Velkyn,

The sadness, anger and frustration of having your life yanked away from you can be truly overwhelming. Not to mention the pain! It is a lot to deal with. Anxiety, irritability and depression go hand in hand with chronic pain and illness. Get support if you can. If WC won't pay for a therapist experienced in these matters then get what help there is at a local church, community agency or EAP. Be kind to yourself during this time. It is all too easy to get into self-recriminations about what might have been done differently so life could be the same. This is not helpful. Channel all your energy into getting better in every way you can with the best self-care, diet and gentle exercise you can manage.

The pool and yoga is a great place to start moving forward! Yeah you! They will be good for both physical and mental health. It is so important to feel that you are doing something to help yourself heal.

It sounds like time to find a new doctor if you can. Even with WC restrictions it may be worth a couple out of pocket visits to someone more knowledgeable if it doesn't interfere with your case. In addition to PM either neuro or Physical Medicine may be of help.

Infusions are certainly worth a look. I find it a little worrisome that narcotics are all that's working for you. Have you tried any TCAs or neurontin, lyrica type meds? Sorry if you addressed this already. Topicals can take the edge off as well, even plain old OTC lidocaine or Epsom salts.

Don't give up hope. There will be something you can do when the time comes. Direct patient care is too physically demanding, maybe sometime in the future but not now. Keep your stress down and only look at opportunities that are low impact. No ER work for you. There are desk and phone type jobs out there. If finances dictate do some PRN, otherwise focus on getting your health and well-being as optimal as you can. You are worth it.

Sending Healing Love,
Littlepaw