Chronic Pain members - Welcome, please introduce yourself

justin, i think the pain is in the arteries, veins, whatever. ultrasound was used to rule out dvt. but i feel a pulsating throb wen pushing on the area. but the doctors do not want to hear this. perhaps this is just normal for the age. if the pain leaves that is all i want.will really like to know what is causing this. i

Hello All,

I’m Lynne, and I’m new. I have fibromyalgia, a diagnosis of which I’ve had for about 15 mos., but have had these symptoms for 12-15 years. About 18 mos ago, I completely tore rotator cuff tendons in both shoulders, which just added to the fun.

Glad to be here; thanks for having me.
~Lynne

Hello Lynne I posts as Lioness.If you have fibro you need to be strong like a lion.I've had this for 30 yrs. What do you do for the pain?

may i reply to "what do you do for the pain?" i wait for the longest i can then take some advils. do this over and again. just the thought that i can take the advils soon helps some. what else can you do without taking opiods? someone please?

It is very hard dealing with the various types of pain. I have tried and use many modalities all the time. I have developed skin sensitivities from so many surgeries and use of medications/pain patches/TENS using various forms of tape. I rotate my pain sites and do use them but must be careful The sad state of affairs is the usage of narcotics and benzodiazepines. Just because there is misuse by illegal people, over prescribing, no other medication/modalities used, and these over zealous governors and law makers are putting all of us into one category, we chronic pain people that do need them will suffer. I do know after 24 years what works for me. I respect my medications as anyone with a disease (which chronic pain is) and use my medication plus other methods to try to have some life. Many years I had none! Learning to cope, space activities, having better days and sometimes very bad days i.e., we still don't live the "normal" lives of people our age. Waking up is a challenge. Exercises, TENS, medications, mediation, tapping modalities, pain patch i.e. sometimes a neck brace...just to start a day. Now the government wants to push anti-seizure drugs as if they have no serious side effect and they do. One has to do their own and be your best spokesman for yourself. Many doctors know little and even less about chronic pain. Narcotics in a certain group of chronic patients do work. JAMA and the Journal of Pain Medicine (Dec 2017)has the studies and doctors are writing guidelines to the CDC and Medical Societies to State governments. Also, doctors are trying to enlighten them about people like us that are not abusers but suffers that have and are trying everything. I am looking for a new pain doctor because mine is closing his practise. All the new constraints in the changing laws for some medications due to my complex and extensive health issues make it extremely difficult! In my state, most doctors instead of taking the newly, required special courses in order to be able to RX some narcotics, are closing up practice. Even the benzodiazepines are included and this effects people not only with muscle spasms but with anxiety. As a former (RN Educator) health care provider in the medical field, I do lots of research to find answers to try and improve my health. I thought the dark ages of treating chronic pain was over but it is getting worse. I had a young doctor tell me what "my"pain was (subjective) and caused by my narcotic without checking my back (with my street cloths on). My neck is deviated to the left with my cervical fusion (dystonia) and I have at least various sizes of 20 knots in my back mostly in the lumbar and cervical fusion sites which he didn't feel. My chiropractor was floored. He has been working to separate these muscles that are on top of muscles to help them regrow and function for once as normal. I feel sadness reading stories of pain people because it reminds me when I first started years ago on my journey, before so many complications, wondering why certains symptoms occurred and how do I try to improve my function making my body better? Pray everyone gets good help and hope I can help someone.

I like your response as a retired LPN I also do t alot of research on fibro ,pain and found what works for me ,but it may not work for other.I started out with gold shots ,didn't help much,prednisone but only a few ,then Lyrica ,didn't help ,but now on high doses of magnesium ,this helps me better then anything else The government is placing us who need the opiods,narcotics for our pain ,in the same category as drug addicts.Very unfair.We have to help each other with the knowledge we have.

Thank you for your comments on those of us who find narcotics helpful. I have been taking them for many years responsibly with the care a very forward-thinking well-trained pain management doctor. He is trying his best to deal with all the regulations and does a lot to help minimize the hassle for his patients who have shown him they are responsible and trustworthy with these medications. I never feel like I am being treated like a drug-addict. Without these medications my career (I am a professor at a major University) would have ended years ago because I would not have been able to keep teaching and being on my feet for all these years. I encourage people to find a good pain management doctor who shows them the respect and trust and care that they deserve. My pain management doctor also does many different things and recognizes that pain management medicine is not a one size fits all practice. He uses injections, nutrition, spinal cord stimulation, supplements, and many new and cutting edge techniques. He also refers to other doctors and practitioners who he thinks may be helpful. He is very available to me and his office is extremely responsive. His care kept me out of a surgery that I think I would have regretted many many years ago. This is what we all deserve and while I have terrible pain almost every day which increases as I get older, I know that I can continue the search that we all are on for what works for us with the help of a caring and knowledgeable doctor. It took me a long time to find him. When I began my search, he was probably still in medical school. I guess my message is don't give up on finding good pain management people. And speak up in defense of those of us who use narcotic medications responsibly. We need to advocate for ourselves.

There are alot of us who are responsible about narcotics and I wish the higher ups,Gov.would see this instead of stereotyping us who truly need our meds for pain. It's important to have a good Dr.who ,doesn't throw in the towel ,.

Hello Lynne, welcome. Here is a discussion you may want to read through and feel free to jump in wherever you feel comfortable:

- fibromyalgia pain, https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/fibromyalgia-pain-28e002/

Welll...I have some difficulty distinguishing what works for fibro pain, and what works for pain caused by (for instance) those two torn rotator cuffs + surgery. And, does the shoulder pain cause some of the pain in other parts?

I have used ibuprofen, Tylenol, and Tramadol (together) to good effect for the post-surgical pain. Had to drop the ibuprofen recently because of stomach irritation, but got a topical gel with an NSAID in it.

For some of the fibro pain, I get Trigger Point Injections in my glutes, which helps in my sacro-iliac joints and up my back. It’s remarkable that they don’t hurt too much at all, given that a recent ear piercing and acupuncture were terribly painful. They do however use a bit of lidocaine on the needles for the insertions.) I have also gotten them in my shoulder which releases spasms up in my neck. This is via my physiatrist in a pain management practice.

I also am on Gabapentin, which may or may not be helpful; hard to tell for sure. I was slow to ramp up to three pills a day, as the side effects are •not very pleasant, but •wear off fairly soon. Shortly after I began taking them, though, I did have a nice 8 week remission, with relatively few symptoms at all.

When I began to come out of that remission, I stubbornly screamed NOOOOO (in my head) and tried to remain sort of active, moving my big muscles, which does help with fibromyalgia. For those of you who have pain from another source, a lot of fibro fixes won’t apply. It’s just a strange, new game, the rules for which I don’t know! And nobody does.