Newb, seeing if relating to others can help.

Welcome Creaturelover to the CP forum and unfortunately our world! Honestly your story reads as the majority here and its simply part of the life. Most of us strive to stay as active for as long as humanely possible and then sometimes longer. At some point yes we all generally end up on disability and that in itself is a whole other battle. My best advice there is keep excellent records of everything,do not trust that your Drs provide all necessary requested relevant information to SSA,ask for copies of all visit summaries,consults,tests,treatments and scans,op reports,even therapy records and keep for yourself. Make copy of all papers SSA sends for you to fill out as well. Make sure before you begin your Drs onboard with your decision to stop working and applying for disability because without his being behind you his input would simply be more detrimental to your application.

New issues arising? Yea we seem destined to suffer domino effect,one thing always relating to something else or contributing factor of. I'm also a multiple knee op patient and last year started having hip problems,Dr says,common due to the time I had spent limping or favoring the leg and throwing my gait off,eventually leads to hip issues from bearing the extra duties. Nice!

Anyway thats just part and parcel and after almost 20 yrs at this I have come to expect such. Here we come in search of like minded people who actually get what you mean when you speak about pain and suffering and the frustrations of wading through and battling a world around us that can't get past the "take a Tylenol" mentality. By sharing with those who do got it,helping those who have not gotten there yet,we sometimes help ourselves by learning from others.

So welcome aboard and I will look forward to what you bring to the table as well.

Hi Creature & welcome to Healing Well. Try to just hang in there & the domino effect will eventually stop. I know right now you are doubting it, but once it hits it will more or less play itself out. The main thing is to try to keep a level head while its going on & above all don't give up.

There are several of us older CPers that have gone through the process of living with chronic pain. Yes, it affects us in every aspect of our life & you sound as if you are into what we call the grieving process over the loss of so many things. It hits from loss of financial stability to loss of friends. Its ok to grieve over the losses for a bit but you have to move on. Hopefully you can make a new life for yourself, it is very much doable but not easy. Lets be honest, living with chronic pain is a bitter pill to swallow. It is like living two separate lives.

Welcome aboard & take care.

Thank each of you for the welcome, as well as the willingness to share your own experiences and mindsets. Truly. It gets SO frustrating not having confidants who can relate and trying to explain to everyone why this or that doesn't work and I swear I want to kick the next person who suggests I look into this or that. I know it comes from a good place...but 99% of the time, I already have or it's a money maker scam.

Being 37, the majority of my friends and peers are still pretty active...I've pretty much withdrawn from most, except a handful because I simply cannot participate in the things that are still normal for them. I've even lost a relationship and the ability to perform at my job as well as a freelance creative business I had on the side. Susie, you are right that I'm in a grieving process... One I have tried to prevent from really coping with I think. I guess I haven't wanted to accept it and "become this person." Trying to find a balance between not being a "victim" and being a fully functioning person is and has been immensely difficult. Financially, I'm also just drowning.

Abilene, thank you for the pain relief thread suggestion, I will definitely search for that. I've definitely picked up a few methods along the way and am curious to see what others do as well. Creatures are huge for me, I've worked in the veterinary field for 11 years and the wear and tear from the field, as well as injuries that just occur in this field are why I've had the 3 knee sx's and the back issues/procedures. My 4 fur kids are my greatest comforts! I'm no longer able to be a technician and had been working primarily the front desk the last few years, which has been tough.

Vickie, thank you so much for the advice on disability, I will definitely make mental note and do those things. I began the process actually, so...I'm trying to prepare myself for even more headache and battling.

I find that my two rabbits who live with me free range in my downstairs bedroom make everyday easier when it comes to my chronic pain and the depression that comes with it. They give me joy watching them hop and jump around and come up their ramp to my bed to see me. I sleep on my back and I wake up most mornings with one of them on my chest, looking at me. Animals are so strong and recilliant. And they can give you reason and purpose on your darkest days. I find strength in them and also in my faith. It's helpful to remember that when you are going through so much it's Gods way of calling you to him. This is because we hardly respond to a small nudge. And the life's filled with the most pain are favored by God because he is preparing you for greatness.

Indoor Bunnies.I'll have to look into that.

We all go through a type of grief over our loss of lifestyle.

Glad to have you aboard the Pain Train.

Take care.

Rick