Does anyone else suffer from chronic pain?

[Alynna Lis Eachann]

the nice thing of constant dull pain is that you can ignore it after a while.

Ditto. Once I stopped riding Busby, it got so much better. I just got used to what's left.

Six-month clause, huh? Thanks, Lady! I'll have to check through the policy and see how they treat this. The bright side of all this is that my hip is really the only health problem I have. It could definitely be worse.

BTW... strength of character? Me? I wouldn't call it that. I whine too much.

[kevinswatch]

Hey, don't be so modest. You do have great strength of character. You're one of the strongest people I know. Seriously. And I know Mr. T.-jay

(...Ok...I don't really know Mr. T... But still, in terms of strength of character, you have a whole lot more than you're willing to admit.)

[Alynna Lis Eachann]

Bah! Lies, all lies. I'm no stronger than anyone else, certainly not the other people who have six times as much to deal with as I do.

As for the av:

You almost made me spit tea all over my computer at work.

[kevinswatch]

Well, you've tolerated me so far. That has to take some godly strength of character. Heh.

You almost made me spit tea all over my computer at work.

Only almost? Blast. I have failed my mission. -jay

[Lady Revel]

*bump*

Sorry about the bump, but I'm hurting right now, and I was wondering if anyone else on the watch suffered from chronic pain, and if so, how they deal with it.

I'm such a wuss, but still not taking oxycontin--its been several years now that I've been off the stuff.



Thanks all!

[MsMary]

Sorry to hear the stories of those who suffer chronic pain. I had a period of chronic back pain a number of years back, but it wasn't as bad as yours sounds, Lady Revel. I never required narcotics to treat it. Physical therapy helped me a lot.

[Lady Revel]

Glad to hear you are up and about again, MsMary!

I doubt that mine is worse than yours, its just that I am a total baby. I am not totally off narcotics, as I take Lortab every day and sometimes I bump that up to Percocet.

My doctor wanted to give me the Fentanyl patch (which I used to be on, with oxycontin) because it keeps away the rollercoaster of taking pills, but that is a higher level of drug, and I want to stay away from that if I can.

I guess I need to stop being a baby, but its hard.

Physical therapy helped a little, but not a whole lot, and I am allergic to the steroids they like to pump into your back, so I don't have much leeway on what to do, besides surgery. And surgery isn't guaranteed to make it better.

I hope someday the pain will just go away, I hear stories of this just happening, but I haven't been lucky enough for it to happen to me yet.

[[Syl]]

Don't know if this will help, but I suffered from migraines from around the age of 11 up until I was about 20. When they came on, there was nothing worse. Despite what logic would tell me, each time I got one I thought I would die. And after a couple hours, I'd pray I would (literally). Usually I'd end up vomiting then passing out sometime between midnight and sunrise. You'd think I'd be wrung out and exhausted the next day, but strangely, I was always euphoric. Everything had a glow to it (and not the weird sepia, negative, washed out glow I'd see before I got one). Food tasted exquisite. I like to think of it as the Raymond K. Hessel effect.

Now maybe I just grew out of them. If so, I'm the only one in my family who's done so (though I also seem to be the only male who's had them). But I think I learned to recognize the signs, medicate early, and control it mentally and physiologically. Basically, I just started paying attention to my body, hearing it before it started shouting at me. This also came at a time when I started meditating and using my introspective tendencies rationally.

I wouldn't recommend it in the place of other treatment, but I would recommend trying it in addition to whatever else you do. Look into self-hypnosis, mental imagery, and meditation. It couldn't hurt (no pun intended).

I still get occasional strong headaches that feel like the onset of migraines, though I no longer have any preceding color flashes or sensitivity to sunlight. First, I down some Excedrin (large doses of ibuprofen if I don't have any), but then I try to fight it off mentally. It's working so far.

[Blackhawk]

I hurt my back playing softball (along with separating my shoulder, popping my calf muscle in half, breaking my nose, several fingers, and spraining more limbs than I thought I had). For those gentleman who are laughing, I would like to inform that competitive ladies softball is a viscious game. Luckily, the only injury that continues to play havoc in my life is my back.

I would like to point out that I have shown belated intelligence, I have graduated towards a much more gentle sport, golf

I have two herniated discs (L4-L5, L5-S1) and sciatica (along with a handful of other terms which I have no idea what they mean, stenosis being one of them).

After hurting my back, I gained a great deal of weight. Not being smart enough to figure, "gee, can't move around much, perhaps I ought to lower my food intake..." Well that thought was way beyond me, and I put on a 70 pounds, no kidding. And it seemed like it happened overnight. I think I also ate out of self pity, I had to watch my team play from the bench, which was torture for I have never sat the bench in my life, unless I had pissed my coach off by showing up late or something. Gaining weight only exacerbated the back problem, for obvious reasons.

There are a number of reasons why surgery wouldn't work out (I've bored you with enough so far, so I won't go into detail here ), so being quite heavy at the time, they told me that losing weight was the only option until another new surgical procedure became FDA approved. So, I have lost 86lbs so far, and I have mostly left the daily pain behind, but every once in a while it sneaks up on me and throws me for a loop. Today is one of those days. I hurt.

I used to be on high doses of oxycontin and the lidoderm and fentanyl (fentanyl is in the morphine family) patches, but as I lost the weight, and the pain reduced, I found I didn't need them anymore (why take something you don't really need, right?) I lowered my doses voluntarily, until now I don't take any. (I have a few lidoderm patches left, but those are not narcotics, they are local anesthetics. But since its not a narcotic, it doesn't work very well)

What I should have done was kept a supply of low dosage meds in case of emergencies. But I really didn't want to spend my life doped up and I wanted to prove to myself that I could get off of them, because I heard stories of other people who were terribly addicted and managed to die with overdosing and such. So I stopped taking the narcotic opiates about a month and a half ago. Frankly, it wasn't that hard for me, a few days of nausea, and that's it. (thank goodness, I had heard some real horror stories).

I have done something to my back. Moved wrong, slept wrong, but now I have pain, LOTS OF IT. The nerve pain goes right down the back of my leg and also over the top of my leg to the inside of my knee. I tried to get out of bed this morning and any which way I moved, I couldn't get up because the pain was excruciating. I was afraid, terrified even that I would be stuck there forever. Not a pleasant thought. Finally, I bit the bullet and rolled out of bed, but I won't be lying down again anytime soon,

To get to the point, and to stop concentrating on myself (one of my favorite subjects ), I was wondering if there are any of you out there who deal with chronic pain on a regular basis, and know what I am talking about. I would love to know how you deal with it.

To those of you without chronic pain, enjoy it! I hope that you never have a problem such as this. I know I am whining, and I am sorry, but I hurt so bad right now that I don't care! *tries to conjure a smile*

Can anyone give me any tips on how to deal with sciatica pain, and lower back pain? It would be much appreciated, indeed, very gladly received.

And if none of you have this problem, well, I would be very glad to hear that, too.

Thanks for listening to me whine, folks, you are a great bunch of people, and I am really glad I found this place.

Ouch...LOL im not laughing at you but the dammage you did playing a non contact sport, did this happen sliding into home? it sounds like Hockey may be a safer sport for you to play ehehe... as far as sciatica pain, you need to see a very good Massage therapist... I had sciatica and was able to make it go away by extensive stretching, on the other hand my wife had it and nothing would make it go away except for her Massage therapist, congratulations on losing the weight too and even more congrats for getting off the Oxycontin, they might as well lable that stuff "heroin"... I had some lower back problems..and all it took was a slight twist in the wrong diretion while standing awkwardly and i was out for three days. and the same thing..paind down my leg..and i couldnt get out of bed, back injuries are very tricky and nothing that i know of outside drugs or having a steroid shot in your back will help it, losing the weight saved you alot more grief though, and strengthening the back muscles will help too, Walking is good, if you have sand walking in sand is great for you it uses more muscles to keep you balanced than walking on flat land. low impact exercise or walking is a start. but if you have multiple disc problems that can be hard to do anything strenuous without causing pain. I hope you find something to help you,,... Good luck & before you try any thing I suggested you should consult a doctor first..i dont want you hurting yourself or doing serious damage to your back. check into a good Massage Therapist.. get one that has Great Recommendations and chiropractic experience.

[Lady Revel]

LOL!

The nose was broken by an errant ball, the shoulder diving for a grounder, the calf muscle while I was running, the back was sliding into home, I think.....fingers, catching the ball wrong, and also having my fingers ground into the dirt at second base when someone else was sliding. Of course, this was over a period of 20 some odd years, I played ball until I was 33.

You have a good point about strengthening the back muscles, I have tried exercises, but never really stuck with them......

The weight loss, erm, I have gained back 30 of those 86lbs, which is why I think I am having so much trouble. Still down overall, but I need to lose that thirty pounds, its just hard when it hurts to move. (listen to me whine!)

My doctors have said a lot about strengthening the muscles, perhaps I need to take them a little more seriously and get to work. I live near the beach, and I love walking in the sand, so I shall give that a shot!

Come to think of it, I used to walk the beach every morning before work, and it was a time of very little pain.


I have never tried a massage therapist, unless you count my boyfriend. But he felt my back move under his fingers one time, yelled out (it freaked him out) and refuses to rub my lower back even to this very day.
I wonder if health insurance covers massage therapists?

Thank you for your post, food for thought!

[Blackhawk]

I hope it helps. not only the walking and strengthening the muscles but the fresh air does wonders for you too. I noticed that after walking on the beach i would sleep alot better at night..less restless sleep. I think it was a combination of both. and if not a massage therapist with chiropractic skill.. the other way around will work too..a good chiropractor with some massage skills. my wife was in a car accident so she continuously has back problems.. when it gets bad she goes to the chiroprator now, he adjusts her and then gives a 20 minute massage and it is a noticeable difference in her face when shes done, no more pain. and medical insurance would more likely cover a chiropractor than a massage therapist, i could be wrong on that though

[danlo]

I've been suffering chronic pain for close to 8 years, but he might go away in November (if we don't invade Iran first ). Back to our topic!

[Lady Revel]

That's pretty funny, and I can assure you, I feel the same way!

[duchess of malfi]

I blew out my knee in Jan. '07. I have had pain in it everyday since. Physical therapy did wonders - took it down from agony on a daily basis to mere achiness most days.

I cannot say enough good things about physical therapy and massage therapy.

[sgt.null]

my ankle (left) needs to be fused.

my back - i need another round of shots.

headaches - all my life.

i mostly ignore them, taking drugs when they flare up. need to lose weight.

[MsMary]

Yes, weight loss can help some (but not all) joint pain.

[sgt.null]

narcotics can help the rest.

[magickmaker17]

Don't know if this will help, but I suffered from migraines from around the age of 11 up until I was about 20. When they came on, there was nothing worse. Despite what logic would tell me, each time I got one I thought I would die. And after a couple hours, I'd pray I would (literally). Usually I'd end up vomiting then passing out sometime between midnight and sunrise. You'd think I'd be wrung out and exhausted the next day, but strangely, I was always euphoric. Everything had a glow to it (and not the weird sepia, negative, washed out glow I'd see before I got one). Food tasted exquisite. I like to think of it as the Raymond K. Hessel effect.

Now maybe I just grew out of them. If so, I'm the only one in my family who's done so (though I also seem to be the only male who's had them). But I think I learned to recognize the signs, medicate early, and control it mentally and physiologically. Basically, I just started paying attention to my body, hearing it before it started shouting at me. This also came at a time when I started meditating and using my introspective tendencies rationally.

I wouldn't recommend it in the place of other treatment, but I would recommend trying it in addition to whatever else you do. Look into self-hypnosis, mental imagery, and meditation. It couldn't hurt (no pun intended).

I still get occasional strong headaches that feel like the onset of migraines, though I no longer have any preceding color flashes or sensitivity to sunlight. First, I down some Excedrin (large doses of ibuprofen if I don't have any), but then I try to fight it off mentally. It's working so far.

I'm familiar with the migraines...I suffer with them too, they started about the same time, when I was 11 or 12. I used to come home from school and just fall asleep on the couch every afternoon, because it hurt so bad.

I've tried so many different medications, meditation, and acupressure, which is using pressure points, without sticking yourself with needles. None of them really worked for me, and I'm pretty much immune to any pain killer out there because of it.

They're less frequent now than they were before (I basically had a headache/migraine for two years straight during middle school.) but I still get them, and they suck.

[thefirst]

I've suffered from a form of juvenile arthritis since I was about 17, which has always caused me a lot of problems, especially when the weather is less than perfect. But last March, I was rear ended at a traffic light and got a severe case of whiplash. And since that time, I've continually had headaches, neck aches, backaches, and the list goes on. They recently discovered that two of the discs in my neck are displaced to some degree and this causes inflammation along the nerves in my neck. I have problems sitting or standing somedays for more than a couple of hours at a time. Of course it doesn't help that I've broken so many bones along the way. I've done my best to stay off of pain relievers stronger than ibuprofen, but am now taking darvocet on a daily basis to keep the worst of the headaches at bay. Which of course means that I'm back on prevacid to keep my ulcer from reappearing as the darvocet is really rough on my stomach.
I'm afraid I don't have a lot of advice on the subject, I'm still trying to get my own problems under control, but I do hope that you find a good solution. If anything comes along that seems to help me, I will be sure to pass it along.

[Wyldewode]

I can relate! I get horrible migraines! Some are worse than others, though. I first got them around the onset of puberty too. There was a span of time where I don't really remember them, but they came back with a vengeance when I was in my second full year of college. I would get them less frequently, but they were worse than ever.

I first sought treatment about 4 years ago for them, since I went from having them every other month or so to having them at least 1-2 times a week. Like others, we've tried a lot of things to manage them. So far I've found nothing that prevents them reliably, but I did find out that Zomig often works when taken at the first sign of nausea. I'm supposed to take it at the first sign of a migraine, but I get them so often it would be both cost-prohibitive and iffy to take them that often (it is approved for up to 3 uses a month). So basically I take excedrin and hope for the best. . . and if I don't become nauseous I can still function. When the nausea comes on it is a signal that I am going to have a hurricane force migraine, and typically it will put me in bed. I've had the funny smells before and sparkles occasionally, but I had my first full-blown migraine aura about two weeks ago. That was frightening indeed! I lost about 75% of vision in my eyes (could only see peripherally). Thankfully I was in a doctor's office (working), and they had me lie down in an exam room until I could see again.

At any rate, it is true that you can become used to the pain. I have a high tolerance for pain anyway, and have had friends tell me that they get truly frightened when I start to get a really bad migraine (often my face will swell on one side and my eye will leak tears).

I have never been to the emergency room over a migraine, but that day may come eventually.

Sorry to go on and on about the migraines. . . hope that you are able to get your pain to a manageable level.