Chronic Pain members - Welcome, please introduce yourself

My name is Hemraj Jethanandani born in India and now a US Citizen. I am 87 yrs old , married, living with my Wife and Son in San Jose.In general having good health except had back pain for 5-6 yrs which subsided with physial therapy, regular walking . Since one yr however having pain in right thigh and knee.have stopped regular walking because of pain. Pain medication did not help. Recently consulted Advanced Health Care, a division of Coyle Chiropractic Corp who suggested nonsurgical knee decompression plus deep tissue laser treatment. was not impressed. appeared to be more of sales talk. My primary Doctor advised Physical Therapy and pain medication

Thank you for welcoming me to the group. I have had daily, chronic migraine for 10 years. I have had episodic (monthly or weekly) migraine since age 12, so 37 years of regular, severe head and facial pain. I am post-menopausal. I also suffer from TMD. Just today in the Mayo Pain Management Newsletter, there were featured articles on pain relievers and TMD. I have tried every single medication listed in the article, plus many more. I also undergo 1-2 times monthly nerve blocks of the occipital and suborbital nerves; quartetly botox; bi-weekly acupuncture and biofeedback. I use reiki, massage, essential oils. I lost 100 pounds several years ago. I exercise with a personal trainer when I can; I use essentially non-effective triptans; I take an exorbitant number of nutritional and herbal supplements, all purported to ease migraine. I no longer tolerate NSAIDS by mouth. I would like to try medicinal marijuana in MN ( No THC). Despite this exhaustive list of meds, treatments, and regimens, I still have daily migraine at a pain level of 7/8 or higher. I visit the ER almost monthly. I adhere to a strict low-tyramine, organic, antibiotic-free diet; I also have a strict, scheduled lifestyle and sleep regimen. For my TMD, I get botox in my TMJs, and have tried everything recommended by Mayo except surgery. In addition, I have had the surfaces of all my teeth shaved and digitally, perfectly aligned side to side and top to bottom. I get regular psychiatric counseling and medication for resulting anxiety and depression. As part of migraine, I have hand and facial tremors, pins and needles in my extremities, plus the typical migraine symptoms of vertigo, nausea, sensory sensitivities, etc. I have not worked in 10 years, yet I am continually denied social security disability benefits. I am only 49 years old; I barely participated in my kids' lives as they were growing up. I live in my bed, or at the doctors' offices. Despite my incredibly supportive husband's significant income, I have gone into considerable debt looking to ease my symptoms; I recognize there is no cure. My doctors are weaning me off my only forms of partial but life-saving pain relief (besides ice): percocet and fioricet. After 20 years doctors are just now concerned about addiction and rebound headaches. I have had one narcotic dosage increase in all those years, and I take half the number of pain pills I took five years ago. I am a member of MENSA, highly educated, and I have researched my conditions incessantly, from proper, vetted sources. I am smart enough to know a rebound headache when I get one. I avoid them at all costs by forgoing pain relievers even when I need them. I come from a family of addicts and I am not one. I do not consume alcohol. I refuse to be a victim of addiction or anything else, including pain; I was raised to be a survivor. The doctors are replacing my life-giving narcotic medications with...nothing. Suddenly I have to fight for decadron and dilaudid (along with 3 other drugs) in my long-standing, tried-and-true, ER IV cocktail. The national heroin hysteria is compromising my health care and my health. I don't know where to turn next. Life is not worth living if my pain cannot be remediated at least some of the time. Why can't doctors see me as an individual, with a responsible medical history? I have had more than one doctor (and pharmacist!) mention to me his concern for his own medical license if he continues to prescribe me (or dispense, in the case of the pharmacist) two dozen 7.5/325 percocets a month. Really? Please help me comprehend how other people's addictions to recreational drugs (used to get high) should have anything to do with my medical treatment. I am finding it hard to summon the will to survive this, with each week that my meds are reduced. Is there a treatment I haven't tried? I have applied to many clinical trials, but am always rejected due to the frequency of my migraine, or complications with my asthma medications. I can't believe my life has come to this.

So sorry you are having pain. My doctors have suggested walking in a pool. Maybe that might help?

Hello @lauriedr
I can feel your frustration through your note. I have a little experience in life long issues. I also have seen many of patients with similar frustrations however I am no expert. I have found over the past couple years that sometimes it is in the best interested of the patient to simply wean them off everything and start over again. I know that is very difficult to hear but I wonder if this is what your doctors are thinking. Our bodies become so use to the drugs and treatments that they no longer effective. (Just like a patient losing weight, they hit a plateau and they need to change it up to kick start it again.)
It might be beneficial to discuss with your physicians PGx Testing. This would help them find the best most effective medications to treat your symptoms without going through all the different trial and error periods. Here is a link to Mayo Clinics PGx profiling. http://mayoresearch.mayo.edu/center-for-individualized-medicine/pgx-profile-service.asp

Please know you are in my thoughts and prayers.
Thanks
Dawn

I'm Kay Kramer (irvkay312) mentor and relatively new to many things faced on this. Yes, I've gone through 4 stages of epilepsy, due to the use of forceps at the time of my birth which caused pressure on the brain. Obviously, by 13 I was having 2 or 3 migraines a week, without an aura. They started me on Chloral Hydrate, then moved to Nembutal, Seconal, Tuinal, Fiorinal, and Imitrix. In essence, study to a migraine pain I discovereding seizures and migraines I learned of the correlation between them. Thus, removing all Triggers (for seizures) and being successful and seizure free for 3 1/2 years; I thought to try the same while on my last prescription of Imitrix. As such, and being able to find courses to change to even amidst my Cancer and Hospice---I have yet to have a migraine for over 4 1/2 years now. Part I attribute to 'taking my Blood Pressure at a migraine peak and seeing it was above 155/85. Speaking with my doctor, we decided 20 mg. would be suitable and it worked--but not on a regular basis. In other words, if I got a migraine, take BP if above xx take 20 mg.Losartan and it went away.

This pointed out to me that it could relate to body change, growth factors, body interactions from conditions and also medications directed by the doctor. So far this has been something that we sought to find the cause for for years. It makes sense too. Anxiety, fear, worry, frustration, depression, etc. have the ability to increase your blood pressure and the sensitivity of BP and the brain can easily cause a migraine--though there may be other causes and types.

irvkay312

Hello and welcome to all of our new members, @sunshineme, @janicedean, @granny988, @hosta, @hemraj, and @lauriedr! We're thrilled to have you all as part of the Chronic Pain group. And appreciate you sharing a little bit about yourself in this thread. I'd also like to introduce you all to existing members of the Chronic Pain group, @leh09, @19lin, @suebreen54, @ladyjane85, @briansr, @salena54, @sharonmay7, and @lolomarie.

I'm Angela and I've just joined in. Had a car accident last Nov. has a fracture of L1 which the Drs let heal. That seems to have happened but I am let with conic pain in my middle back. Nothing short of Norco seems to help. I hate taking this every day. LOoking for other ways to manage

I had to have the stimulator taken out before they would do another MRI. The Pain Stimulator didn't do any good anyway. I hadn't used it for 2 years. Still hard to lay on the table for that long. I too asked to stop but they told me to hang in for a little longer.

Thank you for your comment. Every one tells me how good I look. (It is wonderful what makeup can do) They just don't know how I hurt.

I have had PT, Injections, and a Pain Stimulator, nothing has helped.