Chronic Pain members - Welcome, please introduce yourself

I had my lymph nodes out due to cancer. The tumor was on my thigh and they figured it had spread to at least 2 or 3 so they took them all on my left side, mid torso and groin. I plan to go off lyrica to see how much good it's doing. If I need it back I'm going to try gabapentin, (Neurontin) as it is almost the same but 1/10th the cost. I'm being treated by a pain clinic and you have to sign a contract to not use anything they don't give you and no street drugs and in MN cannabis is still a street drug so I haven't tried it for pain. I have a pain pump in my abdomen which takes care of most pain and my body only has to cope with 3.74 mgs. of dilaudid a day while I enjoy the relief of 1122 mgs. of dilaudid a day. Sweet.

Thank you very much @gailsoph12

Your friends in Washington by and large don't give a damn about the situation in which we find ourselves. They have accepted the myth that people are being addicted to opioids by their doctors. They're ignoring the fact that most of these addicts got addicted cuz they use their pain drugs to get high. I've known a lot of addicts I've never met one that wouldn't have an excuse for why they were addicted other than themselves. You have to meet this problem on the ground where the battle is taking place. If your medical providers will not deal with your condition of pain and offer realistic Solutions then you have to keep demanding that they do that and if need be you have to take legal action. If someone is trying to take away your medicine, you have to tell them, you recognized that I had a problem with pain before this and you know that I still have a problem with pain, what do you intend to do about it? Don't let them Bake Off don't let them send you somewhere else. Put your foot down and demand.

Good morning to everyone. I don't usually text but I need a little help. One of my many diagnoses is chronic pain but I also have the diagnosis of neuropathy, fibromyalgia and arthritis (i.e. constant pain). And even this is difficult because my fingers don't work the way my mind tells them to. My biggest concern is the triangle of doctors I see. Whenever a new issue occurs or old gets worse, I get on the ,what I call it,ologist merry go round. When I make it back to the first ologist I saw either nothing happens or more medicine. The symptoms have gotten so bad this year that I have had to stop working. And even though I try second opinions all they seem to do is disagree with the previous specialist in their field and refer me to another ologist. How do you cope with the emotional hurt, disappointment and embarrassment of the merry go round. As well as the financial crisis this causes just trying to get the question answered of: what's going on and will it get any worse? I sorry, I feel that I am whining but maybe someone can help with getting off this merry go round.

@treglaser Welcome to our group of helpful people I have the same problems as you I only go to my rheumatologist who knows all about these problems I also have back issues so I go to my Orthopedic Dr for this keep your PCP informed.

I have been diagnosed with Sciatica. Terrible pain. Unusual because my tail bone area, leg and knee hurt when I walk or lie down. Sitting, meds, and ice pack seems to help. Opioid only help for about 2 hours. Went for my first physical therapy session today. Very hopeful that the stretching exercises will help.

Also, consider aquatic therapy. Even though I have loss my ability to walk, in the pool I can move with a significant less pain

Dear Treglaser: I am so sorry for you as I have been and still am going through the same problems as you. I do not want to bad mouth the doctors as i have in the past but something should and must be done for the patients such as you, I and all the others here on this earth. In my 81 years of life I have seen the medical fields go from their trying to do right to: what I think now is the hugh conglomerates taking over and trying to make money off of the patients in many, many different ways. However, I do absolve the many doctors who are doing whatever they can in the many ways that they can. What to do?

PT will probably help you. However, you must do the PT everyday without failing. Get a notebook or make a chart where you check off each exercise every time you do it and how many wraps are how many minutes you did it for. You must hold yourself accountable for PT if it's going to do you any good. When the pain becomes unbearable and the oral narcotics don't work anymore look into getting a pain pump. It's a bump in your abdomen and a catheter running up your spine that leaks tiny amounts of Narcotics directly to the nerves affected. It is a wonderful solution. You don't get any of the side effects of oral narcotics but you do get the relief, in fact 1 mg taken with the pump is the equivalent of 300 mg taken by mouth. Get the funk the pump I say the pump I say get to get the pump get the pump oh yeah get the pump.

@treglaser My exercise coach for water aerobics has us stand still and do things like bending legs ,etc. Anything is better then nothing.Just do what you can if you overdue you can hurt yourself best of luck