I tried a back brace for the upper back. It has a part that fits just above the breast. I have COPD and when I wear the brace, I can't breath. I had to make a choice on whether I wear the brace and ease the pain or breath. I had to make the choice to breath. But boy to I hurt.

Thank you so much for taking time to write.  My dad died of COPD and I was with him the last 9 months...hard.  I admire your strength to endure and accept the pain.  I'm hoping you have some special things planned for this holiday time.  meggie

Thank you so much for responding, especially when pain is really bad.  I admire your courage to think about others at such a time. meggie

Thanks for your interests.

Regarding physiotherapy. I have chronic pain after 17 back and neck surgeries from 1975 to 2016. My lover said the first time she saw naked "You have the longest butt crack ever.". The trauma of the surgeries was a cause for fibromyalgia and autonomic peripheral neuropathy. I've been in pain since about 1984. I was disabled at 53. 1 broken back and 2 broken necks last year with 2 surgeries increased the pain greatly.

My doctors couldn't diagnose the cause of the falls that resulted in the breaks. Having been a Chemical Dependence inpatient and outpatient clinic treatment program director, I searched the meds I was taking and found it was the ingredients in an OTC sleeping medication I was taking.

Sorry to be long in telling a short story. Doctors don't e are the only book they're ever going to read about chronic pain. We are the experts on our bodies. I too have been told to exercise to tolerance but have developed a high tolerance to pain. I go beyond their set limits. You know your body, set your own limits.

I too have used meditation to absorb and accept my pain. I often meditate on Zen Koans while engaged in pain causing activities. Congrats on your observations and advice to us. Each of us need to find and follow our own path. It's knowing to accept our own limitations but challenging our bodies that works best.

My best friend in high school who i had just renewed a long distance relationship with died suddenly about 4 years ago . She had put together our 45th HS reunion and attended the first night of the 3 day event. When she got home she fell asleep on her couch. The next morning her husband found her unconscious and called 911. In the hospital it took a few days for the diagnosis of a stroke. Then a few days more for the diagnosis of bone cancer. They found it when she raised up on her elbow to greet a visitor and her arm broke! I can't imagine how much pain she had been in for an extended period of time while she continued to work on the reunion and live her normal life. I never got to visit her as they kept moving her to different areas of the hospital (and I lived 70 miles away) making communication in a timely way hard. I was about to finally visit her after 2 weeks, when another friend told me she had passed away early that morning. I was in complete shock. I still can't understand how it could have happened that no doctors found her disease prior to it killing her, and how she could ignore the deep pain of bone cancer without complaining to her doctor. If anyone can help me understand this I would like to hear from you. I feel like a whimp now when I complain about my pain from a herniated, slipped disk, which is pinching my spinal cord. Thanks, Gail B.

I appreciate your contribution to this group @hosta, while having made the choice to suffer the pain in your life. It's bad in my opinion that you have to make that choice. I hope that someday there will be a way to treat both problems without creating increased difficulty with one or the other. Thanks, Gail B

@gailb Hi Gail. I am so, so sorry for your loss. My grandmother died in s similar fashion many years ago. We thought she fell and broke her hip. My Uncle (her son) was a doctor. She was rushed to the ER and not much later, we got the disturbing news. What actually happened is that her hip broke first, and then she fell. The bone cancer was already that bad and too far gone. She passed a few months later. She was 78. The thing is, she never complained! She thought she just had arthritis and had to "deal" with it. Up until the time of diagnosis, she had appeared robust and well. She never stopped doing her daily activities, including riding the bus to go to the grocery store. She was an extremely independent woman who seldom, if ever, asked for help. I do not understand, either, how the disease could have gotten so advanced (even back in 1979) without doctors having no clue! And how she handled the pain was totally beyond me. At the end, she was on morphine; but up to the time of diagnosis, she occasionally took some aspirin! I have Rheumatoid Arthritis, Fybromyalgia, Sojourn's syndrome and spinal stenosis, and I have a difficult time dealing with the pain. It is kinda scary. I never take for granted that a new pain or worsening pain is a sign that it is just one of my diseases progressing or acting up. I always report new or worsening pain to my doctors. I think it is wise that we all do the same. You are in my prayers during this difficult time.

@gailb I am sorry for your loss. We never know when will be the last time we see someone so it always wise to leave with good wishes. I agree medicine is as much an art as a science although I doubt most doctors would agree. A friend told me about a person they knew who worked and never complained up until 3 weeks before they died of bone cancer that they did not know about. A neighbor told me his brother complained of back pain for over a year and the doctors could not find the cause of it until he and his wife were on vacation to some British Islands and he had to go to the emergency room there for the pain, they identified his back pain as spinal cancer and he returned home and died within a couple months.
A lot of the time it is just finding the right doctor at the right time. My prayers are with you. 19lin

Sharon,
(I think posted about the headaches/nerve/ablation/burning) I haven't officially introduced myself until now, but I'm Jen. I'm very interested in learning about the nerve ablation/burning and what it's official name is. I've been in bed for 4-5days now because of a headache/neck/back pain. I get horrible daily headaches/migraines, I have fibromyalgia pain, I also broke my left humerus and had 5 repair surgeries getting it together again that still cause pain. As a result I'm in constant pain. I'm very interested in what type of Dr deals with the nerve procedure, what it's called, and how it worked for your headaches. Between pushing drugs that cause me bad side effects, then taking away the meds that do work because of laws, and living in constant pain, I'm very glad this site exists and there is somewhere to talk and learn. Thank you, Jen

I have a very good doctor who really listens to me. Objectively I know my pain is bad. I literally scream when trying to pull up pants. I have to bend over so my husband can pull them up. Night is really bad with my shoulder hurting so bad I cry. Emotionally I feel really good. Doesn't sound possible but for me it is true. After trying several antidepressants I've found one that is really working (thank god). I've been taking it for 2 years now and it is still working well. I am able to really enjoy cruises and other travel and we do it alot. I almost feel guilty posting here because mentally I feel so good.