Chronic Pain

There are a couple of medications out there that deal with nerve pain (which I have been dealing with since I got into a car accident in October), one is Amatriptaline and Neurotin (don't hold me to the spelling, I'm bad at the medication spelling) and they have worked great. I am also on Tramadol and I only take that when the pain is really bad and that works like a charm.

I've heard of progress being made in neurostimulation. I believe everything is still in trials but you could start to look into that. It's for chronic pain when all else fails. I don't know much about it but you could google it and see if it leads anywhere. Otherwise, acupuncture? I'm sorry you're dealing with this. It sounds horrible. But I think there is progress being made in neurostimulation.

You live in Washington, why are you suffering over a pithy bit of money. There is a huge Chinatown. Don't you trust accupuncturists? When I was really sick and bedridden with asthma I went to a fine accupuncturist twice a week. Five weeks later I was throwing wood off my truck and helping my friend stack it so she and her son could be warm..
Then 5 years ago I went to a REALLY great homeopath. I have not had a trace of asthma for four years. It took a year and now I have stamina, I am strong and I have good health.
Don't talk about money. You are wasting your good life over a few bucks.
Yes my insurance didn't pay. Would I rather have asthma or eat vegetables and rice with my family to see someone who can help me.

I surgery an option for your condition? I'm positive it will be inconvenient for a while but if in the end you feel better it may be worth it. Or perhapse meeting with a pain management specialist. They don't take the pain away but teach you how to deal it with.... I'm sorry for your situation. Much luck.

I have chronic pain issues as well essentially due to Fibromyalgia. Mine are getting worse, and over the counter remedies don't really cut it any longer. Other chronic issues I've had are made worse by the Fibro and there are new issues that have cropped over the past few years. I received the diagnosis from one doctor, it was just confirmed by my neurologist, and now I have to go to a rheumatologist. Fibro affects joints, muscles, gastric issues even, but is especially known for causing pain in overactive nerves.

So my point is that I feel your pain. I've been researching and asking my doctors for their best recommendations, so that I know now I'm going to be going to the best type of specialist for my type of disorder (Rheumatologist). I also know what type of medication I'll prefer to request going in based on other medications I already take (so that nothing is redundant... like Lyrica over Celexa).

Have you seen an Orthopedic Specialist? Or a Rheumatologist?

I would recommend K48 Plus, which has produced some great results for people who have chronic pain and inflammation issues. You can see all about it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1crLDJmaFzY&feature=ch....

Take a look and send me a message on how I may be able to help!

I second Victoria! You're at the wrong chiropractic office. And you CAN be pain free by healing and rebuilding disks and having your spine aligned properly. You are in a great area to find a great chiropractor. Search for an upper cervical specialist (you can go to www.upcspine.com to find one in your area) Also inerview them. Ask them to explain how the spine controls the body and how it controls the immune system...if they don't know, then run. If they do, tell them you want them to talk you through everything.

I'm with Victoria. If I didn't have my chiropractor I WOULD have pain. Glucosomine and Chondroitin rebuild disks....make sure it is absorbable and pharmaceutical grade. Calcium to keep bones from thinning and daily exercise.

When you interview these chiropractors or nutritionists, ask about a payment plan. My expense is budgeted and the same every month no matter if it's routine maintenance or a specific issue. Most DCs have family plans too.

God bless,

M.
www.squidoo.com/ifyoubabycouldtalk

I too think a pain management doctor is the next step.
Chiropractic adjustments should not cause more pain. Three times a week is too much! I would get some recommendations for another chiro in your area.
I trust my chiropractor completely. I went to him very shortly after having my ribs pried apart to remove half my lung. He helped me more than the pain pills. Years ago, when I had to have open heart surgery and my ribs were pulled apart I had terrible pain in my back that no pain meds could help. The chiropractor I had then also helped me tremendously.
Because of my chiropractors, I can still teach exercise classes 5 days a week, even though I have had several major surgeries. And I am 56.

M. - I'm so sorry to hear that you have to live with pain, and especially at such a young age. I do pray that you find help. I have three comments for you.
1. My husband and I go with our 4 girls to a chiropractor twice a month, or pop in more often if needed. It has done wonders for us. You do not have to use the plans they set out for you - you can work out other options. Please do not give up on chiropractic, because if your nerves are blocked because of being out of alignment then your brain cannot send the healing messages to the body that it needs to. If you have degenerative discs you can get relief using decompression therapy. My chiro offers it, as well as a few other places in your area. I've personally seen people nearly carried into the office walk out on their own just a few weeks later.
2. Cut all sugar out of your diet. You can research this online, but sugar really exacerbates conditions that relate to fatigue and chronic pain.
3. I went to high school and college with someone who some days could not get out of bed for pain. (I lived in WI at the time.) He went to all the local doctors, who referred him to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, and they all told him the same thing: it's in your head. Thanks, here's your money, right?!? He finally saw a kinesiologist at the Univeristy in our town, and went through the craziest "witch doctor tests" as he called them, but believe it or not, they told him they knew what was wrong and could help him. He had developed ridiculous allergies to anything and everything, had some blood problems, I'm sorry I can't tell you what else. He never complained and didn't like talking about his troubles to other people, so I only have a few details. Anyway, he did a severe elimination diet and has to hand make a lot of his food to avoid chemicals and ingredients he's allergic to, but he's actually able to hold a job and have an almost normal life now! Oh - he's allergic to fluorescent lights, too, which he worked under for 8 hours a day, so he had to quit his job, and still wears a baseball cap and long sleeves just to go to the grocery store.
I know seeing a Kinesiologist would cost money, but your health and the well-being of your children are worth monthly payments to the clinic for the rest of your life.

I also recommend going to a pain management clinic. They will help you to learn various ways of managing the pain to include but not exclusively medicines.

Both my brother and I have chronic pain and found relief with Neurotin. It has another name too.

I have no real advice, since it sounds like you have tried chiropractic and physical therapy, which is where I have found some relief for my chronic back pain. I really just wanted to tell you how much I understand what you are going through. I am in pain all the time. I try to not talk about it much and try to continue on and push through it, but it's always there. I don't really think my family understands what this is like. They try, but until you have back pain every second, you just don't get it. It would be easy for me to relax and take it easy and give in to the pain, but I have way too much on my plate. I haven't really found that resting helps anyway. So, I push though, I exercise and if I don't it hurts more...way more. I walk and do stretches and use my inversion table each day. If I miss a day, I'm in agony. I missed yesterday and today I'm paying the price. So, in other words. I hope you can find something that will at least minimize your pain. It's so challenging to remain positive when you hurt.

I don't know if my suggestion will be helpful because I have no personal experience with it, only second hand information. I have a friend who used to be in chronic pain. She discovered the feldenkrais method and it worked wonders for her. She now teaches it and has students who have experienced improvements while under her tutelage. She just mentioned this week that someone who came to her had her pain decrease significantly after just one visit. I don't know if it will help with your kind of issues but it might be worth giving it a try.

I have dealt with chronic pain the last eight months sense rupturing a disc in my lower back...the "jelly" inside the disc leaked out into all the nerves running down into my leg.

I found a lot of success with spinal injections...I have had two. The second one took almost three weeks to help though and I was really thinking surgery was going to be in my future.

Then I found my massage therapist...I see her once a week for an hour massage...and it isn't the for fun and relaxation type...but she gets my back put back together. Two hours after my first session all the feeling came back into my leg. It had been numb sense the injury from my knee to my toes. I am usually pain free for about three to four days after seeing her.

My pain management doctor tried me on several different medications for pain not narcotics...Cymbalta which I had heard great things about (I had an allergic reaction to it...total bummer!!)...Trazadone was great for sleep but not so much for the pain...he also offered several other options of anti-depressants that I declined due to previous attempts on them and side effects. But many of them really really help with nerve pain...I am just very sensitive to them the SSRIs.

Find a pain management doctor and go from there...mine is open to anything that will help, spinal injections, medication (non-narcotic), massage, acupuncture, etc. They might even have a cash discount if money is a problem and the drug companies offer low or no payment medications if you find one that works and need help paying for it.

Sending you a hug...no one really gets chronic pain until you have lived with it!!

I too suffer from chronic pain due to a neck injury. I understand how it feels to try and take care of your kids and house while suffering from pain. Alot of your situation sounds familiar to mine. I went to so many different doctors for years, tried so many different treatments and medications without relief. I tried Chiropractor and it made my pain worse. Finally I found an excellent pain management MD, I told him I really did not want narcotics because they make me tired and did not help improve the quality of my life. We tried a few different spinal injections, nerve blocks and even botox and finally he prescribed Cymbalta. Cymbalta is an antidepressant that has been found to have great effect on pain caused by nerve pain, muscular skeletel pain and other types of pain. I cannot believe it after years of suffering I have finally found relief. Of course I still have some pain sometimes, but it is not as bad as it was before I started the Cymbalta. Also, I have not had any side effects from the medication except feeling hot, but the MD said that will go away.

A good pain doctor will not just give you narcotics, he will look for other treatments first. There are alot of options, including spinal injections and nerve blocks.

Talk to your MD about Cymbalta. Let me know how you are doing. I hope that you find relief soon. No one should be living in excrutiating pain this day and age.

Have you tried acupuncture? There are low cost clinics that you can go to for treatments.

I'm no doctor. But it sounds to me that you need to get yourself to every pentecostal church you can get to, put yourself on prayer chains, read your bible, pray, pray, and learn all you can about divine healing. I've been doing that this year. I'm not healed outright. But I've received a lot of relief and still believing for the rest. I'm adding you to my personal prayer list right now.

Many of our local area hospitals offer classes to help you learn to deal with chronic pain. You might check into those around you and see if they have something to offer.

My mom deals with chronic pain and found out that once everything (or most) was corrected or healed that the pain continued. There is a nerve in our body called they sympathetic nerve and if in pain for a continued amount of time and then the problem is corrected, the sympathetic nerve still sends signals to our brain that we are in pain. My mom went through some pain management classes to learn to work through her pain without the meds. (same prob. with tolerance and just not working) and this helped alleviate some of the sympathetic nerve signals that were getting through. It also helped her work through the pain she still had where reconstruction/repair could not happen.

I know Providence Health Systems have chronic pain management classes available even if not in the system. Check into it and learn to manage through the pain.