My Story

Hello EN & welcome to the chronic pain forum. So glad to read that you have reached some improvement over your physical problems, that is very encouraging.

You mention having some anxiety and that alone can cause many different kinds of issues & aggravate stuff. Perhaps you need to discuss this with your primary care physician and he can help you with this. Anxiety can be awful as you know. Now for the headaches, if you have not seen a neurologist for them, you really should ask for a referral to one. If they are true migraines going on, there are many different medications to help prevent them. It would be worth getting some medical attention for these issues rather than trying to handle things on your own. Granted you have improved but you are still having problems. We have many different forums here at Healing Well, you may want to visit the anxiety forum & the migraine forum and read up on what those folks are doing for their problems, you probably will find some excellent pointers in those forums. Many of us visit more than one forum here.

Keep us posted on how you are doing....

The worst part about having chronic pain is that the fear of the pain is worse than the pain it's self. Once you encounter physical symptoms that are actually debilitating you live you life in fear of those symptoms. And that is the thing I really want to learn how to get over if I can, because like I said my physical symptoms have gotten better, but I don't feel as if the emotional scars from them are healed, and somehow I don't think the neurologist is going to be able to help me with that.

I am seeing a therapist and psychiatrist in an attempt to address the underlying anxiety issues, it seams my progress is good on that front but way too slow.

Esoteric,
I am also new here. I have found that these forums have provided more info and support than I find anywhere else. Stick with your therapy. Anxiety didn't happen in a minute so it will take more than a minute to remove it.
I got hurt almost 5 months ago. I have learned that anxiety/depression is a typical response to CP. Not knowing what's going on or why makes everything "bigger" and "meaner" than it has to be. Not knowing what is behind the next curve is exceptionally hard for me. Patience is not easy so keep trying. Every day every minute.
I read a shirt yesterday in the neuro's office that said "I have Cancer but Cancer doesn't have me". I am thankful for that sentiment. I simply change out cancer for really messed up shoulder.
Just hang in there and know you aren't alone.
Daesin

Esoteric,
Since you mention meds I would suggest you get familiar with your pharmacist. Develop a relationship with them as they can provide great info on meds. I literally owe my life to my pharmacist. Who knew you could have severe swelling and hallucinations from muscle relaxers?

Every person metabolizes meds differently. It can be difficult to find what works for you but you cant let pain (or fear) rule your life. Modern pharmacology can be a wonderful thing.

I have no doubt that this group can give you tons of info on any specific medication.
Good luck
Daesin

I went to urgent care this week for back pain and it seams that apparently urgent care seams to think that they can treat chronic back pain in 5-7 days. I know darn well that is not possible even with the shot of Toradol they put in my butt.

I'm sorry you are feeling so bad. I hope that you are able to find a good doc who can figure out what's going on and find effective treatment.

I am a bit confused about something though....you said "gerontological problems"? And that you were seen by a "gerontologist"? I am assuming you meant to say gastrointestinal problems, and that you saw a gastroenterologist? Because gerontology has to do with problems related to aging, and gerontologists are doctors who treat people having problems aging. The elderly. I was confused when I first read it, but then figured it out. The only reason I am mentioning this is that when you are speaking with a doctor or any person in a medical office, you want to make sure you are using the right words. You don't want to be scheduled to see a gerontologist when what you need is a gastroenterologist. I guess the easiest way to be sure you get it right is just to stick with GI (I have GI problems, I need to see a GI doc). Honestly, I am NOT trying to pick on you or get off topic, just wanted to make sure that you avoid any misunderstandings with health care people in the future.

One of the best things you can do right now about the headaches is keep a headache diary. Write down when you get them, where it's located, how intense the pain is, other symptoms (like the sensitivities to sound/light), anything you take or do to try to make them better, any ideas of what may have triggered them. Basically anything you can think of. And see a neurologist or someone who specializes in headaches. The more information you can give them about what you are experiencing, the better. I have been treated for chronic migraines for about 4 years now. It took a while to find someone who could help me, but now I'm at the point where I understand my headaches better and have found a good treatment routine for them. I get the botox injections every 3 months, plus take additional preventative meds, and of course I have a "rescue" med for when I do get a migraine. It has cut my migraines down from having them daily to 2-3 a month, and they are much less severe. Not saying you will need the same treatment, but there is hope out there and there are ways to manage them.

As far as the GI stuff goes, again, it's a good idea to keep track of symptoms, etc. It may help you to see a pattern or correlation between things. And it will help your doc get a better understanding of what you are dealing with and figure out where to go from here. I also have some pretty awful GI problems myself. I am 36 years old.

Chronic conditions sure can mess up your life. But there is hope. It may take a while, but keep searching for answers and treatments that will help. Don't settle for feeling sick all the time. It can get better!

Also I know that urgent care can't treat chronic conditions. I had had a back massage on Wednesday and was in pain again on Friday so I felt I had to see someone for my symptoms fairly soon. I was going to mention the back problems to the neurologist when I was him. I've been in physical therapy for my back once before but I found I could see my massage therapist for the same price and that he would spend more time with me than the physical therapist. That being said I should remember to do the stretches he showed me. It turns out that the muscles that are causing the back problems I have are not actually the ones that hurt so the stretches I need to do for them are a bit unintuitive.

No giving up allowed!!

Things can and will get better!!

I have migraine headaches, GI issues, chronic back pain, and anxiety attacks and now my insurance company is upset that I'm seeing a counselor every other week and told me that the next session I have would be the last session they will cover. So you tell me. What the hell am I supposed to do about this?