Nerve Pain In Both Legs Getting Unbearable...Depressed

I am SO tired of this crap! I can't stand it all day/all night every day, no break, no relief. I'm a 39 year old male, with herniated disks, stenosis, upper and lower neuropathies for which I have had 23 operations (11 of the surgeries were for my knee). I'm already on 130 mg MS Contin and Percocet 10 MG 4 times a day, but nothing is touching my pain. Now the latest thing is I wake up numerous times per night with real bad pain in my buttock/hip/thigh area. If I was sleeping on my right side, I am awakened with the pain on my right side. So I roll over to my left side, only to be awakened shortly after with the same pain on that side. So I try laying on my back, but that just causes other pains (Low back and down the legs to the calf). Throw in my almost constant nerve pain in my groin and both testicles, running down my inner thigh. I'm running out of sides to lay on! My dr wanted me on Oxycontin and Percocet, but my insurance co. wouldn't pay for it. So they made me try MS Contin first and then if that didn't work (Which it hasn't) I'm to move on to the Fentynyl patch. If that doesn't work, then they will approve the Oxycontin. I just love jumping through hoops for the insurance company, just to get the darn pills my dr wants me on. I've always been told I'm a fighter and that I always overcome the pain. But it's gotten real tired and old. I don't want to fight all day every day anymore. I only do it for my wife. I love her with everything that I am and she's the only reason for me to wake up at all each day. She is my strength and my soul. She is also disabled with multiple herniated disks, stenosis, radiculopathy, diabetes, etc. She is in a wheelchair for anything more than a few steps. I'm her only caregiver. She depends on me for everything. I don't know where I would be or what I would do without my beloved wife. Sorry to rant so much, but I'm up late in pain and have nothing else to do. Thanks for listening.

Dear drjimmy; I can feel for you hun for I too have all the symptoms that you have described. Cannot get comfortable on any side as I lay on one side for awhile and I get terrible pain down one leg then I switch to the other side and within minutes it begins to hurt as well. If I roll to my back both sides of my legs hurt usually down the sides of the legs but sometimes down the groin clear to the inner thigh into the knee. I too have a supportive spouse that has stood by me for the last 8 years through this horrible situation and he has been very understanding through the years. Two days after I messed up my back he herniated his back (or so the doctors told him) and had to stay home for many days in excruciating pain. But with him his pain healed and at times I found myself hating him for that very fact but since then I have gotten over that fact and am ok with it now and feel a bit foolish for being so selfish.

Anyway, I am on several medications for my pain and I wish that I did not have this horrible pain twisting my life into a wasted shrinking mess. I take the same amount of Percocet as you and it does not touch my pain either. My Kadian (morphine ER) does quite well with at least knocking the edge off and I wish that I could bring my pain down many many degrees then what it is.. Anyway, sorry I am whining on about me...I am up at 3:30 am and this seems to be a daily event lately.

I commend you for taking care of your wife with your pain being so horrible and keeping your faith in check. It is refreshing to know that there are people out there that help others even though their in pain and that your wife has you around to look after her. She is very lucky to have you around. Keep leaning on one another when you are both having bad days and I truly hope you fine the answers that you seek.

Many best wishes.

Scarred

Yes Pamela you are not alone hun. My days and nights are totally messed up because of my pain. It irks me that we have to suffer every winter with the pain my friends but what are we to do? We cannot just lay down and give up. So we must muddle through once again. I would love to get one single night of uninterrupted sleep but I just don't see that happening for not only is the pain bothering me but I am also struggling through "The Change of Life!!" Yes apparently dearest mommy did not tell me how horrible this affliction was. So on top of my current pain concerns I am dealing with Menopause which I will have to deal with for the next 10 years if it lasts in me as long as it did in my mother.

*sigh*

Well.....so much for 2008! ha ha ha ha

Scarreedddddddd

Ace; the doctors are doing a radiofrequency nerve ablation? How often are they doing this and is it working well? The reason I ask is because when I went in for mine they told me that they could only do this twice a year tops because it can cause nerve damage if done to many times in a year. Unfortunately the procedure did not work for me and if they would have put a cath in and fed me the numbing medicine through the cath I would have had no pain at all down my legs or in my back. I got maybe two hours of relief until the numbing medicine wore off and then the pain returned to a screaming.

Hope you had better results.

Scarred

So you had one done on the left and then three weeks later they did the right? That sounds reasonable for them to do that. I was just worried that they had done the same side more then once every 6 months. I was told that this is not feasible to do as it will cause problems. I have heard that KS WC is the worst in the US. It is well for you that you have an Attorney to help you with your case though and I would speak with him about the Mylogram as this is wrong for them to deny you access to this test for nerve damage. It might be that you will have to take them to court to get the procedure done and IMHO I think it is worth the added steps to get the procedure done because they might find something that would explain your pain and maybe be able to fix it. Or at least re evaluate your current medications and put you on the right ones to decrease your pain.

Anyway there is my opinion hun. Hope you have a lessen pain night.

Scarred

P.S. I was not trying to make you upset Ace and I hope that you do not feel that way. I just do not understand some of these states and their WC rules. I just moved to KS and have heard some pretty horrible horror stories about your WC around here. It appalls me to think that CPers have to go through so much just to get some kind of relief from their pain in this state. So I am on your side and if there is anything I can do to help you let me know and I'll try to help. What is really weird to me is the fact that KS WC requires its patients to go to doctors that they say they can go to. Whereas in Wyoming we are allowed to choose the doctor that we want to see. In fact I placed a post somewhere around here where I said that our WC was being revamped. I have spoken with the state Senator that is heading up this project via email and told her my situation and she has assured me that they are going to be changing the laws in Wyoming to where I might get a better shot at the Stimulator then I would have without these rules that are in affect right now. So we will see how things go.

Ah, now I understand. The steroid shots never did work on me either.

Scarred

drjimmy; it was great hearing from you. I am so glad your doing well and that you are holding on as best as you can. The Kadian and the MS Contin is pretty much the same as far as having the same kind of morphine to it. The Contin I had a allergic reaction to don't know why and got a bad rash so they put me on the Kadian which I must say is working quite well taking a bit of the edge off (or at least a bit of it). Its quite nice that my husband takes care of me unconditionally without any asking. I have never asked him once to do anything for me but yet he has always been the one that took the lead and made sure I have been taken care of and I love him very much for that. Anyway, hope you have a LPN.

Scarred

lpn = low pain night

Hi, I am a 26 yr old male, I am in soooo much pain, I don't know what to do with myself... I have been injured twice at my current job, they are "supposed" to work with me when I return, but they won't. My manager put me in another position that hurt me worse than the first time. I have been out this time since March 11, 2009 and not seeing very good results. I cannot sleep at night, I have tried sooo many different positions, even got a new bed, nothing seems to work. The only way that I can sleep is if I drug myself, but then I feel even worse when I get up! My MRI portrayed quite a mess, L4/L5 tear: stenosis: DDD, herniation and others. I have received two shots with terrible results, the first one seemed to help a little bit, that was my first injury back in July of '08, but the doc I was seeing sent me back to work right away and here I am, much worse off, anyhow I received my second shot on April 26, the doc that administered the shot hit a nerve, my body went into shock, they almost lost me on the table. The doc and his staff assured me that this is "normal?" I don't think so, after that I have been in much worse pain, the nerve pain, oi vey! My left foot feels like it's on fire, spasms, pins and needles, shooting pain down left leg into my groin, cramping, loss of control, and at times I can't feel my leg nor can I wiggle my toes, very scary! I am scheduled to go in for an EMG tomorrow then a hip MRI. My insurance comapany(s) purchased an EMPI unit for me, doesn't seem to help, I'm on Percocet, helps my back pain but not the nerve pain. My doc wanted to put me on Nerontin, hell no!! That's what I told him, my previous episode, my doc put me on that stuff and I had a terrible allergic reaction, ended up in the ER, so now what??? I can't walk, can't stand up straight, can't sleep, ***!!!!!
I am sooo depressed, angry, and wiped out. My wife is very understanding, but she is quite stressed as she was recently laid off, I am being well compensated, but as the saying goes, "all good things must end." I don't know what were going to do if my job decides to "medically lay me off." If the doc that gave me the shot is responsible for permanent nerve damage, I'm gonna sue him for pain and suffering, what an ordeal. I'm soo tired.

~Damaged

Hi Damaged,

 

     Welcome to healing Well Community *huggs* It is very very nice to meet you. I do hope you decide to stay and hang out, I think, you will find, that most of us have similar problems. I think all of use have nerve pain, the major nerves that run down the leggs are a very hard area to get under control.

 

My MRI portrayed quite a mess, L4/L5 tear: stenosis: DDD, herniation and others.

     

 

    Most of us use/have used,  Pain Management Doctors. Mine in is also spine specialist. he takes ever so good care of me. I too get injections.. but I get them on a regular basis and they are part of a very detailed pain management programm as I am so young. My "start-up" took a lil over 3months (we tried many diffeant types/area injections.. took a while) , and my "whole life" treatment took a lil over 6months. Not as easy as you would think, to re define yourself... AND! Depression is very very common. Completly normal, and your pain management doctor will know exactly what to do when you mention it to him.

 

If the doc that gave me the shot is responsible for permanent nerve damage, I'm gonna sue him for pain and suffering, what an ordeal. I'm soo tired.

  Im not sure about nerve damage from shots? Ive heard of partial burns on those whole qualify to try / use nerve ablation. Not on shots thou. I bet someone knows what your talking about thou whis place is a wealth of knowladge. I myself have had a reaction like you described.. but I was in labor getting an epidural.. she missed, i was mad at time but later we find out ive got a nice case of levoscoliosis *shruggs*

 

     How long have you had sleepless nights? are you awake whole time or sleeping and waking? Seems to me that another common aspect we all have is sleeplessness, thou all in differant ways. Some stay up all night, some toss and turn, some wake and sleep in intervals... but everyone seems to share the same burdon. If you brought that up, I bet your doc could help? Hopefully.

 

     *huggs*

dani