Does anyone recommend a portable, rechargable TENS unit for pain?

@jesfactsmon @lorirenee1 @avmcbellar my fingers move faster than my brain. Wish it were a code word. Murphy is my beautiful 13 year old red Doberman we rescued from Missouri when he was 1. He usually weighs more than me but I’m still at that Seroquel weight and he’s 120. He’s starting to stumble a little and roll down hills when chasing deer and chipmunks. New neighbors sometimes look twice and ask later if I have a pet deer. When I look out our back window I sometimes yell at Murphy but it’s a deer. Experience tells me we’re lucky if we have another year with him. My husband Tim is the alpha and Murphy spoons with him in our king sized tempurpedic, he’s glued to Tim head to toe with no body space. The only time Murphy is concerned about me is his midday poo. Happy hippo powder has knocked me on my butt twice now, deep sleep for hours, but I don’t know if it’s getting rid of pain. Today only the prescription would take away the pain (I iced and TENS’d and McKenzied and lifted light weights) and I waited all day until just now to take it. I’m waiting for it to kick in. If you know any people the Pewaukee WI area that are couch potatoes that might be candidates as friends for me, please let me know.
Love to you all. Maybe we should have a virtual game of something? Just tossing it out there. Glad I met you all!

Your husband sounds a lot like mine when it comes to sympathy or empathy. I have come to the conclusion that men in general have a hard time dealing with other peoples' pain. Many men will not visit friends in hospital or even at home if they are sick or dying because they just don't know how to deal with it. My husband and I have been married 15 years and it was a second marriage for me and his fourth for him. I married him because he was and is a sweet person, affectionate, responsible, loyal, and up until recently hard working. He's 79 and I'm 76. In most respects our marriage has gotten better even as it has become more of a friendship than a love affair. I try not to say anything about my pain. He knows I have a lot of pain- sometimes it's under control but right now it's pretty hard to keep it that way. He suffers from terrible migraines so he knows about pain. he support me in the ways he can but he is not what I would call attentive. Probably 12 years ago I came to the conclusion that I needed to keep certain things to myself and in recent years that has included my pain. When he is having a migraine he goes to bed and takes pain medication and a sedative. When I can do something for him I will but for the most part there is nothing I can do to help him. I have become less sensitive to his pain, too. I think sometimes we expect too much from those we are closest to. Some people may be missing a gene that makes them more caring but others just don't have the energy to provide the kind os support we would like to have. I think it is a rare man who is able to give the kind of support we would like to have from them.

Your husband sounds a lot like mine when it comes to sympathy or empathy. I have come to the conclusion that men in general have a hard time dealing with other peoples' pain. Many men will not visit friends in hospital or even at home if they are sick or dying because they just don't know how to deal with it. My husband and I have been married 15 years and it was a second marriage for me and his fourth for him. I married him because he was and is a sweet person, affectionate, responsible, loyal, and up until recently hard working. He's 79 and I'm 76. In most respects our marriage has gotten better even as it has become more of a friendship than a love affair. I try not to say anything about my pain. He knows I have a lot of pain- sometimes it's under control but right now it's pretty hard to keep it that way. He suffers from terrible migraines so he knows about pain. he support me in the ways he can but he is not what I would call attentive. Probably 12 years ago I came to the conclusion that I needed to keep certain things to myself and in recent years that has included my pain. When he is having a migraine he goes to bed and takes pain medication and a sedative. When I can do something for him I will but for the most part there is nothing I can do to help him. I have become less sensitive to his pain, too. I think sometimes we expect too much from those we are closest to. Some people may be missing a gene that makes them more caring but others just don't have the energy to provide the kind os support we would like to have. I think it is a rare man who is able to give the kind of support we would like to have from them.

@sunnyflower I am so happy for you (and a little envious, sorry) that you get the pain meds you need. I recently found out that members of my family I don’t even talk to gossip about my drug problem. I can’t even get the stuff and why do they care? Well they don’t. Now I remember why I distanced myself from most of my family years ago. They were only interested in how much money I was making and how big my house is. My whole life has gone downhill (or most would think) because we sold our beautiful house because my jobs paid for it along with new cars every 5 years or so. Other than that we were and remain very frugal. We still live in the same neighborhood but I call it our dump. I’m the only person I know that only has 1 bathroom nowadays. I hope our toilet never breaks. @jesfactsmon

Hi Everyone, I'm wondering if we could get back on topic here in this discussion - TENs Units or maybe you could start a new discussion in Just Want to Talk group here - https://connect.mayoclinic.org/group/other/. Thanks a bunch, it makes it much easier for folks searching to find information on TENs Units and how they help with pain (or not). Really appreciate your help! John

Many nights I sleep with ice packs on my ankles. I have some that have a strap that allows you to wrap the ice pack around an arm or leg and secure it with Velcro. I have been using these for about 2 years and they hold up well. I keep 4 in the freezer until I need them. I usually go to sleep and when I wake up my pain/burning is gone. Sometimes I have even been able to walk short distances in the house with them on ThermiPaq Icy Cold Pack Pain Relief Wrap Cold Therapy, Large. I have bought these at Walmart. Cathy

Hey Jen, I am so sorry that your family or some of your family are like that. That is a drag and a half to say the least! Kaiser Permanente has a pain management team with all kinds of Specialists on it; addiction, Psychiatry Etc and they met with my doctor, my husband and myself, years ago just because they wanted me to know they validate me. I know I've shared before that I have a very, very long list of diseases and conditions, several of which are extremely painful. It meant the world to me that they validated me especially after some 23 + years on pain meds of some kind or another. I have an aversion to them so it took them and my husband and my primary care doctor and other of my specialist, about 3 years to talk me into taking pain medications in the first place. I do not want to be on them and I do not like them. I never ever feel any kind of high or euphoria but they have improved my functionality in life which is still quite poor but nonetheless better than without. Pain meds come with their own bag of problems besides stigma. I can't remember if you have ever said whether or not you have tried Gabapentin? Many people do not have side effects but I have many side effects from it but it helps me tolerate my pain. Both those medications, opiates and Gabapentin, do not take away pain. I feel they just sort of dull your pain to a somewhat tolerable level. I absolutely hate the side effects from Gabapentin they are terrible but I don't know what else to do because there would be zero quality of life without it. You know that pain that just eats away at your sanity, that's how it is without Gabapentin. People love to gossip and I feel it is most often when they need to feel better about themselves. Speculation. Lack of anything else to do but talk about someone else. It does really hurt a lot I know but if you can try not to think about it and distract those thoughts away, and focus on something else, or, as you know I would say, talk to the Lord about it. I had a pastor who used to say that Jeremiah 33:3 was God's phone number. Here is what it says "Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." Jesus knew how much people hated Him and talked about Him behind His back. He was rejected of men and did not have a place to lay his head. He gets it and would be the perfect one to talk to about it. He loves it when we engage with Him. The Bible says he created us for his glory and for us to fellowship with him. I can't imagine almighty God, creator of the universe , wants a relationship with us! He bore our sorrows and our griefs when He was on the cross (Isaiah 53:4). This morning I saw a quote that said God is not a distant God, a God to be feared and avoided, a God of revenge but a God who is moved by our pain and willingly chose to participate in the fullness of the human struggle so that we could know Him and that He understands. I have to admit I added just a couple of words but just a couple. Do you have any family members that you are close to? Have you ever talked to any of the ones who are judging you and gossiping about you? Just wondering. Well Jen, please no I will be upholding you in prayer and wish I could do so much more. You have my heart, Sunny flower. 🤗🌹💗🙏

Hey Jen, I am so sorry that your family or some of your family are like that. That is a drag and a half to say the least! Kaiser Permanente has a pain management team with all kinds of Specialists on it; addiction, Psychiatry Etc and they met with my doctor, my husband and myself, years ago just because they wanted me to know they validate me. I know I've shared before that I have a very, very long list of diseases and conditions, several of which are extremely painful. It meant the world to me that they validated me especially after some 23 + years on pain meds of some kind or another. I have an aversion to them so it took them and my husband and my primary care doctor and other of my specialist, about 3 years to talk me into taking pain medications in the first place. I do not want to be on them and I do not like them. I never ever feel any kind of high or euphoria but they have improved my functionality in life which is still quite poor but nonetheless better than without. Pain meds come with their own bag of problems besides stigma. I can't remember if you have ever said whether or not you have tried Gabapentin? Many people do not have side effects but I have many side effects from it but it helps me tolerate my pain. Both those medications, opiates and Gabapentin, do not take away pain. I feel they just sort of dull your pain to a somewhat tolerable level. I absolutely hate the side effects from Gabapentin they are terrible but I don't know what else to do because there would be zero quality of life without it. You know that pain that just eats away at your sanity, that's how it is without Gabapentin. People love to gossip and I feel it is most often when they need to feel better about themselves. Speculation. Lack of anything else to do but talk about someone else. It does really hurt a lot I know but if you can try not to think about it and distract those thoughts away, and focus on something else, or, as you know I would say, talk to the Lord about it. I had a pastor who used to say that Jeremiah 33:3 was God's phone number. Here is what it says "Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." Jesus knew how much people hated Him and talked about Him behind His back. He was rejected of men and did not have a place to lay his head. He gets it and would be the perfect one to talk to about it. He loves it when we engage with Him. The Bible says he created us for his glory and for us to fellowship with him. I can't imagine almighty God, creator of the universe , wants a relationship with us! He bore our sorrows and our griefs when He was on the cross (Isaiah 53:4). This morning I saw a quote that said God is not a distant God, a God to be feared and avoided, a God of revenge but a God who is moved by our pain and willingly chose to participate in the fullness of the human struggle so that we could know Him and that He understands. I have to admit I added just a couple of words but just a couple. Do you have any family members that you are close to? Have you ever talked to any of the ones who are judging you and gossiping about you? Just wondering. Well Jen, please no I will be upholding you in prayer and wish I could do so much more. You have my heart, Sunny flower. 🤗🌹💗🙏

@jesfactsmon Love you, Hank. Just do. Period. Lori Renee

@bustrbrwn22 Jen, please forgive yourself when you don't do the things you intended to do. You must!!!! I cannot tell you how many times my pain has totally ruled my day, and I did nothing but cry or listen to music to soothe myself. Forgive yourself. You must be kind to yourself. Lori Renee