Chronic Pain Support Group

Well..........
In my case, I make sure to take my medications as directed every 6 hours, and yes, I do set up my alarm to take my 2 AM dosage, so that way I don't get up at 6 AM in screaming pain.

The first thing that I do when I get up is do gentle stretches that my therapist gave me, and after breakfast I do some mild yoga. Oh! before the breakfast I walk the dog :-)

I like to stay "ahead" of the pain. I have an excellent Pain Management Doctor that works with me and works with my medication issues. When I need them, I can call his office and ask for trigger point shots at anytime, and those helped me a lot!

Emotionally, I try not to think about my pain 24/7-365. I like to do crafts, I paint, and I keep myself as busy as possible, since I lost my job due to the screwed up fusion that I had in 07. After having now a total of 5 spinal surgeries within 2 years, I have learned a whole lot about my condition; so I do A LOT of research.

I do see a Psychologist once a month now to talk about my mental health, and his Psychiatrist put me on some Psychotropics for my depression, and they are working and I am doing better in that department!! :-)

Finally I can tell you that I do not allow the pain to become my boss! That is the worst thing that anyone can do....... keep the faith and remember to take care of yourself. That is one of the most important thing that you could for yourself.

Take care,

Tips advice is excellent as usual. CP does become a "job" that you cannot divert from without paying the price... which is more intense pain. I live alone, no children so I ONLY do what II am able to do on any given day. When needed I do a little at a time and then rest. Just to give my body a break. Like most CP'ers I take my meds and moniter the physical output. The more time you have been in chronic pain the more you will learn your limitation and what you can and cannot do. It truly is a full time job. Good Luck, Welcome and Hugs, Deb ps: I find heat to provide soooo much relief so my heating pad is a necessity !!!!! pss IF you can a jacuzzi is the ultimate in pain relief. I used to have one BUT my ex (the crackhead smoked it up !

I agree that it is my new job after having to stop work due to the pain. Prayer and faith are my most major ways of dealing with it. With out them I don't know where I would be.
Just remebering all the meds and making sure that I take them correctly and also all the vitamins and supplements. Hoping one day to be able to get up and not have to take any pill would be heaven on earth for me.
Keeping on top of the pain is really important. Obce the pain gets ahead of you it is really hard to get it under control again. I also have a good relationship with my hubby. He knows that if I am having a bad day not to expect much. My daughter too. Like after school today she went and got things from the store for luches becasue I just didn't have it in me to go today.

what are trigger point shots?

The trigger point shots that my Doc gives to me, are for my muscle spasms and pain. They are painless (or maybe I am tough), and they make my life a bit easier. Since I am allergic to steroids, my Doc puts Pubivacaine (sp?) on my shots.

First of all you have to take it all one day at a time. Do what you can do and don't worry about the rest. Stress will only make you hurt worse. Secondly, like the others said, Heat,a good Dr willing to treat chronic pain, trigger point shots and daily streching and exercise will help you more than anything. You have to take your meds BEFORE you really start to hurt, otherwise they don't help as much. Finally, Research your illness and educate those around you so they will know what to expect and talk to your friends and family and don't be afraid to ask them for help - all they can say is no right?

Thanks for all your help I have been in this chronic pain for over 10 years now I have 3 AVM'S (arteriovascular malformation) they are not suppose to be painful but I have 1 that give me a lot of pain the other 2 don't bother me at all . I was born with them but never had any trouble until I got pregnant then the one that does bother me started to grow and cause pain . I have had many embolizations , surgery to remove part of the AVM , 3 TENS units, 2 Spinal stemulators and all kind of meds but the pain just gets worse. I wanted to join this support group to get advice on how other people deal with there pain plus have some people to talk to and help me get through the hard times when the pain is so bad and there is just nothing I can do I thought maybe having someone to talk to would help me . I thanks you all for your reply and all the great advice I am getting you all seem to be wonderful people and I hope to get to know all better so we can help each other out during the difficult time we go through .

I agree with Tipper. I take meds (morphine, hydrocodone, norflex) and supplements. I exercise (yoga, hiking, aerobics) and eat right, get enough sleep and minimize stress. I get injections periodically. I sit in the jacuzzi hot tub, get massages and acupuncture. I don't dwell on the pain. I will not give up my life, even though I must modify some things. I will climb a volcano in Panama next month. Hopefully, it won't be like the Pucon Volcano. I climbed that volcano in Chile in 2007 and it was more of a technical climb than I expected. It is vital to have something to look forward to!

what type of injections do you get ?

take each day as it comes.
always have something to look forward to.