Chronic Pain

[Ryno]

As long as I can remember I've always had random aches and pains. It got really bad a couple of years ago when my lower back hurt so bad it took me a good half-hour and excruciating pain just to get my ass out of bed every morning. I had an MRI done and it turned out I had herniated disks in my lower spine. With some physiotherapy that has gotten better and I hardly ever notice it.

But now, I have upper back/shoulder aches, and my right foot is going all screwy. I noticed the other day at work I walk on the side of my right foot. I tried straightening it out which hurt a ->-bleeped-<-load worse. My right heel stings when I walk an if I limp wrong the balls of my left foot sting.

It's terrible. It really is. I had an appointment booked with a foot specialist but I had to cancel it because I didn't have the money. I'm definitely putting money aside for it with my next paycheck though.

I'm 21 years old. I shouldn't be dealing with this D: I'm just worried I'll be in a chair by the time I'm 50. At this rate, it's pretty much guaranteed... This friggin pain makes getting into shape a little challenging, and work is ridiculous.

Just thought I'd rant. Being in pain most of the time kinda makes ya a little irritable

I want to hear about others. Pain issues, complaints rants, let's have em. Let out your frustrations. I know I'm not alone.

[eli77]

I used to have funny conversations with doctors.
"How often do you get headaches?"
"I have one all the time."
"So, every day?"
"No. All the time. Continuous."
"Do you have a headache now?"
"Sigh..."

Apparently it's a difficult concept to grasp.

[Cindy]

Can you get a referral to a pain clinic? I'm in Australia and I know our health system is different to the USA, where I presume you are, but getting a complete work up and making sure you don't have pinched nerves or spinal curvature etc is important to manage pain conditions. Pain can be curable and at 21 I would be beating the doors down for treatment.

Hugs

Cindy

[Shanan]

Sorry your in pain. Have you seen or considered a chiropractor? I slipped a disc once, it was excruciating! Went to the specialist, after all the test they did they said they wanted to do surgery. I had heard so many horror stories about others that had long lasting issues even after surgery. that I told the doc, I wanted to wait a bit and see if it would get better with time. Long story short.... After two months of constant pain and move the wrong way, immobility. I started to think surgery was my only option. Then someone suggested a chiropractor. As a last resort before surgery, I went. Now I'm the biggest skeptic there was, but I feel great. I would say now that that ciropractor has kept me from the wheelchair.

[Renate]

Feet are funny things, you have to pay attention to them.
If there is any sort of issue you will find yourself unconsciously walking in an abnormal way.
Walking funny causes stress on all the wrong parts for yet more problems.

Your original problem could be plantar fasciitis or even just plantar warts.

[Ryno]

Feet are funny things, you have to pay attention to them.
If there is any sort of issue you will find yourself unconsciously walking in an abnormal way.
Walking funny causes stress on all the wrong parts for yet more problems.

Your original problem could be plantar fasciitis or even just plantar warts.

I do believe you may be on to something. I see no little warts (thank god) but after looking up plantar fasciitis and seeing some images, it seems worth checking out. I suppose I should go beat my doctor's door down. I just have to find one in my city because I'm sick of busing three hours to my old hometown. Finding a good doctor in Canada isn't esay. I spent about 6 years in my hometown going from one horrible practitioner to anther until I found my wonderful doctor, and now it's just too far to go see her.

Thanks for the tips. Very much appreciated!

For now I've got my foot wrapped up in a trusty old Ace bandage

[justmeinoz]

Chronic pain is a mongrel isn't it.
I have a bulged lumbar disc that ended my Police career, and causes me sciatic pain in my legs at times years later.  Pain in the feet could be a new nerve getting squashed.  Any different to the previous pains?

Do you have exercises for pain relief as well as improved strength and flexibility?  I have some that do help. Meditation and visualisation are also good tools to allow me to imagine the pain as a physical shape and slowly reduce it's size to nothing. It's not perfect but it helps.

Definitely worth banging on more doors for help. There is no need to put up with pain in this day and age.

Karen.

[Miniar]

I just have hypermobility piling onto my fibromyalgia.
But there are days when I wonder if my body's been somehow infused with broken glass inside major muscle groups.

[Sarah Louise]

Diabetic neuropathy equals pain everywhere all day and night.  It wakes me up in the middle of the night, even though I take a sleeping pill.

[Ephriam66]

If you're living with chronic pain, here's important news. Today's pain specialists have sophisticated new treatments -- from effective drugs to implants and electrical stimulation -- to provide chronic pain relief. There's much that can be done to tame the beast.
These advances have emerged in the past several years, as researchers have gained a greater understanding of chronic pain and how it develops. The origins of chronic pain are all too familiar: sports injuries, back injuries, car accidents -- or health conditions like migraines, diabetes, arthritis, shingles, and cancer.At times, however, there is no obvious cause of the chronic pain, no trauma or injury people can point to as a source of their chronic pain problem -- which has been frustrating for both patients and their doctors.

[Metal Stuart]

I have suffered from on going pain since I was 12, I am now 23. That's 11 years of being in pain 24/7. iv been poked and prodded and all they can say is 'it's most likely arthritis, but we aren't sure'. It's beyond ridicules and highly annoying. And now they want to send me off for another load of test, but on my muscles this time.

Sorry for the ranting but as you said

Just thought I'd rant. Being in pain most of the time kinda makes ya a little irritable

[Brooke777]

As long as I can remember I've always had random aches and pains. It got really bad a couple of years ago when my lower back hurt so bad it took me a good half-hour and excruciating pain just to get my ass out of bed every morning. I had an MRI done and it turned out I had herniated disks in my lower spine. With some physiotherapy that has gotten better and I hardly ever notice it.

But now, I have upper back/shoulder aches, and my right foot is going all screwy. I noticed the other day at work I walk on the side of my right foot. I tried straightening it out which hurt a ->-bleeped-<-load worse. My right heel stings when I walk an if I limp wrong the balls of my left foot sting.

It's terrible. It really is. I had an appointment booked with a foot specialist but I had to cancel it because I didn't have the money. I'm definitely putting money aside for it with my next paycheck though.

I'm 21 years old. I shouldn't be dealing with this D: I'm just worried I'll be in a chair by the time I'm 50. At this rate, it's pretty much guaranteed... This friggin pain makes getting into shape a little challenging, and work is ridiculous.

Just thought I'd rant. Being in pain most of the time kinda makes ya a little irritable

I want to hear about others. Pain issues, complaints rants, let's have em. Let out your frustrations. I know I'm not alone.

I know how you feel. I broke my back in the military when I was in my early 20s. I spent quite a while in a chair, and longer on a cane. They use to have me taking some extremely strong pain killers, and they told me I would never be able to walk more than 50 feet before I had to get back in my chair.  I now have a degenerative disk disorder, and my L5 is totally out of place.

Today, I take no pain meds, and I can walk several miles without any issues. I am still in pain every day, but it is only about a 3 out of 10. So, not too bad.

I just wanted to share this so that you know there is hope. Despite (and in-spite) of what the doctors say, and what you currently feel you can get better. You can beat the odds, and the doctors.

I wish you the best of luck.