The Toni Bernhard book is wonderful! So nice to hear of someone else who has found it helpful. I think she went off the rails in one chapter, but the rest of the book was fantastic.

Hopeful, I am on 30 mg. MS Contin 3 times a day, with 7.5 mg. Percocet for breakthrough pain, usually brought on by car rides. At 6'2" there is no way for my legs not to hurt in a car. Without it I would be a miserable shivering mess on the sofa, under blankets. My legs hurt like there are ice cold iron rods running the length of them, and my arms are always sore, with intermittent sharp pains. I also have arthritis in my spine which flares occasionally. The arthritis in my hands, knees, hips, and feet is a constant along with advanced LFN/SFN from the CMT.
But with the meds, which would have a lot of people shaking their heads, I can cook for my household of five, bake dozens of Christmas cookies, wrap presents, sit at the sewing machine for an hour or so, and do some of my own shopping. I can take myself to the doctor and the store. My driving is limited because my leg goes numb after 15 minutes or so and I learned to drive late in life (37), so have never done highway driving, but the meds don't seem to affect me. We play strategy games regularly and I teach a small high school lit class for homeschoolers. Everyone is supposed to keep an eye on me for any mental deterioration from the meds, but I only appear to have positive responses to them. I think it is a disgrace that we cannot more easily separate opioid use that results in improved functioning from that which results in impaired functioning, but it should be that simple. Do not let anything that helps you to have a better quality of life make you feel guilty. There is suffering enough, even with a fair level of pain relief. Untreated chronic pain is a disease in itself and can cause heart problems, depression, and even suicide. Each of us is entitled to enough pain relief to be as active as our disease allows, or we will be unable to think about anything other than the pain.