Robin, I feel very badly for you, but I am not convinced I have anything to add. Only, to keep on keeping on. We have a woman at church who has a lot of the same stuff, I think. She comes to church in her "electric cadillac", but she is there every time the weather is good enough. I just appreciate her being there. She often pulls up beside me, and sings and participates. I thank her every week for being there. And same to you.

Hi Robin I'm Paul suffering with nerve pain 2 1/2 years after a bout with shingles.

On my 4th pain dr, the third talked me into getting a spinal cord stimulator before doing other therapies
and it really hasn't done it's job.

My new dr is trying different meds and next month will change some of them.

We just have to push ourselves into enjoy some kind of life.

I hope you get some relief soon

Have a great day

Paul

Hello @rsuda (Robin), welcome to Connect. Thank you for sharing your story. I enjoyed the part where you shared that you are still happy and continue to do things despite your pain. I am glad a few members jumped in to welcome you as well. You will find that the Chronic Pain group has many supportive and active members with a LOT of experiences. We are glad to have another willing supporter as well.

You mentioned a few different issues in your post, and I would like to give you a few links to discussions that talk specifically about those:

- Anyone here dealing with peripheral neuropathy? http://mayocl.in/2aWCYXq (discussions take place regarding various neuropathy)
- Diabetes and Endocrine System, http://mayocl.in/2eUNVZY
- What to expect with back surgery, http://mayocl.in/2lfVI81 (brief discussion, but I think your input could spark some great conversation)

@rsuda
Robin, I'm sorry for the pain you're living with. I have chronic peripheral neuropathy pain and burning in my feet, and I've tried every medication available for it. Some, especially Lyrica, had side effects, and none helped. I'm going to have a spinal cord stimulator implant in the next few weeks, and I really hope it helps. Most peripheral neuropathy is associated with diabetes, but I don't have diabetes.

Some of my siblings have had neuropathy, and medications have helped them. All 5 of them have had back surgery. I'm glad I escaped that, though I had compression fractures in T12 and L2 from a 12 foot fall, from which I've recovered. I'm seeing a great pain specialist, just started therapy for depression and anxiety and suicidal ideation, and I'm supposed to see a neurologist to see if I have MS. I have a team of doctors who are working together to help me. I'm thankful for them, and I'm thankful for the church we attend and for a pastor who's experiencing his own share of medical issues (cancer) and depression. I've found support groups to be a great help to me. I participate in a few here at Mayo Connect, and some local depression support groups, and another online group. I surely encourage you to accept the support of the many people in this site. We're always learning from each other here. Welcome, Robin.

Jim

Welcome to connect Robin!!!
You are so right!!! Pain is no fun!!! Your positive outlook will help you tremendously. Curious if you have tried any other non traditional treatments such as Biofeedback, Acupuncture and Raki? All have great benefits and each work in their own unique ways.

Blessings
Dawn

@rsuda Hi, Robin. You sound like a good candidate for a spinal cord stimulator. You could at least talk with your pain doctor about it. I've tried the whole list of neuropathy meds, but I've not found one that touched the pain. I'm on Cymbalta 90mg and morphine 30mg twice a day right now. I think the morphine sulphate helps. I wondered if Cymbalta was having any effect, so I tapered off morphine and was off for a few weeks, but the pain was too much, so I restarted morphine. I've been really thankful to have a pain specialist. He's known more options for treating the neuropathy pain than my pcp or the neurologists. I'd love to be out doing more, like you would, but every step hurts. I really need to walk for the sake of our dogs.

@paulbklyn Hi, Paul. I'm a native New Yorker, though I lived mostly upstate. I'm supposed to get a spinal cord stimulator implanted quite soon. I still am not absolutely convinced about doing it, as I haven't heard a great deal of positive reports about it. Could you tell me what your experience has been with it? You said earlier that you've had it in for a few years, I believe. The new ones are MRI compatible, which was an issue with me.

@jjwest Hi, jj. I'm terrible at remembering names, so right now you're just jj. I'm Jim, 66, married, living in Oregon. My primary pain is idiopathic (a word that means they don't know why I have it) peripheral neuropathy. Pins and needles from knees to toes, burning pain all the time in the balls of my feet and my toes. My hands are affected a little, as well, because I have to wear gloves when I drive so my hands don't ache.

A side effect of all the meds I take, along with the various reasons I take them, is ED. My wife and I miss that piece of our relationship. It's been hard on both of us. I think I'll talk more about that in another group, under mental health/suicide survivor.

It's good to read what each of you writes every day. It helps with the feelings of being alone.

Jim

@rsuda Robin, I'm so glad you have joined us for support! You will find that this is a very friendly and informative group of people on Connect. I understand when you say you are "married but not much fun" because you sit with an ice pack each night. I actually chuckled at this because I sit at night with a heating pad. In your post, you said you were seeing a pain specialist. Would you be willing to share with us how that meeting went?