Living in chronic pain

Hello @rt061069 - you may notice I removed your email from your post. Mayo Clinic Connect is a public community and we encourage our members to share private information using the private message function. This is to help protect your identity and personal information from bad actors and potential spammers.

I tried PT and got no results. Have tried every med and now my doctor reduced the pain med and put me on Cymbalta. It has helped some with pain, but not anywhere near enough. The Cymbalta helps with depression so that might be an option. Has anyone tried that for depression. I just keep thinking there will be no relief.

I am reluctant to rely on medications. I have neuropathy and notice that meds give me a reaction. I am more angry than depressed as it was the physical therapist who put me in this situation by adding ankle weights to my exercise routine. I had been to her in the past with back problems so she should have exercised caution and better judgement in placing those weights on me. I am going to try acupuncture. Have you tried that?

I get it . Every morning I say another day of pain. I agree people don't understand. I am starting to believe i am better off dead. I have no life . Can't go anywhere. I am in too much pain to sit very long. Terrible pain in my right buttock and lower backache. Nothing helps but ice for a little while. Help!!

@lgshaide cymbalta is commonly used for depression as is gabapentin. I’ve been on both in the past for depression but neither one helped. Now I’m on both again for chronic pain and they haven’t helped at all.
I’m in a pain treatment program at a major medical center and it has offered drugs, PT, psychologists, and nurses and so far - almost 1 year into the program - I have had no relief. It’s pretty disappointing and discouraging.

@yram
I have the same problems that you are dealing with. Tomorrow I will have my first session with acupuncturist and then I am going to see my PCP who is a rheumatologist. I have had MRI of lumbar spine and now would like imaging of my buttocks and tailbone. The MRI radiologist kept referring to disc damage as "mild" so I would like to know why I cannot get much relief. The stim machine at PT helps for awhile but not long enough. I want my doctor to also rule out autoimmunity, i.e., RA, as I suffer from celiac disease and had muscle wasting. Also, my allergies seem more pronounced now. I would like to think that there is hope for relief--if not now but down the line. The chronic pain remedies that are out there which I use including diet, exercise, analgesics, heat/ice just are not adequate enough. Perhaps counseling would help--I am filled with anger that this happened and will not allow me to sit on my sofa and enjoy reading a book or watching a movie on TV. Have you taken any injections? My podiatrist recommended that I try it.

@yramSounds like you may have weak gluteus medius and gluteus minimus muscles. PT may help. My hip surgeon has ordered a MRI.

@arcuri24
Namaste,
I’m sorry to hear you’re going through the process of eliminating autoimmunity. It’s frustrating waiting to find out and get a name for your condition.

I understand how frustrating it can be when the chronic pain remedies available aren’t adequate. I practice everything you mentioned, and they’re a part of our toolkit to help us manage and alleviate the pain and other symptoms. I’ve read some research on chronic pain, and unfortunately, there’s no cure, especially for neurophatic pain, which is on another level. The only management is to live and exist as comfortably as we can and you are doing that.

You sound like you’re doing everything you can to make your body more comfortable, and it’s normal to feel angry. Your body has changed, and that affects us emotionally, mentally, and psychologically.

If you’re ready and open to it, I would recommend counselling. I live in England, where we have free healthcare on the NHS, but I paid and went private to find the right counsellor for me. I worked with her for three years, and she helped me a lot. She supported me to discover what I needed to do to live and cope better, I’m going to have a check-in with her soon because my mental health has been struggling as my neurophatic pain has got worse over the past few months, and if I am honest to myself I have been struggling a bit, putting on a mask to the outside world as I don’t want to be treated differently. I am though as I now use a walking aid as the nerve and discs have caused drop foot and weakness to the left leg and I need the walking aid to move around. We use whatever tools at the moment we need them. It’s not a weakness it’s a sign of strength because we want to live!!

I have lumbosacral spondylosis with radiculopathy in my lumbar and cervical spines, fibromyalgia, and hyper-mobility. I had a root nerve block in my lumbar spine for five years, which reduced my pain tremendously. However, I had a bad reaction in 2022 and stopped having them. My pain increased, and my left leg swelled up, becoming hot and difficult to walk as the nerve pain became unbearable.

To manage my pain, I use massage, cupping, acupuncture, meditation, and breath work to refocus my mind away from it and calm myself. I also practice Gi Gong and Yin yoga, and I do a lot of Cat but not the Cow yoga movement when my L4, L5, and S1 go into meltdown. Seated exercise helps me strength my leg and core muscles and screaming into a pillow helps too! lol. Yes, exercise can get uncomfortable, but I understand the importance of keeping my muscles and bones strong to prevent further injury or sickness, so resting afterwards is vital.

I understand that sitting is uncomfortable, the pins and needles, numbness, burning sensations I get in my buttocks pelvis and hips as there is a network of nerves in the sacrum and when there is impingement its going to hurt. When the pain is bad I cry it out with breath work, meditation and relaxing music. Sometimes when I sleep I lay on my stomach with two pillows supporting my core and hips and torso and another pillow to rest my chin or lay my head by putting my arms underneath and lay my head on them. I sleep with four pillows to support my body when I sleep, so it’s using the stuff that makes you cosy and reduces your symptoms. I also have a bed frame handle to support me to get up out of bed when my pain overwhelmes me.

Change in hormones can trigger allergies, that’s what happened went through menopause early at 38 or 39, and now I can’t eat foods I love, such as fish, seafood, anything citrus, and have intolerances to eggs, spices, alcohol, gluten foods, and coffee. I might as well live off water!

I hope you find the solutions you need. Oh, and I forgot to mention that I sit on soft cushions on my sofa or in bed. I massage my lower spine with olive oil mixed with Epsom salts, and the magnesium relaxes my muscles. I also have an Epsom salt bath once a fortnight with essential oils, coconut oil, bay leaves, and cinnamon sticks. It’s my bath time treat, they say it has anti-inflammatory properties, even though there’s no scientific study to verify it. But for me, it helps.

Chronic pain can be a dark, lonely, and horrible place. But if you have help and support, grab it with both hands! Remember, you’re not alone because you’re here, just like me reaching out for support and having a safe space to get it.

Remember, what works for one person may not work for another, so it’s important to talk to your GP and physio to get as much information on the injections as you can. Then, make an informed choice.
Wishing you all the best!

Namaste and thanks for your thoughtful response. I am having a frustrating time. I saw my primary care doctor yesterday-he reviewed my MRI and said surgery would not be needed. My blood pressure was a bit high (unusual for me) and he told me that it might be due to the Advil I was taking--and-which helped somewhat with my back pain. I cannot take Tylenol as I have cysts on my liver. So today I go to physical therapy and tomorrow I will try acupuncture. My primary doctor who is a rheumatologist also told me that I have Sgrogen's syndrome accounting for the sensitivity in my eyes and dry mouth during the night.

My neuropathy is very mild-just occasional tingling and numbness but no pain. I know many on this website are afflicted with pain from neuropathy so in that sense I am fortunate. I am also able to cope with my celiac disease (another autoimmunity) as I eliminated gluten from my diet.

Spinal arthritis is awful. My brother has rheumatoid arthritis and with the drugs he uses to manage the flares, he enjoys a very active life--skiing, traveling, biking, etc. With osteoarthritis, the drug toolbox is very limited. My primary care doctor did not think shots would be a good idea for me--especially cortisone.

I probably should see a counselor/therapist as I am angry about all that has happened to me in 2025. I am trying to be strong about it and I am experimenting with various "tools" like you. I do find the baths (I alternate between epsom salt and eucalyptus oil) to provide some relaxation. Then I rest on a heating pad while watching TV. Sometimes I nap in the afternoon as my sleep is sometimes disrupted during the night.
I pray alot and want to stay strong for my dog.

Again, thanks for sharing so much. Only someone dealing with chronic pain can understand how our days are. Nice to know we are not alone.

@mrmacabre
Hello this is Rob a member here but not active in last few years due to fighting to stay alive with my worsening 24/7 pain. I sent a private message to you to be glad to listen and hear you. Comfort each other as you are at Witt’s end like me. I WOULD LOVE for someone who suffers level 7-9 daily pain that has taken what was an active life in my 40’s with kids and ruining my 50’s now 56. I would like to not bother but converse and support people who Live IT and need their version of weekly AA. I’m here to meet anyone who wants a serious pain friend. Able to cry scream what is needed. If interested send me a member a private message please. I’m at a shaking 8.5 and just made it out of bed to take dog out briefly and take pills that don’t work. It takes your appetite away as I’ve only had an ensure waiting for my wife to get home. Help need a pain friend who lives it!!