Ugh, so sorry to hear about the back pain situation, yg44. My partner's in the same boat; has a pinched nerve in his back that causes him TERRIBLE pain. He has a back specialist who perfoms an outpatient procedure that would be ideal for his situation- pain gone, and he'd only be laid up for three or four days!

But insurance co. calls the procedure "experimental" and won't cover it. They WILL cover an invasive procedure that takes 6-8 WEEKS to recover from, though! Argh. So he just hobbles around in pain a lot, and can't do anything that requires much walking. It makes me see red just talking about it.

Ugh - insurance companies are so backwards some times. The other thing that gets me is that about a month ago I read *everything* on the insurance company website about what pre-approvals are needed when and how far in advance - just in case I ended up needing an injection. I didn't see a damn thing about this procedure needing to be reviewed and approved. I probably wouldn't be so mad about it if I wasn't completely blindsided while experiencing the worst pain I've maybe ever had.

The AskMe thread is proving productive - I've got a call in to my GP to get stronger pain meds and will start investigating therapeutic pools and acupuncture in my area. Why I didn't think of these things on my own, I have no idea. Perhaps the pain is more 'blinding' than I had originally thought.

I didn't think of acupuncture until my husband went and it helped him a bunch. Even then, I had to wait until the pain was unendurable before I tried it. (And I'll add that the happiest person in the world is going to get depressed at having to live with endless pain.) I had tried EVERTHING else first, beginning with medical solutions (nothing worked), moving on through therapeutic stretching with the pros to whom my doc referred me, stretches I found on the net, massages, heat, cold, yoga, special chairs and cushions, etc. Nothing worked. God, it was frustrating and yes, damn depressing.

So, learn from me and run, don't walk, to an acupuncturist who is actually a real, Chinese trained doctor. (Mine are a husband and wife who got their degrees in Beijing.)

Thinking of you. I have been missing you, btw.

I'm so sorry. I've never experienced chronic pain, so I can't say I know what you're going through, but I'm sending good wishes and thoughts your way.

As for talking about stuff ... things are good. I ran a 5km last night with NO problem at all, it was as easy as a stroll in the park, despite the cold. I have a second date on Sunday and possibly another date with someone else on Saturday. I also have lots of other social things on the horizon, including the local cub scouts carol service on Friday night, next week dinner with my friend from the running group and a piano bar night, and I have some plans for Christmas.

Bunny cards are written and are waiting for me to take them to the post office, Lucy is asleep on the sofa next to me, I've had a good dinner, I'm wrapped in the afghan my friend Laura in Ohio knitted for me, and I was sent a book in the mail which will be my Christmas week reading (the latest Sue Grafton, I have the whole alphabet series).

The only glitch on the horizon is the way my football team is playing at the moment, and our best defender has just been stretchered off.

(And I'll add that the happiest person in the world is going to get depressed at having to live with endless pain.)

I'll second that. I don't have any advice on the medical or insurance aspects, but I congratulate you on anything and everything you are doing to keep your mood elevated and your spirits up. I don't know about you, but I find my emotional state correlates pretty tightly with my pain level or my level of impairment. People who don't live with chronic pain may not understand how emotionally and physically draining it can be, and how it can rein in your whole damn life.

It's so great to see you here! I'll be watching your AskMe to see if I can harvest any useful tips, too. I'm sending good thoughts and whuffles your way!

Thanks, guys. It feels good just to talk (write) about it. I should remember that hanging out here is fun so I should try to do it more when I'm down.

Things I am doing to keep my spirits elevated:
1. Peppermint Mochas from Starbucks - when I went to get one today I took a survey with a nice lady and got a $5 gift card. Score.
2. Peanut M&M's
3. Mouse parties - Seriously. How can I be down when I've got my two little meecers climbing all over me.
≡ Click to see image ≡
I think Snickers, the brown one has gained weight since this picture.
4. Playing Mario on the Wii with the boyfriend - I die a lot, and he laughs so hard he cries, which makes me laugh. I love it.
5. I'm going to the meetup tonight and I'm going to have a good time!

Good to hear about your run, Senyar - I'm so proud of you. I also assume when you say football you mean soccer. ;)

Ooh, I am currently in second place in one of my Fantasy Football leagues. Not the MeCha one, or even my work one, but the random one the boyfriend and I joined at a bar near our house. I have a bye this week for the playoffs, but am trying to remain super focused. Maybe I'll win money!

((((youngergirl44))))

Thanks, initapplette.

I keep coming back here to look at the picture of my mice. They are such pretty meecers and I wuv them!

Chronic pain is horrible, hhooorrible. Does anything give you relief? I've mostly been using distraction of some sort, heat, baths, podcasts, etc. but mine is not sharp and debilitating, at least not yet. And eating tremendous amounts of crap.
Marijuana is good for managing chronic pain. I haven't had any in a while but I have read the research. If you are highly hypnotizable, that is like a superpower as far as pain control. There are lots of other things, but I am tired and I must bathe and then lie here like an unmoving lump. If I remember any more, I will put them here.

Chronic pain is the pits. I posted at AskMe but just n'thing a couple things already posted. Gabapentin is actually used for epilepsy but someone figured out that it works for nerve pain as well, so do follow-up on that.

Your meeces are gorgeous! Seeing them makes me miss my ratties. I'd get more ratties (I still have all the stuff) but neither the mister or I are up for cleaning the cage health-wise.

Whoa, I gotta say beware of any seizure medication for chronic pain. There may be people it works for but there are far more people who can't get follow up on their lawsuits. Brain damage, ADD, no pain relief but tons of side effects.

Most drugs seem to have a laundry list of bad things that might happen to you whether or not they're on or off label. The warnings on some of the drugs* I'm taking sound worse than the thing it's treating. You really have to weigh the possible side affects of each prescription against what it is trying to do for you.

*Ten daily prescriptions (20 pills), plus insulin, plus a multivitamin and vitamin D

Nothing really to add, but you're a cool person and I'm glad I've met you.

Sympathies to all who experience chronic pain. Thankfully mine abated years ago after I quit being a human forklift, moved into a desk job and started carefully designed exercise. (No pinched nerve or degenerative condition like some of you must have.)

What you're going through is exhausting, so it's good to see the determined ways everyone is managing their situations.

My brother has loads of chronic pain, so I see something of what you suffer, my sympathies. My brother made up a little song for when he takes his meds that starts out, "DRUGS are your friends . . . ."

Did anybody say TENS? Look into TENS. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcutaneous_electrical_nerve_stimulation You put it across the area that hurts the most, and it confuses the nerve signals that are sending the PAIN PAIN PAIN upwards--as I understand it. Whatever it does, it's sufficiently-advanced-science-indistinguishable-from-magic.

TENS is amaaaaazing. Have you been to a physical therapist? PT can help you with immediate pain, finding out what you can do to position yourself so that pain is reduced, use a TENS on you, and help you work out how to use it at home. May even send you home with one, if you don't want to find one yourself. My crappy-at-the-time insurance has covered the TENS units that the PTs sent home with me.

You can wear a TENS unit all day and all night. Some will auto-shut off after half an hour, see if you can get one that won't..

I find that my pain is reduced if I can find a way to sit, lay, or stand that takes most of the weight OFF my low back. I have a collection of pillows that I lay on on the couch (one under my hips, one under my chest), or I lay on my back with my legs propped up high, or when I sit in a chair I prop my legs up and put all the weight on my thighs and mid-back, and also lean on my elbows. When I have to stand, I pace, even if I only have room to go one step before turning around (eg, waiting in line).

The pain people were surprisingly unhelpful ("You should go to the ER if the pain is that bad") - but I was able to get a script for Vicodin from my GP.

Although it says to take one or two every six hours, one knocked me on my ass last night, so I'm taking half of one every three hours. It's a nice balance between being pain-free and being functional at work. Taking a whole pill last night DID let me sleep, so I feel amazing today, even though there is still pain.

When the boyfriend's great uncle passed away a couple of months ago, I got his two TENS units. I haven't checked to see if they work, but will do that this weekend.

I have been in physical therapy, although I haven't gone in about a month because work has been crazy (still doing exercises at home though!). I'm going tonight, so we'll see what my dude says.

And again, thanks everyone for commiserating with me and giving me suggestions.

I'm glad to read that you are doing better. :)

Better living through chemistry!

That does seem to be an odd response from the pain people. They're the people who are supposed to help so you don't have to go to the ER all the time. Weird.