(no subject)

[waterspyder]

I dreaded the day this would happen... but the pain has now conquered my pain management strategy.

This fucking blows.

Comments

[queenie-writes.livejournal.com]

:(

Is there anything I can do? Do you still want me to come over and see pebbles tomorrow? If not, I will understand completely.

[waterspyder.livejournal.com]

I have class followed by a board of directors meeting... I won't even be home.

Thankfully my massage therapist is back from vacation and I see her Wednesday

[queenie-writes.livejournal.com]

Ok. That sounds like something you could use.

If you want anything and I help, let me know.

[waterspyder.livejournal.com]

Thank you, the offer is appreciated

[torrain.livejournal.com]

Let me know if there's anything I can do? This includes calling if you need to and it would help at all. (In a pinch I would happily go biking for supplies, but I think anyplace I could get them you could get them sooner and easier.)

What's this mean long-term?

[waterspyder.livejournal.com]

Well, I better get on the "better living" routine quick and lose weight.

And I do appreciate the offer, but I have a live-in pack mule... I mean... boyfriend... yeah...

[panthertriad.livejournal.com]

Which alternative therapies Have you tried thus far?

[waterspyder.livejournal.com]

Massage Therapy, Aquatherapy, Yoga (though it's effectiveness varies)

I forbid my massage therapist from ever going on vacation again.

[corradus.livejournal.com]

So what's your next step? Can anything be done?

[waterspyder.livejournal.com]

Take more pills? Lose weight?

There are courses of action, but my lifestyle blows for fulfilling them.

[xliquid-dreamsx.livejournal.com]

Crap! That's not good.

[ms-danson.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry to hear that.

There are a few people on my f-list who have/do deal with chronic pain. If you wanted me to ask them for advice on your behalf just let me know what you want posted.

[waterspyder.livejournal.com]

That would be cool.

My massage therapist went on vacation for 3 weeks. She must never do that again.

I know I need to make lifestye changes, but it's all about strategies to implement them, right?

[ms-danson.livejournal.com]

Okay. What information do you want given and what questions do you want asked? I can either post them in my lj or if you write a post I can direct them to that.

[waterspyder.livejournal.com]

Well, I have Lupus and Fibromyalgia, but what has been really hurting is a recurring pain in my lower back, and normally I can do some stretches and take some Tylenol #3, and in 30 minutes to an hour, I can fall asleep, but lately, this is not the case.

The bad thing about my back pain, is doctors can't find anything "wrong" with my back.. but ask Josh or my massage therapist and they will tell you otherwise.

The stretches aren't working anymore, and neither are the painkillers. The pain for the day to day, more closely resembles the pain of times I do a lot of walking or heavy lifting.

This is where I'm at right now.

[ms-danson.livejournal.com]

I will repost this in my lj.

[ms-danson.livejournal.com]

btw... coolhandsgirl is my massage therapist.

[scribble-scribe.livejournal.com]

Hi Waterspyder,
I am one of Ms_Danson's pain dealing friend. Since your massage therapist is away, I have a trick that my physio therapist taught me that really helps with the back pain. All you need is a wall and a tenis ball. Place the tenis ball between your low back and the wall and rub it up, down and sideways. You can contol pressure by how hard you push. It also helps strength your muscles. I find it works well after a hard day of lifting, pulling and pushing. Have you seen a chiroprator? I have found that since I started seeing one, my overall health has improved and pain has been reduced considerably.

My only other thought is to tell you, you are not alone. I know when the pain hits and hits hard, it feels like that and worse. I'll keep you in my good thoughts and send you all the healthy mojo I can spare.

[spiritonparole.livejournal.com]

Hey there! I wandered over here from ms_danson's journal. Like scribble_scribe, I have a chronic pain disease, although it's in my pelvis rather than my back. I had surgery in January to get rid of the scar tissue that caused the bulk of my pain, but I still have episodes occasionally and loathe taking painkillers, so I've experimented with some alternative techniques.

By far the best thing I've found is a simple vibrating massager--you can get them at Brookstone for maybe $30, and they'll run forever if you keep replacing the batteries every so often. Vibrating massagers give positive stimulation to the nerves in areas affected by pain, blocking the pain signals and giving you respite, which then causes your body to relax and stop releasing so many neurotransmitters that create pain sensations. This technique works best in tandem with other therapies, such as OTC anti-inflammatory drugs or hot compresses.

I'll add you to my friendlist; feel free to read through my archives, especially those for 2005 and earlier this year, to get some sense of what I deal with and how I've coped. I'm always happy to help a fellow pain patient, so please don't hesitate to look me up when you need to talk.

[ms-danson.livejournal.com]

There have been a few more comments for you on my post. I hope you find something useful.

[morgaine-1971.livejournal.com]

After reading about your situation in ms Danson's LJ, I promised to write a message yesterday. I am one of the people who has to deal with chronic pain. Really severe pain, sometime's. On a daily basis I have to take about 300 mg Tramagetic (24 hrs form of tramadol, a weak opioid)just to cope with it.

But that doesn't do the trick all the time.

It seems you know what to do. Change your lifestyle. In Holland there are painmanagingprograms who can help you with that. But that is long-term.
Another long-term solution could be a TENS. It's a device that sends weak eloctropulses over your nerves. The idea behind this is that if they are busy processing this signal, they cannot transport the painsignals as effective anymore. I tried it, and it worked great. The only thing is that it also destroyed my skin (that is very weak due to my connective tissue disease) so I cannot use it anymore.
I got it in the painpoliclinic, every hospital in Holland has a policlinic that specializes in painmanagement.

What you could try for now is a kind of selfhypnosis. Lie down and relax. Close your eyes. Let your breathing become calm en deep. Breath from four belly.
Then go to the pain with your mind. Jump in, FEEL it. Embrace it. Let it be all there is (this is not a very fun thing to do). And then take the pain, and put it away somewhere. In my mind it goes into a closet with a big lock ;-)
It may take some practicing, but for me it works. Don't use it all the time though, only when the pain becomes to bad.

I have the tendency to keep 'running', even when I know I have to take my rest. My body can't keep up with my mind :-(
It looks like you have the same problem ;-) But when I started to take my rest in time, I could do a lot more during the day. And over time, it even improved.
Slice up your day, like a salami (it is called the salamitechnique ;-)) Do something, then rest. Do something, then rest.

Hope this helped a bit.