Chronic Pain members - Welcome, please introduce yourself

@simaya
I just signed up yesterday for the buprenorphine and fibromyalgia topics. Have learned a lot and found everybody to be very helpful. Hope you pick out some topics that are close to what you are having problems with and that you have a good experience and some support with your pain.

@simaya
I wish I was closer. (I’m on the East coast) I hope you are able to reach out to someone locally and make some friends. Volunteering has helped me tremendously. I made a lot of new friends doing it. You would be surprised how many opportunities are out there that you may be able to find.

I'm at my wits end with pain. Three years ago I had a bad fall & landed on my right shoulder after which my right arm/hand failed to work. I had a reverse total shoulder replacement--nasty recovery--and my shoulder pain hardly left. After almost a year the shoulder surgeon said my pain must be from my neck. Seems the fall hurt my neck as well as shoulder. I had radiculopathy both arms with neck & back pain and trouble controlling my legs. I had two (posterior)cervical spine surgeries this year. The second was a PCDF, fusing C3 thru C7. I'm 8 months from the surgery and finding the pain unendurable despite oxycodone & ibu. he surgeon was against PT until 6 months out. After 6 weeks of PT the PT said he did no know what to do woth a 5 level fusion patient.
I need to take charge since the surgeon shows no interest in helping and relying on the system has left me a mess.
I'd appreciate hearing how others with similar cervical spine surgery have found relief from pain. Thanks.

@gid
Good grief! What a nightmare! I certainly sympathize with you. Personally, I would be collecting my medical records. (I make copies and request copies of all of mine regularly.) I would also be checking with your medical insurance to get a 2nd and 3rd opinion.

Then, I would be getting a free consultation from every attorney I could speak with to see what each of them would recommend you do in your situation.

To do all this, you need to be very organized. Attorneys and doctors only have a few short minutes to hear your problem and decide whether or not they can help. If you can, get referrals from friends and always check on Yelp or other website that allows people to post comments about their experiences using the services of the attorneys or doctors, you can save yourself a lot of grief. (I've had a lot of bad experiences with incompetent attorneys. The only experience I've had with doctors in the past was that they were reluctant to get involved with other doctor's mistakes.) If you can be evaluated at the Mayo Clinic, it would be a huge win for you.

I broke C-4 and C-5. Over two decades later, I have degenerative changes and bone spurs in C-2 through C-7 and osteoporosis. Over the years I've had numerous problems with "referred pain." The only thing that has helped me is keeping myself in the best physical shape possible. But currently can't exercise without going to bed for days afterwards.

Aside from the neck, I have a variety of health issues. Was using Norco for years to help with pain. Worked fine. Only took 2 - 5mg pills a day to take the edge off except while recovering from shoulder surgeries. (I did not like oxycodene. It didn't work as well for me.) Now they don't want to give Norco to me anymore.

I am checking out the Buprenorphine patches (The "film" and pills that you dissolve in your mouth can do damage to your teeth.) to see if that will take the edge off of my pain so I can function and get in shape again. ICE is amazing for pain too.

I've had a bunch of medications suggested for my health issues and pain problems. I look the medicine up on the internet to find out their side effects. I only read the posts by Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic. However, we all need to understand that a lot of medicine is a life-or-death matter, and if so, we need to take that!
Best of luck.

I'm Andrea from Connecticut. The chronic pain has been 4 year in length. I've tried it all and can report that last night I slept 7 1/2 hrs. First time in 2 years!
Change: bilateral prudendal nerve block 3 days ago.

@gid Hi . I’me fused (front & back w/rods then fused 2-3? Naturally lost count. Docs thought i had AS. Also got hit by car landed with arm up 3 shoulder surgeries-Anyway the only pain relief i get is from the fentanyl patch.

Hi my name is Coleen,
I have spinal stenosis and spondyloisthesis. Both causing me a lot of pain in my lower back. I have to have spine fusion surgery in June. Looking for ways to deal with pain until then.

Thanks for allowing me to join,
Coleen

Hi
My name is Adrienne and I suffer with spinal stenosis and cervical radiculopathy back spasms and sciatica nerves, the pain at times is unbearable the only thing I have for pain is pain patches prescribed gabapentin which I barely take cause it makes me really dizzy . The orthopedic surgeon referred me to pain management where they want me to have the epidural injection in my back. Pain patches really don't work so for the most part I have to deal with the pain, it affects my walking at times, it's just so unfortunate. I wish everyone the best of luck with treatment

@ajbaptiste52
I am so sorry. I had sciatica and it was the worst pain I have ever experienced. I have had breast cancer twice and it was even worse than chemo. My heart goes out to you. 🙏🙏🙏

@grannytrucker Hi Granny trucker - I read your message and you sure have lots to deal with in regard to your pain. My main pain in my body now is the peripheral neuropathy and the lower lumbar spine stenosis. With the neuropathy I have the pain in my legs and feet. PN is such a painful and horrible disease. The most painful pain for me is the stenosis pain (burning pain) in my lower back. The way I try to explain the pain to my neuro doctor is that it feels like someone could be holding a burning match and taking the burning match from one side of my hip area to the other side of my hip area. So, for my pain now, my neuro pain doctor has me on the Buprenorphine patch (7.5 mg) and there are 4 patches in a box. The Buprenorphine patch is very expensive even with the insurance. Search for the Goodrx coupons for buprenorphine patch. The 7.5 mg patch does take the EDGE OFF of the pain. My neuro doctor is now in the process of trying to get the approval of my insurance for a surgically implanted PAIN PUMP as I have chronic pain as the result from 3 back surgeries and other issues. I'm waiting to hear from my doctor in regard to an approval. I sure do hope that you can get some pain relief soon. Would you mind if I prayed for you in regard to the pain that you are having?