Chronic Pain members - Welcome, please introduce yourself

I have spinal stenosis, fibromyalgia, etc. I have been so out out it that I have forgotten to take my meds in the morning several times which leads to grating pains in the back of my legs and I cannot lay in bed to sleep. I, tok, cannot get in the tub. Exactly how do you use epsom salts with a washcloth- sorry if I sound dumb
Thanks so much for the idea - you may have helped with my agony at these times. Bless you for your thoughtfulness !
Marcy

Same here. I tend to get bad UTIS from being diabetic, I think so, anyway. Hope she gets through this soon. TG she has you
She may not feel blessed right now, but she is.
I keep having one problem after another and 5 years ago I lost my tower of strength and have been trying to get through things without him.
Marcy

Yes ice is our friend.

I'll check it the turmeric tea...and arnica cream thanx. Did the rest. Just exhausted. I truly don't know any more. Thank you.

@jupiterkaren

Welcome to Mayo Connect. I am a Volunteer Mentor and as such I cannot diagnose medical problems or provide medical treatment. I do speak from my experience and also give you support.

First I want to acknowledge that I heard your story and your pain because of your husband's incredible amount of pain. I don't think this is normal, but I'm not a medical professional. I can't imagine how much it worries you to hear him crying out in pain all day. Do you have a support system where you live?

I hope you get some answers at the Cleveland Clinic. They have an excellent reputation. If not, are you close to a Mayo Medical Center? If so, I recommend that you take your husband there for an evaluation. If you're not close, please consider getting an appointment with an orthopedic doctor at a Mayo in Arizona, Florida, or Minnesota. His current doctor can make a referral and that usually speeds up the process. It sounds to me like an MRI might reveal what is going on.

I'm so sorry to hear about your husband's pain and your suffering as a result. Please let us know more about what's going on.

Gail
Volunteer Mentor

Thank you. Mayo in Jacksonville, can't take him that far. Cleveland Friday. Prayers and fingers crossed for him. He's tired.

Hello everyone, it's been awhile since I have been here but I am here today to tell everyone something very important. I also have chronic pain and have for years, I have tried everything but it's still there. But that's not what I am here for today. I am here to plead with everyone to make a good effort to relieve your pain with natural remedies, I know they don't always work but try anything and everything before taking narcotic pain relievers. My sister- in- law and my best friend refused anything natural, she claimed she only got relief with large doses of Percosets and Klonopin for her anxiety. She tried Methadone and Subutex and did very well on both, for a while but they stopped working for her and she was back doctor and hospital hopping to get more of what she said helped. It got so bad that she was asking strangers for a ride to the hospital because she had called EMS so many times she didn't want to call them again. She went to the hospital twice in one day, for a while, then they threatened to have her picked up if she came back again. The hospital refused to give her any narcotics and the Drs in town knew her well and they too refused to give her anything. Once in a while, she would find a Dr. that didn't know her and would give her narcotics, but once he found out she had gone through 90 Percosets in less than a week, he too refused to give her anymore. She spent her bill money every month, ( she was on SSI ) on pills, I did everything I knew to help her, but the drugs had too strong a hold on her. My sister-in-law died last week in her sleep. No matter the cause of death it would be drug-related. She was 58 years old. A wonderful woman that I love still and will miss always. I saw a woman go from 0 to 10 in a matter of weeks. Her addiction cost her her life. Yes, she had chronic pain, but X-rays, MRIs, CT scans, showed arthritis, maybe some Fibromyalgia but nothing that would have caused her as much pain as she claimed to be in. It was her addiction making her pain so bad. Not that she wasn't in pain, because the pain was very real to her, but her need for the pills outweighed everything else. She gave up on herself, the depression and anxiety became so bad she refused to bath or change her clothes, she wouldn't eat, saying she was in too much pain to eat. She wasn't sleeping much, she would wake up every 2 hours and would find it hard to go back to sleep. She lost weight, her complexion changed, She would take the pills and sleep for hours during the days, hence her not sleeping at night. She smoked and would fall asleep with a cig. in her hand and had burned holes in all her clothes, floors and her bed. I tried everything I could, I sought the help of Dr's, DSS, Social workers and even went to the magistrate for advice but no one would help, She was a drug addict and that's all they could see. They overlooked the fact that she was a human being with a huge problem. No one cares when you are an addict. I am telling this story in hopes of saving lives. Yes, chronic pain is bad but so is the addiction. Pain won't kill you but addiction will. And I might want to add, no one starts off with the intentions of being an addict. It happens slowly, you start taking narcotic pain relievers as directed, one day it just doesn't seem to work so you take one extra, ok that helped, then one day you discover your pills are running out before time to refill, what happened to them? you didn't take them, or did you? you certainly wouldn't take all those pills, someone must have stolen some of them. You begin to think about who was in your home that would have taken them, you turn on your friends because they stole from you, how dare they. You are in pain and have nothing to take, damn people, stealing your pills. You get more pills and for a while, they are working fine then it starts all over again. One just isn't enough anymore, call the Dr. but he says he can't give you anymore and the cycle begins. Then one day you don't care about anyone or anything except getting that next Percoset. You are now in a living hell and the people that love you feel it too, they worry, they plead with you, you begin to lose weight, you have no concern for your appearance, you don't bath, your hair begins to smell bad, you are in more pain now than ever before, you go from Dr to Dr. hospital to hospital, you beg for something for your pain but no one listens. Can't they understand the pain you're in? They offer you something else for pain, Are they frigging kidding? your pain is far to bad for anything else except Perocet, after all, YOU KNOW they work, whats the matter with everyone? People have changed, And life just lost its meaning. You forget things, you hurt and no one will help you. Then one day you go to bed and your problems end. You are no longer in pain, you are happy and healthy. What about the ones you left behind? you know the ones who love you so very much. what about them? The heartache, the tears, the emptiness. So folks, please, stay away from the narcotics. I know, I know, you got it all under control, you would never abuse your meds, not you. Okay, have it your way. Do me a favor though, get your will and your insurance up to date. I hope this will touch someone's heart and save their life.

If there isn't a "Pain Monthly'" maybe we can be the ones to inspire others to start the process! I think it is very difficult to imagine that people can hurt all day long and actually not have anything much to help with the pain. Doctors are very leary of giving pain patients the medicine that might really help them because of the addiction problem. I was very fortunate in that we have finally found some things that work. Our health care system is broken. I am thankful for my insurance, even though some things have to be paid out of pocket. I used to be in such terrible pain I wondered if my family would be better off without me. I don't feel that way anymore. And I want to help others who suffer, because I have been there. I could have a flare at any time. So I try to be grateful and not take anything for granted. Thank you for sharing your story!

I have a brace as well, but I hardly ever wear it. It is made of hard plastic, and hurts like the dickens if you try to work with it on. It's hard to sit down with it on, hard to bend, hard to drive. But I keep it because it does come in handy. Hang in there. You are not alone.

@jupeterkaren God bless you