Chronic pain

Sounds good Paddyann.

Apparently doctors are soon to be able to prescribe Actipatch according to an article I just read.

maw, I'm sorry you have this to cope with. I'd give you a hug but it might hurt.

You will feel worse if this is a recent diagnosis but asking for a referral to pain a management specialist seems like a good idea.

And, spring is just around the corner which always makes us feel better.

Take care.

I wonder if you have a good osteopath near you. I am taking DH today. He is going to spend an hour with him diagnosing the problem, time a GP doesn’t have, and I suspect he may recommend an MRI. I worry about treating a problem that has not been properly diagnosed.

Thank you for the recommendation Paddyann I was browsing the long river site in the early hours of this morning!
Initially euphoric because the pain was gone on Friday morning, only for it to be bad by bedtime, all clear all day Saturday (yes!) but achey again by last night .
I am to have an ultrasound and I am hoping that the cortisone injection I had may yet do the business.
Ho hum.

Maw have you tried a TENS machine?

Maw, I can empathise.
I eventually had a referral to a pain mangement specialist, as I have chronic pain in just about every area, especially the old fractures in my back. It was becoming unbearable.
I had been through all the usual medication, like Gabapentin, Tramadol, Morphine etc and could barely function. I was still teaching at the time and it really dragged me down.
About ten years ago at the pain management clinic, I was prescribed Fentanyl patches, which really took the edge off the pain and I could function reasonably normally again.
Like most medications, you get used to it eventually, but when we tried to increase the dose, I was like a Zombie. Unable to drive, I decided I would stick with the lower dose, trying to get some sort of balance between lucidity and pain relief.
I will be on them forever, topped up with eight paracetamol daily. Thnak goodness I have regular liver checks.
I do hope you get some sort of relief very soon. . Chronic pain is so debilitating.

Oh, Anja has reminded me, I also have a TENS machine!

TENS works for me too but I also did an elimination diet when I realised my osteo was being made worse by wheat.
I tried 10 days without any wheat at all and the chnage was remarkable.
There are many kinds of non-wheat breads and pastas nowadays so it doesn't impact too much.

I can sometimes enjoy a small cake or a couple of biscuits with no effect at all but I still wouldn't risk a wheat bread sandwich, pizza or a plate of wheat-based pasta.

Marydoll that sounds awful. I feel so sorry for you. I wonder could the Actipatch help you that Paddyann mentioned.

I only mentioned the TENS because I ‘did something’ to my back and was crippled (literally couldn’t walk, straighten up..) for a fortnight and painkillers did hardly anything except take the edge off.

The TENS machine worked for me. When you’re in chronic pain it’s worth trying anything.

Am very glad you are finally having a scan. Do consider acupuncture. I found it very helpful when I had sciatica.

I am in a similar postion Maw in being super active & busy to becoming sofa bound in a matter of a month or two. So I have every sympathy for you. All the things you did without thinking now require a very conscious effort. That is hard to adjust to.
It will depend on what is actually causing pain and it seen you do not have a clear diagnosis yet? My back epidural did not impact.

You have my sympathy Maw. I have had various shoulder injuries over the last few years including frozen shoulder and rotator cuff tear. I now have pain in the ball of the joint and down the top of the arm, which I think may be osteoarthritis although I have RA. When I had physio in the past a pulley was recommended to gradually improve the range of movement - 10 repeats forwards and 10 to the side twice daily, done gently with shoulder relaxed. I hope you find relief soon.
Shoulder pulley