Dealing with Chronic Pain

Mitch86

Mitch86

Member
Location
Connecticut, USA
According to this site 48% of older Americans suffer chronic pain due to arthritis:

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That is what I have. Do any of you folks have the same problem with chronic pain from Arthritis? How do you deal with it?

I find my only solutions are to keep busy playing computer games, other computer activities and walking. I also take Tylenol and Gabapentin for it.
 

i have chronic pain from a couple different injuries. this wont go away. it cant be repaired. the PTSD is forever.
it can be softened lessoned made liveable with use of small amount of pain meds, the same amount
for over Twenty Years. the brand, type, has changed,...couldnt take acetomin or ibuprofen any longer
so was then put on no filler pain med.

im having a serious problem with how we are treated relative to pain. i awaken Every Morning in much
pain, i was waking during the nites...2;30 4;30am, in there. that has settled down since i now take a supplement
for adrenal stress. my adrenals are tired of dealing with pain and the constant cortisol causes me various other
metabolic issues as well...and this is WITH pain meds.
without them...i end up in ER with NO potassium in a crash.

when ive been deprived of pain relief my BP slowly rises to over 200. it is usually about 130-150. it was 120
Always up until a few years ago when i relocated to a VA area and no one would write the meds for me.
i slowly got more and more unwell...BP insomnia PTSD anxiety depression higher BP.
as soon as a VA doc put me back on the meds my BP came down month after month and has remained down.
life began again and my life was saved.

i REFUSE to be killed by med system that refuses me any relief from injuries ive sustained in my life Some of
which were Caused In Total by doctors, surgeons, WHO LEFT ME IN WORSE CONDITION DUE TO THEIR INCOMPETENCE
thus requiring MORE surgeries to correct mistakes.
ive recovered and worked at it. i had a life to continue and i had chiro massage naturopathic med to continue it.

imo...many of the "drug overdoses" are suicides and now the rest of us pay for that.
if im left in pain my body will indeed die and if thats what they want it is what they will get.
stroke heart attack...death.
it is SICK to treat people that way and then be "shocked!!" by suicides.

im tired of hearing blame put on the meds vs the pain the human can no longer deal with.
am i to continue living in pain so i can SPEND MONEY for a system that could not care less about me the person?

our med system is no diff than being drunk and gambling. the VA is no better.

as a relocated veteran im now suddenly expected to drive 5 HOURS ONE WAY..or TEN HOURS round trip...for a test at
the VA which cant seem to get it done locally where i am like the other vets have gotten.

this country can work its veterans to death but they dont want them to have any relief.
this will become accurate also for the thousands of fire fighters whove been working their butts off
trying to put these fires out. they wont walk away without injuries.

thanks for listening.
 

I too am now suffering from chronic pain. The headaches I was having 4 months ago have progressed to 24/7 pain in my sinuses, ears, abdomen and calves and feet. I have been diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy. I have to wait about 2 months to see a neurologist. At least 1 out of 5 Americans suffer from chronic pain. Probably many of us elderly folk are suffering. I am having to learn now how to deal with this. IThey prescribed 900mg of Gabapentin per day. ( it is not working to good yet--been on it for 10 days ) I am using THC instead of pharmaceuticals to ease the pain. It works good most of the time. But, waking up each morning and feeling depressed because this is another day of struggling with pain. There are techniques, like exercising, staying busy, resting, meditation/s....pets are good, the forum is good :)....I have called the Foundation for Peripheral Neuropathy https://www.foundationforpn.org/support/support-groups/, and asked about starting a support group in the Columbia area. I bet there are a thousand people that would be interested.
 
Here are some discussion topics that a support group could discuss.

 Staying active despite the disease
 Learning to ask for help
 Laughter and humor
 How to avoid becoming isolated
 Communicating effectively with your physician
 Stress management
 When to take the car keys away
 Levels of loss as the disease progress
 How to talk with your family, friends, co‐workers one about your disease
 Preserving self‐esteem
 Coping with holidays and special family events
 Traveling with a person with PN
 Assistive devices
 Disability: What benefits are available and how to apply
 How to cope with lack of sleep
 Long Distance Care giving
 Learning about the national organization – The Foundation for Peripheral Neuropath
 
Many of you have heard of the cannabis extract CBD. I have only tried it once and discovered after that this particular one contained the active in ingredient (THC) that makes you high. In spite of growing up in the sixties with a lot of exposure to pot, today ate my age it wasn't pleasant for me. I now know that CBD's are available without THC and have many friends that use it orally and cream based so it can be applied locally. Across the board they all say it helps a lot.
 
I have noticed on the Pain forum that many people are using CBD and THC either alone or in combination for pain relief. it also seems the Cymbalta shows up a lot. I wonder what it does?
 
Paco Dennis said:
I have noticed on the Pain forum that many people are using CBD and THC either alone or in combination for pain relief. it also seems the Cymbalta shows up a lot. I wonder what it does?
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Headache, nausea, diarrhea, dry mouth, decreased appetite, increased sweating, feeling nervous, restless, fatigued, sleepy or having trouble sleeping (insomnia).
 
dko1951 said:
Many of you have heard of the cannabis extract CBD. I have only tried it once and discovered after that this particular one contained the active in ingredient (THC) that makes you high. In spite of growing up in the sixties with a lot of exposure to pot, today ate my age it wasn't pleasant for me. I now know that CBD's are available without THC and have many friends that use it orally and cream based so it can be applied locally. Across the board they all say it helps a lot.
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Be careful with medical marijuana. I took one pill and it gave me paralysis in my left leg for one hour.
 
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I am very careful with all medications. Pain meds including Marijuana need to be careful used and monitored. Though these meds will only bring pain relief they will not entirely cut all the pain. We might feel good for awhile but the symptoms come back. You have to use different combinations so that each medication has not been over used and loose it's efficacy. If you have chronic pain it pretty much a full time job to stay functional.
 
I too take Tylenol and Gabapentin for Arthritis/Nerve pain, as well as occasional Aleve ....

I believe I have mentioned this before but .... IMO, if you can ignore pain by distraction ? then you really do not sufer from pain. I hope yours never gets to the point that it can no longer be ignored.
 
I am starting to understand that dwelling on the pain is not the best way. I do have choice...we all do. I am choosing to understand the context of my thoughts. Some are the reflection of the pain, which is quite normal, but there is no reason to dwell on it. I am becoming aware and having some success in changing my attitude. It is a learning curve...but well worth it.
 
My complete pain arsenal is, Indomethacin, Gabapentin, Tylenol, & Aleve.

A nurse suggested too me that I use the Indo & Gaba as prescribed .... but for-go the Tylenol & Aleve unless I am having a really bad pain day. Then she said she believed alternating between them, on a short term basis , works the best.
 
Chet said:
I am leery of continuous use of pain medications. My mother started bleeding out of both ends and had to have an operation to remove part of her stomach and spleen. No fun any time especially in your 80's.
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Well yeah but ...... when you are in pretty severe pain .... I believe most will roll-the-dice .
 
I watched a PBS special on the way Doctors communicate with those who have a fatal disease. They tend to not tell the truth about the severity of the cancer, and promise hope by a drug, or procedure. Most of the patients would have prefered being told earlier so they could stop the treatments and die with their loved ones...or however the wanted. The patients became quite confused when each time the Doctor would bring hope, only to have it fail, over and over. At some point the pain..or the disease will win.
 
I have had to deal with neck pain (several herniated discs) since my fall in 2008. I never took pain killers for it. I have occasionally taken ibuprofen or Tylenol, as needed. I used to take Vitylzyme for a while. It's an enzymatic mixture and it's mild, but it also thinned my blood, so no aspirin whenever I take it. I also changed a lot of things in my life - my bed, mattress, not lifting things, not tiring my neck, etc. I abhor any type of marijuana or painkiller. Now, I rarely take anything because I've learned what stresses my neck/body and I avoid it. I don't know if my body has absorbed the pain, or what. That's about it. Keeping my fingers crossed.....
 
You contradict yourslf in the first sentence .

"I have had to deal with neck pain (several herniated discs) since my fall in 2008. I never took pain killers for it. I have occasionally taken ibuprofen or Tylenol, as needed. I used to take Vitylzyme for a while. It's an enzymatic mixture and it's mild,"

So you have taken pain killers .
 
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Paco Dennis said:
Has anyone heard of or used Alpha Lipoic Acid? I am thinking about trying it for Peripheral Neuropathy.
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Coincidently, I just received some info on peripheral neuropathy from a friend that is a licensed nutritionist about using olive oil to treat PN. There is a lot of info regarding Alpha Lipoic Acid on line. Like most alternative treatment, there is no conclusive evidence that it is affective, but in my experience that only means that the medical world won't make their share off prescription drugs . Everything I have read shows that it is safe with only minimal possibility of some minor side effects. Just Google the words, plenty of info. Good luck, I have PN also. It sucks!
 


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