Chronic Pain members - Welcome, please introduce yourself

also, when I shop at the Salvation Army thrift store and the Humane Society thrift store I always see walkers, canes, boots, potty chairs and other important items. Sometimes I see them given for a dollar and in good condition. love, peach4141444

@ yes Parus, there is still some pain but the pain was so severe that i am crying with happiness about the mostly relief I am getting. Because with the 2 bulging disks and the pinched nerve I have in the lower spine and 2 pinched nerves in the upper spine (neck) I was so glad for the help with the peripheral neuropathy pain. With the rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis and the many other painful medical issues I have I do appreciate whatever help I can get. And one way I do get much help is when I help others in any way I can. What a loving feeling it is when I help others. I feel as though you do this as well and we all thank you for this. Peach414144

I sometimes experience this, too. If I get anxious, or someone makes me angry, I can feel the muscles in my lower back spasm causing severe pain. Being in this group, I've earned a lot. There are good suggestions here, and it's a place where I can vent when the pain is really bad. I'm also a member of the Depression Group which helps me, too. My physical pain is sometimes brought on by anxiety, which depresses me, and then I get angry with myself because I'm depressed, and then the pain becomes more severe. It's just a great, big MESS that goes round and round. I truly wish you luck. And if I may be so bold, you might want to also join the Depression Group. Take care. @cognac

Hi @cognac. I can certainly relate. Angry, mad, anxiety, stress, plus pain = SUCKS!I I sometimes think the depression, and anxiety brings on more pain as I can feel my muscles tighten. I’m antidepressants but really don’t think they do anything. Next visit to my dr. I want to see what she thinks. I am totally unhappy in my marriage and want out...so that does nothing to help me! I’m 64 and shouldn’t have to live it out this miserable, but financially it would be very tough living on disability. Listen to me...I think I need to go vent to the depression group!! Thanks for listening!

@wsh66 LOL. Yes, my husband is a lucky man. We lived for 20 years in rural Missouri where we owned and operated a bed & breakfast inn, and for awhile we also had a restaurant and a miniature horse ranch. There was a lot of physical work involved with all of those things, and we were both were office (brain) workers before moving to Missouri. Needless to say, we were unprepared for the demands on our bodies. I was carrying trays of food with plates for up to 6 people and bent over washing dishes for hours in commercial sinks that were too low for my height. My back hurt so badly all the time, but I kept going anyway because I had to. This was our only source of income and we barely broke even. Taking care of the horses was another hard time. I was living alone on the farm for nearly a year before my husband could join me. The 20 acre farm plus 16 miniatures, 3 quarter horses and 20 chickens took their toll on me.

A year and 1/2 ago I had a laminectomy for my L5-S1 disk that was impinging on my spinal cord, due to acute pain and needing a wheelchair. The outpatient surgery eliminated my left side pain, but the right side was still debilitating. My surgeon said the L4 pain relief would require rods and pins, so he recommended that I try everything else first. I tried all the usual things, PT, massage, acupuncture, exercise (when I could). Then I read about ART, Active Release Technique, on this Connect site. I researched it and found a qualified chiropractor locally. Dr. Todd Andrews said it would take 6 sessions, 2 per week for 3 weeks to work on the muscles and nerves that were bound together. He was right, and to my complete amazement, I was pretty much pain free at that point. I can walk, climb stairs, swim, and do pretty much anything I want without back pain now. I continued to go for monthly sessions for a year. He worked on my shoulder pain during that time as well. Since returning from my vacation, I haven't needed a session. I do still have some pain at night, but it doesn't keep me awake and it's tolerable. I am very careful not to do things that will reinjure my back now. When my osteoarthritis pain gets to me, I use the CBD or THC tincture. My husband uses it daily for his arthritis pain, but he won't go to the doctor about the pain. He's right as they will just tell him to take Tylenol or Ibuprofen, which he already does. He does OK with the THC, but it's too powerful for me.

I really hope you are able to use CBD, as it's accepted in nearly all states now. I may have said before that it also helped me withdraw from Tramadol 50 mg. I was able to handle the withdrawal symptoms when they got bad, by using 6 mg of CBD oil subliminally 3 times a day.

Gail
Volunteer Mentor

Thank you so much all for your valuable replies. Sounds like a trip to a rheumatologist would be a good idea with looking at these replies. Currently, I take low levels of gabapentin (100mg per day). I am not really taking anything for inflammation. I just bought some MSM powder - my friend has back problems and he swears by this- he advised me to take it 2x a day for inflammation. For anyone else with inflammatory problems reading this - it’s worth a try and has good reviews online. For the tiredness, I have taken B vitamins for sometime now which really does help. I take iron for the fibroid blood loss. I just started on the magnesium a couple of weeks ago so I am yet to see whether this has an effect. Sometimes I try ginseng and I think it can help a little. I try and keep things as natural as possible - I am scared to become addicted to chemical painkillers. Any more ideas welcomed 🙂

Thank you so much for the reply @wsh66 . I had never heard of a pain pump - so good to learn about this as I do worry about the longer term effects on my stomach of all the ibuprofen I take. Furthmore - very interested in your gluten-free advice for inflammation. It must be hard to do as gluten seems to be in so many things. But anything is worth a try ! Thanks again

@kristacat I too welcome you to Mayo Connect. As a Volunteer Mentor, I am not a medical professional and can offer only my experience and support to members. I am so sorry to hear of your pain at a comparatively young age. I am nearly 70, so I accept a certain amount of pain at this age.

When I was your age, I had what my doctor said was bursitis in my hips. My pain was terrible and often I felt like my legs were dragging. He gave me shots (cortisone?) at the time and they helped a little. I kept going anyway. I didn't have X rays, CT scan, or MRI at that point. It wasn't until I was in my 60's and the pain put me in bed and a wheelchair that I finally got an MRI at the urging of my doctors. I'd had a bad car accident when I was 35, where they used the jaws of life to remove me from the car. I'm sure I injured my back then, but nothing was done at the time. My MRI revealed multiple lumbar problems and a compression fracture of my C7. I ended up 1.5 years ago having a laminectomy for my L5-S1 disk that was impinging on my spinal cord. It ended my right side pain. If you look above this post about 3 posts, I have given more details about what I did for my other side pain.

-Have you had X rays or an MRI of your spine? If so, what did they find?
-Are you seeing a spine specialist? Mine was excellent, and not surger-happy.
-If you haven't already been seen and had an MRI, I recommend starting that process.

Your doctor who diagnosed you with bursitis is taking the most conservative track, which is a good thing. However, as with mine, if he is wrong, more damage can be done by you without knowing it. You are so young that it's important for you to have the correct diagnosis to take the right corrective action. A second opinion is a reasonable action right now.

I also recommend CBD and/or THC (marijuana) oil taken sublingually for pain, rather than addictive pain medications. I took Tramadol 50 mg 4 times a day for over a year, and Gabapentin 350 mg 2 times a day for 4 months and had to withdraw from both. It wasn't easy (CBD helped me withdraw) so I recommend not starting if you are in a state where marijuana is legal. I recommend getting a medical marijuana prescription. My pain doctor said he can no longer prescribe for me because marijuana is still not Federally legal. That's OK by me as what I take in CBD now works for me. I did do the ART treatments I discussed above first.

I can't speak to your fibromyalgia as I'm fortunate not to have that diagnosis. I do take a multivitamin twice a day, as well as calcium citrate, and a bone support formula daily. I have good energy, which is even better when I get enough exercise. It's had to get exercise, even walking, when you're in pain I know.

I'm glad you are part of this community and I hope you find ideas and support here that let you know you're not alone.

Gail
Volunteer Mentor

Thank you so much for your reply @lioness . Yes I agree - a hot bath always helps with the fibro. Also I find lying flat on a hard floor on my back can help- although must be careful when getting back up ! Like the idea of the Epsom salts- I will definitely go out and get some of those . Thanks again for your advice

@cognac. One thing will help us get rid of your stress ,your right about anger making you hurt worse.I do I r out the hard way I was arguing with my grandson next day I was in alot of pain all over.I talked to myself ,prayer alot and finally I didn't get angry anymore I learned to let it go