Wow, you are a warrior! I love your positive attitude and motivation in the face of all this adversity, Jenn. And despite all that you’re going through, from just reading your story today, you are still a very vibrant woman! You’ve not lost that, m’ dear. Thank you for sharing your personal journey with pain and how you’ve been coping. You found a great, supportive group here with Connect.

Congratulations on your upcoming Pain Rehab Clinic admission in February! We have several members in the forum who have been through the sessions and it’s really left an impact on their lives…giving them control back. I know you’ll do great in this program!

One of my fellow mentors, Rachel, @rwinney has completed the program and started a discussion in this group.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/mayo-pain-rehabilitation-program/?pg=3#comment-324354
A little bit about Rachel in her Member Spotlight of Sept 2020. October 5, 2020 she began her PRC journey. https://connect.mayoclinic.org/blog/about-connect/newsfeed-post/where-theres-a-winney-theres-a-way-meet-rwinney/

With your legs being so painful are you able to walk around very much? Can you sit use a stationary bike to get some exercise?

@jennmc I empathize with your having to cut down on the number of things you enjoy. I had to retire from the ministry when I was 55. I went from having an overfilled schedule to having no responsibilities aside from taking care of our new home.

I also have an scs, for small fiber peripheral polyneuropathy, with burning pain in my feet and ankles. Mine was implanted in 2017, and it was wonderful! For a year. Then the stimulator needed to be adjusted every few months for a year. Then it stopped working for me. I still have it on, and it's possible that it helps a little. I had a Dorsal root ganglion stimulator trial, and it did nothing. I'm thankful that I don't have foot drop. I just have to be careful, especially going up stairs, to lift my feet enough so I don't trip.

I've tried so many medications that I can't remember them all. Morphine sulfate contin is the only medication that's helped long term. I'm going to switch to buprenorphine soon because of the hassle of trying to get a therapeutic dose of mscontin.

Good for you, doing the laps in the pool. I've heard a lot of positive things said about water exercise. Unfortunately, it's not an option for me. Have you ever been in a pool exercise class? I'm generally a hermit by nature, but support groups have been helpful.

We will celebrate our 50th anniversary next June. We've always wanted to go on an inside passage Alaskan cruise, and we hope that Covid19 won't prevent that from happening next summer. Our daughter is a Coast Guard wife, with 2 girls, 2 and 4, and our son has a daughter in the 3rd grade. We don't get to see them often, as our son lives in Indianapolis and our daughter is in Alameda, CA. We live in central Oregon, so it's only a 12 hour drive to Alameda. At least we can do video chatting with them.

I suppose you've been to a PT, and have exercises you can do at home. My wife does a nightly stretching routine that she's found helpful. I count my yard work as my exercise routine. We live in the country on ten acres, with a lot of landscaping I've been developing for 15 years. Now I'm trying to make it lower maintenance. Fall is a busy time of the year, pruning, planting, transplanting, getting things ready for winter. The more I do in the fall, the less there is to do in the spring.

As usual, I've rambled on way too long, and I should have been asleep an hour ago.

It's good to meet you.

Blessings.
Jim

Hi Jenn, so sorry to hear about the massive reduction of your quality of life. You mentioned that you have a spinal cord stimulator. Can you tell us what type, when it was implanted and if it has reduced any of your pain? Thanks, Marty

Pain has removed many of us from the public spectrum.