? Thanks.

@heisenberg34 I don’t get much pain relief. I developed arachnoiditis as a complication of the pump and had it removed. The thin lining around the spine becomes inflamed. This causes scarring and “clumping “of nerve roots. It is a progressive disease without much treatment. There is one treatment, involving placing calcium channel blockers into the CSF space. It doesn’t cure the disease, just helps with pain and requires another pump be placed. I’m not going to subject my spinal cord to the same instrumentation that caused the arachnoiditis in the first place. No way. The whole ordeal made me skeptical of the has field of pain management and I refuse to see another one.

Thus I am on low dose narcotics that do not help my pain. I’m fortunate, in a sense. I don’t have constant pain. Only when I sit for more that 10-20 minutes, which has led to more isolation as sitting is required for so many activities.

@scampano3 Just like you I went to the gym 5 days a week immediately after I had to retire 10 years ago, I lifted weights and walked on a treadmill for an hour. However, I gradually had to shorten and then stop using the treadmill because of the arthritis and neuropathy in my feet, knees, and hips. I continued lifting weights and walking laps around the gym in between machines for over a hour. Then after that became too hard I went to the gym 3 days a week, until a few months ago when I cancelled my membership. The pain continued to get worse until I couldn't do it anymore. Now I have a hard time just walking around the grocery store with my wife. I still have most of my upper body strength, but from my hips down to my feet I feel at least 20 years older(I'm almost 67).
Chronic pain really sucks.

My name is Bill. I have had serious lower back pain for six months, and various medicines and treatments for it, including two steroid injections in lower back. Nothing has done much good to reduce pain. Recently I was introduced to the Medtronic SCS, an implantable device that masks spinal pain. I will be interested to learn about the experiences of others with this (or similar) device.

@colleenyoung
Is there a meeting where chronic pain support group members can talk with each other?
I would love to help you facilitate a meeting. I am a Mayo PRC graduate and have experience leading executives peer groups.
I need a support group like this and can’t find one.
Can we discuss?
Thanks
Ken

In reading all the suffering I wanted to share what has helped me most.
Its a newer method used by some PTs, called Facial Counter Strain.
https://counterstrain.com/
It’s not just facia work learned at a weekend class. These PTs are highly motivated individuals learning physiology beyond their requirements.
Hope you’ll check it out. I use to not be able to sit in a car or at our home table for years. I believe the things the originator is figuring out of the body surpasses any of the other many pain modulators I’ve tried.

There’s also a podcast…. Just type in COUNTERSTRAIN to find.
I believe you won’t be disappointed.
I’m not a PT or do I work for COUNTERSTRAIN, I’m just an amazed person.

I have been suffering from mid back pain ( under the left scapula) for decades, but every year it got worse, became more frequent, , until now I am in agonizing pain every day. I have undergone numerous/ different treatments at Johns Hopkins Pain Management Clinic, to no avail. The thought is that muscle spasm touches nerves and causes this excruciating pain, but not certain. I am desperate.

Hello Kelsey, I am DoctorP (not medical), and at 79 yrs. suffer a variety of painful conditions including coccyx and rectal pain presumed to result from progressive nerve delamination. I am considering the Superior Hypogastric Plexus Block procedure and would like to chat with anyone who has had similar experience.