My Chronic Pain

[Luvmyrottnboy]

I feel your pain. I had two episodes, 18 years apart, of sciatica caused by a herniated disc. I am just getting better from the second bout.

The first time I went to the doctor and all he did was prescribe high doses of ibuprofen. Then I went to a chiropractor. I didn't feel like I got much relief from the adjustments, but the series of stretches she gave me worked great. After The pain went away I had a numb leg from the nerve damage for a couple of years. BUT I also started to work out regularly...so much so I became a personal trainer and group fitness instructor. I never felt better!

Then 2 years ago I had to stop because I was caring for my mom who has Alzheimers Disease. I placed her in a memory care facility in January but never got back into a fitness regime. By July I couldn't sit down from the pain. Even driving 5 minutes made me cry.

Sooooo, I started my back exercises and slowly but surely improved. No doctor, no chiro just Aleve and back stretches, with a little light walking.

I would NOT recommend avoiding medical attention. It was dumb of me.

But it seems to me that physical activity saved me pain for 18 years and I am back to gym soon as my back is almost completely better.

I know how horrible that pain is. You can't have a life and everything revolves around your pain. It sucks. I am sending good vibes your way.

PS: Acupuncture worked well for a friend of mine...but she doesn't move so she has to go periodically.

[willowangel]

You know what is far, far worse than chronic pain and pain flare-ups?

Having chronic pain and flare-ups all by yourself. No one else is there with you. Friends get fed up with helping you all the time. You don't dare talk about it because no one wants to be around so much negative.

Hurting by your self is the worst.

It really is. I want, in my later life, to become a counsellor for the sick and the dying, because the one thing I didn't have when I was really bad, and other people I've known who were dying didn't have, is someone to say, 'this is really, really ****, and I'm really scared and sad and angry' to. People are so scared that you're losing hope that the minute you start talking about your pain or how much you've lost or the things you wish you could do they try to jolly you out of it, and try to distract you.

I found that the only way I could cope, long-term, with everything that I'd lost both in the past and the future, was to face it headon. To sit with the knowledge of what was gone, what would never be, and accept it. To not spend my days being groundlessly positive about 'getting better tomorrow' but about doing what I could today. I had to say to myself that I have this thing, and I'll probably have it for the rest of my life, and I probably won't get to do a bunch of things I really wanted to. I'm probably going to need care for the rest of my life, and will always need to rely on others, and not be self-sufficient (which I hate).

And then I had to look at what I have left and make the best life I can out of it. It's not what I dreamed of, but whose life really is? And I hope that there'll be some kind of cure before I die and I can have a few years of doing all the things I wanted to, but if not, at least I'll have lived and not spent my life waiting to get better.

Sorry, rant rant rant. I made a whole website about it 7 years ago, but it's a little emo and angsty ;-)

Fi xxx

[gingerbread]

The Herniated Disk was what started this whole mess. Only I had it removed to stop the pain. It was in my ankle and it was the most awful pain I ever had. Once that was done and said the pain started up in my butt. My doctor said it was do to the fact that my spine needed to be fused!!! Oh God what was I thinking. Long story short had it done pain was worse in the butt. After about six months going to him every month I just said to him Just cut the leg off. He threw me and my husband out of his office. Needless to say the look on my face must have been priceless He just about said it was in my head. Was not going to be duped into giving me pain pills. As was he did to me was healed and that I was just saying I was in pain. Thank goodness my pain management Doctor said it was not in my head and has really helped me a lot. It is just again it wants to rear it's ugly head on me.
Like one doctor years ago said to me you are just going to have to live with the pain. Ya alright for him to say that he is not the one with it.
Thank you all for your support sometimes ya just need to vent a little.