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Feeling at my wits end with Chronic Pain and Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia | Last Active: Jul 16 6:18pm | Replies (318)
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@srdodla

@rwinney
Rachel
You have described your story so well in a nice summary .
You are one strong and resilient woman.

I am 56 year old male . My chronic pain ..turned very disabling since last 6 years
My diagnosis.
1) fibromyalgia
2) idiopathic ( doctors do not know the reason ) small fiber neuropathy
3) degenerative disc disease
4) cervical radiculopathy with left upper arm/ shoulder blade / neck pain with numbing and tingling in left hand . This is the worst symptom as of now .

Treatments :
1) trigger point injections
2) Botox injections at shoulder blade
3) facet joint injections
4) cervical epidural injections ( which might have helped 2 years back with tingling in hands not the shoulder or arm pain )

For my neck shoulder arm pain I am thinking about taking cervical epidurals one more time and see . If they don’t help I am thinking about cervical ACDF surgery .
For me feom the MRIs there is moderate central stenosis at C5 C6 and severe bilateral foraminal stenosis at that level . And at C6 -C7 mile central and moderate foraminal.

When I read about ACDF in patients with fibromyalgia there is research that it is not as effective as for non fibromyalgia patients .

Medications :
Lamical
Gabapentin
Tramadol
Percocet 5/325 as needed max prescribed 7 tabs / month

Supplements / vitamins:
Vit D3
B12 injections
Magnesium
Cbd oil

I am on disability for last 18 months: lucky I have good support from my wife and I still have health insurance from my employer. They haven’t laid me off yet .

I am sure I would need surgery for the cervical thing ( because on the latest mri compared to two years ago it had gotten worse)but it scares me and I want to try to postpone it as much as I can

Something I observed . I had Covid this January . Mike symptoms relieved in 10 days but after a week is when this round of cervical issue flare up

Good to find this forum

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Replies to "@rwinney Rachel You have described your story so well in a nice summary . You are..."
dermnurse68 | @dermnurse68 | Apr 4, 2023

Did your Botox injection help at all? With my chronic neck pain I had one doctor say it may help.
I am so glad you have a strong support system, especially your boss!
Best

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Rachel, Volunteer Mentor | @rwinney | Apr 8, 2023

@srdodla Hi there - thank you for reaching out. My apologies for a delayed response. I appreciate your kind words of support, and am happy you found this forum, too!

You've had a rough go from the sounds of it, I'm sorry for that. Thankfully you are still employed, but understandably it is becoming more difficult. I tried 6 months of temporary disability from my job in hopes of "fixing" my stuff and returning, but after attempting to go back for 2 weeks, but it was a fail and long term disability began. I agree about holding off on cervical or any surgery unless you know it is the absolute last option. The cycle of pain is not a fun one to be in.

Since my post that you replied to was written, a lot has changed. I graduated from Mayo Clinic's three-week Pain Rehabilitation Center. I saw it as my only choice to try and get a better hold on how to live with chronic pain and conditions. All the band-aide stuff like I previously listed (and you list above), stopped being effective and I sought a different way. It helped me tremendously and was the best thing I could have done for myself.

Here is a video that may be helpful for you. Dr. Sletten explains Central Sensitization Syndrome (CSS) and the cycle of chronic pain.

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJNhdnSK3WQ

Also, here is information about the Mayo Clinic Pain Rehabilitation Center that Dr. Sletten talks about in his video.

- https://www.mayoclinic.org/departments-centers/pain-rehabilitation-center/sections/overview/ovc-20481691

Finally, here is a link to contact Mayo if ever you chose to inquire about an appointment with any of their 3 campuses or the rehab center itself.

- http://mayocl.in/1mtmR63

Please meet @mitfit who also struggles with chronic pain and inquired about the Mayo Pain Rehabilitation Center. I hope that all who watch and learn from Dr. Sletten are inspired to advocate for themselves, and try to find a better way of living with chronic pain and symptoms.

Looking forward to your replies! Hope you find some inspiration and joy today!!

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