Re: My Story -- It's a long one ...

On Fri, 17 Mar 2006 22:40:43 -0800, "Yikes" <barblorraine@xxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

Hello og,

I guess I have a lot of dumb questions I haven't asked yet. Sometimes I'm
just not sure how to frame the question. I guess I could just spit it out as
well as I can and see what happens. In the last week I've been visiting, I
sure feel much more comfortable. It seems I'm not the only one to feel the
anger, depression, anxious, frightening feelings that come up when you have
chronic pain.

Now that you mention it, I was given benadryl in the hospital. But, I
believe they told me it was to help me quit itching as a result of the
amount of morphine I was on. So, now I have a way to get to sleep without
laying in bed letting my mind wonder until I finally get up to meet the
following day. There have been times when I was up 30 hours at a time. It
was miserable to put it mildly.

When I started going through all my medical problems, I felt embarrassed,
weak and ashamed. I thought I was defective. I didn't get out of bed, nor
did I take the covers off from over my head. It took a long time to just get
up and get around my house. Then, finally I started to go outside, maybe to
a store, but not very often. My son actually pushed me to get out of the
house. My best friend and fiancé has really helped me to be OK with myself.
I met him just about 3 years into my medical problems. He helps me everyday.
I just found these newsgroups a few weeks ago and am so glad I did. It feels
much better to know I'm not alone and that other people totally know what
it's like to go through medical problems. I feel kind of like I'm talking
too much when I respond, but it just feels like I've stored so much inside
that being a part of this group I have a way to express myself in ways I
haven't allowed myself to do -ever.

You said you didn't know my medical history, so I guess I can share that
with you. I've had 8 surgeries on my ankle, the last one in January 2006. I
have an ankle replacement that has helped reduced some pain. I broke my
ankle 15 years ago in a place where I had a birth defect. The doctors tried
to fix it and each time my ankle would collapsed. About 3 years ago I
finally made the decision to get a new ankle. Before I was able to do that,
the disks in my lower back began to protrude and pinch the nerves that run
down my legs. I had two surgeries to fix them and now the doctor has said I
need another surgery to fuse the disks because they are bone to bone. I've
told him I just couldn't face another surgery right now so he said to call
him when I was ready. Not only does my back hurt but, the pain in both legs
never went away.

I have chronic tension/migraine headaches that last for months. I've tried
just about every medication the doctors can give me and have come to an end
of possible solutions. The 2nd opinion doctor today said he also did not
have any solutions except that I could reduce one of the meds I'm taking,
and take more of another, and change them around as needed. Not a good
answer for me.

My hands and wrists have arthritis and tendonitis which are painful. I wear
braces which help sometimes, but I'm not convinced it really helps. At least
it's something.

A week or so ago I found out that my blood test showed I am pre-diabetic and
my thyroid is out of whack. The doctor is going to do another test in 4
weeks to see if the thyroid is transient or not.

My two latest surgeries on my ankle were really on the front of my foot.
Most all the joints in my ankle have been fused and the last joint to fuse,
in the front of my foot, has not fused - the bone didn't heal, the screws
broke and I could feel the jagged edge of the screws tear up the inside of
my foot. This surgery was to replace the screws again, with different screws
and a plate. They also had to re-align my ankle as it was off a bit, and
they needed to put bone from another area into my femur which was broken
during surgery. Monday before last, I was allowed to put weight on my heal
only, so I could start to practice walking. Once I did, my right foot, (the
good one), hurt so bad it wasn't worth walking at all. I went to the doctor
(which I think I've already told you before), and was told I had plantar
facetious.

In order for me to control the pain, I take 20gm of Oxycontin 3 times a day.
3000mg of Neurontin spread out 3 times a day. I can take Oxycodone for break
through pain and Flexerill for back spasms. I also take welbrutrin twice a
day and doxipin at night to sleep. Since I had a bad case of endometriosis I
had to have a hysterectomy so I take Estradal. I take Priolsec for the
heartburn. The pain medicine allows me to be able to participate in life.
Several times I tried cutting down and not only did I get sick, the pain
came back. It took three days to get it stable again.

I believe my medical situation will turn around and I'll be back to work and
able to enjoy my life. I have hope. I am ready. I say that now and tomorrow
I'll probably tell you something else. Some days are better than others.

Well, that's my story. I'm sorry for the long post. I hope that by my
sharing, I can help someone else to feel they can come out of hiding like I
did. ---Thanks for listening -- Barbara

Many of the things you talk about are issues that most regular Dr's,
especially those who are dealing with fixing the defective machine
aren't able to grasp or even deal with. Almost everyone who has
chronic pain, regardless of the source can benefit greatly from adding
a Mental Health professional into the health care mix as part of their
overall treatment program. Many of the things that you have talked
about in this post are out of the realm of regular old sawbones Doc's,
but well within the realm of a Mental Health professional.

I noticed that you said you are taking Welburtrin which is an
anti-depressant that most regular docs (not mental health ones) feel
comfortable in prescribing. Is that who you are getting it from? The
twice a day dosing surprised me. The usual dosing regimen is 3 equal
doses spaced evenly throughout the day. Allowing at least 6 hours
between doses. You might not be getting optimum effects of the
medication at your current levels.

If you are able to find a mental health professional that you are
comfortable enough chatting with they can be of great help with
copping tools. Seeing as you were able to open up as you did here in
a public forum I think you might have great success in a one-on-one
professional setting.
--

December 9, 2005 (CNN) While interviewing an anonymous
US Special Forces soldier, a Reuters News agent asked
the soldier what he felt when sniping members of Al Quaeda
in Afghanistan.

The soldier shrugged and replied, "Recoil." (Possible Urban Legend)
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: severe back/leg pain
    ... I am currently seeing a P/T but I am just not confident with her. ... The leg pain seems to be the most intransigent; it has been 6 days so I ... Pain medication and NSAIDs are good treatment, ... other strong reasons why surgery cannot be done, ...
    (sci.med)
  • Re: Provigil for fogginess...tiredness
    ... I'm already on medication for high blood pressure but I see my doctor ... he's keeping a close eye on me since the surgery. ... I tend to fall silent online when my pain is increased ...
    (alt.med.fibromyalgia)
  • Re: My Story -- Its a long one ...
    ... counceling, classes, and workshops on chronic pain and basically just ... it was for pain and depression. ... I've had 8 surgeries on my ankle, the last one in January 2006. ... medication at your current levels. ...
    (alt.support.chronic-pain)
  • Re: YaY for pain Control...
    ... question - what kind of head shrinker is this? ... medication from someone who suffers with it chronically is not legally ... in the case of surgery to remove an organ could very well be. ... pain" posts, here's a followup. ...
    (alt.support.chronic-pain)
  • Re: A/C Joint Osteoarthritis....
    ... My Orthopedic Surgeon said that this was "day surgery" - have not had ... can give you a pain pump to help with post surgery pain. ... catheter is placed in the joint that feeds pain medication into the ...
    (alt.support.chronic-pain)