Hi there
Ive put that i am a person who has been through chronic pain as i have recurring pain but have many months, thank God, free of pain.At the mo i am having a flare up. I do not agree with doctors who say that chronic pain is where the original injury has healed and the pain continues for no reason. sorry, but i think this is a cop out. i think my pain is mechanical and this is why it goes and comes back again. For years i thought i was going mad as doctors told me there was nothing wrong and one doctor said i couldnt be in as much pain as i was saying! i changed my job which involved a lot of sitting and now have a job i love, a charity worker. they are very understanding and at mo i have a sick note from my doctor, this is at a new practice and they are great, but i go in some afternoons to stop me from going mad. usually my pain lasts about 8 weeks and then settles. ive never been told what is really wrong. just had a blood test for AS after 25 years of symptoms. my advice to anyone is to be very firm with doctors who try to poo poo your ideas or questions (many have laughed in my face if ive asked if it could be reiters, as etc). try anything to ease your pain. people annoy me who look at me and say they never take painkillers as though i am weak for doing this. i say whatever rocks your boat. dont be afraid or feel weak. if the quality of your life can be improved in any way, then do it. a person usually being judgemental has never suffered from real pain or they wouldnt make daft comments to you! i let an idiot put me in a corset when i was young and made my stiff spine then get muscle spasm and referred pain and stiffness to give me a longstanding back problem. Dont let anyone belittle your pain. you are not going mad or making a mountain out of a molehill. there is a saying: there is no-ones pain easier to bear than someone elses! Be strong and get through the bad days - one day at a time.
Yes, Im about sick of doctors and specialist. I have fm(just found) and back injury(2000) I was on percocet and it helped the pain, and so my doctor took me off and now im on tramadol. My ins. wont covor ultam e.r. So i take 1-2 tramadol 4-6 x's a day and it does not help. I have tryed a few others like anti depresants and they had bad side effects. Im scared of trying new meds cauz i have a 2 year old and am home alone w/ her.
So anyways im doing the ultrasound on my back and it helps a bit, but days the weather is rainy or snow im messed up. I have been 2 therapys, pain clinics, injections. Which im sure most people have all done. A rhumatologist told me that i need 2 find a group of meds that work 4 me, well i had found one, the percocet and they take it away. I should be searching 4 a doctor, but im so discouraged w/ them and feel very angry w/ thier brushing me off.
I was going to suggest that you should look for a pain clinic to help you. I dont know about where you live but the best luck you will have I believe getting a narcotic medicine is through a pain clinic where they specialize in this. If you have back trouble or undiagnosed pain just be honest with them and try to pretend you are starting all over with people that care about what happens to you and maybe things will go better. I dont know for sure they will prescribe what you want but they might be more understanding than you think. I know the ones I have gone to (for the most part anyway) have been very helpful to me, I hope you get the help you need.
Jody
I don't have that many suggestions since I am just starting out trying to find something that can help me live a few days a week, if possible without pain. It is hindering all I hold dear in my life. I have 7 grandchildren and some greats, too. I worked outside the home some but really loved being home caring for my children, grandchildren and Mom, who had Alzhiemer's. Then my nightmare began and is worsening.
I am so sorry to hear about all you have been through. I'm glad you found a job that you love and one where people respond to your needs in illness. I will surely be checking in on you and watching for advice you may be able to pass on to us. You sound very brave, caring and knowledgeable. I am so glad to find people on this site who offer such wisdom. I hope your days ahead are improved and if not that you find some further help.
I agree that the ones who look at us as though we just simply do not have a high pain tolerance and make mountains of molehills are not seeing us clearly. Noone would opt to go around in pain on a very regular basis. Who wouldn't want to feel the energy and wellness that some who criticize us must feel. I would love to have that once again. I know you would, too.
find something to help you with the answers you seek. You sound young and with so much ahead of you. My journey in this world of pain began in my 40's and I am now almost 65. As pain mangement clinics are on the rise where I live, it is becoming more accessible. When I was in the hospital in Jan. and Feb., I had a very good doctor in pain mangement speak with me. The first one I had ever known. He is one I will be checking in with when my health insurance goes into effect. I have been without insurance since 2001, which I find is a condition so many are facing.
Again, let me offer my best wishes for a good day tomorrow. I am up right now because of pain, but hope you are getting a good night's sleep! I wish you Godspeed!
thank you so much for your kind words and understanding. its not just back pain, head pain, knee pain whatever, it is the fact that it effects EVERY aspect of your life and people who say dont let it, do not realise it is not because we are weak or have a choice. as you say, i do not go around saying i have pain for attention (although this has been suggested i.e. munchhausens or its all in the mind cos they have said i had a so called 'deprived' childhood - i didnt really but they need some excuse) if i did it for attention i would do something to gain positive attention. i rarely mention it to anyone for fear of pushing people further away. one of my relationships has failed partly due to this. at the beginning i was not offered ANY type of pain relief and have only began to be taken seriously after years. my advice to people who are just starting to have a problem is PLEASE do not suffer or go through what i have had to, when sometimes i feel i cannot face the future or live another day and the docs are worried about me becomming addicted. i would gladly take 10 or 15 years off my life to have quality of life. i work with older people and know that it is only good to live a long life if you have quality. i dont know if i mentioned this in my story bit, but one doctor was refusing to give me some tramadol. i live in an area where there are a lot of street drugs and said that if she didnt do the one thing she could for me, i would go on the street and buy some! i doubt if i would have done, but ive never seen anyones fingers move so fast in my life on the key board for a prescription! i know i may sound rude, but we shouldnt have to fight tooth and nail to get, as i say, the one thing most doctors can do for us. they keep telling us that you cant do any harm to your back and if pills help you to keep more mobile that has to be a good thing. i dont care if hurt isnt the same as harm. is it wrong for me not to want to hurt either? the general consensus seems to be that know one should have to live in unbearable pain, but then the medical profession have to meet us on this. im in the uk so can get things on the nhs, but believe me, if the only way was through the internet or even illegal drugs just for my own pain relief, i cannot say i wouldnt try to get some and if anyone judges me then they can judge, after i have made them feel my pain.
my reply is down as lynda for some reason even though im lesley!
I am truly sorry you are having such a hard time. Pain is something we each need help with. I hope by now you are in a program or have found a doctor who is trying to help you more. I doubt you would have gone to the street, either. It's dangerous because I have heard enough from my family members who have addictions, to know what they can put in the things they say they can put in them.
Take care and I hope you get better. They have found more medical problems with me that require surgery, so I probably won't be in touch much. Remember to avoid hurting your back as much as possible. It's going to hurt anyway, but take good care of yourself. I wish you the best.