Chronic pain - Let's talk

Posted by leh09 @leh09, Mar 23, 2016

Are there any discussions for chronic pain?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Chronic Pain Support Group.

@nemo1

I have a rotator cuff tear plus other problems there (injury) and I used Ice to bed with a contraption sold in cvs where you put the ice pack in it and it wraps around your bad shoulder and keeps the ice in place. I needed help putting it on. The strap wraps around. It was agony until I went to physical therapy for a while and continued to use ice. I would question the use of the heat vs. cold. The cold has a numbing effect which is good to alleviate that pain. I used lidocaine roll on they sell at the pharmacy. I hope you feel better. I need surgery to correct mine. Never got it. Now I have two bad shoulders. The new injury.

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I had that surgery 3 years ago and it was worse than my open heart surgery. I went to 64 PT sessions and it was so worth it. I have 90% mobility back and I am pain free. Hang in there and it will be worth it. Ice, Ice Ice.
Mikayla

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@leh09

I'm concerned about the new recommended guidelines for opioids. My need is genuine, my dose is low for a chronic pain patient, but I don't want to have to nearly beg every time I see my pain Doctor. Yes I understand that opioids are not the best choice for chronic pain, but I've tried everything else and what I'm on right now works! I haven't had a dosage increase in a long time however every time I've tried to back my dose down the pain is unbearable. I'm so frustrated with it all.

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I guess you would call it chronic pain. I have arthritic type pain since my teen years due to Rheumatic Fever but was very active with work using my body all over for my work. Was a very strong man. I had had Rheumatic fever when I was 10 had a very serious electrical shock when I was 2 years old so both probably are part of what I have had to deal with through the years. In the Spring of 1988 I was working for a engineer company laying fiber optic cable from Cincinnati to Atlanta for AT&T. I was a surveyor and crew chief. I was walking up to 15 miles a day over all kinds of terrain. I seemed to be in the best shape of my life. I was walking out of the office one morning and I had a sharp pain hit me in the chest and it took me to the ground. I called to some of the guys and they came and helped me up. They wanted to call an ambulance but I said I would like for one of them to drive me to the hospital which was only about 5 miles away but they would not. I got in my truck and drove myself to hospital in very excruciating pain. When I got to the hospital the ER was very busy. This was before Triage became popular. I sat in the waiting room for 45 minutes. By the time I got into see the doctor the pain had subsided and they could not see anything on the EKG they said and released me. I could not walk 100 feet with out tiring out and would have to get one of the guys to help me up the stairs to our apartment we were renting. They finally took me back to the home office to work inside the office where it would not be a strain on me. I was still having issues and went to see a heart doctor and he said all he could find was that my heart was slightly enlarged. I finally went to see an endocrinologist and he took blood tests but said he believed I had a relapse of Rheumatic fever. He was right. I spent 40 days in isolation and was at the point of death when he put me in the hospital which was the next day. I spent a year taking penicillin shots and was released back to go to work. I bounced around jobs for a few years because of my health and then got married and moved to Illinois. Just before I moved I had had a sever pain shoot through my left eye and they thought I was having a stroke due to all the symptoms. I went to ER and they said that I had an inflamation of the optic nerve but things did not get better. I was dealing with migraines everyday. It affected my work. When I moved to Illinois I began to see a neurologist who started treating me for Chronic migraines and that same year I was getting a new prescription for my glasses when the eye doctor wanted me to see an Ophthalmologist instead of her which was an Optometrist. When the Ophthalmologist saw me he immediately sent me to a Neuro-Opthalmologist who determined I had had two strokes in my left eye possibly from the migraines. I had Rheumatic fever again in 2008 and left my full time work and started pastoring. I have dealt with pain all my life but it got to the point of debilitating along with more migraine strokes and two normal strokes. I am retired disabled and take 25 mg Nortriptaline 1450 mg Gabapentin 4-10/325 Oxycodone per day every 6 hours 2-40 mg Propanalol and 1- 200mg of Provigal for the Chronic fatigue brought on by the Chronic pain. I feel useless anymore. I can not even help my wife. I have two herniated discs in my back a Compressed Fracture in my back and stenosis of the spine which causes pain. I am not suppose to lift more than 15 lbs. Even with all my meds there are times even the meds do not seem to work and this stuff can get you frustrated and somewhat depressed but I find if I just sing a good old gospel song or just a good song that is and was used to brighten peoples day it helps along ways especially if you spend alot of time to yourself. Did not mean to write a book sorry.

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@excentrk

The thing that takes away the pain the most and helps with the fatigue is an indoor swimming pool. I joined a community center and try to get into the pool 3 times a week. Of course, when I get home I am exhausted but just being somewhere I can move without pain lifts my spirits. What I hate is the way the fatigue from pain has changed my personality. Grumpy, irrational and angry at the world. I don't sleep well since I worry about everything, including the cuts in prescribing opioids since I'm not dying from cancer. Why don't docs understand that pain causes fatigue!<br />
<br />

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My doctor does and prescribed me Provigel but Medicare would not allow it for Chronic fatigue because they say there is actually no medical proof for Chronic fatigue so we were talking the other day and I told him that I had had a sleep study a few years ago and they told me I had a form of Narcolepsy where if I lie down during the day to rest. I do not go through the normal stages. I immediately go into the dream state. I had always wondered why I was thinking about things that I knew nothing about when I lay down. He said that Narcolepsy was one of the things that Provigel can be described for. It can also be prescribed for people who work crazy hours at work and also who do not get good sleep at night such as sleep apnea.

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@johnlschwartz

I have a rotator injury right shoulder from golf. I have been using heat pads without much success.
What can I do ?

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Same, just more like frozen shoulders, tho.

I get lidocaine roll on from Amazon, also use lidocaine/aspercreme patches,
always have something like that on my shoulders.

Does ice help more?

I have every imaginable thing for pain!!! Except the good pain pills. Just
keep trying stuff.

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@johnlschwartz

I have a rotator injury right shoulder from golf. I have been using heat pads without much success.
What can I do ?

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Have u tried a tens unit???... this helps mine. Also chinese linament...which u can get on Amazon.
Don't baby ur shoulder....or it will freeze up...and then u will have an issue. I bought a pulley on ebay that attaches to the space in between the top of the door when u close it. You hold a handle in each hand, and slowly, as u can tolerate, go up with one arm while one goes down....and so forth.
This gives u a gentle stretch of ur shoulder and tendons without causing harm. Go up only as far as u can tolerate...and u should in time get better at it.
I tore my shoulder shoveling snow 5 yrs ago during a 4ft storm with 10 ft drifts. I rehabilitated myself when pt gave me a bunch of pics and said good luck.
I got myself back to full functioning.
Best wishes.....anymore questions....just ask.
Audrey

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Thank you for your suggestion. I do yoga every day and that seems to help an a temporary basis.
I will try cold packs at night and heat packs in the morning. I also swim every day and that does help. I am reluctant to get the shot but it has been offered to me.

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Thank you for your suggestions and experiences

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Has anyone used a topical cannibus for chronic pain.?

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@dermnurse68

Has anyone used a topical cannibus for chronic pain.?

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We use topical CBD combined with other pain-relieving essential oils. We sometimes combine or alternate it with NSAID Gel (Voltaren).
Sue

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I also use CBD oils, heating pads and ice packs whichever works to comfort the pain at the time I truly try to minimize using pain relievers, but when I do I have Norcos I can take when I can't get my pain controlled.

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