Hi @joeallen,

Thanks for sharing all that information. I completely understand what you're going through concerning your pain and having no answers from anyone.

You mentioned that you had an appointment today? How did that go?

All of the symptoms you mentioned above, are your specialists saying it's all due to your "degenerative disc disease"? Have you ever had a bone scan before to check for bone density? Have they checked for any bone loss deficiencies before? A lot of your health issues seem to related around bone structure, joints, etc.

Pain Meds?
If I may, would you be willing to tell us what medications they've given you for pain? inflammation? nerve damage? etc...

Depression:
Also, have you spoken to anyone about your depression? Pain + depression is very common. I too went through some major battles in my life, all of which made me stronger in the end. You're not alone, we are all here to help.

Sleeping:
I too went through a sleep clinic and they gave me a sleep apnea machine. I find it way too hard to sleep with unfortunately, now I just take gravol to help with sleep. Pain wakes me up 3-4 times a night, which can be a major factor in the amount of pain I have the next day. Weird question, what kind of pillows do you use? I had a lot of problems sleeping until I got some medical-type pillows that help to keep my back arch straight. Been sleeping like a baby ever since.

Your GP:
Last but not least, how long have you had your current GP? Sometimes I find certain doctors just don't have the resources available to them to know where/how to manage your conditions and/or pain. If you feel that your visits are going nowhere, you might want to consider getting a second opinion.

I look forward to your reply!

Sincerely,
Martin Lemieux
@Martin_Lemieux - Tweet