[KathyButts]

chronic pain

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I am new to this and don't know where to start. I had foot surgery in Nov 2009. When I woke up from surgery, I had this horrible pain from my foot to the back of my left knee.(never had pain there before) Went in for severe bunion surgery. I was told it could have been nerve damage. Went to pain management where they gave me 2 injections in my spine....tried me on gabapentin, nortryptiine, the usual hydrocodone and oxycodone..which i am currently out of...lyrica (which made my ears ring and stopped taking it) etc. etc. now that I am out of my pain meds and stopped going to the dr. I don't know what to do because I am such pain and I know they will think I am an addict that is why I stopped going....I found some gabapentin (that didn't work the first two times) nortryptiline (which also didn't work) and lyrica (which made my ears ring so bad I stopped after two weeks). So I took a nortryptiline and a gabapentin but scared to death to try a Lyrica. Has anyone else had this problem and what do I do...it has affected my whole life because I have a lot of responsibilies and when I am pain I am 0 percent effective and it is starting to effect my family....do I go to a new dr and say "hey somebody messed me up and I need fixed" or what???????

[Alffe]

Hi Kathy and welcome to NeuroTalk. Here is the link to our Chronic Pain forum...http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum10.html

Just click on it and you'll be there. You'll find a lot of good information and support there...I'm glad you've joined us but sorry for the reason.

[Abbie]

Hello Kathy and Welcome to Neurotalk!

I'm sorry to hear of your pain.

I see that Alffe has given you the link to our chronic pain forum. Has the doctor given you any other diagnosis?

I am NOT an expert but I suggest you look at this forum as your symptoms sound very familiar.

Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD and CRPS)
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum21.html

Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome Association
http://www.rsdsa.org/index2.html

Please feel free to roam around the forums.
I look forward to seeing you around the board.

Abbie

[Leesa]

Hi Kathy ~

I know that the medications scared you, but PLEASE go back to the pain management doctor. He can try OTHER medications that won't react so badly to you. There are plenty of medications that he can try -- just tell him what the Lyrica did to you, and he'll try something else.

Pain management really IS the way to go. You will get proper pain treatment this way. And it sounds like you REALLY NEED treatment !!! So please make another appointment with your doctor. He will try to work with you.

I've been a chronic pain patient for 26 years, and I've tried all sorts of pain meds -- some worked and some didn't. Finally after all these years, I've found something that HAS worked for me. I'm now on the Fentanyl patch along with Methadone. For the first time in all these years, I've gotten some relief !! Maybe the patch would work for you too. Best of luck & God bless. Hugs, Lee