Hello all, I"m a 50 year old grandmother of 5 who was not been able to lifet her last grandbaby since she started getting bigger right after the newborn state. She was born January 2011, That is exactly when my pain began.

I'm just going to make a short list of what I've had, no long description of each. Jan- saw gp, xrays, diagnosed muscle spasm, muscle relaxer and aleve. if not better come back in two weeks. Was worse in two weeks, went back, she ordered MRI. had that done, dr called me and told me there was nothing wrong with me, slight bulging disc in two places, just normal wear and tear of aging. Advised me to go to the Chiropractor.

So I started going to my Husbands Chiro.. after 6 weeks of therapy I was literally in tears 24 hours a day. and was quickly reach the breaking point. He had me started on physical therpay, ultrasound, massage, Estim, accuptuncture.. no results from any of that.. during this time wound up in the ER middle of the night, pain was so bad I had a major anxiety attack, They did xrays and said they didn't see anything worng but suggested a Pain managment dr.

Started with him. 3 spinal epidural in jections.. no relief at all from any of them. He said he could do nothing else for me and sent me to the surgeon. This ******** surgeon breezed in looked at my x rays in 5 minutes and said you need a two level cervical fusion. . Get it all set up today and we ll get it done before the weeks over. I went home with papers in hand , in a state of shock. Did my research and decided that Yes I may need the surgery and he may be the best in the state but he was not the best for me and I ran in the opposite direction.

A friend sent me to her neuro whom she said was wonderful compassionate and had helped her so much. He did xrays looked at me one time and his exact words were" I could walk out my front door and find 100 people on the street who have the same issues you do and they aren't crying and whining. Now get up, go learn to live with and get your life back. And he handed me a card for a mental therapy dr.This was in July.

By this point I was in bed 6 days out of every week, curled in the fetal position, pain at a level 30 on a 0-10 scale. Comtemplating suicide. Derpressed with no life. Every dr I saw over this time told me not to go to A------P----S-----C----- and not to let DR. D touch me. that he was a quack and handed out narcotic drugs by the handfuls. Well by this time that sounded pretty good to me so I made the apt with Dr Dl Best move I ever made. Most caring compassionate loving Dr. Iv'e ever had. He immediately looked at all my mris, xrays .. did his own physical exam, and said it was nerve pain and he wanted to try the nerve blocks and rhizotomy... I said go for it. Had 3 nerve blocks.. had some relief for about 5 days after those. He was't happy with that, wanted it to be longer but said all in all I was still a candidate for the rhizotomy. so it was planned.. C1,C2 and C3, bilaterally.. Did left side on thursday six weeks ago, right side on Friday. Just let me say that was the most painful thing I've ever gone through. Bring on childbirth I"ll do that any day. This crap about concious sedation is just that. I did not do well that first day. He upped my meds on Friday and I did alot better, Came home feeling pretty decent. Felt pretty good for about a week..

Then all hell hit.Not the burning,deep agonizing never ending pain from the nerves which was in my left neck and left shoulder by the way.. but just pain everywhere. all over. the worst was the skin sensitivity. He told me it would feel like a sunburn. SUNBURN my *** felt like radiation burn.. and the funny thing the only place it was was up into the back of my head, clear up to the crown of my head, down my right neck and shoulder, over my shoulder into my collarbone area and clear down into my chest into my right breast.

Remember this is the good side that had no pain. None of this sensation in the side that brought me in. WELL, here we are 6 weeks post, the burn skin sensation has gotten some better. still have a couple of areas that are touchy.I have NONE of the pain in my left neck and shoulder that I have had since of this started.. and thats great..

but.. it's moved, now its right in the middle between my shoulders. Ive had all the weird sensations in my arms and hands, twitching, etc. and severe muscle spasms. Went in and had 11 injections into the muscles where the cramps were the worst. I had a few days this week where I felt good, almost like myself. then today it hit and I've been curled up in the bed in the fetal position begging my husband to ust put me out of my misery.
I'm lost, depressed, and just sick. I'm not through with life and as it is right now I can't do any of the things we want to do. Someone please tell me you've been where I am and that I can and will be better. I'm doing physical therapy, doing everything he asks me to do.
My husband told me tonight if I was his dog he would of put me down months ago.. I couldn't laugh, I couldn't get mad, all I could do was sit here and cry.. and I"m still crying

You might want to explore the threads & Useful stickys on our Spinal , Thoracic Outlet Syndrome and Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD and CRPS) forums.

Spinal Disorders & Back Pain - http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum22.html
Thoracic Outlet Syndrome - http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum24.html
Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD and CRPS)
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum21.html

Rhonda,

Hello and welcome, happy to see you have come to be with us, it a great place to be. As you can see we have a great number and caring fellow members here, welcome to a supportive and relaxing place. Have fun looking into the different forums. Our shoulders are here for support in many ways.

Looks as though you are finding you way around. Again welcome, looking forward to seeing you around. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

Darlene

Rhonda, I'm so sorry for all of the pain you have gone thru. I'm a Stay at Home Mom of 4 and really empathize with your depression and misery. My pain is in my right arm radiating specifically in and around my elbow and of course spreading to include both arms, hands and recently my right upper shoulder and between my shoulder blades. Please forgive me if I ask a question that is answered in your post but I don't know how to find it while I'm replying and my memory is crap thanks to all me meds. Do you have an actual diagnosis? For CRPS/RSD have you tried Lyrica daily, Cymbalta, or Nortiptlyne for pain / burning or Gabapentin for burning ( I love mine). The Cymbalta and Nortriptlyne are for pain and depression. PLEASE don't feel alone there are so many of us who suffer with you every hour of every day. Sending you wishes for a single moment of peace Corey

Hi Rhonda, I am not in as bad of shape as you but I can relate. I am 57 and have a hard time picking up my grand son also. I just learned about mindfulness meditation and how it can help with pain. I am trying it for about 20 min. per day and so far , so good. I know it sounds kind of out-there, but I am willing to try anything. You can look it up on line if you want to try it. I can't believe all the Dr.'s you saw and how you were treated. DON"T give up. Best wishes, Cat Blue from Pacific NOrthwest.

Hello Corey, thank you for the response. I have 2 bulging discs, bone spurs and cervical stenosis.. that is the only diagnosis I've been given. I've seen 8 drs in the last year.. Was told by 1 that he could step outside his office and find 100 people with the same problems and them not have the pain that I have. He told me I needed to go home, and learn to deal with it .
The dr I am seeing now who did the rhizotomy put me on Cymbalta and Lyrica in October. I can tell the difference in my depression level alot, but still am not where I want to be. So sorry for your pain. This isn't a something I would wish on anyone. Thank you again for your response.
Rhonda

Thank you so much.. I am glad you've found something helpful to you. I will look that up. Thank you.. best wishes to you too.. hugggs