Depressed Bc of Pain

I have a couple chronic conditions that cause pain and it's easy to fall into depression because of it. Here's what I've learned over the years:

I can not control all aspects of my disorders and the pain they cause. The medical doctors can only do so much and anything they try is not always going to work exactly as I would like it to work. The only thing that really is in my control is how I choose to let this effect my life.

I decided early on that I was not going to be defined by my disease. Instead it was going to be something I was going to deal with on a daily basis. I take responsibility for the things I can control (like my weight, diet, and exercise) and work on modifying my daily activities to accommodate my pain. I'm in the fight every single day to live the life I want to live.Some days I win, others not so much.

Don't be a victim. Be a warrior.

I have been through it. I have similiar problems with my cervical spine. I do not take pain medication because for me it was not the right solution. I have days that I have to sleep most of the day and other days I feel O.K to go about my daily life.
If I am having a lot of pain, I take a muscle relaxer at bedtime and rub anti-inflammatory cream on my neck and shoulder. The muscle relaxer helps take the pressure from inflammation off the nerve.
I take Cymbalta - It is an antidepressant that is also used to help decrease pain - it has pain relieving components. The Cymbalta has helped a lot. If you are depressed it will also help with that
I go to a pain specialist, he does epidural spinal injections and facet joint injections with a steroid - this really helps.
When I feel OK I try to keep up with strengthening exercises to help improve my posture - good posture really helps with relieving pain.
Finally, I had to stop feeling guilty and let myself rest when I needed to, Once I accepted that sometimes I had to take a nap because the pain is too much, I felt better emotionally.
Try reading Dr. Sarna's book about back pain. I can't remember the name but the author is Dr. Sarna
I hope you are able to find some relief and peace iwth your condition

I too deal with chronic pain, in the form of fibromyalgia and chronic migraines (three to four migraines a week), and I know where you are coming from. For me, some day are harder than others, and I can get really down.

I am helping my brother raise his daughters because his wife died from cancer. What keeps me strong is that I know my brother and his nieces never expect perfection from me. I used to be so h*** o* myself because I felt like I had to do EVERYTHING perfectly, but one day my brother sat me down and set me straight. He told me that I was to help them the best as I could, and to not worry about the rest. It helped my mentality lot.

I am on antidepressants because of the pain. I have found that the chronic pain has caused depression and I really was neglecting that. I felt so much better after going on them. Maybe that might help you too?

This might sound kind of silly, but I have post-its put up around my house with little sayings on them:

remember to breathe

take care of yourself

you are are strong

ask for help when you need it

You are not alone

you are perfect the way you are

These really help me a lot too. There are more, but this gives you an idea.

Someone else suggested going back to your surgeon. I think it's a good idea for you to really push for what you need for your pain relief. You are your own best advocate.

Good luck and hang in there.

I am so sorry you are going through this. Chronic pain is horrible and not many people understand it because you look "fine." But chronic pain changes you. I know what you're going through (my pain was in my hip, not my back).

You might want to see a pain specialist and or talk to your doctor again. Can you get a cortizone injection? Or injected pain relief? How about a pain patch? If your meds cause anxiety attacks, tell the doc and have him put you on something else.

And if you truly cannot live with this any longer, you need to talk to the surgeon again and discuss corrective surgery.

Best of luck to you.

I'm so sorry you are going through this. I just wanted you to know that I think you are very strong. Very, very strong. I admire you. I'll be keeping you in my heart and thoughts. I hope you find relief soon.

Have your doctors sent you to a pain management clinic yet? There are so many ways to manage your pain. If you have a pool or if you can join the YMCA, do it! Pool therapy is wonderful and stress free on the back. I would get my noodle, go in the deep end and hang on the noodle. the natural gravity would pull the spin down and it relieved my pain so much. Walking in the pool help. Also, sitting and doing scissor kicks helped as well. Also, go to the book store or library and check out some books regarding back pain. It will help!

I have had two back surgeries so I understand your pain. It is mind numbing and you are exhausted by the end of the day. You can do it!! I have very few pain filled days now but I still do my water therapy!!!

man o man, do I understand where you are coming from! I wish I could give you a magic spell to make it all better, but I can't. All I can say, is that over time, your body and mind do truly learn to cope and deal with chronic pain. I know. it stinks. I have it too. Some days I wake up and some iny teeny thing may feel different. Maybe the smallest thing is better, and a "normal" person wouldn't even notice the difference, but for me I feel like a million bucks. It's an amazing feeling! Then on the flipside, if I wake up and have the tiniest new thing to add to my overloaded amount of pain.. well, I can't take anymore and it sends me into an overload and I am down for the day. It is horrible. I have so many things that cause pain, and I go to pain mgmt, and take all types of meds. I have tried all of the injections, the therapies, etc. It's a cycle that pretty much stinks, because you get to deal with the side effects of most of these things too. The only thing I can say is your body DOES learn to cope, as well as your mind. Neither will fail you. IN time. If you ever need to talk, feel free to PM me. I really DO understand. Talking does help. Especially to someone who also has chronic pain and "gets" it. If you don't "look" like you are hurt or should be in pain, that makes it even worse. I DO know. Hang in there. Wishing you the best. ....................

I don't really have any advice, but I just wanted to say how sorry I am that you are going through so much pain.

You are not a failure; you are human. And you are more to your family than a cook and housekeeper. They love you, warts and all!

I am not familiar with your diagnosis, but one easy cheap thing that might help is to sleep with a hot water bottle under your back. I had fairly bad back pain and this helped soooo much and it didn't involve drugs.

You might even try this during the day when you are sitting. The heat really helps to relax your muscles and it's very comforting.

For me how I keep strong is I focus on my kids. They are aware that I have issues because I knew once we found out what I had we couldn't keep the kids in the dark. Both are very active in their various activities so we had to let them know just so they wouldn't be scared or upset if I had failings on keeping up or stepping out to get things under control.
Pain meds did nothing for me so I'm stuck just dealing. Plus side I have developed an incredible pain tolerance. But I do agree with the others that getting back to the doctors is important. Check out other meds or anti depressants to help with the side effects of your current meds.