Chronic Pain members - Welcome, please introduce yourself

Hi
My name is Hannah. I have autoimmune issues and also CFS. I try and mediatate for chronic pain, as well as heat and CBD...Nice meeting everyone!

Hello, I am Anne. I suffer from pain that wakes me up at night. Pain mostly in my right hip and right leg. Years ago I had an attack of bursitis in this same hip. Just reading through a lot of posts and people that take Gabapentin. My Vet always prescribes Gaba for my dogs. To me it is an excuse to not give you real pain meds. Not that they would anyway. I am surprised to see how many have chronic pain. I hesitate to go to the doctor. It seems like they are not interested or just want to refer you out. Anyway good to be here and share.

@annec2525 Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. As you can see, we share our journeys and experiences in the effort to support each other and show what has worked for us! May I ask you, what are you doing for your bursitis now? I am having the same problem in my left side, and dr is getting approval for an MRI. Getting decent sleep at night is something to hope for, isn't it?

Chronic pain is different for so many people. This is a safe place to share, and not be criticized [I hope!] for our choices.

How did you find Mayo Connect?
Ginger

@annec2525 Id like to add my welcome Anne . I am going for a MRI tomorrow for rt hip pain and going into my leg . My rheumatologist ordered it . I hope it is only brusitis and nothing more . I use to use gaba but it did nothing for me . I was given it for neuropathy in my thighs as I have had 2 back fractures and my nerve are impacted by this. A friend just had a injection by a pain Dr and feels better this is not a cure but at least relieves you of pain. Have you given this a thought ? I see my pain Dr in March and will take my MRI to him . We are all pain warriors on here pain is so different for everyone. Take care

Hi Hannah! Welcome to our group! I have a variety of chronic pain issues and try many different things. I try to walk daily(even with the freezing temps, although for awhile I’m going to have to walk inside because I get frostbite when it’s below zero); at home physical therapy exercises; stationary recumbent bike riding; gluten free diet; ice; heat; only sitting about an hour at a time-alternating between slow walking around the house or laying-dependent on my level of fatigue; reading; keeping in contact with others (phone, zoom, or messaging); and good, quality sleep (medication assisted-due to a sleep disorder). Nice meeting you😊

Gosh I hate going to the doctor but seeing a pain specialist makes sense. I keep trying things like exercise, tumeric and natural remedies but it is not working. Sometimes I wake up and say oh no, please not again. You had 2 back fractures? Oh my gosh, that is really scary. Let me know what you find out, we sound very similar. Good Luck!

Mayo came up in my FB feed. I am so glad I found this. I have some 800 mg ibuprophen I take when it wakes me up. One time I ended up in the ER with a muscle spasm so severe in my neck I was crying in pain. They gave me ibuprophen and valuim in an IV and to my amazement it worked. So my general practice doctor allows me to keep a few valium around just in case I have a severe pain attack. I have used the ibuprophen with the valium and it does work. Getting a prescription for valium is almost as hard as getting pain meds.
Nothing worse than waking up in pain. Well, except not waking up at all. LOL

What medication do you take for sleep if you don't mind me asking? I think all the things you do make sense and probably help.

I had a toenail removel about 2 mths ago now that is still very painful. I was told that the procedure done to stop the toenail from growing back has caused a chemical burn. I have serious burning sensations of pain shooting from my cuticle and nothing so far seems to help ease the pain. What can I do?

@annec2525
Hi Anne, my wife has (like many here) a number of pain issues, one of which is peripheral neuropathy. She is reticent to see any doctors or be prescribed any medications if she can possibly help it. She has always been very sensitive to everything, medicines included. She too has tried many things which are non drug related for her pain. After all else has failed to give her much relief, she always gets the best relief from marijuana. Medical marijuana is still illegal is this antiquated state of ours, but we lived in California for a time a few years ago and she got a legal stockpile there which she still parcels out to this day. She says that she would not know what to do without it. And the side effects are mild compared to most other medications. In fact, she doesn't really experience any side effects. So if this is an option for you, you may want to consider it before getting yourself entangled with other more heavy duty drugs that may or may not help but that can certainly harm. Just a suggestion. Best, Hank