Facing the reality of being in pain for the rest of my life

[AmyDoll]

What about an orthopedist? I know - allopathic but I'd think a bone surgeon might have an idea?

[NoodleMom]

Im so sorry. Chronic pain is so hard to deal with. I am in Chronic pain also. Never goes away. On a scale from one to ten with ten being the worst on most days I am a 3 maybe a 4. Today I was at eight.
Lots of pain.

Hoping you can find a solution.
K

[NovelMama]

Originally Posted by Wholly Mama

I know of a good naturopath. I'm just going to have to convince dh...

This makes me concerned for you. Why is it his business who you go to see to try to get better? Isn't it also in his best interest for you to be healthy?

[TestifyToLove]

Honestly, if this is truly a bone or joint issue, an Orthopedist IS a good idea. MIL has several bulging disks in her spine. Eventually they will need surgery, no wayaround it. She's been to Chiropractors but barely made the pain low enough to stay off needing disability. But, what gave her back her life is that she now gets epidurals every 18 months which eliminate her pain and allow her to have a normal, functioning life.

[rosesnsnails]

http://www.egoscue.com/

bbl

[ChristmasGirl]

i'm dealing with chronic hip-pain/back&abdominal weakness and yours sounds much more severe, my heart goes out to you

eta: i didn't realize that fish oil was helping me, until i went off of it and felt much worse. so i think it could definitely be helping you.

Originally Posted by NovelMama

This makes me concerned for you. Why is it his business who you go to see to try to get better? Isn't it also in his best interest for you to be healthy?

Of course it's in both of our best interest! But we make decisions together. He feels a different solution is the way to go. He's not holding me back from getting help, he just doesn't believe in the type of help I'm wanting to get.

[deena]

If the Orthopedist agrees that this is a permanent pain, the next step would be to see a pain specialist/ pain clinic. I wouldn't concede to a life of pain just yet.

[Maggie]

So sorry you're in pain! What did the chiros you saw say? That there was nothing they could do? I'm just curious.

Originally Posted by Wholly Mama

Of course it's in both of our best interest! But we make decisions together. He feels a different solution is the way to go. He's not holding me back from getting help, he just doesn't believe in the type of help I'm wanting to get.

But it is your body. I'd think he'd let you decide when it came to that.

[NovelMama]

Originally Posted by Maggie

So sorry you're in pain! What did the chiros you saw say? That there was nothing they could do? I'm just curious.

But it is your body. I'd think he'd let you decide when it came to that.

DH and I make decisions together, too--but we also recognize when the other person has more information or more of a vested interest than the other person in a particular area. We knew PJ had some food issues going on, and she had asthma, and even though DH thought applied kinesiology sounded like a crock, he didn't fight me when I said I wanted to take her in to see what they came up with. He knows that I prefer to stay away from medication whenever possible (like daily allergy meds for the asthma) and he knew how hard it was for me doing the elimination diet, so because I was the one with the more passionately-held opinion (meds) and the one who was directly affected by the decision (elimination diet) he aws okay with me trying it, even though he didn't think it would work. (Which it did!)

I don't want you to think that I think badly of your DH or anything--I can appreciate the practice of both people having to agree on something before a step is taken. But at the same time, I feel sad for you that your DH isn't willing to just say, "It's your body, do whatever you need to do to stop being in so much pain." I hope I'm not coming across as snarky or anything, that's totally not my intent.

[ShangriLewis]

Amy's husband is a really great guy who thinks very differently from Amy. He is thinking in her best interest. And, actually it's not just her body. She is his wife and he is her husband. He wants to heal his wife, but he doesn't know how to do it himself.

[katiekind]

I am so sorry, whollymama. My kids were older when my severe, chronic pain started....I can't imagine having young children and coping with that.

When I turned 40, I developed severe inflammatory arthritis. At first it wasn't so bad, and I was committed to dealing with it in natural ways -- as I have never been one to go to doctors, but to handle things naturally.

But it wasn't too long before the disease took a sharp upturn in severity. I could not stand very long, walk very far, was in more or less constant severe pain, and was becoming very depressed as I contemplated my new way of life.

Anyways, I don't know if it is kosher to bring up the role of "regular" specialists in this forum, so if I'm being inappropriate, please don't hesitate to let me know. In my case it was a good decision to see a specialist. The medications he was able to prescribe for me have been so helpful in protecting my joints, reducing the pain and making it possible for me to be active again. (Not super active--but able to do normal mom & wife things.)

[me]

since you mentioned pregnancy related, just a thought, but you could do a self check and see if perhaps you have a diastasis that never closed. especially if your body is torqued. might be one of the drops of water filling the bucket.
then if you felt a seperation you could start splinting with an ace bandage and perhaps some of the excersises you are trying to do to help might be making it worse.
hear

How to check and what it is:
http://www.befitmom.com/abdominal_seperation.html

Originally Posted by me

since you mentioned pregnancy related, just a thought, but you could do a self check and see if perhaps you have a diastasis that never closed. especially if your body is torqued. might be one of the drops of water filling the bucket.
then if you felt a seperation you could start splinting with an ace bandage and perhaps some of the excersises you are trying to do to help might be making it worse.
hear

How to check and what it is:
http://www.befitmom.com/abdominal_seperation.html

Thanks for the info! I tested and I don't have a far enough separation, just a slight. I know that it used to be much worse, though.

After crying to my chiro (who's also my friend) last Friday and explaining my thoughts to her, we got down and dirty about what's going on, what needs to happen, etc. She was a champion gymnast as a teenager and fractured her L-5. I asked her if she was completely healed from pain. She's able to go a month or two between adjustments before she feels any discomfort. I asked if she had suffered from inflammation (what we've decided is the major contributor to my pain). She told me that it wasn't until she started taking MEGA doses of fish oil that she started to be free from inflammation.
The more we talked about it, the more she's convinced that just taking a normal dose is not enough for me. Considering my mom's diet while pregnant with me, my diet as a child, the physical toll of four pregnancies, extended nursing, being an attentive mother, I am probably very depleted. So taking a normal dose is not helping because the void is too big. So, I'm taking her advice of 8-10 grams of fish oil a day for two weeks and then slowly backing off the amount. I started this weekend, and I *do* feel a bit better. Placebo affect, maybe, but I was thinking this morning - I got up out of the chair without wincing!
So, this along with core stengthening, I'm hoping to see some improvement soon.

[me]

Yw, that's great about being able to get out of the chair!
Ita about the higher amount of fish oil. Oregano oil/olive oil might help topically as well. And nightly bentonite clay baths. My dh has degenerative joint disorder and those two things along with a warmed rice sock help tons.