Hi everyone,

I am new here and decided to join because am in pain and really scared!!
My consultant has decided the last resort for me is a spinal cord stimulator. I have had 2 spinal fuions L5S1 and both without much success. The second was to actually correct the first because the first fusion was done so badly it could have ended up paralysing me.
I had facet joint injections done a year and a half ago which caused even more pain and I ended up in bed for 3 months.

Recently the pain has just got worse, I am terrified of it because my medication is no longer helping and because my GP thinks I am already on a hefty amount he won't change it. I spent 10 hours in A&E yesterday. I was taken in by ambulance, made to wait for 3 hours and then they gave me morphine which did nothing. I cried so much I had no tears left. 7 hours later they sent me home..no advice, no nothing!! I was in just as much pain as when I arived there.

The strange thing is when I go over to the States (S. Carolina) the heat REALLY helps and I am able to do things I wouldn't even dream of doing here! (I live in N Ireland)

The thought of having a Spial Cord Stimulator scares the hell out of me because anything they have done, has always ended up causing me even more pain. Even when I had an epi with my facet joint injections, that caused an increase in pain.

Please, is there anyone in this forum who understands where I am coming from? Who understands how scary this pain can be, or someone who can make all this less scary for me? I'm terrified!! I'm still in bed and the pain is horrendous. I'd really appreciate hearing back from someone.


Thank you.

Hi and welcome to NeuroTalk

I've been there, 24/7 pain for years. doing better for now and I'm thankful.

So sorry your experiences have failed to help you. Pain is terrible to withstand. It's suffering at its finest. I am afraid of invasive procedures too. You're not alone here.

I wouldn't want to be forced to undergo any invasive procedure if I didn't want it. I'm sorry you find yourself at that crossroad. I would be upset too.

Fear and panic add to the suffering, although merited. Start trying to manage stress a little. Don't allow "stressful thoughts" all the time. Just do your best for right now.

We're here for you. You will find others who have been through what you have to share and learn from. Give it a little time.

I came to understand sometimes things just don't get done around here. Never said I liked it, that's just the way it was. It added to my stress too but I couldn't help it at the time. I understand.

... and not a lot of improvement in that department. Things still don't get done around here.

Do look around and don't hestitate to ask more questions. There's a lot of info on this forum.

Hello and welcome to NeuroTalk. Great to see you have come to be with us. Just let us know if we can be of any help. We are all here to assist each other as possible.

You might try the following forum, dealing with pain:

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum10.html

Again welcome, looking forward to seeing you around.

Darlene

Hi lizbiz, and welcome to NeuroTalk!

I am sorry about your pain, and I know it must be hard to make a decision about procedures like that.

You will find that there are many friendly and caring people here. This is such a great place to come and hang out.

Thank you all for being so welcoming.

I am really going through h*ll and am really scared. The pain has got to the point I don't even understand exactly where its coming from anymore!!

I had to get the Dr out today....again!! It wasn't my usual Dr and she gave me an injection of codeine and an anti inflammatory!!! I could've laughed if I'd not been in tears with the amount of pain I was in!! It has done nothing, so I am left exactly the same way as I was earlier. It seems never ending!! I just want to crawl into a hole and give up..I've had enough. I'm now so tired I don't know what to do with myself. I am in so much pain, I can't walk. That Dr was a damn joke!! .

By the way, is this forum related to one with exactly the same lay out?? Cos I don't want to be writing the same thing if they are the same but with different names!! The have exactly the same format so I am really confused!!

Thanks again though for welcoming me here, when I put something on a forum (this is only the 3rd one I've joined) I never know if anyone will reply, so I am extremely grateful, thank you.

Liz

Hi again Liz. I'm sorry you are having such pain. Did you check out the link Darlene posted for you....

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum10.html

It's our Chronic Pain forum. We also have a spinal forum. http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum22.html

I don't know what other forum you are reading at...does it have a name?

Liz, many forums use the same software, so many can look alike.

Our mother forum is Phych Central. http://forums.psychcentral.com/

I'm sorry you're suffering like that. I've been there for many years. 24/7. No matter what happens, where you go, what you do or what you lose because of your pain, you can depend on your pain being there.

I hope you find a good, caring, experienced and doctor or therapist or something that gets you turned around. Get a plan with realistic goals. You'll need to adjust as you go. I think you have long time to go before you'll get to tolerable relief. Don't give up. I ran into (and paid for) a lot of jerkoffs in my quest for relief. I found a few. They really made the difference.

I do know that's a very low/dark period in my life. I know God brought me through because I wasn't able to take care of myself... or fight for myself, either. I took a lot of hard knocks and couldn't defend myself. It was a lonely, sad and disappointing time that I experienced. I could've done without it. I don't like to think too much about it. I get very emotional at times. I do understand.

One big, warm, tight, hug, handshake and howdy, moose-size welcome to the site. This place is amazing!

I'm so sorry for the pain you're in and hope you and the docs can find a remedy soon. Odd that the heat helps. I was stationed in England many years ago so I'm familiar with your weather. I live in North Carolina now. HEAT! And lots of it. Would a heating pad or even hot water bottle across your back in bed help at all?

So don't be scared anymore;

You are not alone.
You are one of us.
And we are here to help.