At the end of my rope...

Stephanie , I am sorry to hear your hurting. I also did suffer from chronic pelvic pain for a long time. I know how you feel. It is finally cured now . I hope you can find relief for your pain. I try to distract myself from the pain by posting here and doing other activities. I hope your pain lessens soon.

Hey Stephanie , Sorry your having such a hard time lately , Your doing the right thing seeing a therapist though , and posting here .I think your a very strong woman to work while dealing with such challenges to your health .Have you tried meditation ? Seeking peace within you can be very calming .I really hope you can work this out Stephanie , I'll send all the good thoughts and prayers your way I can . Mikel

You had a hysterectomy and it cured your pelvic pain????? HMMMMMM.... Something doesn't sound right. The specialist that I am seeing for my pelvic pain is VERY much against having this done. I had a laproscopy done a few years ago and they didn't find anything wrong. Everything looked normal....

Thank you Mike for your message.. Very encouraging words to hear. I have tried meditation. It is helpful in dealing with my pain, especially when it gets severe...

Stephanie

Yeah I did but I had severeal gynecological issues going on and plus undetected cancer. As I said I m not recommending it . I did it only as a last resort. Most drs dont like to do a hysterectomy if they cant see anything wrong but I had chronic pelvic pain for a long time and I exhausted all treatment options. I am not a dr just sharing my story. so Im in no way telling you to have one.

Hi Stephanie,

I wish I had a brilliant answer for you, but I don't. I've been struggling with my severe depression for many years now & have had little luck in getting it successful under control. Talking to a therapist helps, but only to a point. For whatever reason I have a really strange biochemistry -- I have several genetic mutations in my metabolic pathways which prevent me from metabolizing many drugs, including most antidepressants -- so medications have not been the answer for me. I just try my best to take each day slowly -- one hour at a time -- and not get overwhelmed. It's not easy, but for the most part I do manange. Sometimes all you can do is your best, whatever that may be.

I hope you are feeling better tonight!

hugs,
Skeye

Tina-

I know, I have increased anxiety due to a lot of other factors as well. I think its because I have a type A personality and tend to stress over a lot of things.

I spend a lot of my time on the couch as well. The simplest tasks sometimes seem impossible when my pain is so severe. How long have you been living with your pain? Are you in pain 24/7? It seems like a lot of people on this forum have fibromyalgia. I really feel for you. Are you currently working? I work 4 days a week---I am off on Fridays. It's still very difficult to work when you have chronic pain.

I can totally relate to what you are saying about taking it a day at a time. Lately I have definitely been finding myself doing this. Hour by hour when my pain is really severe.

My thoughts and prayers are with you.

Stephanie

You asked the million dollar question:  How to deal with depression.  Well as far as I'm concerned, this is one problem that can be fixed.

While our minds are constantly bouncing around all day long from one idea and thought to another, like it or not, we're not computers where we can do more than one task at a time.  Now since we can only really do one thing at a time, then why not use that brain control in a positive way.  Depression are thought patterns about ones self.  "I'm feeling miserable."  "Nobody knows what I'm going through," and the list goes on and on.  The way I deal with depression is by avoiding "me" at all costs.  The less I think about me, the less depression is a part of my life.  Instead replace it with thinking and doing things for others.  It's simple to do and it's amazing just how much faster a person can feel better, not to mention how much easier it is for everyone else that's in our lives.  My second fall back method for dealing with depression is to compare my lives with others.

While it's easy to buy into the idea that we've got it so much harder than anyone could possibly know, this just couldn't be further from the real truth.  Sure, we have those months when the house and car insurance payments hit on the same month or the hot water tank blew up and the cat brought up another hair ball, but compared to the rest of the world, we're the luckiest people in the world.  In Mexico if your home has windows, you're doing well.  Heating and cooling systems are only for the wealthy.  Owning a car for many is a dream they'll always have, but never enjoy because of the cost of buying, insuring and paying for the fuel.  Even clean water and food at prices that don't empty out the wallet are things we take for granted that so many in this world of ours will never in million years enjoy.

Tonight I'll be just like every other typical American and grab a bite of dinner from my fridge that's usually stocked pretty darn good.  If the humidity is a bit high, I'll turn on the A/C to remove the moisture from the air so I sleep better.  Then I'll go into my living room and kick back in my recliner and watch some TV with a lap full of goodies.  While this might be normal and no big deal to us, trust me, it's a concept and living idea that simply blows so many people in so many other countries away.  Now if I were in their shoes, then I'd have a reason to be "really" depressed, but I know that while my problems are a pain in the neck and I wish they'd ease up, I'm very blessed.  That's how I deal with depression.  Hope it works for you, Bob.

Hi Stephanie,

Hi... sorry it's taken me a bit... the last couple of days have been rough. I think it's great you are doing the Kaiser class. When my chronic pain began, we had Kaiser (since have switched)... I went through their pain management program, and took similar classes. I have a feeling you live in my general area... we are about 50 minutes outside of San Francisco. I can't imagine commuting each day, much less working, w/ the pain you have. I know it must be really wearing on your body. I'm glad, though, that you work w/ a company that's supportive.. and you seem to have a good attitude about things... you are right - you can only do what you can do. I think that's all any of us can really do. I'm really hard on myself re: my limitations, so I understand (back to that Type A personality thing) :) Yep, it's really hard not knowing day to day how you are going to feel. Most days, I cope ok w/ this... but I definitely have my moments. It's very difficult to make any sort of commitment for anything... For instance, I had a doctor appointment this morning that I was too sick to go to. It's just the way life is, dealing w/ all this junk.

I used to love to read. I still do but sometimes I lack the focus to keep on w/ a book. It has to grab my attention from the beginning. I love Jody Picoult books, though. I read a lot of non-fiction stuff... and I read a lot of "fluffy" magazines :)

I've tried everything for my migraines.. and then some, but no I've haven't tried the botox. That is being used more in the last few years... and my migraines aren't my main focus anymore, so I haven't tried anything aggressively for them.

Yes, my family is supportive... for the most part. But it's still really wearing on my family. It takes a lot of adjustments and such. That being said, I think it's taught my kids important life lessons - such as patience, compassion and so forth. Still, I'd rather them learn these things in other ways :) I do have good friends, both in person and on the computer... However, having a chronic illness put a strain on many of my friendships... when you are no longer the same person, some people just couldn't handle that journey w/ me. I think many of us here have been through similar things...

I gotta go try to scrounge something up for dinner... my favorite time of day... NOT (I hate cooking). But I'll talk to you soon. Let me know how you are feeling today...

--Tina

Stephanie...

Re: the methadone - I'm going to answer on your newer thread.

Re: everything else :) ... click on my username, and you'll find my e-mail... E-mail when you can and I'll answer everything else :)

--Tina