Chronic Pain members - Welcome, please introduce yourself

@laura1970
Hi Laura— often, not always, not having THC in your system is a legal issue, not medical.
Be well,
Archie

@mechanic66 I am so sorry to hear of all the pain you have had to endure. I feel like a piker compared to you. What have you done to deal with the pain? Meds or something else. In my pain journey I have had injections and nerve ablations (no help); meds and spinal cord stimulator (both helped); and, currently, a pain pump (which I am in the process of having it increased). I can try to answer any questions you may have. Of course, my most significant source of strength is my faith. I know that this life is temporary, and someday I will be freed of this body as I meet my Heavenly Father. I pray that you can find some help in your pain journey.

@heisenberg34 Hi I appreciate the kind words very much. My journey has been a hard one for the last 3 years since my open heart surgery and now this abdominal pain, I went to a primary care Dr on Monday and thank God he prescribed me some low dose oxycodone if it wasn't for that I would have been in the ER again because the pain is horrible. I've had injections in my shoulder but my Dr stopped them because he said that they would do more harm than good and keeps stressing to me that I need a shoulder replacement but I have been through enough surgeries that I just don't have the strength to go through another one, don't even know if they would do one because of my heart condition anyway. I've been on and off pain meds for the last couple of years and unfortunately they are the only thing that helps enough where I can function enough to have somewhat of a normal life, they don't get rid of all the pain but curb it enough where I just feel ok can't remember when I have felt really good it's been along time. I've been on disability for almost 3 years now because of my heart and all my other problems, I was a heavy equipment mechanic for years and a operator as well did alot of very physical work my whole life and I can't do that anymore wish I could. Just wore my body out that's for sure.

@mrmacabre Thanks for sharing. Glad to hear your fusions have been successful. Yes, they did use bone grafts when removing discs in my first two fusions. When the surgeon did my second fusion (C3-C4) he said it was very difficult to get the screws in because the bones were very unhealthy. The way he put it was the bone was “soft”.

Going into this most recent fusion of C2-C5 the surgeon and I agreed that if the bone at C5 was not healthy enough to provide the necessary support he would go to C7 (C6 not an option because of how narrow things are at C6-7 already) or worst case scenario down to T1 or T2. This time of surgeon put screws all the way through the bone out the other side to give them the best chance of staying in place.

As to the unhealthy , I was diagnosed with osteopenia at a young age, I think it was when I was 19. It progressed over time and they had to start treating it with Fosamax about five years later. Although I have not reached osteoporosis point yet, I’m getting closer and closer with each biannual bone density test. I’m actually overdue for that test right now, so those results should be interesting.

Thanks again for your reply. It feels good to talk about this things with people who have been there.

Hello! My name is Bri and I live a small town in central Florida called Eustis. I am chronic pain sufferer due to chronic a few overlapping chronic conditions including POTS and HEDS and Fibromyalgia. (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, Hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome) My pain is widespread and usually affects my hands, ankles, neck, lower back/hips. I use mobility aids to help me get around so this is particularly mentally challenging as I am only in my early 30's. I am learning how to deal with my pain day by day and looking forward to connect with some other chronic pain peers and experts for pointers and input! All spoonies, zebras, and neurodivergent folks, I kindly welcome your experiences and truths. Thank you for having me.