Chronic Pain members - Welcome, please introduce yourself

@faithwalker007 good point. Perhaps it was a projected AI being giving Jim this information. Consistency is important you know.

Lol oh my, maybe we already have socialized brainwashed healthcare in America!!!

Thank you Lori for saying it so well. They just don't understand it they make it more and more difficult for us to help us because pain I fix everything in our lives in our body and our soul. If they only understood how important it is to have the right pain doctors and understanding of how to treat us. Depending what kind of doctor you see and if you see a neurosurgeon they want to operate. Hey doctor want to put stimulators in you that's where they make their money cuz they don't make any money dispensing opioids. I had to pain doctors drop me because they didn't want to treat me anymore cuz they couldn't understand my pain and my condition called arachnoiditis. They don't know how to treat it and they don't know what it is and I don't know how to diagnose it and whether I still have a spinal leak. Anybody can help me on that matter I appreciate it. Right now I'm in emergency room we paid on my left side and I don't know what that's coming from. Thanks Donald

@donfeld you said yesterday that you were at the emergency room. How are you doing today?

@donfeld you said yesterday that you were at the emergency room. How are you doing today?

Hi everyone. Yesterday I had my followup visit with the neurosurgeon, and was less than thrilled. She wouldn't answer any of my questions about pain control and neuropathy. Her response to every question was that she's a surgeon, not a neurologist. Since my pain level is no less than it was before surgery, she had done all she could for me, unless/until a doctor ordered some procedure which she would be happy to perform. That was mostly in reference to my question about a pain pump implant. I have to find a doctor who would order that and manage it. She only puts it in and doesn't do the management of medication.

And speaking of meds, she commented in passing that morphine doesn't treat neuropathy pain. (Sound familiar, @faithwalker007 ?) You can imagine how I felt about her saying that. She also was really surprised that my pcp told me that if he learned that I was using any cannabis products he would stop prescribing any pain meds. That, even though any form of cannabis is legal here in Oregon.

She told me that because my pain is from my knees to my toes, a DRG stimulator is contraindicated. It treats only a very specific location, unlike the scs that is supposed to treat larger areas. So, I'm going to get my SCS adjusted soon, and give it another try. It's possible that it could be programmed to become effective now that my spinal canal is no longer being constricted. We shall see.

I'm continuing to wean myself off morphine, down to one 15mg in the morning now. I'll continue at that level for a week. Last time I tapered off it I had no withdrawal symptoms, to see at what level it's treating the pain in my feet and ankles. I have an appointment with the neurologist next Tuesday, and I'm going to be asking for clear answers that the surgeon wouldn't give. The plan is to try Cymbalta again. I started to try it a couple of years ago, but that was during the same time that I tapered off morphine, so I probably didn't give it a fair chance. A month after that I have an appointment with the pain specialist - he has told me that he doesn't deal with pumps - I'd have to find a different pain doctor for that.

The surgeon was very pleased with the healing of the surgery incision. I had a little pain from it for 3-4 days, but none since then. (I did ice it a lot the first week after surgery.)

So, @lorirenee1 I guess that a DRG stimulator is not in my future.

I've spent more than an hour writing this, so I need to stop and get outside to my chores.

Jim

@jimhd Hi Jim, So sorry your appointment with your neurosurgeon went so poorly. I guess she sees herself as a surgeon, period. To not address the reason you had your surgery is pathetic, and how she lives with herself is beyond me. My breast surgeon once told me she became specifically a breast surgeon because it is a more compassionate area within the surgical profession. She is a hugger, a little love. I feel blessed to have had her. I do hope that your current stimulator manages to again give you some relief, as it really does sound that the DRG is wrong for you. It really is for a lower extremity, specific body part. Sometimes I just feel it's all hog wash, and we are here, alone. Terrible attitude, I have sometimes. But the whole area of pain treatment is so limited. I hope your visit to the neurologist is a good one. At least you are going! I have kind of given up on them. I do my foot exercises religiously as the neuropathy has damaged my foot muscles. I am determined not to be in a wheel chair. Anyway, thanks so much for sharing. I am happy that at least, the surgery itself, went well in terms of healing and not getting infected. Keep us further informed, Lori Renee

Thank you, @lorirenee1

I really appreciate your input in various discussions. I know that the neurologist will start me on Cymbalta, but I don't know if I can expect any more.

Constant, unrelenting ( @sunnyflower word) pain at almost any level wears a person down. I know that lots of people have way more pain than I do, but I'm the one feeling my pain. I try not to say anything about it to my wife unless she asks, but she can't miss the signs. I know I'm not the perfect companion. She doesn't understand why I still feel a need to have a therapist.

The first time we met the neurosurgeon we were delighted and impressed. I don't know what changed. She just seemed to want me to shut up and leave.

I've been moving toward getting off morphine, but I don't think I can stand the pain, especially at night. I'm going to take it tonight. And I didn't do anything outside today because of rain. I guess I should get back to the prescribed dose before I add Cymbalta to the mix. I've learned that it doesn't work to make more than one medication change at a time.

Until I was 60, I never experienced non-stop pain for very long at a time. I surely have a greater empathy for others in pain.

Gotta go take a couple of pills so they'll be kicking in when I get in bed in an hour.

Have rest tonight, Lori.

Jim

Jim,
Please! Never compare others Pain to yours. Your pain is only felt by you. One thing to remember is that men don’t tolerate pain the same way women do.
Women have double the pain receptors because women were made to bear children.
Your suffering is nothing to belittle or dismiss in comparison to another’s. I don’t compare it to mine because I can’t feel it.
I respect you and feel for you.

Thank you, @lorirenee1

I really appreciate your input in various discussions. I know that the neurologist will start me on Cymbalta, but I don't know if I can expect any more.

Constant, unrelenting ( @sunnyflower word) pain at almost any level wears a person down. I know that lots of people have way more pain than I do, but I'm the one feeling my pain. I try not to say anything about it to my wife unless she asks, but she can't miss the signs. I know I'm not the perfect companion. She doesn't understand why I still feel a need to have a therapist.

The first time we met the neurosurgeon we were delighted and impressed. I don't know what changed. She just seemed to want me to shut up and leave.

I've been moving toward getting off morphine, but I don't think I can stand the pain, especially at night. I'm going to take it tonight. And I didn't do anything outside today because of rain. I guess I should get back to the prescribed dose before I add Cymbalta to the mix. I've learned that it doesn't work to make more than one medication change at a time.

Until I was 60, I never experienced non-stop pain for very long at a time. I surely have a greater empathy for others in pain.

Gotta go take a couple of pills so they'll be kicking in when I get in bed in an hour.

Have rest tonight, Lori.

Jim