Hi everyone! I just wanted to introduce myself and say Hi!

My name is Melanie and I’ve lived with chronic pain for last 5 years or so. I’ve undergone 5 spinal neck surgeries in the last 4 years, the last of which was October 2019. I am now fully fused between C2-T2. My first surgery involved 2 artificial discs which failed. I’ve had a spinal cord stimulator implanted, which didn’t help, so it was removed in my last surgery. I have a fantastic pain specialist and spinal surgeon who coordinate care together, but they agree that I will probably live with chronic pain the rest of my life. I lost a lot of neck motion in the last 2 surgeries and live with chronic daily headaches as a side effect of the added force being exerted at the base of my skull. We are planning on a transition from high dose dilaudid to suboxone in the next few months. Few people appreciate or understand how draining chronic pain can be and how it limits activities of daily living.

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