chronic pain management

[sewingbelle56]

I have been reading about different peoples pain and problems, the cycle of pain, depression, lack of mobility, weight gain etc

I had a car accident over 10 years ago, I was rear ended and the one that actually got severe whiplash and hurt I have misaligned vertebrae and minute fractures of the facet joints, and arthritis in my neck.
No one believed me for 2 years they all treated me as if I was faking it for the money

I wasn’t eventually after 2 years and some scans I was referred to a professor Richardson at Rosendale hospitals chronic pain clinic (he also does Bradford hospital)
He is the kindest wonderful man doing all kinds of pain treatments and surgeries

He has done a denerveation procedure on my neck several times (it regrows after 3 years)
You have to be awake under an x-ray machine and he puts a needle / probe into your joints/ pain area
For me it was my facet joints in my neck and basically when you scream and can’t bear it any more he switches the switch and kills the nerves as he is in the right place
Brutal but its affective

Before my treatments
I was bed ridden for most of the week and still in agony
I was on anti depressants and for the pain solpadol tramadol and for a few weeks oxycontin(don’t go on oxycontin they are addictive struggle with the pain)
I had a home help and didn’t do any thing with my eldest child due to the pain.

a few days after the denervation I was able to reduce my pain killers after a few months I realized I was mainly pain free (if I didn’t do any thing vigorous) and I was on just the solpadol (8) soon by the end of the year it was mainly 2-4 solpadol a day.
After the 2 denervation i was in a lot of severve pain for about 4 weeks on 1 side of my neck none on the other, but that settled and i have now managed to change my strength of solpadol from 50mg to 30mg of codine per tablet.

I broke down crying thanking proffesor Richardson when it was my last appointment with him as i am living a life again instead of crying in bed with the pain.
I can now work from home after 8 years on the sick.
I have still got a long list of things I cant do with out setting the pain off to were I need to go to bed but if I am sensible about what I choose to do I can manage the pain.
but best of all I have 2 more kids since these treatments as well as moody teenager and a husband who now does all the house work for me and he works as well (dont need a home help anymore). I work anything from 20 -50 hrs a week from home its not active but I am earning and contributing.

During these last 10 years I have piled loads of weight on through depression lack of mobility and overeating, so I am having a gastric bypass in 4 days to fix that side of my life as I will never be able to exercise any of it off.

The main reason ive posted this is to say to the people in pain there are treatments.
If you are in the northwest of England or can travel that far and in serious pain. Try asking for this man
Professor Richardson he’s brilliant it might hurt fixing it but all the men and women I talked to when he did my procedures swear by him it helps and when you can reduce the pain a person is in life looks so much better.

He literally gave my life back to me and my family now I am hoping dr ammori can give me back to me

 

[marky v]

a lovely story, good luck with your surgery in a couple of days

 

[tpt]

That is a lovely story and greatest of luck with your op.

I suffered similarly after a nasty bike crash in which I mashed my hips & pelvis up. Like you I was bed ridden and lost the use of my left leg. But after approx 18 months of lying on my arse being stuffed full of every drug imaginable, piling on over 5 stone and losing a grip on reality I decided to fight back and took myself off everything (cold turkey as it goes..wasn't as bad as they make out). I then started a year long treatment course in Kineisiology and never looked back. And I will never use western treatment or medication again. It's a personal choice, it doesn't work for everyone. My resulting effect is arthritic hip and sciatic damage which still flares up from time to time) and constant pain (which I ignore) and the inability to exercise it off..but I can also walk and worjk out, so like you - i had a bypass 2 weeks ago to enable me to get back to physical fitness - I used to compete for years before my crash.

So - I wholeheartedly agree - there is always light at the end of the tunnel - in whatever form it takes...you just have to believe it.

Again -best of luck with your op - I will be rooting for you.

 

[bridiegeorge]

So pleased that it all worked so well for you. and good luck with the wls you must be very excited.. I have tried many different routes for my pain, some seemed to work for a while. acupuncture. physio. chiro. i too had the facet joint injections (ouch) had relief for two to three weeks with it and the docs decided it wasnt working on me. i have a tens machine from my pain clinic which i use when needed for light pain. my pains all began with a fall in 2000 i fell down a concrete flight of steps stopped myself with my hands and arms face down i only thought i had damaged my leg (it wasnt broken but have been told it would have been better if it had the bone and area of shin have calcified looks slightly odd but does not cause me any pain now) after a few months i started getting neck aches and across the shoulders, i did not link the fall with this at all. in 2002 i had to take six months off work with neck problems doctor said it was cervical spondylosis. managed to get back into the office and worked for eighteen months before i had to leave for good. and steadily ever since it has actually got worse, a lot of the doctors and specialists i have seen say its whiplash and i say i havent been in car accident, then i was asked if i had had any falls and it is possible that caused it all. now docs say i have fibromyalgia which i had never heard of. and the weird thing is that i can have days where there is hardly any pain, then back it all comes. in the beginning when the pains got better i actually thought i had recovered so when it all started again it really depressed me. i try not to get depressed as it doesnt get me anywhere, but it is not easy, i see on one of the replies you got that they ignore the pain, if only i could. my life has changed dramatically. my husband is brilliant he works a full day then has to finish jobs around the house, i still try to do everything i can and on a good day i push to hard then pay for days.. our social life is all but over. as you cant plan anything can you. i used to agree to go to everything and end up cancelling at the last minute. eventually friends stop asking. my average day i get up very stiff and sore (thats if i have managed to sleep) wash up potter round taking 5 times longer to do any tasks but i have to try. sometimes i have to get back into bed as i cannot stay upright any longer. i read watch tv just waste time until the family get home. boredom is one of my biggest problem. i used to love going shopping but since all of this pain i can not go on my own, reaching up and pushing the trolley are no longer possible. oh don i sound a whinger. i try really really hard not to dwell on all the things i can not do but be grateful for the things i can still do. breathlessness and stomach problems have joined my list of complaints. and my constant grazing in the kitchen doesnt help. today i attempted to iron didnt make it past ten minutes (i have been known to iron for over an hour!!!) my right leg goes numb, strangest feeling it gets cold above the knee all up my thigh i can feel my skirt cold against my leg then it goes dead, i think i could stick pins in and not feel them. obviously some nerve pressing somewhere. losing weight will help with some of my problems so why cant i do it? how bad do i have to feel for my brain to click into action. hope nobody has jumped from the roof listening to my self pity, but it is theraputic (spelling!) i feel a bit better after letting off steam. well no doubt i shall keep on trying to sort myself out, no alternative really. again good luck with your surgery and may it be all you wish for. Bridie x

 

[bridiegeorge]

oh my god i have just read my previous reply. so sorry for rambling on

 

[sewingbelle56]

Bridie you sound like I did, before the denervations
what I had was first injections of a steroid I think that was the test to see if I got any relief, it worked and wore off soon
after I had it done again but a proper denervation was done.
Feels the same but is totally different the needle probe thing kills the nerves by sound waves which feel like it is burning and it takes 2-4 years to grow back.

are you sure you had the same as me your post seams like you have had just chemical injections
look professor Richardson up or send me an email and I will give you his office phone no.

the way you describe the pain in your neck sounds the same as mine with it radiating down my shoulders and arms, I never had problems with my legs though.

I would ask your specialist to contact him regarding there treatment techniques/or ask to be referred to him (he does private if that’s an option affordable to you)

my pain was made worse by the muscle spasms in my neck you could and still can when I am having a bad day feel the heat from my neck .
I would walk around the house with a ice pack tied with a tea towel around my head (I looked well!!) to get relief
I find cold helps "deep relief gel" is good and has a calming affect on me whilst I get my tablets to work and I would lie flat till the pain had gone down to a manageable level.

I considered before the denervations were done on me successfully asking for a type of botox injection to stop the muscle spasms I read about a trial on line.
I like you have had physio (nice lady NOT! told me to deal with the pain and get over it after she asked me if there was a case going on. I had a bit of a meltdown shortly after her nice remarks.

I have tried crainiosacral therapy, a chiropractor both helped for days then back to agony.
1 thing I did find help was traction either in a hospital environment or by my partner gently pulling my head towards him when I laid flat.

You can buy machines that flip you up side down to do the same thing. I was looking them up on the shopping channels before I had the denervation

I hope you are having a good day today, I know what you are going through and wish you good luck if you would like to talk to me send me an email and I will contact you
all my best sewingbelle
__________________

 

[Snowcrystal]

Well done on your sheer determination to get this sorted....

Thank you for posting this heartbreaking account of what chronic pain can do to your life...I'm so pleased you met your wonderful professor, he sounds like a real life saver, even if the the procedures sounds like something out of a horror film...lol

Good luck on the next part of your journey..your bypass!

Keep us posted.

(((hugs)))

 

[sewingbelle56]

snow crystal thanks for your kind comments
I don’t really see it as heart breaking, ...it was at times but ....it just happened that way.
I over explain things ......I always have, I give full details that just the way I am. I am a bit embarrassed now with everyone’s kind comments now I have I read it back.

I was in a bad way for quite a while and now I am as close to normal as I am going to get and most days I can control the pain and live again, day to day I don’t really remember the bad times its only if I talk about it to someone I realize how lucky I am now.

I just wanted people to know that being in pain and loosing control of your life isn’t always the end,

I kept fighting and pushing when all the professionals had me down as a money grabber trying it on and I was lucky to find such a great pain specialist who treated me with respect and took the time to test me and find out what was really wrong with me.

I wanted to share his name Professor Richardson because when I was bad I would have traveled any where to get help if I could afford the petrol.

And like the advice I have had of everyone one on this site when I was researching Dr Ammori, people with first hand experience of something there praises of some one matters

 

[thinkbethin]

What a lovely read. I'm so glad you found him and that he was able to sort out your pain.xx