Chronic pain & Depression ?
Q.I have really been effected by the simultaneous back and abdominal pain. Those two, added to the pain in my knees, hips, and right shoulder, have really thrown me for a loop. I have never experienced suffering like this before, so intense, all at one time. It has made life difficult to deal with. It makes me question my desire to continue fighting after 8 years of chronic pain with only mild success, and over 47 years of being disabled, with greater success, but no real quality of life.
A.I still see a psychiatrist and psychologist to help me deal with the pain, and to help me cope with the changes brought about by the brain damage caused by my two high fevers. I still take ALL meds as directed, including the Effexor for depression, and the Seroquel for the bi-polar disorder. Both of these are related to my brain damage & Temporal Lobe Epilepsy, along with the depression inherrited from a grandmother who hung herself. You have cut your pain meds down to stop the impotence, if I recall correctly. Perhaps an adjustment up in your meds for the depression and bi-polar disorders might be in order. I think we will all agree that when we have more pain, it causes or adds to our depression. If you are predisposed to depression, then it might be possible that by decreasing your pain meds, you need to balance that by increasing your other meds. I have absolutely no basis in fact for this other than my own experience with pain. I do not have clinical depression or any other dx of depression but I do knw that this beast called chronic pain gets me depressed and the worse it is, the more down I get. I would suggest, if I may, talking to your shrink to see if they feel you need to compensate for the decrease in pain meds. I reduced the meds to help the impotency that I was experiencing, ONLY after talking with my Anesthesiologist. The increased pain began after lowering the daily med, & cutting out the breakthru med. The abdominal pain that I have spoke of came out of the blue. I have not experienced this type of pain for a while, and NEVER at this intensity or duration. Continuing this experiment that I "designed" with the pain doc, I am now adding back 1/2 the breakthru meds, while leaving the main med reduced by 1/8. I have also not restarted use of the Zanaflex muscle relaxant yet. Hopefully, this helps the pain, without contributing to the impotency. My FMS doctor today wrote a script for oxycodone since neither morphine nor methadone had done much for my chronic back pain. It wasn't that expensive, $18 for 60 5mg pills. I can only say quite simply: I am here for you to listen with an unconditional ear--have suffered from stomach problems all my life, on this med and off another one, don't eat this, do eat that. All with one big ole concern: CHRONIC PAIN--the whole time. Thank God for my gastro guy, i get scopes every 3 yrs now instead of once a year, and meds like Prevacid, Bentyl and Phenegran! Be sure to follow up with your appt at the gastro doc and be sure you tell him how SEVERE your abdominal pain has become(it seemed to me that this is not your "normal" kind of ab pain at all). Also, are you taking any kind of steroids? I take Prednisone for my RA and Lupus on a regualar basis and it always gives me additional colon difficulties. Just my ramblings, of not much use, but just wanted you to know I CARE and am keeping you in my prayers.....
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