Chronic Pain members - Welcome, please introduce yourself

It's important to keep moving. I admire you. Remember the most important person to be strong for is you!

@wbert93. I had to go on disability when I was 55, and all 5 of my siblings had to do the same, some younger than I, and for good reason. A large part of our problems are hereditary back issues. Being on Social Security Disability doesn't mean a person is milking the system, not when you need to, and can't physically continue to work.

I understand the side effects of antidepressants. I lost my libido two years ago, and it's hard on our marriage, especially for my wife. It doesn't do much for how I feel about myself. I take Bupropion because it's not supposed to affect sex drive. There are several like it, and your doctor might help you find one that won't stop the romance.

Hi I am Sheila and have cauda equina. Am I in the right group?

Hello Sheila, and welcome to Connect. Thank you for introducing yourself to the other members of the Chronic Pain group. The chronic pain group is for members who experience consistent pain on a daily basis that is caused by lots of different ailments. This group is to talk about the pain that you experience from any illness or issue and how other members cope with that pain.

You may wish to also check out the Brain & Nervous System group (https://connect.mayoclinic.org/group/brain-and-nerve-diseases/) which is what cauda equina would fall under. You may want to participate in the brief discussion that was started on cuada equina syndrome a few months back as well, http://mayocl.in/2aWudfX.

If you have any additional questions about how to become a member of a group, post a discussion, or reply to a message, please do not hesitate to send me a personal message by clicking on my name and then clicking on the blue envelope symbol and sending me a message that would be between only you and I.

Amen! Truer words have never been spoken. (Okay, this was a reply to someone who gave thanks for our veterans and quoted the bible "truer love hath no man then to lay down his life for another"). Sorry if anyone misunderstood or took my reply the wrong way. I am a big supporter of our veterans. They deserve the best available medical care wherever they can get it at NO cost. This is what I strongly believe.

Have 2 autoimmune diseases. Read article in JAMA or Lancet about endocrine malfunction and autoimmune diseases. Went to endocrinologist, who fortunately had read same article. Diagnosed with adrenal glands growth. Following up with surgeon.

Hello, I'm Don from the Orlando, Fl. area. I've studied many medical disiplines looking for inexpensive solutions with no known side effects.
offering information for others to consider after checking it out.

Hello and your last line really caught me. I think you are a brave person and guessing big heart.

So...how about starting something easy? When you open your eyes say Lords Prayer and if you have more time, pray for others. You can do it anywhere, anytime. Prayer works...you are going to have a really good day today!

Morning! April from Arkansas here. Many ortho surgeries over the years from chronic tendonitis/bursitis. Both shoulders scoped, one of them twice, ten years apart, both elbows, one wrist, left thumb from arthritis and herniated disc in neck from early degenerative disc disease at age 49. I have another disc right below that one that needs replacing and now, at age 55, am in chronic daily pain, in both shoulders again, my hip, knee and now inner elbows radiating down to the wrists, and hands including tingling. Talk about a mess. I take 4 Hydrocodones a day as due to being a gastric bypass patient, not supposed to take NSAIDS. The pain meds barely touch my pain. I have been diagnosed 4 years ago with arthritis in my hip and had a couple cortisone injections in it. The knee pain is 4 months old and started when the car door shut on it as I was getting out of it one day. My elbow/wrist mess is just a few weeks old. I am finally going to start going to see about some of this and hope to get some answers/treatment soon. I have an Ortho appt this week to see about my hip and knee and then will go from there.

@sharonmay7, just for info, there are three kinds of medicines I try to stay away from. First, any kind of painkiller, especially opioids. I get into a psychiatric idiocy, especially from strong opioids. Then after a while, they don't work anyway. Second, antiseptics such as ampycillin (SP?). I have had a steady infection some place in my body for about 60 years. It is probably from amyloid involvement with the ankylosing spondilitis in my spine. Third, anything that seems to cost too much. I have to take insulin, but by careful diet and exercise, I have worked into a minimal regime. I have several cancers in my body (prostate, bladder, kidney, liver, lung, thyroid, blood, amyloid, lymph, spleen, etc. Now my doc thinks I have cancer (protein deposit) in my brain, so I have now had a MRI to check it. But in any case, I still think it is most appropriate to stay away from most medicines. I know I have only a short time to go, but at 76, that's OK.