Chronic Pain members - Welcome, please introduce yourself

Hi my name is Anjou. I was involved a MVA where my two kids were in the car with me strapped and in their respective seats in the back. My son at that time was about three and a half and my daughter was seven and a half. Its been six years but to this day i still am in pain. It gets bad when i fall sick or am in stress. I am on a regular basis on naproxen, lyrica, concerta and tylenol. I have been able to take cymbalta out of my regular cocktail of meds and have replaced it with St. John's wort. I do daily meditation, yoga stretches and taichi to function on a day to day basis. The thing is this new feeling of hands, knee and bottom of feet's burning sensations and also the feeling of numbness and sometimes "bug crawling" sensation is now more predominant since i am home. I am more fatigued and am more prone to infections (colds , flu and coughs). I want to take off my meds and try new natural remedies like i have done with cymbalta. Please advise. I am very sensative on my left side and when in pain its the whole left side that hurts even more. I also have severe headaches along with the pains.

Hello tabitha and welcome to Connect. It sounds like the side effects of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome can be very frustrating. I invite you to check out some of the following discussion threads where EDS has been discussed by other members:

- The Disorder You May Not Know You Have http://mayocl.in/2bnkbGt
- Searching for Adults living with scoliosis, thoracic stenosis http://mayocl.in/2eoGfT4
- Shoulder Dilocation and Hypermobility http://mayocl.in/2edL5Oa

Hello Anjou and welcome to Connect. Other than your ongoing pain and issues with burning sensations, I hope that your family is doing well. Although the causes may be different between some of the members, you may find some answers from others in the following discussions:

- Neuropathy pain in my left foot and lower left legs http://mayocl.in/2dpfyLO
- New daily persistent headache http://mayocl.in/2dNTLL6

In these discussions, feel free to ask other members questions and explain a bit more about yourself to exchange information that may help others as well.

Hello I have just joined this Mayo Clinic discussion group today I'm going by the name of virtuous and I would like to participate in discussions learn as much as I can about handling pain. I have all the back issues .I'd like to learn a lot of positive things be a positive member in the discussion but there are days where I feel I'd like to shed a tear or two. so I'm hoping to get involved and be a positive influence and have it be a help to me as well as the others thank you would love to hear a reply. I've had several spinal epidurals and I'm experiencing a lot of pain I haven't had and that the door for ages so I was trying to find out the long life term effects of steroid and cortisone in your system love to hear some feedback.

Hello @boxermomma. Welcome to the group. What conditions do you have that are causing your pain? I have Fibromyalgia, arthritis of knee, hands and cervical spine. I also have bone spurs and disc degeneration c 5,6.

Have you noticed a connection between the chronic pain and how you feel emotionally, boxermama?

Hello Sandytoes 14,
Like you, i also have fibromyalgia, i also have psoriatic arthritis and osteoarthritis in my C2-C5 and a deteriorated joint in my left ankle. All of this us several other chronic health problems.

Oh yes i have, very much so. I have chronic depression that they try to keep under control, but still sone days its very difficult to just get out of bed. I rarely go places unless i HAVE to. Yes, a very strong connection, jimhd.

@boxermamma, I can relate to the comorbid relationship between depression and anxiety and chronic pain. I developed agoraphobia, and I too, rarely leave my bedroom except for near-daily doctor appointments. Have you looked into genetic testing? Assurex offers the test, which is not universally covered by insurance. Their website will give you more information; they currently offer it free to Medicare recipients, and a sliding scale fee of $75- $300 is available for other patients, based on income. You complete a cheek swab, and your doctor can help you with interpreting results ne to two weeks later. The test examines your liver functions, and will provide you with lists of the best, good, and least effective medications for you to treat depression, anxiety, ADHD, pain management, and other meds and liver functioning. It will help you and your doctor determine the best meds and doses for your conditions; trial and error of meds is time-consuming and expensive. Using the best drugs for your genetic make-up may lessen your pain, depression, and anxiety, allowing you to socialize and more actively participate in life, which are key to improving all your medical conditions. Mayo offers a similar test, but I am not familiar with it. I wish you all the best. I hope you see improvements in your life soon. Thanks for writing in. I know how difficult even letter-writing can be on your worst days.

Welcome @virtuous. I'm so glad you introduced yourself. I actually moved your message to the Chronic pain group https://connect.mayoclinic.org/group/pain/ where you can meet other members with similar health issues like @sandytoes14 @suebreen54 @ladyjane85 @predictable and @19lin.

I appreciate your bringing a positive influence, but don't be afraid to share when things aren't going well either. When days are tough or frustrating, we're here to support you or just listen.

You were asking about the long life term effects of steroid and cortisone in your system? Can you explain a little more?