Chronic Pain members - Welcome, please introduce yourself

@spenjen you also may consider asking about Buprenorphine Patch which provides 24/7 pain relief. It has really helped me control my pain. What did your studies show was wrong with your back?

I thought I had reached a breakthrough with my pain pump. Two days ago I decided to use five of the six boluses available to me. That's one every two hours. About an hour after the fifth one, I noticed a significant reduction in my foot pain and the pain along the back of my feet had diminished quite a bit. I am on 2.85 mg/24 hours. Each bolus is about 0.215 mg. Unfortunately, I tried to replicate the results the next day. No pain reduction. I was devastated, to say the least. I am wondering if anyone out there has had similar experiences? Thank you!

Hi. I'm a 77 yr old female Lupus and RA warrior. I also have chronic back pain; and exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, which causes chronic abdominal pain. Consequently, I am always in pain; sometimes requiring bed rest for much more time than I would like. It is such a boon to me to be able to communicate with others who really "know" exactly what I mean when I discuss my pain or when I say that I feel exhausted. Autoimmune exhaustion is so different from being tired/exhausted from cleaning the house or raking the yard. Members in this group will get exactly what I mean. So glad to have found you.

Hi, I’m Ken,been hurting for about 5 yrs….the mid back in the thoracic level 7/8/9/10, it started with just a discomfort that radiates into the ribs, mostly right side, but does crossover, then it started burning,aching,and muscle pain.it’s lasts all day, then it started radiating to the base of my skull into both ears, pressure, and tinnitus, 4 different sounds, it almost makes me faint, as time went on,more and more,symptoms came,pain in stomach,and also a nausea feeling, then panic attacks or fright and flight, it’s horrible, also a feeling of heart burn,but it’s not, and where it burns Flem is always constant, when the pain lasts so long I get palps, in the same area as the pain, it palps so long it hurts in my sternum, also at the base of the skull, in cracks, snaps, like breaking a pencil in half, now as of late, constant chills, come and go all the time, I’m now72, and the outlook seems to be hopeless, I’ve dr.after dr. With zero help, I get so so sleep, and I’m looking for some input,maybe answers somebody must be in the same boat,tons of tests,and nothing out of wack

I’m Ken, live in mn. Been doing for 5/6 yrs.and I’m hurting, needs help, if there is any, I made a write up down the way

@toopie52
My experience is a lot like yours - pain specialists have told me it is all part of chronic pain. I am fortunate to have legal opioids, CBD and use mindfulness breathing, yoga and Qigong to survive the decades of struggle. I had to stop looking for a cure and just focus on what I can do.
Some happiness is there.

I'm a 72 yr old living with chronic pain since 2004. I unknowingly had the pars defect. I was rear ended at a high rate of speed by a SUV while was at a stand still. I didn't know my back had broken cuz I had no pain for 6 weeks. The broken disc healed(?) on top of the lower disc with my sciatic nerve pinched in between them. This caused me to get scoliosis, sciatica and lumbar degeneration. It has spread upwards and now and I have thoracic degeneration. I'm have a bulged disc, a missing disc and a ruptured disc. Having neck pain now; therapist says it's a pinched nerve caused by my torn rotator cuff. I take Tramadol every 6 hrs as needed. It takes the edge off, but doesn't totally numb the pain. I had spinal injections when my insurance covered them. The injections didn't help. The 2 neurosurgeons I saw described 1) replacing my spine with a titanium rod top to bottom and (2) 3 separate surgeries with 6 weeks in a wheelchair between surgeries. Both claimed they could 100 percent "fix" me. Since I know 100 percent was unrealistic, so I ditched both of them cuz I can't trust a dishonest doc with a knife. I've known 2 people who were partially paralyzed by back surgery. Won't consider surgery until if/when I can't walk. I think death will relieve all pain. Taking 2 antidepressants and clonazapam. I feel like I have no choice but to welcome death. (NOT talking suicide) although until I adjusted to the pain I strongly considered it. I'm not crying like a baby cuz I know others have it worse than I. And with a bone dx of -4.9 in places what would hold the screws in place? So, hello, this is me. 🙃

@toopie52 Have you been checked to see if your vagus nerve is being compressed? Also, reading this some of it sounds like a type of dysautonomia. Other thing is you could have widespread nerve pain - for a long while I kept thinking something was wrong with my appendix, but it was really just nerve pain from SFN/CRPS. I'm not a Dr so I don't pretend to know, but I know the struggle of being in so much pain with frustrating quality of life and bouncing between Dr's for years. I truly feel for you, friend. I hope there will be more people responding to this post. Hang in there...

@badteeth You're correct about one thing, death will heal all of your pain. I'm counting on that as I get closer to my last day here on earth. I've been dealing with chronic, never ending pain due to osteoarthritis and idiopathic neuropathy for over a decade now. I'll welcome death when it happens to me, I'm not the least bit afraid, I just want the pain to stop.

@mrmacabre Thank you for understanding my point of view.