@musikbliss Hi Crystal! I am so happy to hear from you! Have you had a physical therapy evaluation? I'm not sure if the speech pathologist does that. One good thing about a physical therapist who does myofascial release is that they don't have to have a name or label for what is causing your pain. What they will do is have you lie on the table and put their hands on you to feel where there is tension. The fascia is a big web that extends through the entire body and recently doctors defined it and called it the interstitium. I have a pattern of tightness that is mainly on my left side and it has pulled my jaw out of alignment so I wore out the fillings on the left side, and it goes down my neck and causes cervical vertebrae to twist a little bit from time to time (which causes a muscular headache), then it makes the left side of my chest and rib cage not expand enough, and it can pull my left hip forward and pull my pelvis out of alignment. My PT evens me out by stretching the fascia and if she pulls on a spot near my arm pit, I can feel the pulling all the way from my jaw to my ankle of the left side, and cross pulling to my opposite shoulder. I do my best to maintain what I can by self treating at home. It is easy to do, but you can't always figure out a way to stretch fascia yourself. I have balls and foam rollers to lay on and you can always push up against a wall on a ball or use several small balls. Sometimes insurance doesn't want to pay for MFR, so a PT also has to do some traditional work along with it to get the session covered. I think because of your surgical procedures, you must have a lot of scar tissue that could be adding to your pain. The great thing about MFR is you can add it along with other treatments you need and there won't be a conflict. I know from experience that MFR can work wonders and it does need some patience because there can be many layers of tight fascia and it takes time to work through them. If your doctors don't understand MFR, don't worry, just ask for physical therapy and find a MFR therapist. Did you check to see if there are any MFR therapists near you? Would you consider trying it?

I used to be a person who feared pain, and the most painful event I have experienced was an epidural injection in my cervical spine. It was so bad that I was convulsing and shaking uncontrollably immediately afterward and I was getting electric stabbing shocks in my hand and fingers. I always used to pass out from things like that, but I told myself to breathe long slow breaths and I visualized being in another place, a beautiful place. That is not hard for me to do since I am an artist, and it helped distract me and let me get control of my fear. I was working and even though I was still in pain, I had passed the danger point and regained control. I had spinal cord compression from an old whiplash injury years earlier. Now I'm a survivor because I made it through that spine injection and when I compare other painful events to that, none are as bad and I congratulate myself for handling that and staying in control. I was really afraid of going through spine surgery, but I found ways to cope with art and music. I never thought that in my life, I would defeat my fear of pain, but I did and it completely changed my life, so much so that that is why I am here on Connect. Fear will increase pain a lot, and fearing that the pain will never end will just make it worse. You have to find some hope and a way to think about it that will help. I was in a pretty tough place loosing the coordination of my arms, and loosing my ability to do my art work. I was afraid of surgery, and I was also of afraid of what would happen if I didn't have surgery. I decided that fear will not choose my destiny.

I would like to share a discussion with you on that, and on the first page, there is a video interview of a Podcast where I was the subject. Would you watch the video and tell me what you think, and if it gives you any ideas about things that you can do for yourself? You have friends here. I just wanted you to know that. I am also the subject of a Sharing Mayo Clinic " story.

With kind regards,
Jennifer
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/how-can-i-defeat-my-anxiety-about-medical-tests-and-surgery/
https://sharing.mayoclinic.org/2019/01/09/using-the-art-of-medicine-to-overcome-fear-of-surgery/