i have been reading thru this forum for the past hour, and must say it really has been enlightening. I have chronic pain and i see that i am NOT alone in my pain!
i am a 5 yr Breast Cancer survivor. Never had one problem with treatments. In 1997 i was dx with type 2 diabetes. i was a bad diabetic, didnt do what i was told, and in April of this year i was hospitalized with Diabetic Ketoacidosis. I was told i was one day from death. Since then i've lost 70 lbs, and my diabetes is in wonderful condition! BUT since being released i've had severe back and side pain. the side pain was like tingly, it hurt to be touched, awful. after MRI's, Xrays, Ultrasounds, it turns out i have Degenerative Disk Disease. I cant remember right at this time which part of the spine it is, just at the bottom. Lumbar maybe? (sorry) I'm on cymbalta for the nerve pain and MS contin for the back pain. it sort of helps but hmm, not really. Then just last week, i had SEVERE back pain in my mid back. i couldnt walk, no pain med helped. the doctor gave me a short to deaden the pain and reduce inflamation. i got an xray and turns out i have arthritis in my spine. I have a call into the pain management doc to ask what to do about meds, because 1 MS Contin and one Percocet every 8 hours does NOT help!
anyway, this forum seems like a great place. i hope i posted this right :)