Osteoarthritis pain as well as neuropathy in my feet.
I just became aware of the site a couple of days ago with some prodding from my wife, thankfully. I've been retired and on permanent disability since July of 2015. This meant walking away from my job after close to 17 years with my employer, and it also meant that we had to sell our home and move in with our son and his family.
I'm suffering with severe pain in my knees, hips, and lower back due to Osteoarthritis. I also have arthritis in my right elbow, as well as my neck. Between October of 2011 and November of 2018, I had surgery a dozen times on my knees, elbow, and my neck.
I had to have spinal fusion surgery on my neck on 2 different occasions, and have had surgery of my left knee a total of 4 times, where they only did a partial replacement.
Long story short, I'm living with chronic pain due to the osteoarthritis, as well as Idiopathic Poly Neuropathy in my feet and lower legs, which compounds my current existence.
I've seen several neurologists, as well as 2 neurosurgeons, and have had every test they have to determine the cause of my neuropathy, and everything came back "normal". ( No, I'm not diabetic, not even close. )
Everyday is same, pain and numbness in varying degrees of intensity, depending on the weather(we live in the PNW) and how much physical activity, if any, that I do. It's very draining physically, as well as mentally. I've been taking 2 anti-depressents for several years now, along with 7 other prescription drugs for pain, nerve pain, gout prevention, blood pressure, and swelling in my feet.
I'm not sure how much longer I'm willing to live like this. I'll be 66 next month, and it's already been a decade of chronic pain and numbness affecting just about every aspect of my life.
I've very lucky to have been married to my awesome wife for almost 43 years, and we have 2 kids who now are married with families of their own. We've got 4 awesome grandkids from the ages of almost 17, almost 13, 8, and 5 years old. Unbelievable how fast they're growing up.
Does this sound like anyone else's current situation in their lives? What do you do to deal with your chronic pain? Does anything help with the neuropathy other than massive doses of Gabapentin?
Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Chronic Pain Support Group.
Hello @mrmacabre, It's not much comfort but I can say you are not alone living with chronic pain. I have idiopathic small fiber peripheral neuropathy but don't have pain, just numbness and some tingling. I also have degenerative arthritis in my spine and joints and have had one knee replacement along with a few other health conditions. It's great that you have a supportive wife and family. I'm blessed with an awesome wife also that has supported me through all of my different health challenges. It sounds like the Gabapentin isn't helping as much now for your neuropathy pain. The Foundation for Peripheral Neuropathy has some great information that might be worth scanning through to see if something might provide more relief - https://www.foundationforpn.org/living-well/.
There are members who have been treated through a pain rehabilitation center and found it helpful. There are a few discussions that you might want to scan through - https://connect.mayoclinic.org/search/discussions/?search=pain%20rehabilitation%20center. Have you considered other non medication treatments or alternative therapies for the chronic pain?