[lunafay]

I am a chronic pain sufferer. I have an autoimmune disease called ankylosing spondylitis. It affects my spine and hips. It's a large reason why I am so depressed. I'm on an injection called Humira and bunch of other medications for the pain. It's hard living with chronic pain and depression. Every day is a struggle. I was hospitalized for a week this last month because of it and they performed ECT "electro shock therapy" on me to help with the depression. I am still doing the ECT but as out patient. So far it's helping but not as much as I would like. I just want to feel normal again and keep up with my 6 year old son. I want to go back to work and live a normal life.

[Skeezyks]

[tallulahxoxo]

I am so sorry & wish I could help. I deal with chronic pain as well.

[missbelle]

I have pain daily with my back. Its just my normal now. I try to walk above it if that makes any sense. As long as it stays a 5 or 6 I can handle it. I lay down a lot in the afternoon just to get the pressure off. It is what it is. I have learned to make adjustments to my life. I used to love to run around and shop etc. I still can but have decided with my severe arthritis to take up art. I have been drawing and painting for 4 years. It helped and kept my mind off of me!!!

I know its hard with your son but I know you are doing the very best you can. This is not what you wanted for your life. I learned to practice acceptance. I am not always good at that but it helps me to deal with what is.....not fair at all but what can we do? Be grateful for that cute son and all the joy and love you can give him...take care!!!!!!!

[lunafay]

Originally Posted by missbelle

I have pain daily with my back. Its just my normal now. I try to walk above it if that makes any sense. As long as it stays a 5 or 6 I can handle it. I lay down a lot in the afternoon just to get the pressure off. It is what it is. I have learned to make adjustments to my life. I used to love to run around and shop etc. I still can but have decided with my severe arthritis to take up art. I have been drawing and painting for 4 years. It helped and kept my mind off of me!!!

I know its hard with your son but I know you are doing the very best you can. This is not what you wanted for your life. I learned to practice acceptance. I am not always good at that but it helps me to deal with what is.....not fair at all but what can we do? Be grateful for that cute son and all the joy and love you can give him...take care!!!!!!!

Thank you for the good advise. I will try to be more grateful

[Carol Ann]

I deal with chronic pain and depression every day. I have pudandel neuralgia which means sitting is excruciating. I have a stimulator implanted but it doesn't help so I take pain meds every day. Even they don't help very much. I mostly spend my time alone watching tv, laying on the couch. Not much of a life.

Possible trigger:

Suicide sounds so good but I can't do that to my husband. He is very kind and understanding. But I am so tired of living.

[continuosly blue]

Originally Posted by missbelle

I have pain daily with my back. Its just my normal now. I try to walk above it if that makes any sense. As long as it stays a 5 or 6 I can handle it. I lay down a lot in the afternoon just to get the pressure off. It is what it is. I have learned to make adjustments to my life. I used to love to run around and shop etc. I still can but have decided with my severe arthritis to take up art. I have been drawing and painting for 4 years. It helped and kept my mind off of me!!!

I know its hard with your son but I know you are doing the very best you can. This is not what you wanted for your life. I learned to practice acceptance. I am not always good at that but it helps me to deal with what is.....not fair at all but what can we do? Be grateful for that cute son and all the joy and love you can give him...take care!!!!!!!

Dear miss belle.......I think you are right on point! The way you think about and approach your pain is exactly what works for me. Unfortunately it takes a lot to get to that point of acceptance. When one door closes another opens up. Those who can't see seem to hear better !
Thank you for sharing your insight ,

[misscath007]

I live with chronic pain and it makes my depression/anxiety worse. IMO, it's hard enough to deal with a MI than having to put chronic pain on top of it. You just struggle to do the best you can. I try to take one day at a time and try not to project too much. I am on a chronic pain support group online and it helps a little.

[continuosly blue]

It's hard when other people, even so called family , are so self absorbed that you feel like you're annoying them when you try and explain what you're going through. I'm just so exhausted from all this. I was alone and felt like I was the only person in the world. Nobody cared. Then I learned to care for myself.
Got better at handling things so I was welcomed back into the fold.
Now it's all too overwhelming. I tend to care about others so much that I neglect my own mental and physical health. I need to get back to where I was.
I have such a hard time meeting genuine people. I'm so disillusioned because I just can't seem to find the right people that feel like I do and will understand me better. Why is it so hard ? How can I feel so alone when I know there's millions of others out there who are in the same position ?
Any suggestions?

[continuosly blue]

Originally Posted by continuosly blue

It's hard when other people, even so called family , are so self absorbed that you feel like you're annoying them when you try and explain what you're going through. I'm just so exhausted from all this. I was alone and felt like I was the only person in the world. Nobody cared. Then I learned to care for myself.
Got better at handling things so I was welcomed back into the fold.
Now it's all too overwhelming. I tend to care about others so much that I neglect my own mental and physical health. I need to get back to where I was.
I have such a hard time meeting genuine people. I'm so disillusioned because I just can't seem to find the right people that feel like I do and will understand me better. Why is it so hard ? How can I feel so alone when I know there's millions of others out there who are in the same position ?
Any suggestions?

I guess everybody's in too much pain to even type anything. Sad.

[bwildhorses]

Well I'm late to the party but I share many of your feelings. I have some chronic pain issues and sometimes they just dump me in just what seems like a gutter. And that seems to be where I stay til I can raise my head up and peer out. Going thru one of 'those days' today. Such days really do make me feel alone too, and then even tho I have the sweetest partner and the best older son around. They are kind but sometimes I can hear in their voice 'o here we go again'.

Its just hard to be truly honest these days. Folks say they want it but then when you are well that's the last you hear of em for a while. Sigh.

[continuosly blue]

Originally Posted by bwildhorses

Well I'm late to the party but I share many of your feelings. I have some chronic pain issues and sometimes they just dump me in just what seems like a gutter. And that seems to be where I stay til I can raise my head up and peer out. Going thru one of 'those days' today. Such days really do make me feel alone too, and then even tho I have the sweetest partner and the best older son around. They are kind but sometimes I can hear in their voice 'o here we go again'.

Its just hard to be truly honest these days. Folks say they want it but then when you are well that's the last you hear of em for a while. Sigh.

Boy if that ain't the truth !!! Nobody REALLY wants to hear how you really feel when they ask. Even the closest people to you. They get tired of it. Especially if it's something they can't see. Like back pain. Or any " invisible " pain.
I got totally abandoned by everyone because they " shoot the sick horses don't they ? " I just do the best I can on a daily basis. It just sucks waking up in the morning and wishing you hadn't . I'm worth something , if not to others then to myself. This is my daily mantra.
Hang tough.

That's an awesome mantra, cb ... Mind if I use it too?

I'm also a chronic pain sufferer ...

Still pretty pfunctional and hoping to make it to retirement sometime within the next 5 - 10 years ...



Also hoping I'll pfeel up to doing some of the things I'd like to do when I get there!

[Retnick]

I've had chronic head pain for 3 years and depression for 11. They are thought to be related. The pain fluctuates throughout the day but it's 24/7. No painkillers have helped. They're not migraines. It's very weird, I'm seeing a neurologist but she doesn't really know how to help me.
I'm a young guy too, it's a shame. I feel like my ninety year old grandmother is healthier than me. Lol

[Emerald Sky]

I really feel for everyone on here who is experiencing chronic pain and associated issues. I have had chronic pain for more than ten years as a result of an injury that left me with nerve damage. Like others have mentioned here, I have also found that many people just don't understand the physical and emotional toll of this.

I wish I could offer some useful advice to everyone who is suffering but I have yet to find anything that really makes a meaningful difference to the pain and the depression that results from it. But I wish for hugs for everyone

[Retnick]

Originally Posted by Emerald Sky

I really feel for everyone on here who is experiencing chronic pain and associated issues. I have had chronic pain for more than ten years as a result of an injury that left me with nerve damage. Like others have mentioned here, I have also found that many people just don't understand the physical and emotional toll of this.

I wish I could offer some useful advice to everyone who is suffering but I have yet to find anything that really makes a meaningful difference to the pain and the depression that results from it. But I wish for hugs for everyone

Thanks for the kind words. What makes it even harder is that people don't understand what you're going through. One medical professional I saw even thought I was making it up. Naturally, I stormed out of his office. I'm still hurt over it since I was seeing him for a while.

I tried cbd oil for the first time yesterday with a vaporizer and that took the edge off. I'll keep it up and see what happens. All the painkillers I tried did nothing, so I know I'll be sticking to it.
I'm also looking into medical marijuana right now. Don't care about the risks.

[UpDownAround]

Originally Posted by lunafay

I am a chronic pain sufferer. I have an autoimmune disease called ankylosing spondylitis. It affects my spine and hips. It's a large reason why I am so depressed. I'm on an injection called Humira and bunch of other medications for the pain. It's hard living with chronic pain and depression. Every day is a struggle. I was hospitalized for a week this last month because of it and they performed ECT "electro shock therapy" on me to help with the depression. I am still doing the ECT but as out patient. So far it's helping but not as much as I would like. I just want to feel normal again and keep up with my 6 year old son. I want to go back to work and live a normal life.

I was at risk for that (HLA-B27+ and family history) but have just about aged out. I got a lumbar MRI last year and there is no fusion, but I do have spinal stenosis, degenerative arthritis and multiple herniated discs, which explains the persistent pain. The good news about persistent pain is that it starts to be like background noise. When it is a 2 or 3, I almost want to punch the doc for reminding me to pay attention to it.
I can only take pain pills for a short period with supervision because they are yummy and NSAIDs are a joke for stenosis. So mostly I ignore it when it's not too bad or cross my eyes and curse if it is bad. Fortunately, I am a stoic.

[Emerald Sky]

Originally Posted by Retnick

Thanks for the kind words. What makes it even harder is that people don't understand what you're going through. One medical professional I saw even thought I was making it up. Naturally, I stormed out of his office. I'm still hurt over it since I was seeing him for a while.

I tried cbd oil for the first time yesterday with a vaporizer and that took the edge off. I'll keep it up and see what happens. All the painkillers I tried did nothing, so I know I'll be sticking to it.
I'm also looking into medical marijuana right now. Don't care about the risks.

I totally get that - I've experienced the exact same thing with doctors basically openly accusing me of exaggerating the pain or faking it entirely. I don't blame you at all for feeling hurt about it, it's a very hurtful thing for anyone, much less a medical professional, to belittle or dismiss your suffering like that.

I'm glad you have been able to find something that has some effect. I hope medical marijuana turns out to be a good possibility for you that brings you relief.

[Ripdlc]

Unfortunately, I can't give you advice about how to feel less alone because I'm alone. No family or friends. I'm bedbound. I just had to put my cat to sleep which was my only comfort. I've tried to PM people here and no one responds. I signed up here and reached out for help and while hugs and emoticons are nice, they don't help those who feel desperate. I'm so sorry you feel alone sweetie. If you need someone to talk to, I'll talk back. Maybe we can help each other?

Originally Posted by continuosly blue

It's hard when other people, even so called family , are so self absorbed that you feel like you're annoying them when you try and explain what you're going through. I'm just so exhausted from all this. I was alone and felt like I was the only person in the world. Nobody cared. Then I learned to care for myself.
Got better at handling things so I was welcomed back into the fold.
Now it's all too overwhelming. I tend to care about others so much that I neglect my own mental and physical health. I need to get back to where I was.
I have such a hard time meeting genuine people. I'm so disillusioned because I just can't seem to find the right people that feel like I do and will understand me better. Why is it so hard ? How can I feel so alone when I know there's millions of others out there who are in the same position ?
Any suggestions?

[Buzzy Z]

Hi Lunafay.I'm so sorry for your suffering.I have severe chronic pain myself-over 40yrs.My dr RX me Vicodin 60mg a day-the max.It started no to work anymore so I weaned myself off.He wanted to try something else but I'm afraid that the CDC fools will cut me down or totally off.Do you do anything to distract yourself like reading,watching comedy on youtube,listening to your favorite music?I'm pretty much on the computer a lot.I can't work as I can barely walk.These things help me to forget for awhile.I do know about all the negative feelings as I get them all myself.I wish you all the best Bob

[roxyanne1]

Originally Posted by misscath007

I live with chronic pain and it makes my depression/anxiety worse. IMO, it's hard enough to deal with a MI than having to put chronic pain on top of it. You just struggle to do the best you can. I try to take one day at a time and try not to project too much. I am on a chronic pain support group online and it helps a little.

Would be interested in the online support group...need something/someone for those really bad days.And do you take any pain meds?...Roxyanne1

[VapeGod]

I had shingles that went untreated for about 4 days before i could see a doctor. Now i am a young man with chronic burning and stinging pain many months after the virus visibly went away. I'm afraid that the nerve damage will forever be there and i am just learning to live with this pain.