Chronic Pain

someone just sent me this link, figured some of you might be interested:

http://www.curamin.com/sample.php

I haven't tried this yet, but I signed up for the sample.

Hello there! My name is David, and I live in Fairbanks, AK, and next month I turn the ripe age of 20.

That being said, I'll introduce why I'm joining this community. I've been into swing and ballroom dance since my freshmen year of high school, but didn't get serious about it until my junior year (when I started competing). In the spring of 2005, I started getting pain in the left side of my back (ranging from just the middle sometimes, to up and down the entire side). Presumably this was from performing a lift incorrectly multiple times.

The pain got worse from stress, tiredness, etc., but it still hasn't gone away three years later. A year ago I realized that I couldn'y sit comfortably on the floor because of discomfort in my left hip. Then, half a year ago, after taking a ballet class, I woke up the next morning with my left knee in pain, so bad that I had trouble walking for two weeks (one of the reasons I dropped out of college that semester).

Lastly, I slipped on the ice in December and pulled a muscle in my left shoulder, and that still hasn't healed (I can't sleep with my left arm under my pillow, and I can't hang from a bar, like at a playground, on my left arm).

So, I've had pain in my left side of my back, left hip, left knee, and left shoulder. I've been multiple doctors, three orthopedics, and a chiropractor. The doctors have told me that a)it'll heal on it's own, b)it's just inflammation, c)it's just anxiety/stress, and d)it'll go away if I stretch (this was all within the same hospital).

The strongest medication I've been prescribed is naproxen. I have no idea for the cause in my hip, shoulder, or back, but after an X-ray, it turns out that my knee is being pulled inward by my quad (I was told this and then sent away, saying it'd heal on it's own).

Because of the knee pain, I have stopped doing ballet, jazz, and modern (due to the heavy knee motions), and since I'm out of high school, there is no place for me to do ballroom dance in Fairbanks, so I've stopped dancing. Also, I don't know if I could do ballroom (Dancesport, olympic training) for ten to twenty hours a week (like what I want to do).

This has lead to depression, and I think that all these physical ailments are related to my chronic fatigue (I need 16 hours of sleep to feel refreshed, and that's if I'm lucky...). I wouldn't be surprised if my depression is just the result of my body seemingly falling apart on one side!

Anyway, my only solace is my chiropractor (I've walked in with hip pain, and walked out with none). I've been trying to find a good deep massage therapist (someone who'll completely ravage my back to get all the knots), but to no avail. I'm starting to look into diabetes, chronic fatigue, auto-immune diseases, and the like so I can find a reason why I have pain in so many places, why it isn't healing, why I'm depressed, and why I'm so exhausted all the time.

But, this entry is already long enough, but thanks for reading! If you have any input, suggestions, tips, or want to talk about dance or anything else, just leave a comment!

(PS- my insurance is the Native Health care because I'm part Inupiaq. So, I can only go to there hospital, which is understaffed, and the staff that is there is underpaid. I received Medicaid for three weeks, but I was then employed full time at minimum wage and lost it.)

Anyone here use Kratom or Phenocane for pain?

I haven't used Phenocane in ages due to cost. I just got some Kratom off a seller on ebay for a reasonable price, and am using it today for the first time in a year. It's not a prescription med, but it helps. I was able to clean the house up a bit without the usual pain that I normally have, and even called my dad (I felt much calmer for some reason too, I think it was another effect of it).

I can't afford to get this much but I love it when I can. Plus, if it weren't for kratom I would have had a HORRIBLE time quitting vicodin. It made going off vicodin so much easier.

If any of you want more information there's a great forum for information here.

On another note, sadly, I think there are some states where it's illegal or they are trying to make it illegal...So you may want to find out the laws in your state, too.

If you have any questions let me know!

New to Live Journal, I am a avid blog a holic whose life has been taken away and put in the grips of chronic pain. I am seeking friends, I am seeking anyone, anyone who will listen, anyone who understands and knows what I face daily, just someone who will accept me. I’m a 25 year old female who in 2004 was diagnosed with “colitis” an illness I had no prior knowledge of or even heard the name prior to this. Since 2004 it has worsened and to keep this post short I will try to explain the best I can, I sit here in tears because I know how much this illness has taken away from me.

 

I knew something was wrong in early 2004, like usual I ignored the signs of my unhealthy body. In Feb. 2004 my mother was diagnosed with colon cancer (she recovered and is now in remission). I ignored the pain I was in and ignored the bathroom issues because my mothers well being was the only thing I could think of, days without sleep, trying to juggle at the same time. By July 2004 I knew that I needed to go to in and get it checked out, I was in so much pain and went so many days without eating (because I no longer could) I passed out and was sent to the ER. Three trips later to the ER with the same issues and being admitted (the last time) they finally addressed my problems as being “colitis”. I went on the routine of diet and meds, tests, and colonoscopy’s to find the ulcers were 18+ inches up my colon and covered the rectum, the doctors were baffled they stated saying they had never seen a case as bad as mine.  On the meds for nearly 2 years (up to 2006) I just kept getting worse, I was unresponsive to all the medications and combinations of them. Around this time I was having grave pain as well as the issues that stems from colitis, I was going to the ER once to twice per week and most of the time I was very ill, they always pumped me full of morphine and sent me home with a bandaid treatment because they couldn’t address my issues, not knowing why I wasn’t responding to the medications. When I was removed late 06 from all the meds for the colitis the ER trips sort of stopped, the steroids and other meds were causing worse stain on my body. I sit now before you riddled with the effects of chronic pain and depression. The ulcers ate through all the muscle tissues in my colon causing them to collapse which in return caused a rectal prolapsed (the rectum coming out of the body). Not just at the times I go to the bathroom (and with colitis it is often I go upwards to 50 times per day on flared ups) it happens when I walk, it happens so much and causes grave pain, pain no one could imagine it doesn’t go away, pain I wouldn’t want anyone to come close to imagining. Since 04 I have been through 18 doctors, surgeons, and specialists all of which look at me and basically say “what do you want us to do”. They before talked of surgeries, reconstruction and colostomy now in 2008 they say surgery is not an option for me anymore my body is way to unhealthy to come through a major surgery. My immune system due to the colitis is lowered, I get staph infections, and other issues which lead them to basically say if we do this you will have a tripled risk of death. I don’t want to die, but I don’t want to live in this pain, each month the illness and pain takes away so much I try not to let it but I have lost friends, I have lost my sense of who I really am, I had to quit my job, I had to quit college my medical school dreams all never happened as I had to turn my scholarship down knowing I can’t do it. I used to have a great young life, I was a party girl with friends I would go out shopping, I would hang out with my family I was active. Now I don’t even leave my house my life now is colitis, chronic pain, depression, fear, and panic attacks.

 

I am seeking friends, friends who know what I am going through. Like I said I’m new to groups on LJ and LJ itself I blog as an escape, my friend told me to sign up for the LJ community. I would just like to meet those who know how is is to suffer from colitis and illnesses like chronic pain and be accepted for my illness. Please feel free to add me, take a look at my blogs, email back and forth, I am extending a hand to anyone who wants to add me as a friend and communicate because in all reality I need to meet others who understand.

 

Thanks.

hello everbody.
my names jade im 20 years old.
im a photography student.

i have had chronic back pain for 6 years now, which was caused by being kicked in the ribs by a gang when i was 14.
now 6 years on the pain is in my spine, lower back, legs, neck and can even goes to my arms and hands on a bad day.
only now am i getting an mri scan to see if there is anything they can see and do.

i have had a long battle with the docters about opiates and narcotics due to the fact they swear everyone can get addicted.
as im in the uk its harder to get painkillers such as vicodin ect.
i am currently on a opiate called co-dydramol and co-proxamol.
these dont work if atall and im currently trying to get my doctor to let me have somthing stronger, as im so young she is concerned with how i might cope with painkillers.

i totally understand what people go through, the doctors dont listen, they contradict themselfs, they are scared to issue certain if any pain meds.
and if your young like me they belittle you.

i joined this comunity so i can make friends who might understand me.
feel free to add me to friends i tend to ramble on about photography, or my back hehe

-jade

Hello, I've just joined. Here is my introductory rant.

I've had chronic foot pain for about 6 years which over time has got worse and spread to my legs and back, and bizarre feet my entire life (weak ankles, used to bruise for no reason, wider than the wealth gap). Efforts have been made to find out why I'm in pain and to treat it, but with no success. I tried regular Ibuprofen for a month but it didn't stop the pain and I started to have pain in my oesophagus so stopped due to ulcer worries. I went to a podiatrist and they made me special insoles and told me to do special stretches after diagnosing me with plantar fasciitis, but that didn't stop the pain. I went to a remedial masseur and he seemed to have some idea of what was wrong, but the doctor didn't understand when I tried to explain what he'd said, and I can't afford to regularly see a masseur.

The pain makes it very unpleasant to exercise so I have gained an awful lot of weight, and I'm at the stage where I really have to lose weight by hook or by crook, and I can no longer wait to find a solution to the pain. What I find particularly soul-destroying is trying to get advice on how to lose weight with chronic pain, and the result always seems to be "Exercise!" when I'm already pushing myself through hell to do what I've been doing and am still gaining weight, or "Eat less!" when I'm eating healthier than most of the diet plans I've seen. Are the only options actually either a) starve yourself or b) keep pushing until you pass out from the pain? There must be another way. Right? I'm tired of doctors acting like it's easy, not to mention telling me there's nothing more they can do and I just have to live with it. No, damn it, I do not, and will not.

Anyway. Rant over. I guess I'm just not sure what to do anymore and I want someone to suggest something I haven't already thought of, because at the moment the possibilities seem pretty grim.

Hey all. I know it's been AGES since I've posted, but since I had an experience today that I think we can all relate to, I figured I'd post.

I finally got insurance again, so made my first visit to a new doctor to see if we can try to figure out what's causing my pain problems. I'm honestly not sure WHAT to think of her. She seemed nice enough, yet I felt that she wasn't REALLY listening to me. I explained my situation to her (which I think I explained in an earlier post in this community) and how there was never a real actual discovery of what had been causing my pain, and that I'd lost a kidney over this so far...and how I lost my insurance and wasn't able to complete the testing to find out what was REALLY wrong with me, and how I'm still in pain every single day.

She asks me then, "well, what would you like ME to do for you?"

I answered with a simple (or so I thought) "What I really want is to continue the testing so we can find out what's really wrong with me; what's causing this pain." Then I added "some pain management would be nice as well, but if not, well, I understand."

Her answers to this were (and this is a summary because it seemed like the longest "lecture" I'd had to get in quite awhile):

1) If there was anything seriously wrong with me, they would have found it by now (I call bullshit on this: they've never found what's wrong in the first place, after a year of test after test after test and having my damn kidney removed. Additionally, my aunt suffered from serious chronic pain for YEARS, and her doctors claimed they couldn't find it and that it was all in her head, and by the time they realized it was cancer she only had a couple of weeks of life left....so you can't tell me that just because they look, they'll find it if it's serious).

2) She knows as far as pain management goes that the only thing that really will help is narcotics, but she refuses to dispense narcotics. If she does, she knows that I would only get addicted, the narcotics would stop working, I'd have to start finding more doctors to give them to me to fill my addiction, and eventually would end up getting them illegally. (I NEVER asked about narcotics, and quite honestly, I'd prefer something that's NOT narcotics. I understand that narcotics are fine for short term, but after spending that six months-year on them, I'm quite aware how they work less and less as time goes by, and what a pain in the ass it is to get off them--I never "doctor shopped" or "obtained them illegally"--I had no interest in reaching that point).

3) She also added that the actual important part was that my bipolar needed to get under control first, and then they could work on my pain, because my bipolar was OBVIOUSLY making the pain worse than it really is. (and an fyi, my bipolar IS being treated by a professional who is doing a fine job, and she knows nothing about my history with this, and certainly not enough to judge me after only spending 20 minutes in a room with me and no medical records).

While she was NICE, it was just something in how she acted that made me feel....I don't know. Like what I felt didn't really matter, I guess. When I went in, I was really hoping that not only would some new tests be scheduled (or at least orders put in for my medical records) but that I could perhaps be given a prescription for a non-narcotic pain med that I was on for awhile previously (or something like it) for the days I felt especially bad. Most days I do okay on tylenol and ibuprofren, but I do still have days where it just hurts to be AWAKE, when being in bed hurts,being out of bed hurts, when I have to FORCE myself to try to function.

All in all, I felt a lot of disappointment, but mostly hurt because I felt once again that I was not treated as if I had any more than a problem in the head...as if I were just some nutcase imagining my symptoms and not quite worth taking seriously.

Or who knows, maybe she thought I was "doctor shopping" for narcotics. I tried to make it clear that my main goal in all this is to find out what was wrong...maybe I shouldn't have mentioned pain management at all.

I always feel like such an idiot when my appointments go like this. How many doctors will I have to go through before I find one that actually seems to be listening to me?? The last one I saw that really seemed to believe me about my pain was the pain specialist in Lake Oswego. He was able to look past the fact that I was on a rather high daily dose of narcotics and was not only able to pinpoint my pain but come up with a possible solution. He was against usage of narcotics for pain managment as well, but he still validated what I was giong through and approved further usage of the medication until a diagnosis was reached. The point is that he took me seriously when no one else would. Now that I'm in a new city and a new state, I'm back at square one.

And of course I could also be overreacting, feeling hurt and disappointed for no good reason. eep.

Hi guys-
Well, I havent talked to the group in a while, but I've been tapering down my oxycontin. I want to see what I'm like without opiates. It's been hellish, frankly, but Im still alive, and wanting to be opiate free!

I've researched this thoroughly. I had the pills in my drawer for a time when I was ready.....it's been around 6 months. Boy I hope they haven't gone bad.......
I just need to wait at least 24 hours from my last oral opiate dose- oxycontin. From there, I must be experiencing moderate to severe withdrawl symptoms- they say to do otherwise will actually precipitate withdrawl. So, I wait until I'm at a 'severe' on the COWS (Clinical Opiate Withdrawl Scale), then I take my first 4mg. =) Lucky me, eh? Anyone else ever do this at home?( Read more... )

( Read more... ) So, I know what crap (or rather not crap) that oxy does to my system. Although its been a god-send medically, I know it's harmful to the rest of my body.... and since I'm feeling better pain-wise, I want to see how I do without it now. (Or even if I can live without it). I'm doing the 1/3rd every 3rd day medical step-down for oxy.
Has anyone else been on opiates a *long* time and then stepped down on oxy? ( Read more... ) My main problem is that I can barely get off the couch. I feel like I have no energy. I sleep all the time. I would think I'm depressed because I cry at the drop of a hat, but according to all my research, this is my body getting used to the step down. My body's trying to compensate for years of opiate use- and flushing it out of my system. Not fun. Anyone else been here? How long did it take? What was the worst for you? ( Read more... )
So please, help, anyone who's been here. What worked for you? What didn't work? If you were/are married during your detox, how did you keep the marriage strong and (if not totally healthy, at least) alive?

Thanks in advance!( Read more... )

This may seem like a stupid question, but are chiropractors able to write prescriptions for painkillers, namely Vicodin? I'm asking because the doctor that I have been getting it from for chronic back pain is cutting me off because he says he feels "immoral" by continuing to prescribe it (and the cause for my pain is still unknown), but I refuse to just sit here in excruciating pain because he can't figure out a diagnosis. Vicodin is the only thing that has been able to keep me stable enough to continue to go to school, work, etc. Out of all the doctors I've seen (I've seen six different specialists), my chiropractor is the only one I really trust, so I think he'd be able to help me. Thanks to anyone who can help me out.

I would like to start off by saying that I realize these communities to which I am cross-posting are not substitutes for actual medical advice. I have been to three different gastroenterologists and undergone routine testing, which have only added to my frustration. I am simply here to see if anyone else has shared any or all of my symptoms, and what has been done to cure them. Here goes...

For the past three or so years I have battled severe constipation. Throughout this time period I have been on endless dosages of ex-lax, Colace, Fiber-Sure, Metamucil, Fiber-Choice, and GlycoLax, sometimes all at the same time. Despite of these medications, frequent exercise, and a diet high in fiber and low in fat, the most regular I am is having a bowel movement every 6-9 days. When I finally do go to the bathroom, it is not like I am 'making up for lost time;' my stool is dark, hard, difficult to pass, and usually between the size of a grape and a ping-pong ball. I never feel relief, and I often have feelings of 'incompletion' after using the bathroom. There is often bright red streaks on the stool, and I have faint-but-bright pink marks on my toilet paper. There is never fecal residue on the toilet tissue.

I usually drink about 4 liters of water per day, intake 45 grams of fiber, and rarely have more than two servings of starches per day. I am a vegetarian, but I do not eat eggs or cheese. I love to exercise, except since whatever I eat just sits in my stomach, it's so difficult to get the physical energy to become active. Regardless, I walk 30 minutes a day, but am no longer able to do aerobic exercise. My stomach is constantly EXTREMELY bloated, and I feel it literally weighing me down --- my legs are constantly achy and I have constant cramps.

It's getting to the point where it is painful to urinate. When I go to the bathroom [every 7 days or so] it's usually because I am so fed up so I resort to an enema. However, I can retain the liquid for over 30 minutes [the doctors told me to keep it in as long as possible] and I really have to strain and use my pelvic muscles just to expel the liquid. I wake up every morning to severe nausea, and have landed myself in a Catch-22. I feel extremely hungry, and my stomach hurts, so I eat. When I eat, I become extremely full very quickly, and I feel lots of bloated-ness and stomach pain.

I'm mostly just tired of not knowing what is wrong. If it helps to know this, I have major depression but am not on medication since my psychologist is super-Freudian. I was recently put on Zelnorm, and my GlycoLax prescription has been doubled. But, it's only my fourth day on these medications, so I have yet to experience relief or have a bowel movement.

I recently went to the ER because my weight had increased over 10 pounds in 9 days, and I am only 5'1". But, the hospital said I just have constipation and sent me home without any further consideration. I don't know what to do! I am going crazy. I feel so dizzy, can barely walk, am queasy, and have constant sharp, shooting pains throughout my stomach-region. I have a very skinny body except for my stomach, which seriously looks as though I am going to give birth within the next several weeks. I am also beginning to experience incontinence.

So...any ideas or similar experiences? I've been do different doctors and hospitals. All of my CT scans have shown severe stool backup, and the physicians say I simply have constipation, but then they just discharge me without answering questions or providing care. How do I get rid of this backup? Enemas, laxatives, and stool softeners do not work, period, but even more so since this fecal blockage is in my UPPER GI-tract.

Thank you for any potential help!!!

Today I received a letter from Acurian, asking me to participate in clinical trials for my headaches.

The problem is, I don't have any idea who Acurian is, or how they got my medical information. Furthermore, it was addressed to my maiden name, and my headaches didn't start until after I was married (LOL etc).

I called Acurian and all "Rose" could tell me was that I must have filled out a survey somewhere, online or from a magazine, for one of their unnamed "partners". Firstly, I don't fill out surveys with medical information. That is no one's business, even if I bitch about it in my journal, to ease the frustration of dealing with stuff. Secondly, this means SOMEONE SOLD MY MEDICAL INFORMATION. And that pisses me off to no end. I've gotten come-ons from my insurance--okay, whatever, but this is not them. They do not have my maiden name. My doctors don't have my maiden name in their computers. Who the hell has both my maiden name and my current medical information, and is SELLING BOTH?

Has anyone else experienced this? What recourses do I have other than demand to have my name taken off Acurian's mailing list and my medical information expunged (done and supposedly done)? I could not find anyone else talking about this with regards to Acurian on Google.

Cross-posted to personal journal and medical communities

Hi, I'm new. I'm 17 years old and have been having chronic back pain for the last 4 years or so.

( A not so brief summary of my experience with back pain )

Cross-posted to backpain.

I saw a post a couple down asking about online pharmacies and there is a super site that anyone interested in this should take a look at. It is www.drugbuyers.com .... It contains advice about buying meds online, how to do it legally, and news and updates about the best sites, the best prices, who is doing what legally, etc. Everyone should check it out.

I posted this info here rather than as a reply to the query so everyone would see the info, but I'll put it as a reply too so the individual who asked the question will see it for sure.

I read the description for this group and really identified with the whole tattoos, piercings, etc. part about not being able to get treatment. This is me:

I found this yesterday, and thought it might interest everyone here. At least it offers hope that medical science could develop better pain management drugs. :-)

Gene affects pain tolerance (link to full article)

*Highlights*:
Researchers in the US said today they had found a gene that appears to affect how people feel discomfort.

Tests in rats showed that blocking increased activity of the gene after nerve injury or inflammation could prevent the development of chronic pain, a finding that points to possible ways to develop new pain drugs.

----

The affected gene is called GCH1, which codes for an enzyme called GTP cyclohydrolase. This enzyme is needed to produce a chemical called tetrahydrobiopterin or BH4.

"Our results tell us that BH4 is a key pain-producing molecule - when it goes up, patients experience pain, and if it is not elevated, they will have less pain," Dr Woolf said in a statement.

Cross-posted to chronic_pain and migraines

Hi. My name is Shana, I'm married with 3 kidlets, 1 grandkidlet. *smiles* I will be turning 34 on thursday ... lol ...
I really dislike going to doctors, I am diabetic (which is the least of my worries atm). In January I started having uncontolled uterine bleeding and lower pelvic pain (among other things) and after going through HELL finally had a complete hysterectomy in June. My OB/GYN told me prior to the surgery that he could not guarantee pain relief but he could guarantee no more bleeding. :D As of today, I am still in pain, still feel like a "tin man" and so wiped that I have a hard time doing anything. I have done some research and it looks like (at least to me) that I may be dealing with FM or CFS or both. Of course I sound like a hypocondriac to anyone around me ... and it's like pulling teeth to get any kind of pain meds form my doctors at the clinic here.

I am thankful to see that there are groups here on LJ .... *smiles* Though I have to say that it's kinda sad to get more support online than off. I hope to get to know people and hopefully support one another. I have to admit that my own personal LJ has turned into a no-stop drama pity-pot party. My husband loves me very much but he is confused and doesn't know what to do to help me either.

I hope that everyone is having a good day .... take care ...

*texas sized huggles*

Well, I was pretty surprised- I decided to experiment with a few Sativas today. I tend to stick to the Indicas, because they have the higher amts of CBD- which is the primary painkilling cannaboid from what I've read so far). I had a bit of Trainwreck this morning- it definitely helped with my pain (Got me from a 6 to a 3!) Along with giving me a coffee like buzz. I unpacked a crapload of boxes, did laundry, dishes, and in general had a productive day. I switched to AK-47 as the day went on- I find the AK is better for pain, but I wouldn't drive on it.

Other notes: AK-47 gives a head buzz similar to a beer, and is *really* excellent as far as pain control goes. I'd give it a 9- up there with Romulan, for effectiveness.

New York City Diesel gives me a funny feeling in my chest- almost like salvia. The pain reduction was about a 6 of 10 for effectiveness (Romulan being a 9 or 10 out of 10). Interesting taste, odd head high.

I'll be trying Snow White, Slider, and Medicine Man pretty soon. Ah, I wish I had some money for some blueberry, but I'm broke until the 1st, at least. =P Have a pain-free day, all!