I hear ya...my daughter is turning 4 this month and I just returned to working full time in August...lucky if I get 2 hours of sleep a night (which is why I'm typing this at 1:50am). It takes so much energy just to try to do the things I need to help my pain and many times, like you, the difference seems so small that I ask myself is it really worth all of this? But...it is...and over time you learn to make those small adjustments to the way you do things, to see the earliest warning signs of a flare so you can start doing things for relief proactively instead of after the flare up is already under way, etc.

It's unacceptable that your pain management doctors not get back to you. I had no luck with pain meds and such...though the lidocaine patches help a little...but the truth is that for years and years and years the best relief I got was from the stuff I taught myself. I have a good pain management doctor now, he got me the DRG spinal cord stimulator that has been life changing for me (seriously...went in for surgery in a wheelchair and walked out of the hospital that day...huge difference in my leg but unfortunately only in my leg from the knee down so still full force in both arms, hands, leg from the knee up, etc). But even he couldn't find anything else that could help me...it was up to me for the day to day stuff and I educated myself with lots of research, lots of trial and error, etc. I've been struggling a lot since my return to work because it has thrown off everything for me...and I have yet to find a good balance between the work, caring for my daughter, taking care of the house, etc...and caring for myself. It's a struggle...but it is worth it.