Pain

DreamDiver wrote:I hope you feel better soon, Stormynights.
Is your TENS unit no longer helping?

It is the only thing that does help but if I use it too long it seems to make it worse. It is on now in fact. It isn't doing enough. The pain is so bad it makes me nauseous.

Stormynights wrote:

DreamDiver wrote:I hope you feel better soon, Stormynights.
Is your TENS unit no longer helping?

It is the only thing that does help but if I use it too long it seems to make it worse. It is on now in fact. It isn't doing enough. The pain is so bad it makes me nauseous.

I continue to hope you get some reasonable sleep. If I had a magic wand, I'd wish you better.

I'm with DreamDiver in wishing you some peaceful sleep. Please keep us posted.

You all are so sweet. Thank you.

I know how it is stormy. Wish there were something I could recommend that you could do that would really help. I know what it's like when it's bad and there's no escaping it. I had three fusions done last November, and still can't go back to work,even have trouble standing in the kitchen long enough to cook dinner. By the time it's close to done, I'm in sheer agony. Several times I've just hadtoturn everything off and let it go to waste. And that's taking morphine twice a day, hydrocodone around the clock, and muscle relaxers three times a day just to be able to do that much. The morphine works. But it's got it's drawbacks too. I get epidural injections, regularly. And trigger point injections. Spinal cord stimulator is next step maybe. Not sure if Ill ever be able to work again, though. Feels horrible watching my wife get up at4am and go to work to support us now.

Know how you feel Stormy,I just had an operation and am going through some pain myself.

Sure hope you've found some relief by now, Stormy. So many scenarios on back pain, and what works for one might do nothing for another. Went through a bad spell with my back once and it was pain like none I'd ever known - even childbirth. Eight injections in the back tamed the wild beast a bit, and I'm still learning how to let the sleeping beast lie. A family friend spent years incapacited not just by the back pain, but also by the narcotics needed to make the pain tolerable. He was not a candidate for further surgery. He had some sort of pump implanted to put the meds right in the back, and since it's direct, he is now on such a reduced amount of the narcotics that he has his life back - even can drive again. Is your doctor talking about surgery or not?

Sure hope things are settling down. Some people would be glad for a good reason to have someone come in and clean the house. But sounds like you'd be one who cleans before the cleaners come. lol Take care, and hope you are better soon.

Before I had my back surgery I had intense pain in my lower back and down my left leg. I drove a stick shift at that time, and every time I shifted I would feel it. Driving in traffic became intolerable. I would stand at meetings .. sitting was the worst! If I really got tired I'd like down at the meeting! (Amusing, aside from the pain.) I totally understand what you are going through, though I think you actually have it worse.

With me the origin of the pain was a piece of broken-off disc that became lodged in the sciatic foramen. That compressed the nerve ... a similar outcome to the cyst, I think.

All of that said, I wish I never had the surgery. Mind you, I am in a better place today, but there's no doubt in my mind that if I had toughed it out a while it would have gotten better on its own. At least down to the same level I am able to treat with medication today, but I wouldn't have the inability to walk fast (my stride is about half what it was ... any more tugs scar tissue and causes worse problems).

From what I read on your condition, surgery should absolutely be a last option. There are apparently very few surgeons that do this. The difference in your cyst vs. my surgery is the cyst is part of the nerve covering ... that's really not where I want anyone cutting!

Anyways, my purpose really isn't to scare you out of the surgery, but to make sure you are well informed and don't choose it unless you know it won't get better without it. Also, I've known many people that couldn't tolerate pain medications at first ... there are many options in that area, and if it gets you over the hump, so to speak, it might be worth looking in to.

I have you in my thoughts!!

I got to sleep about 4 AM. I slept good. Now I am miserable again. I think it is as hard dealing with feeling lazy as dealing with the pain. Sitting here watching the cobwebs grow is very painful if that makes sense.

The encouragement and support mean so much to me right now. I will never be judgemental about any one's house keeping again.

Thank you all.

Stormynights wrote:I got to sleep about 4 AM. I slept good. Now I am miserable again. I think it is as hard dealing with feeling lazy as dealing with the pain. Sitting here watching the cobwebs grow is very painful if that makes sense.

The encouragement and support mean so much to me right now. I will never be judgemental about any one's house keeping again.

Thank you all.

I had an ex who tried to insist that the house had to be cleaned before the highly paid cleaning lady came. I broke him of that as fast as I could.

You are not "lazy" pain is exhausting and you are conserving your energy for other things. As my father would put it you are "Thinking while in a relaxed position" when ever my mother would insist he get up on the weekends.

Stormynights wrote:... I will never be judgemental about any one's house keeping again.

Is there anyone -- a friend or family member nearby -- that you can ask to do some of these chores for you? Hopefully, there's no harm in asking.

Stormy,

I sympathize with you for sure. My muscles (legs especially) hurt all the time. I take prescription medication to keep it at bay but sometimes if I overdo, or even for no reason I can think of, it gets really bad. I find that sometimes there is just no good way to lay to sleep because it causes me pain somewhere. I frequently wake up going "OMG -- dang that hurts" and I move just to relieve that pain.

Honestly, I tend to try to focus on something else when it gets really bad. Sometimes, you just can't. A couple nights ago, I was having major spasms in my upper back. It was so bad that I couldn't move, couldn't breathe and my right arm (not left) was going totally numb. I just sat there and cried until the spasms let up. Nothing else I could do.

I hope you find relief soon. Pain is a bear.

Stormynights wrote:I will never be judgemental about any one's house keeping again.

Well then don't be judgmental about yours either.

Still thinking pain-free thoughts for you Stormy.

Stormynights wrote:I got to sleep about 4 AM. I slept good. Now I am miserable again. I think it is as hard dealing with feeling lazy as dealing with the pain. Sitting here watching the cobwebs grow is very painful if that makes sense.

The encouragement and support mean so much to me right now. I will never be judgemental about any one's house keeping again.

Thank you all.

I have had two bad rounds with back pain, though not nearly as bad as you have it. But it was enough that I would never wish it on anybody. It was so hard to sleep, and so hard to even get up and fix some lunch. And I never realized until then how much we use our backs to get up and down from the toilet, and how much we twist.

I had a pinched sciatic nerve due to a tight muscle that was clamped down on it. This started on a friday night of a holiday weekend. I went to the emergency room where they told me they were prescribing a pain reliever with muscle relaxer. It was not a muscle relaxer. It made me sick, and it never relieved any pain. I was home alone, and felt like I was going to pass out when I was in the bathroom. I ended up lying down on the floor so that I wouldn't fall and hurt my head. I never took one of those again. After the weekend, I went to my regular doctor. She is an osteopath (I didn't know that until then), so she was able to stretch and crack me in a few places. I walked out better than I limped in. And she prescribed a mild muscle relaxer. I was finally able to sleep and not feel like I was stiff as a board. It took time, but the muscle let go. Now, when I start to feel the pain, I can usually head it off quickly with a muscle relaxer and use of a shiatsu massager on my lower back.

More recently, I was having leg pain which was actually hip pain with leg movement. It was waking me up all night long, and after several months of pain throughout the day and messed up sleep, I was extremely aggravated. I just wanted to be unconscious for more than half an hour straight. My doctor was not grasping the sleep problem, and recommended stretching. I finally learned that it was probably bursitis. I started taking aspirin, which I normally don't use. A pharmacy tech told me I was using too much, so I asked my sleep doctor. (It was bothering my sleep, so it seemed appropriate). He recommended aleve twice a day, and that solved it. That was back in December. I can now go 2-3 days before I start to feel it again. So, it has healed quite a bit.

I do hope you get a solution soon. I think lack of sleep can really lead to problems. And I think we notice it more now that we are very aware of the difference between good and bad sleep. I used to tolerate low hours of sleep. But now, I really notice the difference when I have a crappy night. I thought I was going to go insane when the leg pain was getting worse and worse over the months, waking me up at least once an hour. That was far worse than any issues with the cpap machine. I just wanted to get to sleep so that I could feel good again.

I sprained my back horrible a couple months ago. I couldn't get in the car and could hardly walk. Mom said to take an Aleve so I did and BAM!--the pain went away. So I second taking Aleve--take 1 every 12 hours. Hope this helps.