I can survive chronic pain, but how do I live with it forever?

I wish that a reply was not a like, hug or helpful...why not write a few words about why you would select one -like "helpful" describe why? Otherwise there is no new info to share and a waste of time pretty much, unless you are viewing these posts for "misery loves company" reasons - I know this will back fire, but for me real conversations are better than a lazy click on a button.

I have a lot of pain in my life … it averages between 6/7 … it comes and goes (never below 5); I’ve tried a ton of different medications … no silver bullets unfortunately … Tramadol 50 mg in the morning with a cup of coffee. Since I’m always in pain, my wife tries to keep us busy with friends & church over the weekend so my focus isn’t on the pain. We go on bike rides along the ocean in LA & find a place to eat lunch. I still have the pain but life is a beautiful diversion. I also do a lot of phsyical therapy … it helps me & gives me a sense of controlling the things I can control. I’ve been losing my ability to walk … my legs are moving slower … I used able to walk around the block near my house & now I can only walk a quarter of it. I talked to a neurosurgen at my church & he indicated a laminectomy of my cirvical cord could help offset part of this loss. I’m working on a couple more reviews with other doctors to see if they concur. I had my surgery 28 years ago & my doctor told me that my spinal cord was fragile & it wouldn’t survive radiation. This ius part of the reason I tyriong to get second and third op[inions on future surgery. I’ve talked with 4 people (family/friends) and they’ve had success. The surgery overal has a 90% success rate (probably just depends on the circumstances .. ie fragile spinal cord). I’m feeling good about the future … I just want my walking to stabilize and stay out of a wheel chair.

Good luck to you; try to find ways to stay engaged in life; it’s important to focus things that make you happy. We are only on earth for a short time & I believe we’ll end up in a better place after we pass away with no pain. You kind of in the lottery when you were born in the USA & if you have faith … yiur hope will be eternal. I am a man of faith & having hope is an important thing.

@nycmusic I have written before about Spinal Cord Stimulators. I have two (simple surgery-out patient) in my back. One delivers relief to my hand and shoulder, one to my back and knee. Back surgeries, knee replacement, and reverse shoulder replacement x2, broken wrist leading to RSD (CRPS). I am very familiar with pain since I was a teenager-I am now 84.
The ONLY relief I have is the implants of Spinal Cord Stimulators. I am not pain free, have not and won’t be, but the degree of relief I have, though not constant, does not require prescription medication. Check it out online and talk to your physician about the possibility for your use.
I have the Boston Scientific stimulators and swear by them. I wish you more good days than bad.

@davidyapp check out Spinal Cord Stimulators. I have 2 for different areas of pain, find them to be very effective for reduction of pain.

@orest I understand your frustration as it comes from unresolved pain. I just encourage you to checkout Spinal Cord Stimulators. I have 2 (implants) and have reduced my pain from constant to sometimes and strength of pain reduced from 6 to a 2/3! Please just grab your laptop or iPad and read about the process. Maybe this will be just the RIGHT treatment for you. Best wishes and good thoughts.

Don’t stop trying to find something, someone to help you. I fall into that mindset of ‘what’s the use, this is it’. It’s not helpful for me as the depression that follows is sometimes greater than the pain. NOT A GOOD PLACE TO BE.
I write and write about Spinal Cord Stimulators. You probably are reading my responses to others of us experiencing the same thing. Please look it up-Spinal Cord Stimulator. Maybe the help you need. Never give up,

Give up hope. I know it feels totally crazy and wrong, and most people will utterly reject this, but for me the answer was to give up hope that my pain will go away or that I will ever go back to normal.
That set me free. It was actually a relief! Although it was just the beginning, because once you do that, then you go on to the challenge of full acceptance and stepping out of the victim role--which is rough because it's valid in its way. And acceptance isn't one and done; there's always another thing to accept around the corner.
But it allowed me to go ahead and live my life from here forward, to have the pleasures and fulfillment possible without constantly comparing my life to what I expected or is normal.
The Buddhists say "Neither hope nor fear" and to the extent you can do that it really does deliver you into present reality. And that's the only place life can be truly rewarding.
Which is not to say there aren't moments when I curse and grieve the fact that I'll never go on my favorite hike again. We're only human, right? But my family tells me that I'm a different person since I began to practice this.

@harrie123 thank you for this info. Wishing you good health with less pain !

@jpj1952 it’s true that accepting a certain amount of discomfort and/or limitations can be liberating…totally pain free doing everything I used to do isn’t going to happen, but I can manage my pain enough to enjoy many activities—still enjoy time with family and friends, playing the piano and going for park walks. Wishing you and all here ways to enjoy more of life !

hannahmccoy19 You expressed a mind set of heart felt comprehension which I find rare and therefore much appreciated. To be afflicted with pain and the other difficulties you mentioned is indeed life altering, especially when you are young, treatment is at best marginal and with no end being perceived. Since our physical situations are somewhat similar (although I am much older) perhaps mentally we are also similar in that not only do we think about what we are enduring, but also analyze too much of the logical and emotional innuendo, minutia, etc. creating a negative inner conviction that deprives us of the normal encouragement that truly helps others. Maybe you are not affected in this manner but I certainly am and when that happens I am part of the problem and not part of the solution. To combat this I must work on having hope, which can be powerful-it has to be because sometimes it is all I have.