pain is a tough one.......very very very tough. i find that becoming as still and quiet and relaxed as i can helps.......it helps me keep distance between me and fear......anxiety.......stress. it depends on the pain, the five w's of your pain. my pain comes from different systems within as i'm sure yours does.......i don't have a constant non stop pain like what comes with say a kidney stone. that is a horrific no escape kind of pain. pain for me moves........at night i try to lie on my left side and WHAM, the pain wakes me up. turn to the right side and blammo awake again........i lie on my back and feel the pain ebbing away, but i have a very hard time sleeping on my back. like you i use a variety of tools, like tv, books, crosswords, coloring.......writing, etc........i like to buy random things at yard sales and spray paint the dickens out of them. today's victim is a pair of old wooden dutch shoes. i'm painting them red!!!!!!!!! so stupid but it makes me oddly happy to paint stuff.......i don't have michelangelo's talent but spraying bright colors on kooky things calms me down. i also play a game, all i need is a paper and a writing tool......i pick a name or word and see how many words i can make out of it. sir lancelot holds a lot of words.........a boatload.

i can't take opioids.........so that's a huge bunch of meds i can't handle.......there is one pain med i use, but if i take more than one dose daily i throw up, so now they've given me an anti nausea med, which i was very surprised and pleased to find that it worked! being a combination of allergic and hypersensitive to most meds is frustrating, makes a body feel like a human guinea pig without much chance of success..........but we can only do the best we can.......and continue to hope for better! my pain is worst after activity and often worst upon waking........it can be very difficult to rise and walk. i saw a documentary about an artist who observed his father struggle to move and function. he suggested to his dad that he simply say, "piece of cake" before getting up to see if a simple phrase and a little mind over matter would help.........i thought it's no less kooky than some of the other stuff i've tried.......so i said "piece of cake" and tried to get up........i promptly fell over, back onto my soft cushy bed........but it did make me laugh!!!!!! i'm weird in that i find life laughably absurd and try to find reasons to laugh if not on the outside to laugh on the inside........i've spent a lot of time teary and low, a lot of time feeling like i had no purpose and i decided that i would not bully myself.........that i would have ups and downs but i did not want to live in a dark tunnel for any longer than i had to...........so i started to seek ways to meet my health issues half way........to spend equal time upset and in gratitude daily.........some days i can't find the sun and other days i can find immense pleasure in the simplest of things, getting to take a shower for example..............being ill has taught me a lot about humility..........if i could have one thing i would choose the ability to fly........to simply lift up off the planet and go for a spin..........sorry, i've gone on way too long, got a case of chatty typing fingers, doesn't happen all that often these days............when i'm in a bad place i will turn to upbeat shows, corny shows that make me feel safe, content, cause for me one of the biggest things is to protect the spirit.........to keep it in a good place. if my spirit is centered i can bear up more when the pain waves hit..........but yes sometimes i holler out and that helps too!!!!!!!

Ask your doctor to refer you to a physiatrist, not to be confused with psychiatrist. It is a doctor who specializes in pain management.

God Bless

What is your Diagnosis, what causes your pain?

I have already been to a pain management doctor. They recommended me for a specialized program, but thanks to the insurance, I've had to jump through so many hoops and go to so many specialists just to maybe get it approved. I got the last letter I needed last week.

I have bursitis of the hips, nerve damage in my head and neck and unknown causes of pain to the chest, but not heart related.
The last doctor I saw gave me a tentative diagnosis as toxin induced neuropathy. But even if that holds up to further testing, he said it wasn't likely to cause all of my issues and they may never truly understand what has been going on until I'm dead and they can perform an autopsy.

Honestly, I'm shocked that you've gotten a Dr. to give you pain management or narcotics for Bursitis, its not generally a condition that warrants serious pain control.

You said: "Painkillers work to a point, but I take more than I should. I'm sure my liver is not happy. Prescriptions tend to have adverse side effects and I haven't been able to take more than a couple doses before I am told to throw away the bottle."

So I'm not sure if you abuse your meds of if you have a metabolism problem that causes you to over take them, its kind of confusing.

For your nerve pain I would think your Dr.'s would be trying Cymbalta, Neurontin or Lyrica, as Narcotics don't work on Nerve pain.

You mention a special program but don't say what it is, so not sure what that's about.

There is a Trochanteric Bursitis Surgery option for the Hip Bursitis, but its not usually done until the Bursitis reaches a point to where its so bad it causes mobility issues. And it can be 50/50 as to whether it will actually help.

The list of Toxins that can cause Peripheral Neuropathy are long and contain things from foods to household items to chemicals and poisons. Its easy to do a search for the complete list to make sure your avoiding those things. Some of the things that cause damage are reversible, some are not.

I hope that this Program you're trying to get into gives you some relief, in whatever it does.

Living with Chronic Pain is not impossible, some of us have been doing it for many, many years. Its not the easiest thing, but you learn ways to adjust your lifestyle and figure things out. You learn to use as many different forms of treatment in conjunction with each other to get the best result for Pain Management.

Take Care,

I wasn't put in pain management for bursitis.

How can I abuse my meds if after one dose, I am having a reaction? And that's for cymbalta, nortriptyline. I don't appreciate the assumption.

I already have mobility issues thanks to my condition. I didn't feel the need to discuss everything, including the Hopkin's program. I was just trying to get advice on how to deal with the pain that I live with every day. Painkillers only work to a point, I wanted advice on how to maybe deal with it besides painkillers.

Change my lifestyle? I'm pretty much confined to the bed already and a wheelchair when I go around the house. I have no lifestyle, thanks for reminding me.

Dear Fighter,

You did a good job of describing what you are going through. You are clearly not overusing drugs. Opioids don't work for me either and I think it is a blessing.

You asked for help dealing with your pain, not criticism so here are some of the things that help me from going insane, we are in this together :)

Some days I have to give in to the pain and rest. Just decide that today I am going to rest and not feel guilty about it or useless (this is hard for me but sometimes it is what my body needs)

Eating well makes a huge difference but it is hard, whole foods, plenty of veggies and fruit may not be what you want when you are suffering but they help with inflammation and that is at the root of a lot of pain. Google "foods the help inflammation" and try getting more of these

Be good to yourself, try and do something that brings you joy. I know this is hard but it can seriously help. Everyone is different but a good old-fashioned bubble bath can really change my mood and help my pain.

Try not to let the pain define you. I know all these things are hard to do but they make a difference. I am not my pain, pain is part of my life...see what I mean?

Find something that makes you feel like you are contributing, something that brings meaning to your life. It can be anything...when I can't do anything else I knit, you get the idea. It is depressing to do "nothing"

Staying calm, deep breathing, meditation, anything that helps your nervous system relax seems to help me. I am going to try acupuncture soon.

Lastly, I believe in the power of love. Having other people believe you and have empathy for what you are going through is very healing. We all need to feel understood. And we all need to be kind to ourselves.

I hope something I wrote helped, I know there are times when the pain is all there is and it just sucks. I know that it is hard to have a good attitude when you are suffering. I go between being positive and optimistic to being pissed off and miserable...depends on the day :) Breath deep my friend...take care. xo

Thank you for the kind and calming reply. It actually helped bring me back. I appreciate that. I do tend to snap fast without thinking and let things bother me more than they should. Always something to work on, huh?
And I will attempt to apply some of these ideas I've received into my life. Maybe something will help. I used to model and paint miniatures back when I was a teen. I might give that a try again (in moderation now though, ha ha) and see if bringing in a new hobby will help deal with a few things.

I should practice what I preach and of course, I don't. But the few times I have gotten really distracted by something I love (I used to be an artist long ago) I find that it clearly affects my pain or at least how I feel about the pain.

I think trying making models again might be perfect! Hang in there.

I was feeling really good last night, reasonable pain level and my X came in with my son all judgemental (my X doesn't believe in pain :) Suddenly I could feel the pain amping up! It was him and the stress he brought along with him that was upsetting me and my body. It was a good lesson, I have to stay away from people that make me stressed out or at least not let them get to me.

We are in this together...xo

Hey Fighter,

That has to be frustrating to not get an answer as to what's causing the pain. I went to 10 different doctors before finding out I had nerve damage.

Things that help.. Ice and heat, just depends on my mood usually. I usually ice it until I get numb which alleviates it for a little. And heat just feels good. Music, finding some good music is a must, especially on the really bad days. I use an oil diffuser as well. Lavender, frankincense, lemon, orange.. Smelling lavender helps me unwind and go to bed. Peppermint is my go-to when I get a migraine. It's not necessarily a distraction or fix but they help in their own way. Also I've found that doing something creative gives me a better distraction than movies. Photography, coloring, knitting. You can go to a Michael's or craft store and just look to see what peeks your interest.

Oh and don't worry about snapping or being sensitive, we've all done it. Comes with the territory unfortunately. When you're in constant pain it's all heightened. Just know you're not alone. We're all here for you and want to help you get through this. And we're all right in it with you so we know and understand more than anyone else.

Hope these help! -hugs-

Unfortunately until we learn more about you, it's hard to know what to suggest that might help you. I ask you questions to learn what your situation is, otherwise I'm just tossing out things that might work/might not and you get frustrated because they aren't things that help you.

Different kinds of pain are treated by different things. Narcotics don't work for you. There are meds that are used for Nerve pain, but they are in the Psych med realm (Cymbalta, Neurontin and Lyrica) but your Dr. may not want you taking them because they may have an effect on the Program your starting.

With Toxin base Neuropathy there are tests that your Neurologist can do to find out what Toxins are causing the Neuropathy, so that you can stop your exposure to those things. It can be a reversible condition.

As its getting into summer, if you have access to a handicap accessible pool, doing Physical Therapy in a pool can do a lot for your pain and mobility from the Bursitis. I have pain and mobility issues and can't do any type of exercise or PT, except walk. But in a pool where the weightless atmosphere displaces my body weight, I can exercise and do PT easily. It helps my pain, keeps my whole body active, strengthens my legs and hips and it doesn't cause a lot of pain post-workout.

I do hope the Hopkins program gives you some results and answers that your looking for.

I work during the day 4 days a week, but in the evenings I do have to find things that take my mind off of the pain and they have to be things that keep my mind interested enough to ignore the pain. I make candles, I have a Blog that I keep up with, Sudoku puzzles, I read a lot, I write and journal a lot and on the weekends I garden. These are things that keep me busy enough to not sit and focus on the pain, because I enjoy them so much I can get lost in them.

You have to find your "things" that keep your mind busy enough to take your focus off the pain. Whether it's puzzles, reading, online gaming, writing, painting/drawing, etc. There are many things you can do without having to be up and moving around, but only you can decide what things are those that you really enjoy doing. There are some great chat sites that are non-sexual, where you can just meet people to talk and play card games, word games, chess, checkers, etc.

Take care,
Kat