Chronic Pain Member Introductions

I enjoyed snow skiing and water skiing alot before all this terrible arm , back and shoulder pain . now my hobbies include online games , playing with my grandchildren, playing my guitar, singing some arts and crafts and taking long walks in the sun or a drive up the moutains to walk and lesson to nature. I came here looking for support and to make friends with others who know what its like to live and deal with pain.My pain started with strange illnesses, then one day i got the flu and never really got better, with every fever i got terrible stabbing like pains in my arms(shoulders) I remember waking up to what felt like Id been hit by a semitruck the pain was awful!!I remember pulling over and crying my eyes out!I couldnt even carry my grandchildren the arm weakness was so bad. Then later that yr I started having what felt like pressure in my middle back and boom … something exploded in there !all probably never know what, but I was bed ridden for 2 years with ungodly pain! fighting fire with fire… that being my heating pad. I just thank god that I am still here and that my pain know longer has control over me, I now have control over it .

I am 61 yrs old, male, married to a 57 yr old woman whose mother has this syndrome. Marilyn continues to stump most every physician she has seen. She’s been on innumerable drugs with little to no relief.

I am or was a Licensed Practical Nurse. I was injured on the job while caring for a patient. My injury happened in 1994, iI had surgury in 1995 and again to remove some hardware from my back in 1996. I have been in pain for many years now and it has begun to take a tol on my outlook on life and it is ecoming mre difficult to cope. I am usually a poitive person but lately I feel the I am becoming more negative on my outlook on life, and this scares me. I do not want to become bitter but I am losing my optimism about life. I hope to meet people on this site who can talk to. Ithink talking to someone who understands my pain would be ery helpul to me. My life has changed so much because of my chronic pain. I hope I can help others and I hope I can be helped as well.

10 years DJD, Srojens (sp), possible fibromyalgia; like to hear other’s stories/solutions.  @ kids, 26 & 20.  20yo at home in college.  Husband is nurse-does not believe in meds for pain (long term) as most healthcare folks do not.  Very difficult.

I am a people person,i like people from all walks of life.I love to have fun .I joke around alot.I take things as they come and deal with them in my own way.

I suffer from Idiopathic Scoliosis (I’ve had since childhood), Spondylolthesis @ L4-5 and Degenerative Disc Disease. I would like to make contact with others with similar problems. I have just recently became unable to work and going on disability. Major surgery is in my near future.

I have DJD,and chronic back pain,I’ve had 2 knee replacement on the right knee and 1 on the left knee,also a Laminectomy with fusion to stablize my lower spine,just wondering if I’m during all I can to make my life as normal as possibile

I’m not sure if this is where I need to be. My wife of 8 months has been dealing with chronic back pain since I have known her. In November she had surgery to fix the problem but she never worked with me to find ways to deal the the problems the pain caused us in our relationship. She is currently disabled after the surgery but will eventually recover. The problem is that because we are not adrressing this as a couple the stress and bad things that are resulting between us are getting more serious by the day.
In the last 10 years of my first marrriage I dealt with a wife who had MS. I learned alot about adjusting lifestyles and attitudes to make life better when dealing with chrinic physical pain. My new wife refuses to adjust her lifestyle to help this cause. She is a very active person by nature but the back condition has her totally out of commision. I am having trouble dealing with her and need help. She blames all our problems on me. We never talk about her health issues. I need to connect with someone who can help me through this until she gets back to some level of normal again. I am desparate.

I am a spirited female that is not only HIV/AIDS positive but more importantly positive in attitude and outlook on life. Stangely enough my life truly became when offically diagnosed almost 20 years ago. I do not see myself as someone thats life is comprimised. Not al all. Actually my life has become fully because of this " condition " What to know how me and the everready bunny are similair? We keep on going and going!!!

I love all animals, and I have all the wild birds coming to my garden for their feed.
I have a grandson who is now 3 years old he is beautiful.

Hi, My name is scott and I suffer from spinal stenosis, nothing so far as helped to get relief for about 4 hrs. it takes 30mg of percocet. I’m going for my last set of shoots 2/2/07 from L2 to L5. I have heard of cool laser surgery in Florida, and something new I just found in the paper [ cooled laser surgery] in Brick NJ any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you Scott

Vulvodynia

I have been under medical, chiropractic & alternative care for pain in my lower spine (spondilo L5-S1) as well as clucter headache. Pain med’s give only some relief. I couldn’t live without my Chiropractor. My new PCP has sent me to a pain management Dr. He want to do redeated injections called facet blocks in my lower spine as well as my neack.Has anyone had this done and if so what were UR results???

i have been living with chronic pain in my lower back, jointpain in several places for 2yrs, i also have coeliac disease for the last 6yrs and suffer from epilepsy for the last 25yrs! think thats enough to start with!iwould really like to hear from people who suffer from similar conditions and maybe help me understand why my life has turned out this way please.

I am interested in so many things. I would love to find a pain dr. who I can be honest with, w/o fear of being taken off my current medicines kind of, but more than that, I would think that is the one Dr. I should be able to be open with! I know that so many others have the same experience as I do, but isn’t that contradictory?
I would LOVE to find a cure to my pain!! I’m always searching for an alternative to narcotics, or pills in general. But if that is not to be, I want to live my life not being an outcast because I take narcotics.
I would love to help wonderful groups such as this, fight, talk to law makers, change/create laws, help people who have problems that I may have the answers to (the little guy) find answers so they may suffer just a little less!
I want to meet good and sensitive people in the medical profession, who want to help and change the way society thinks of people like me.
I guess I’m hoping to find two things: 1) a Dr. who LISTENS and ACTS. 2) I want to help; I have time, because I’m unable to work, I enjoy writing and speaking so I could be a voice to law makers and/or Congress about this issue. I just don’t have the money nor do I know where to go or who to speak to. Maybe here I can finally create some good out of the bad that has happened to me because of my illness, which I didn’t ask for or bring upon myself.

I am 39 years old have always been very outgoing …broke my ankle and life has been on a downhill eversince…Now have the early stage of RSD and want to know how to best deal with this …

I’m a 54 yr. old woman suffering with chronic pain. I’ve been working at a job where I stand for 8 hours a day. The pain got so great that I ended up losing my job of 15 yrs. I am trying my best to live with this. I have done so many things to help myself but I feel like I am at the end of my rope. I am out of ideas to help myself. I want some input on how to continue living my life, I know I will be in pain for the rest of my life. I’ve been going through this for the past 10 + yrs. now & every year it seems to be worse than the last. I just feel so alone at time with this, I don’t want to keep complaining to my family/friends, I think I just need another outlet to help me cope.

Live in the southern US with hubby of 37 years. Have grown son and a daughter who is fighting breast cancer. We have an 80 lb Airedale Terrier who thinks he’s a lap dog, and a cat who thinks he’s the boss of the dog. I love to paint and read. I mostly paint animal portraits. Hate to cook. Lots of health problems, but young at heart.

I’d like to connect with others who suffer from the same disorder as I do

Suffering chronic pain from several sources. Inadequate pain relief-afraid to ask doc for better pain relief for fear he will cut off my meager supply.