Chronic Pain members - Welcome, please introduce yourself

Hi - I had a Thalamic Stroke three years ago. Originally there were no after effects, other than continued tingling in my left hand and left foot. Three years on - tingling in left hand and up the arm is worse and constant. And - my legs don't seem to function properly. Both legs hurt pretty much all the time, and I have a hard time walking .... Used to be able to walk 40 minutes with no pain and just normal tiredness. Now, after 10 minutes my legs are so painful and the exhaustion is unbearable. In addition, my left foot burns and tingles pretty much all the time. I cannot wear shoes for any length of time and even have to take my socks off frequently. I am not on any pain medication but Gabapentin has been suggested. I'm afraid to take it because it is known to affect cognition. Any comments - advice ?

@kathrihe, I tried Gabapentin and Lyrica. Both made me feel terrible mentally and physically. Cysts are fluid filled and they can come and go. Unless they get really large and are compressing the nerve, I will leave them be. My mother had neuropathy severely in her arms and she took gabapentin 2700 mg three times a day. It was the only thing that helped her in addition to opioid medication’s. Doctors usually start you on the lower dose and then continue to increase until you find a level of pain control. I am fortunate that the opioid medication’s do not affect me other than normal side effects such as constipation, etc.. I don’t feel foggy or goofy and I definitely don’t feel as bad as I did with the gabapentin. I have a few other autoimmune issues that the opioid medication is helping also. I also have a history of multiorgan histoplasmosis, so I am not a candidate for biologic medication’s to treat some of my other autoimmune issues. I hope to avoid surgery as long as possible! Maybe you will get lucky and your cysts will dry up and leave you alone. Hopefully they can determine what is causing the cyst and maybe address that issue so you can avoid surgery too 😊.

@christinadv23 Hello and welcome to the club 😉. Although it may not be the club you want to join, we are all here experiencing many of the same and different issues. I follow several of the Support groups here because I have several strange issues. I find it comforting that there are people from all over the country, sharing their stories of their symptoms their problems what works what doesn’t and I find lots of helpful information. There is no owners manual necessary to be part of a Support group. I’m sorry to hear your daily suffering for so long, but I do understand. I have fibromyalgia also. The never-ending body pain and the fatigue does become very tiring and wearing on you. One question I have without knowing much is how is the support of your physician team? Don’t give up and keep searching for answers and relief. Have you checked into alternative medicines and therapies? Where you live may limit what’s available to you as well. Somehow, you find your way here 😊.

You could simply say: "Hi everyone, I'm new to the group and have been living with chronic pain for a while, so I'm here to learn from others, share experiences, and find support from people who understand the daily challenges of managing pain."

Am on gabapentin 900mg split into 3 doses at night and 50mg of trazone for depression from lack of sleep due RLS after prolapse surgery 3 years ago. Sick of feeling sedated and tired the next day and still waking in pain early morning.

For all you new chronic pain members... Have you been diagnosed with a definite problem? If so, has a treatment option(s) been prescribed? If pain meds do not work or the meds have lost their efficacy, you might want to look into other options: surgery, spinal cord stimulator trial, or intrathecal pain pump trial. There might help you. The trials are minimally invasive. I wish you all well.

Had spinal decompression surgery and now suffer with severe chronic lower back pain how has anyone coped with this issue?

Newly diagnosed with CPPD after a decade of being dismissed with "mild" arthritis in my painful knees, maybe it's your back, "I wish I had your knees!"...etc.. Colchicine didn't work after 4 weeks so doc switched to plaquinil, but it takes up to 6 months to work. Fingers crossed. CMC surgery 6/24/26. Deformed CMC and bone on bone possibly caused by the CPPD.

Hi Kelsey,
Have had 2 disc removed L5-S1 in 1979 & L4-L5 in 1988. I am 78 & am currently on pain meds to help with daily chronic pain. Take Lyrica 100 mg 3 times a day & Amitriptyline 30 mg at night. From 2000 to 2016 I took Oxycodone to manage severe neuropathic pain episodes. Caused nausea, limited what I could eat & sleepiness which interfered with my ability to work & travel. In 2017 tried a new drug, Nucynta IR. It is amazing for severe neuropathic pain episodes. I have average downtime of 4 - 8 hours before the pain lets go but am able to eat & read after the event. On occasion these pain episodes are so severe that it takes 2 to 4 days before it lets go.
Question? Am wondering if there is a new daily pill I could take so that I can drop Amitriptyline. Am experiencing small loss of control moments on average 10 times a day. When I walk (4 km daily) my wonderful husband takes my hand after an incident to support me for the rest of the walk. When it happens inside our home I have something to run into, a wall, the kitchen counter, etc.

As one in 80s, I do have some pains such as in the soles of my feet and so I feel walking barefoot at home is soothing and probably good for foot health -- or fewer tight clothes, the better for the body, I believe.

Most importantly, I think much health problems are Not simply biological but also very much a result of our mental -- cognitive, emotional, spiritual and social parts for an healthy state. While it's easy to see a physical symptom, such as poor flexibility, strength, shape and excess weight, often we are unaware how deeply our poor mental health impacts our physical well-being.

Perhaps it is this approach that has helped me so far from serious limitations in health. What's good for the brain, however, is good for the body too. After all, pound for pound, our 3 lbs brain uses 20 Times the calories than how the rest of the body does. We need to know WHICH way to run to avoid danger and death!