Chronic Pain members - Welcome, please introduce yourself

@saninmich

Hi Sandy and welcome to Mayo Connect! I noticed that your posts have not gotten a lot of responses, so I wanted to let you know I'm following you. I'm a Volunteer Mentor and not a medical professional so I can't give diagnoses or medical advice. I do offer my experience, knowledge, and support.

I'm also responding to your latest post about shoveling snow when you first injured your back. Number 1, my recommendation is that you stop mowing or doing anything that causes you pain in your back! Don't lift anything that weighs more than 5 or 10 pounds either. Don't bend over to pick things up, instead stoop down using your knees, thighs and legs. If you can't do that, let someone else pick things up for you. You are going to need to accept that there are limits to the physical things you can do now.

Back injuries are serious stuff, and you don't want to cause yourself further problems in the future. If you haven't had an MRI, CT scan and/or x-rays of your spine yet, I recommend you ask your doctor to do those - my preference is an MRI as it shows both tissues and bones. You may have a bigger problem and you need to know what's going on in your back and nerves.

Since chiropractic seems to help, I would say continue it, but check with your doctor first. If your doctor doesn't want to do the MRI, etc., then either ask for a referral to a neurologist who can evaluate your back issues, or go to one yourself if you don't need a referral. Just taking pain pills and muscle relaxants treats your symptoms only. When you go, tell them you want the most conservative treatment recommendations for your diagnosis.

I'm making these recommendations from my own experiences with my back. I suffered for many years (35 or so) with lumbar pain, and the last 6 years with neck and arm pain before it got so bad that I ended up in a wheelchair! I finally got an xray in the ER for my neck and arm pain and discovered I had a compression fracture of my C7. No wonder I was in pain! It had already healed, but knowing the cause helps me to take better care of myself and listen to my body.

I was then sent to an orthopedic surgeon to get an MRI and CT scan of my entire spine. I won't go into detail about the mess they found, but it was substantial. After discussing options, I chose to have a laminectomy to remove the piece of my L5-S1 that was impinging on my spinal cord. It was a 2 hour outpatient procedure that provided immediate pain relief for the left side sciatica and nerve pain running down my leg to my toes. Whew!

But, I still had chronic pain on my right sciatic area and down my leg to my toes. I couldn't walk or use steps without extreme pain. However, the surgery for my L4 involves fusing the disks and I really didn't want to do that. Surgeon told me to try everything else to relieve my pain first. So, I tried 2 rounds of PT, acupuncture, massage, and regular chiropractic for no pain relief.

I then read about ART, Active Release Technique, which is a specialized version of chiropractic. The goal is to release muscles and nerves that have gotten bound together due to a trauma. (This sounds like your shoveling incident.) The chiropractic doctor I chose who has many certifications in ART, told me I needed 2 sessions a week for 3 weeks at $600 total. I was nervous above committing to that much money if it didn't work, but I decided to try it. After these sessions I was nearly completely pain free! I continued to get a treatment a month, and now at 1.25 years later, I am still free of that extreme pain. I do have occasional pain, but Tylenol usually takes care of it. If not, I go to my chiropractor for a session of ART. I have withdrawn from all the pain medications I was on, and I feel good. I'm nearly 70 years old.

Please keep in touch and let me know how you're doing and if this post was helpful for you. Gentle hugs. Take care of yourself.

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Hi All,

I've read a lot of your introductions so I know I'm in good company. I have lived in constant pain for 5 years now, both heat and cold pain. I was a mountaineer and apparently I hurt myself playing in the cold for too long, we believe. Sub zero conditions at high altitude for many hours, while, also, having Raynaud's, come to find out is not a good combination for, at least, this body. If I get chilled, even just into high 60s, I can go into a state of pain levels 8-9.5 for days with the only remedy but to heat my core to drastic temps. It caught me by surprise in August when the outside temps dipped to low 60s, and there I was for two days and two nights. I also have FMS as a secondary illness, requiring higher than I'd like doses of Lyrica and Cymbalta and others, just because the nerve damage that's caused during those times when I'm in that level of pain. It's not just in the mind, the body is actually tearing itself to pieces. So, I live at 5-7 pain level, whole body, every nerve, and take as much Opiate as they'll give me, but you have to know, nothing touches Cold Pain (unless you guys or gals know something I don't). I've certainly read all I can on it, and the genes that express it, etc. They are working on drugs to stop it, but will probably charge an arm and leg for them because they are for the certain kind of chemotherapy drug that expresses TRPM8, the cold pain gene (plus another one).

Anyway, I'm not looking forward to winter. I moderate our FMS support group, but I had to tell them what I was thinking that I don't know if I can handle doing this again. Of course they told me to leave the state, blah, blah, so easy to say. I just sent off for Quicken Will maker, but of course I'm a fighter. It's just when I was inside those two days in August, at true 9.5 for the second day, I knew I was ready. Well, I do have a Functional Diagnostic Nutrition doctor is very good and is investigating with me, a few new appointments to go to. Anyone heard of NES? My psychotherapist's dogs tumor magically shrunk to nothing just drinking coded water. What the heck, I'll even try that...

Well, I hope you all find your health and answers, and path to Love.

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Hi All,

I've read a lot of your introductions so I know I'm in good company. I have lived in constant pain for 5 years now, both heat and cold pain. I was a mountaineer and apparently I hurt myself playing in the cold for too long, we believe. Sub zero conditions at high altitude for many hours, while, also, having Raynaud's, come to find out is not a good combination for, at least, this body. If I get chilled, even just into high 60s, I can go into a state of pain levels 8-9.5 for days with the only remedy but to heat my core to drastic temps. It caught me by surprise in August when the outside temps dipped to low 60s, and there I was for two days and two nights. I also have FMS as a secondary illness, requiring higher than I'd like doses of Lyrica and Cymbalta and others, just because the nerve damage that's caused during those times when I'm in that level of pain. It's not just in the mind, the body is actually tearing itself to pieces. So, I live at 5-7 pain level, whole body, every nerve, and take as much Opiate as they'll give me, but you have to know, nothing touches Cold Pain (unless you guys or gals know something I don't). I've certainly read all I can on it, and the genes that express it, etc. They are working on drugs to stop it, but will probably charge an arm and leg for them because they are for the certain kind of chemotherapy drug that expresses TRPM8, the cold pain gene (plus another one).

Anyway, I'm not looking forward to winter. I moderate our FMS support group, but I had to tell them what I was thinking that I don't know if I can handle doing this again. Of course they told me to leave the state, blah, blah, so easy to say. I just sent off for Quicken Will maker, but of course I'm a fighter. It's just when I was inside those two days in August, at true 9.5 for the second day, I knew I was ready. Well, I do have a Functional Diagnostic Nutrition doctor is very good and is investigating with me, a few new appointments to go to. Anyone heard of NES? My psychotherapist's dogs tumor magically shrunk to nothing just drinking coded water. What the heck, I'll even try that...

Well, I hope you all find your health and answers, and path to Love.

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Try Gene sight testing, you might get some answers

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@ laluzhikerIt seems so easy to just say move but only if life was so simple non of us would be here talking about resolutions. I do not have experience with your diagnosis but do know what it’s like to be in constant pain and I understand that even the strongest get weary from time to time.

Praying you find relief soon.
Dawn

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@dawn_giacabazi
Dawn,
That is what people don't understand when it comes to chronic or acute pain.
I even had this discussion with the nurse practioner the other day.
She says she see a big difference in my overall demeanor.
I tried to explain to her that when you are in pain (regardless of how much), ALL the time, it is exhausting, physically, mentally and emotionally.
It just 'gets' to you.
I would have thought she knew this, but apparently she didn't.
Many people think that just because your pain level is not too high, you should be 'feeling' good.
I suppose what they say about when you can't 'see' the illness, it is difficult for people to understand it.
Guess I should wrap each part of my body that hurts.
This way, people will 'see' the pain.
They'll call me Mummy instead of Mommy. lol

Here's to a pain free day!
Ronnie (GRANDMAr)

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Ronnie,
That is so true!! It certainly helps to have a sense of humor. Thanks for making me chuckle!! Empathy is a tough lesson for many people to learn. Until they have to endure a crisis themselves. But somehow you me and so many others drum up the strength to get up and keep going. For myself that strength is from god and for my three children.
What is your motivation?

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@dawn_giacabazi
Dawn
I wish I could say I get my strength from God, but although I am spiritual, I am not religious.
However, I do get my strength from my family.
I have 3 grands I want to 'play' with.
They are a huge motivation.
They range in age from 4 yo to 7.5 yo (can't forget that 1/2 year).
I hate the idea that they remember me or refer to me as the grandma how is always 'sick'.
Then there is my husband.
He waits on me hand and foot and I can see that there are many days he is exhausted himself.
I want him to relax and to be able to go back to doing the things he loves, like golfing.
Finally, my last motivation is quality of life.
We retired fairly young.
I was 59 and my hubby stopped working when he was 55.
We had great plans for our retirement.
We moved to Florida to get away from the cold.
We wanted to travel and do something most men don't like.....shop.
Needless to say, both are difficult, if not impossible, due to all my issues.
I am now 63 and my hubby is 67.
My mom passed when she was 66 from lung cancer.
Although she did get to meet her grands, she did not get to see how all of us wound up.
I want to see my grands grow up and my children age.
My oldest grandchild (7 1/2 yo) told me last week that she doesn't want me to die.
I told her I'm not dying, although all she hear is that Grandma doesn't feel well.
I also told her I plan on being around a LONG time so that I can see her graduate from college, get married and have children of her own.
She said, "Really Grandma? You'll be too old to be a great-grandma."
She is probably right.
All I know is that I want to be around to watch them develop into the WONDERFUL adults I know they will become!
Life is speeding by and I want us to take advantage of the time we left together to do the things we love to do.
So, those are my 3 major things/people that give me strenght and the courage to go on.

Ronnie (GRANDMAr)

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