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Low back pain & neuropathy issues

Posted by timmckinney @timmckinney, Feb 6, 2018

68 years old and lower back+neuropathy issues make staying active hell. Used to be avid jogger and now cannot be on my feet for more than 10-15 minutes. No meds help. Very depressing.

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Stephen | @wsh66 | Feb 11, 2018
In reply to @jimhd "@timmckinney Parus is right. You're not alone. I had compression fractures in my lower back when..." + (show)
@jimhd

@timmckinney

Parus is right. You're not alone. I had compression fractures in my lower back when I fell several years ago, and have peripheral neuropathy pain in my feet. I had a spinal cord stimulator implant in June last year, and the pain in my feet has been reduced significantly, though certainly not completely. It's frustrating not to be able to walk like I used to. I take morphine sulfate contin and I'm trying Gabapentin again. I'm hoping that one of the medications for neuropathy will work, now that I have the stimulator. None of them did anything before.

Going to a pain specialist was one of the best things I've done. He took a sincere interest in helping me. I had been through all the neuropathy meds with the neurologist, with no success.

What doctors have you seen about the neuropathy? Keep pressing them to try everything they can. Don't let them give up.

Jim

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Don't let your brain hold some treatments at bay. Our brains can make us ill, they can also make us well. You don't need to move away from your chosen approaches but keeping an open mind is helpful. Your Doctors want to help you.

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lioness | @lioness | Feb 11, 2018
In reply to @grandmar "I feel your pain...literally! I am 63 (in a month) and I also suffer from chronic..." + (show)
@grandmar

I feel your pain...literally! I am 63 (in a month) and I also suffer from chronic pain. My lumbar and cervical spines are in real trouble! At one point I stopped walking for over 2 years because of the pain. I also had severe, I want to die pain in my left arm to fingers that came from my cervical spine. I went to a pain doc who gave me a shot. The shot was the answer and thankfully it worked for years!
As for my lower issues, I saw 4 docs. They all tried lots of things that didn't work. Three years ago I moved and went to one doc who was good for nothing. I searched and searched and finally found a pain doc who is about 1-2 hours away (because of traffic, it can be longer). He has worked MAGIC on my lumbar spine!. He uses a fluoroscope to find the sweet spot, based on my MRIs and what I tell him. His shots usually last 8-12 weeks if I behave.
I agree with Jim. You are too young to be homebound. Do some research in your area for a good pain doc. Read reviews by patients and other docs.

A couple of sites you can use:
vitals.com
Zocdoc.com
nationalpeerreview.com
WebMD.com
ratemds.com

Hope this helps.
Ronnie

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That's wonderful career parts are all natural ,not artificial

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Stephen | @wsh66 | Feb 11, 2018
In reply to @powerl2017 "Same hear I have three procedures no help . I am looking to stem cell info..." + (show)
@powerl2017

Same hear I have three procedures no help . I am looking to stem cell info now.

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I believe tapping works with the same energy points that acupuncture, reflexology, and Qigong use. In fact, recently my Qigong teacher has added tapping to our regimine of building and harvesting Chi, (energy). When I was the most depressed my couch guy had me do "Thought Field Therapy" which if I have the words right is the only Patented form of tapping. I used to stop intrusive thought that were really messing with my head. It only took 2 days to solve the problem. It's amazing stuff. If you haven't do, it can't hurt and it takes very little time.

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Stephen | @wsh66 | Feb 11, 2018
In reply to @powerl2017 "Same hear I have three procedures no help . I am looking to stem cell info..." + (show)
@powerl2017

Same hear I have three procedures no help . I am looking to stem cell info now.

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Well said.Street produced Fentanyl is a real problem and killer.

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lioness | @lioness | Feb 11, 2018
In reply to @wsh66 "I did go the gym today, twice. The first time i did 55 minutes on the..." + (show)
@wsh66

I did go the gym today, twice. The first time i did 55 minutes on the NuStep cross trainer. It's a wonderful device. I can't walk more than 20 feet without using a cane and even with a cane it gets very painful very fast. (I love going to the grocery store daily as It gives me social contacts and the carts make really good walkers.) Sorry, I digress. The NuStep positions your body, (seated, recumbent),in such a way that your back is not loaded at all. You work your arms with a push pull motion and your legs while pushing forward. After an hour or so I'm dripping sweat and feeling the effects on my one good lung. I've only been doing this for 3 weeks and it's getting stronger already. My cancer treatment gave me chronic hospital pneumonia which left me with COPD and my right lung collapsed and the diaphragm paralyzed. With only one to work with I need to make it stronger.

After my workout I took my 31 year old son who has Down's syndrome to work at the Pizza Barn where he has been a dish washer for the ;last 15 years. Then I went back to the gym for a complete massage with coconut oil and hot rocks. Massage won't cure your pain issues but think about it. When you have chronic pain how often does your whole body feel really great for a solid hour? Every muscle, every joint every pore on your skin is transformed into an instrument of pleasure. We're usually happy to just not hurt. This is way beyond just not hurting. This is pleasure. Your body, the source of your pain, the source of all your displeasure and you depression is transformed into the source of your pleasure. The warm oil, the hot rocks the masseuses powerful and skilled hands. It's just wonderful.

Alternative therapies like Massage, Qigong, Yoga, Thi Chi, Acupuncture, tapping, (Thought Field Therapy), and Healing Touch may not cure you. They might not replace your drugs or your spinal stimulator or your surgeon but they do all contribute to improving your general sense of well being and when that happens your pain or your experience of your pain lessens and improves. These alternatives may not be founded in modern science, you may nor be able to test them and produce repeatable results but they are not scalpels and pills nor are they parlor tricks and yes they don't work for everyone. You're dealing with nontraditional healers and you must have confidence in them and in what they do. They are bringing you gifts that existed for thousand s of years before there was modern medicine. Many of the oldest come from the east where they had highly organized bureaucracies, organized cities and libraries while we of European descent were still running around hitting each other with rocks. These are not stupid peoples. They hung on to things like Qigong because they work.

I don't use Homeopathy. I do or have used Qigong, massage, Cranial sacral Release, Yoga, Tapping and Healing Touch. In fact, tomorrow afternoon I'll be receiving Healing Touch for an hour and a half and I'll be getting from a RN who has worked at our local Fairview clinic for years.

I'm in pain right now as a result of my workout. However the trade off is worth it. The exercise and the massage elevate my mood so much that dealing with my pain is easier. In many periods over the past 20 years I have been as miserable and hopeless as anyone who checks in here. I have all of modern medicine and several great doctors at my disposal and we have run out of answers. They do all they can and they do a great job but I still have significant pain. There are other answers to turn to and not just alternative therapies. It gets down to individual choices and attempts to improve ones mood and one's outlook of life. The only alternative I refuse to entertain is to give up.

I wish you all Love and Blessings.

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Go to the health food store look for MSM with Malic Acid I buy it from Vitacost online.

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Stephen | @wsh66 | Feb 11, 2018
In reply to @bonnieh218 "@grandmar you mentioned in another post I read that you thought it would be great to..." + (show)
@bonnieh218

@grandmar you mentioned in another post I read that you thought it would be great to get to a good hospital like Mayo. It is possible. I’m 65 so am on Medicare. I see Mayo doctors in Rochester for fibromyalgia. They have an excellent pain management program; it is a two week program. I have not done this program yet. You should call Mayo to get an appointment. It is not hard to get in. I always used to think it was so much more expensive to go there. It is not! Things work at Mayo within relatively short time spans and you get test, etc. reports right away so their teams of doctors work together to make a plan for your individual treatment. I don’t know anything about your situation but I hope you would be able to give this some thought and possibly get answers and relief.

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What do they say when they turn you down.

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lioness | @lioness | Feb 11, 2018
In reply to @cognac "@Lioness, I envy your tenacity in seeking some sort of normalcy in life. I fear there..." + (show)
@cognac

@lioness, I envy your tenacity in seeking some sort of normalcy in life. I fear there are times when I'm not sure it's worth the trouble. But having people like you, and the rest of the people in this group, does help. Thank you, and take care.

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Love it I will wsh16

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lioness | @lioness | Feb 11, 2018
In reply to @bonnieh218 "@grandmar you mentioned in another post I read that you thought it would be great to..." + (show)
@bonnieh218

@grandmar you mentioned in another post I read that you thought it would be great to get to a good hospital like Mayo. It is possible. I’m 65 so am on Medicare. I see Mayo doctors in Rochester for fibromyalgia. They have an excellent pain management program; it is a two week program. I have not done this program yet. You should call Mayo to get an appointment. It is not hard to get in. I always used to think it was so much more expensive to go there. It is not! Things work at Mayo within relatively short time spans and you get test, etc. reports right away so their teams of doctors work together to make a plan for your individual treatment. I don’t know anything about your situation but I hope you would be able to give this some thought and possibly get answers and relief.

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For those in California I just heard there is a clinic in Newhall Calif.Does anyone know about this?

REPLY
Mentor
Jim, Volunteer Mentor | @jimhd | Feb 11, 2018
In reply to @grandmar "I feel your pain...literally! I am 63 (in a month) and I also suffer from chronic..." + (show)
@grandmar

I feel your pain...literally! I am 63 (in a month) and I also suffer from chronic pain. My lumbar and cervical spines are in real trouble! At one point I stopped walking for over 2 years because of the pain. I also had severe, I want to die pain in my left arm to fingers that came from my cervical spine. I went to a pain doc who gave me a shot. The shot was the answer and thankfully it worked for years!
As for my lower issues, I saw 4 docs. They all tried lots of things that didn't work. Three years ago I moved and went to one doc who was good for nothing. I searched and searched and finally found a pain doc who is about 1-2 hours away (because of traffic, it can be longer). He has worked MAGIC on my lumbar spine!. He uses a fluoroscope to find the sweet spot, based on my MRIs and what I tell him. His shots usually last 8-12 weeks if I behave.
I agree with Jim. You are too young to be homebound. Do some research in your area for a good pain doc. Read reviews by patients and other docs.

A couple of sites you can use:
vitals.com
Zocdoc.com
nationalpeerreview.com
WebMD.com
ratemds.com

Hope this helps.
Ronnie

Jump to this post

@gman007

How interesting, Gary. Never heard of it.

Jim

REPLY
Mentor
Jim, Volunteer Mentor | @jimhd | Feb 11, 2018
In reply to @powerl2017 "Same hear I have three procedures no help . I am looking to stem cell info..." + (show)
@powerl2017

Same hear I have three procedures no help . I am looking to stem cell info now.

Jump to this post

@grandmar

If you need walking aids, you might consider looking at thrift stores. They always have a variety of medical durables for a lot less than medical supply stores.

Jim

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