Sorry if I bring you down, I just have too many things bothering me right now and I don't know what to do. I don't know what is MS anymore, what is possibly rheumatoid arthritis, and then I have all these miserable digestive issues.

Right now I'm losing my mind over this PAIN between my right shoulder blade and my spine. It effects almost the whole upper right part of my body, and I can't get a good breath. I've basically been in bed for about 3 weeks now. I've tried massage, chiropractic, ice, moist heat, stretches; I went to the GP and got a steroid shot and some Nucynta; I've used Flector patches and Volterran gel and Tiger Balm. Nothing works for long.

And it's not just pain - I'm visibly malformed too. My mid-back is swollen on the right side and my collarbones are uneven.

I'm debating just trying to go to Mayo or to Kansas City to an MS specialist, somewhere they have several different specialists working together. I need a neurologist, rheumatologist, gastroenterologist, dermatologist, and lots of other -ists. Has anyone been to Mayo for treatment/diagnosis? If so, who did you see, and did you like them? There is a lot of MS research in the Kansas City area, which is about 4 hours away from me, but I don't know if they have the multi-disciplinary clinics.

There just aren't many good neuros in this area, not for MS. If there is a good one, they are so overbooked it's impossible to get in. I almost ended up going to the hospital yesterday just because I couldn't take it anymore, but I would have had to call an ambulance and I just couldn't face running up that kind of bill.

Thoughts?

I've been having problems with my shoulders too. I have frozen shoulder in my left shoulder, that keeps coming back after getting steroid shots into the shoulder joint.

Then I fell down a few weeks ago, and since then I've been having problems with my right elbow. I think I might have dislocated it, or severely sprained it. I go to see my shoulder doctor tomorrow. Going to have him look at my right elbow while I'm there. My aunt thinks that I'll be getting an x-ray if I can get him to look at it.

Sorry that so much is piling up on you right now. It's even tougher, not knowing which disease has you in its target at any given time.

Have you considered a chiropractor for immediate relief? They are not an -ist, but IMO might as well be. When I leave my chiro's office, I feel like I don't have MS. It lasts until I do something energetic that counter-acts his work, but geeze it feels good til then. And I believe my chiro is keeping the base problem (twisted spine from lifting a weak right leg) from getting worse.

* I only mention chiropractic help because you describe pain in an area that might possibly be helped by a chiropractor. (shoulder blade to spine)

I hope you get some sweet relief, from anywhere, soon!

ETA: Respectable chiropractors will xray before treatment. A chiro who will blindly manipulate your spine is a crock, IMO!

Oh yeah, and I forgot to add to your thread title...
"Deep dark depression, excessive misery. If it weren't for bad luck, there'd be no luck at all. Doom, despair, and agony on me!" From the old show HeeHaw, I think.

I went to a chiro back in the early 2000s after a car accident. I didn't care for the chiro because he always wanted to adjust my neck by cracking it. I really did not like that.

I am considering massage, or maybe acupuncture tho. Thinking about massage just for the pain relief. Hoping that would relieve some of the pain in the muscles.

"Deep dark depression, excessive misery. If it weren't for bad luck, there'd be no luck at all. Doom, despair, and agony on me!" From the old show HeeHaw, I think.[/QUOTE]


Sparky ... you are correct - That quote is from Hee Haw!

Loved that show. Especially loved Minnie Pearl, God rest her soul.

They don't make shows like that anymore that make you laugh

I've been to my chiro, he did what he could but my muscles are spasming so bad he couldn't get everything to move that needed to. I trust my chiro way more than most MDs. It ****** me off no end when you go to the doctor and it's basically like -"Well, let's put on a little plaster and some fresh paint, prop up that swagging porch a bit, you'll be good as new!" I swear sometimes I know more about the minimum standard of care than half the young doctors out there!

You're not on any muscle relaxants? No baclofen or zanaflex?

maybe you're in a major flare and could use steroid therapy. It stinks that you don't have easy access to a neuro-that could give you a yes or no as to whether or not it's all from MS.

Hope you can get some treatment

I take baclofen. Mostly just at night tho. If I take it during the day, I sleep. I want to be awake during the day. Sometimes I take some valium, but that's when the spasticity is really bad and is making me have a bit of anxiety.

Msarkie - That sounds very painful!!! Did they do any diagnostic imaging tests on the area to see what may be causing the swelling? Have they ruled out gallbladder disease as well?

I do hope you find something that relieves the pain and soon. Three weeks in bed due to pain is just too much and actually may be contributing to some of the pain. Let us know how you are doing.

I always felt bad for my aunt that had RA. I don't see how she did it with the pain from the RA, and it caused her to have microfractures in some places. I felt like a wimp for complaining about my stuff when my aunt would tell me what had been going on with her. (I hadn't talked to her that often in the year leading up to her dying of a heart attack. Kind of wish that I'd talked to her more).

Thinking about all the stuff she went thru now, and I still feel like I'm being a wimp with the MS stuff.