Having chronic pain and finding the right tools to combat the pain, never mind finding a doctor who can and will work with us--this is very hard work, takes much trial and error, and keeping current with anything new on the scene. For me the formula includes very light yoga stretches, CBD gel pills, tylenol, and 120 mg. of Cymbalta. Also as clean a diet as possible as I experience more pain and inflammation from food additives. Weekly acupuncture at a PACO community clinic have saved my life, twice even three times a week if I am in a flare up. (Most major cities have 1 or 2 such clinics which offer low cost treatments and also do exchanges of free treatment for volunteer hours spent at the reception desk. Here in Tucson, the treatments are $15!) I have been on opiods, have been through all the pain treatment centers expensive options, and none of that helped. After years of searching for "help," today I accept my limitations, and I have developed a new attitude, which has probably been the biggest breakthrough. Extremes of temperature, rapidly changing barometer, kick my butt, so here in Tucson I have finally this summer accepted that I cannot go outside after 8:00 a.m., and certainly cannot drive. I have been devoting myself to some on line research and writing that I had always told myself I would do in retirement, and have chosen to enjoy that. I have finally ( I think!) finished grieving the loss of a strong healthy body that took me dancing, hiking, backpacking, jogging, playing softball, trekking in Nepal, and so forth. That grief and it's companion denial kept me in a spin of trying new treatments that I wanted to believe would give me back my previous vitality. Those years are over. They were good years. I believe my health struggles are evidence that like many women, I am a "sensitive", a person who does feel empathy deeply, and also is a canary in the coal mine, one who is the first to get sick because of social and environmental toxins that others seem to handle better for longer before they "get sick." I am no longer embarrassed or ashamed about my limitations: rather, I choose to focus on what I can still do, share honestly with family and friends about my condition and my journey, and in general have a much better quality of life right now than I have had in many years. It is a long journey, and each of us has their own story, and both good days and bad, no matter how much progress we make. As Langston Hughes once wrote, "life ain't no crystal staircase" for any of us, despite whatever our culture, social media, our "pursuit of happiness" constitutional right has led us to believe. My heart goes out to you all and my congratulations on choosing to seek help and stay the course. Keep on truckin', as we used to say!