I never thought I'd be in the position to write this post but here I am. Another victim of the dea.

My doctor actively wants me taking more pain meds and feels my pain isn't properly medicated and should be. But is afraid to prescribe more medications because of the dea. Their hands are really tied. There's state regulations too that really limit what they can prescribe. I'm pretty much at the max that they can prescribe. They would prescribe more but the DEA won't let them. I was in pallative care that wasn't restricted by the DEA but they dumped everyone that had more than a year left to live because of physician shortages. Now I can't find one with availability despite a terminal diagnosis.

I hate the system. One I should be able to get pain meds unrestricted in accordance with what my doctor feels is appropriate. Two I really should be in pallative care, but can't be because of artificial physician shortages.

I've been failed by the system and I'm just so sick of it.ok

ETA- I have literally read the laws that restrict Physicians from prescribing higher doses in my state and at least palliative care and hospice care as unrestricted in what they prescribe. Please do not tell me that my doctors are not actually restricted when they in fact are. This is gaslighting. I know the laws I've actually read them. Also the DEA may not care at lower doses but they do care at higher doses. I was at incredibly high doses. My doctors don't care about prescribing opioids at lotuses and aren't afraid of that. They're just afraid of the extremely high doses.

Does anyone else feel they have to hide the fact that they are taking opioids?

From the fear of being judged by others?

To the fear a friend (or a friend of a friend) will find out and steal it from you?

The stigma is real!

What causes others to feel they have hide that they are taking opioids from their boss, friends and families?

With the ridiculous way that people (and some who are in charge) act about rx pain medicine, I wouldn't be surprised if they one day become a schedule one drug.

I mean why can't people just leave other people alone? If someone wants to take a safe amount of opioids for their pain, that should be their prerogative. And sure some people lie about their pain just to get the pills. But I think that most are telling the truth and have legitimate chronic pain.

It just seems like some doctors would rather let a patient suffer with a real condition than "be tricked" into giving an opioid rx to a drug seeker. And I hate that term, drug seeker. It doesn't matter what we ask for or how, if we mention pain pills we must be a drug seeker. Right? Shit is just dumb. I wish they'd find something else to pick on and make all these strict rules for. Or maybe do something about the dangerous/deadly fentanyl that is found on the streets.

(sorry if this is written poorly. im in so much pain I can’t think straight)

I 28F have been dealing with severe pain that came out of nowhere six months ago. It started with back pain on my left thoracic spine, then six weeks ago I started to get pain on my left abdomen/ribcage, and finally a week and a half ago it developed into unbearable pain in my entire left side.

Ive had two MRIs and an X-ray for my back pain, a CT scan five weeks ago for my abdomen, and an ultrasound a week ago also for my abdomen. All of them showed nothing. I’ve also been to the ER six times over this, including a week ago.

I’ve seen an orthopedic doctor and a physical therapist who are stumped, a neurologist who completely refused to talk about my pain and said I needed to see a therapist (I already do), and just yesterday my PCP insisted that she wouldn’t believe me about my pain until I had a psychiatrist to tell her it wasn’t anxiety. I have an appointment with a GI doctor, but it’s in a month and a half and im not really convinced my abdominal pain is GI.

Now tonight I’m in so much pain I can hardly exist. It feels like I’m being stabbed. I’ve exhausted all options I have (Tylenol, muscle relaxants, heat, gabapentin etc). No way that I sit or lay relieves my pain and I’ve been crying for hours. I’m feeling immense despair because I know the ER won’t do anything and my doctor won’t do anything. Even if I’m sobbing and shaking they’ll just see me as hysterical and difficult. I don’t know how to cope and im desperate.

I’m considering taking a bunch of lorazepam just to make myself pass out, but it would be the fifth night in a row I’ve done that and I don’t want to become dependent because im afraid of it losing its effect or my doctor refusing to refill it

I’m so scared that this will be the rest of my life.

Edit: I’ve decided to go to the ER tonight. I’ll respond to commenters when I can. As much as this sucks, it makes me happy that there are so many kind people here who want to offer helpful words and advice.

As the pain progresses up my leg and I am close to not being able to stand, let alone walk… and it’s there when I’m in the most comfortable chair I can find, even if I just stay in the chair all day… what kind of life is this?

63M, supportive wife and adult kids, had to retire 4 years ago, idiopathic axonal peripheral neuropathy, losing weight because the pain keeps my appetite gone, can’t sleep in our bed with my wife, I have an ok day once in a month, but my god… the pain never stops.

I take Tramadol and gabapentin and medical mj, but the pain outstrips that all the time. I’d get stronger meds, but the Tramadol already puts me to sleep, so I’m either in pain or asleep.

How can I ask my wife to ensure what’s coming? How can I let my family watch me degrade? I was the provider, I was the protector, I was dad.

They are set financially, all my affairs are in order, I had a great life, and so did they. Who’s to say that I can’t choose my time, when I know it’s time?

Does anyone else feel this way? Shit has me unable to use a mouse lmfao. Use a mouse for an hour, pain flare for the whole week. Only on low as fuck dose pregabs. Klonopin helps oddly enough, other benzos do fuck all.

Still, meds or no meds, won't prevent the nerve from flaring with use or the intrinsic hand wasting. I have neuropathy in my left leg as well (femoral nerve injury), but for some reason that's painless. Just means I can't sprint.

Does everyone just push through these pain flares religiously, and continue on? If so, how? It genuinely has me wanting it all to stop at times.

Okay I see a lot of you get pain solutions that are refused to me and I dont understand it! I dont know why doctors refuse to give me anything. My Rheumatologist and PCP both wanted me to go to pain management to get my pain better under control. 4 years later and no pain doc will do anything other then naproxen. I have severe arthritis in both my knees in both my ankles, fibromyalgia, nerve damage in my back from a car accident, some permanent numbness from that car accident and I have lupus. All well documented and my doctors sometimes even suggesting to the pain doc types of treatments they want me on andddd..... nothing. Zilch, zero, nada. Why? I dont understand and im exhausted. 😭

I was venting to a friend about how the world is not set up to accommodate those of us with disabilities, especially those of us who try to find meaningful work but can’t keep up. They know I have depression induced by my conditions and they said that, “it’s much better now; you would’ve been locked up in an asylum 50 years ago,” along with “they would’ve left you in a field to die 1000 years ago.” I have no clue how that justifies how things are now, and just made me feel shittier. I know I can’t handle certain work environments anymore now and it was more upsetting to hear someone able-bodied say something when they never physically experienced what I’ve gone through. I just needed to vent…feeling extra terrible today.

I’ve been dealing with chronic pain for years and am depressed because of it. My family knows I’m depressed and I’m on antidepressants, given the level of pain I’m in it would impossible not to be depressed. Over the last few months it’s been getting worse. It happens every once in a while, the depression worsens for a bit and then eases off. But this time it hasn’t been easing off and I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to talk to my family about it because there’s nothing they could say or do to help, and they would just worry about me without being able to do anything, and I don’t want to upset them. I’ve been able to manage my depression for years and there isn’t even a particular reason it should be worse now. During the bad times I’m usually able to pretend it’s fine but now I’m struggling to.

I’m just at a loss. I’m sure it’ll ease off eventually as it always does so I don’t want to worry anyone but I’m struggling to pretend things are fine. But I can’t explain this to them without worrying them. I don’t know. I guess I’m looking for advice but I don’t think there’s any that could help. Things are just bad

So I took my first shot of Semaglutide in forever this past Sunday.

Come Monday when I took my first dose of pain medicine, nothing, 2nd, nothing, and so on and so forth.

I was thinking today, wait a minute, my adhd meds haven't been working either, wtf!

Then it hit me, I took a shot of semaglutide Sunday.

I've seen posts like this after searching but for those that haven't heard about it, it's a real issue for some of us.

I think I need to get the ball rolling on it. I had a crushing injury in 2021 that set off a domino effect of other injuries/conditions. I'm currently 3.5 months post-op from a labral repair in my hip on the same side as the crushed foot. A few days after my six week hip post-op I did something that set off my back. It was a brand new pain I have never felt before.

I immediately make an appointment with my back surgeon. He did my SI joint fusion (same side as crushed foot) and he's good friends with my hip surgeon. My back surgeon ordered a lumbar and thoracic MRI but it took 3 weeks to get the prior authorization approved. Finally got it approved and had my MRI last week. The results are devastating to me. Below is just one paragraph of 2 full pages of an MRI report.

Retrolisthesis of L4 on L5 and broad-based disc bulge associated with mild left greater than right
subarticular recess stenosis and contact of both traversing L5 nerve roots. Mild-to-moderate left and
mild right neural foraminal stenosis.

My job is retail management and I'm on my feet 8+hours a day, 40+ hours a week. I have to carry heavy things, lift heavy things off the ground, and bend down. I don't think I'll be able to do my job of 15 years any longer. In my current state I can sit for maybe 20-30 minutes before the pain gets unbearable. I need to lie flat on my back and take my pain meds to get my body to calm down. Desk jobs would be difficult to navigate. I don't have any degrees or special training to fall back on.

And then there's the mental health decline over the last 5 years. Anxiety, depression, SI, the horrible brain fog caused by my pain/psych meds. My mental health got me into trouble at work in May. I can't regulate my emotions well these days. I feel so overwhelmed with the world outside my front door. I have to wear nose canceling headphones in public places like grocery stores or I'll get anxious.

If you are receiving disability benefits when did you know it was time?

Background: I have been diagnosed with POTS (several years ago), Rheumatoid Arthritis (1.5 years ago), and Chronic Pain that is really bad in my neck (2 years ago, but getting worse). Being treated for POTS and RA, but still dialing in right dosages for medications.

Current situation: My chronic pain doctor has suggested considering a Stellate Ganglion Block as other meds/treatments have not worked well enough and he is questioning whether my POTS has caused my pain levels to be higher than they should be as my current pain levels don’t seem to line up with my imaging. Pain doctor would be the one to do the procedure. I sent a message to my autonomic doctor asking his thoughts about the idea and the pain doctor’s thoughts and I didn’t really get much of an answer beyond that they usually don’t do those for POTS unless medications have failed and how there’s risks with this procedure. Which didn’t really answer my questions.

So I’m looking for experiences from people who have POTS and/or chronic pain and have had this procedure done. What effect did it have on your POTS and/or medication regimen? Did it help with your pain levels? How long did the effects last? Would you do it again?

Hi everyone! I'm 32 and dealing with severe lumbar spinal stenosis and disc herniations from L3–S1. My pain and mobility have been getting worse, with leg weakness, foot spasms, and occasional bladder issues. My legs feel heavier to where I'm dragging at times.

I was admitted last week at the er and was given iv dexamethasone and dilaudid and morphine every 3 hrs. Im diabetic so the steroids send my bs to near 600.

I left ama due to this issue but im back to square 1 on my pain and weakness.

I had at-home temporady perc-ocet but i have ran out. I dread going back to the er and ibhave no pain management appointment in sight. Im at my wits end💜

These are my latest mri:

PROCEDURE: MR L Spine wo Con

COMPARISON: 8/19/2026, 8/8/2026.

INDICATIONS: saddle anesthesia, urinary incontinence, worsening numbness

tingling weakness of her lower extremities. She has a history of spinal

stenosis L3-S1

FINDINGS:

PARASPINAL: No immediate paraspinal mass or adenopathy identified.

BONES: No fracture, pars defect, or osseous lesion.

CORD/CAUDA: Normal caliber, contour, location, and signal intensity.

OTHER: There is lumbar straightening..

DISC LEVELS:

T12-L1: Normal.

L1-L2: Posterior central disc protrusion results in mild central stenosis..

L2-L3: Posterior central disc protrusion results in mild central spinal

stenosis.

L3-L4: Large posterior central disc extrusion results in severe central spinal

stenosis. Bilateral facet arthropathy and ligamentum flavum thickening.

L4-L5: Large posterior central disc extrusion in severe central spinal

stenosis. The neural foramina are patent.

L5-S1: Large posterior central disc extrusion results

in severe central spinal

stenosis. The neural foramina are patent.

CONCLUSION:

1. Large posterior central disc extrusions at each L3- 4, L4-5, and L5-S1

result in severe central spinal stenosis at each of these levels..

1. The findings are not significantly changed since 8/19/2026.

A little vent because I genuinely have nobody to talk to. Is it wrong that I’m tired? Like, I’m so fucking tired. I live in a city where people die every single day, and somebody literally jumped off a train station 20 minutes ago. Some days, my mind goes to a place where I start wondering what’s one more number in a city where people die every day?

And that scares me because I know a part of me still cares about the guilt, the shame, and the people I’d leave behind. I think about what people would say, how they’d remember me, and whether I’d really just be throwing my life away. But then I ask myself, am I even living right now, or am I just trying to survive each day? It’s such a fucking mental battle. I’ve been in a 9/10 pain flare for the past three weeks, and it’s getting harder and harder to hide it.

You can see the pain all over my face. I’m losing weight, my skin is pale, and I feel like I’m slowly fading away right in front of everyone. I’m only 19, for fuck’s sake. I never imagined I’d be this exhausted at an age when I’m supposed to be living my life, making memories, and figuring out my future. Instead, I’m fighting a battle that nobody can fully see or understand, and I don’t even know how much longer I can keep pretending I’m okay. I don’t know what to do anymore. I’m just so fucking tired.

Hi,

I've been suffering from sensitive skin and being prone to sensory overload since I was a kid, although I think it all started after having many illnesses and ear infections (I have allodynia located on and in my ears). I've always had problems with burnout and wouldn't be able to stick with routines because of it.

I used to think I may have adhd or depression, but this year we found out I have PMDD and got given microgynon 30 (changed to Yasmin today due to relapse of PMDD symptoms).

My joint pain started in my knees 2 years ago (but I think this is cause I got flat feet), but over the past year it started to spread all over the place.

I've been experiencing stiffness and widespread body pain; I keep on waking up at night to the discomfort; I'm ALWAYS tired, and the brain fog is unbearable.

My legs and arms get heavy, and I constantly need to watch out for what I'm doing cause the next day I could suffer for the whole week (pain and fatigue and migraines, etc.).

Like, I don't feel safe commuting to uni cause I get tired easily and dizzy and need to sit down quickly.

Worst part is my hot flushes I get every day, as if my body temperature regulation has fucked up completely, either im horrible cold or too warm.

Hot showers do help with the body pain, like skin and muscle and joint aches tho.

After getting so many blood tests, all of them are clear; the GP said last week that it seems that I have fibromyalgia.

Ngl, I don't trust the GP, so I'm going to Poland to see a rheumatologist and get more detailed blood tests.

It's funny cause since I had low iron in August, all my symptoms exacerbated, and my iron is good now, but I haven't recovered since.

I just can't take it anymore. I have to cancel plans because I feel feverish or ill, but I'm not sure, and idk.

Any advice on what to do when I'm in Poland? Like any specialists or other tests? Any advic ein general how to manage, like with uni or life in general?

Can you guys help me do some research and come up with possible theories for why I have the tolerance of an f-ing elephant?

Some info on my history: I (25, AFAB, 130lbs) have had over 50 surgeries in my life (mostly eye & skull), broken several bones, dealt with chronic pain / migraines for nearly my whole life which occasionally require ER visits for pain control. So my body is absolutely no stranger to high strength opioids and other drugs. I also have a history of addiction on both sides of my immediate family including a paternal half brother who used heroin for a couple decades before he got clean if that is any contribution to this.

I also do have hEDS + POTS + MALS + mild GP which I know all come with absorption issues.

That all being said, my body eats through and grows tolerant to medication at a concerningly high rate to the point I’m convinced I’m a damn cockroach who couldn’t overdose if they tried (that’s a joke obviously, but I’ll cry if I don’t laugh)

Every couple months I have to up my doses or change meds because they stop being effective. The migraine abortive (the third triptan I’ve tried) that used to put me to sleep not long ago does nothing more than give me a few hours of pain relief before pushing it to the other side to start back up and that’s only after I’ve taken two of them. Sometimes even that doesn’t work and I have to throw in a couple Tramadol or Prednisone as well.

I have to beg doctors / ER nurses to start me on higher doses of new meds because I know the low dose ones they usually prefer to begin with won’t do anything. The amounts of drugs I take during flares would bewilder and alarm anyone with a medical degree and had more than one nurse questioning how I’m seemingly fully functioning when most normies would be sedated by what I’ve had.

I just don’t really understand why I grow tolerance so fast or why things wear off so much faster than others and I’m running out of things to try besides higher strength opioids which although would give me more immediate pain relief, would still present a whole host of concerns when it comes to the rapid tolerance problem.

Is there a possible name for this I could research? Does anyone else have this issue and/or any advice?

I know i am in pain, but it still feels insane to be 25, with back pain so bad I can barely put on my own clothes, i cant carry anything over like maybe 5lbs rn, I cant bend forward, ive got heating pads and CBD creams and CBD pills and voltaren gel and salonpass capsaicin pads and nothing is rlly helping I feel this pinchy nervy feeling in my lower back and im terrified theyre gonna tell me one of the discs in my back has ruptured or smthng and I cant afford to take more time off work than I already do. The pain usually isnt this bad for this long, i havent done anything to aggravate it. Im so afraid of doctors and I feel so small and I cannot speak up and advocate for myself bc I struggle to communicate bc of my autism and its just so many barriers to access care i want to explode. I have some kind of GERD/chronic stomach reflux issue so I cant said NSAIDs and I am allergic to Tylenol, ive tried pregabalin and it does nothing, ive been smoking weed which usually helps me stop thinking about pain but even that isnt helping, its been a while since ive had a flare this bad, but this is one of the worst and its so emotionally crushing every time it comes back bc like holy fuck how am I supposed to just keep going, and ik theres a ton of ppl who have it way worse which like makes me feel worse bc why are any of us being forced to suffer when there are treatments out there medicine and access to health care should just be free

-

Thank you for reading my crash out, please share your own crashouts or pics of your pets :)

Does anyone else experience severe anxiety when they have a doctor’s appointment that day? I have chronic pain and chronic/autoimmune diseases and I feel awful most days.
On good days I’ll get up and dressed and have no issue but on days where my pain is bad or I’m feeling really bad I have such anxiety about going to the appointment and want to cancel but then have anxiety about how they will react to me canceling

Hi all.

I wanted to share my ongoing recovery story from chronic pain and some other chronic illnesses.

Back in January I was beginning the second half of the needlessly cruel hazing ritual known as 1L in the US. I had moved to a new city for school from my hometown and was dealing with quite a bit of stress and anxiety.

Out of the blue I developed acute liver injury (I still don't know for sure what caused it, but my best guess is some contaminated tacos, since I rarely drink more than a few beers and never to excess). I got hospitalized with my liver enzymes around 20x the ULN and almost 100x what they usually are for me. The doctors ran a bunch of blood tests, MRI, ultrasound, etc - everything came up normal and they were stumped.

After my initial episodes of uncontrolled puking which was the original reason I went to the hospital I felt fine, was keeping food down no problem, and kept telling them so - but my liver enzymes stayed extremely high. They decided to try NACtherapy on me, which is a liver detoxifying agent that is usually used for ibuprofen overdoses, even though I had not taken ibuprofen at any point in the last month.

I had a very severe allergic reaction to the NACtherapy which culminated in me puking up blood on the hospital floor, unable to breathe, tingling in fingers and toes, fading in and out of consciousness, awful headache, severe abdominal pain, feeling of impending doom etc. I kept on telling them that I did not feel well as soon as they started giving me the IV but they did not listen until it was very clear that I was in anaphylactic shock. As it turns out allergic reactions to NACtherapy are pretty common, especially if it's used on someone who hasn't overdosed on ibuprofen recently.

(if you can't tell, I am pretty pissed off about this still - all they had to do was keep an eye on me while my liver cleared out whatever poison had made its way into my system! instead they basically experimented with an unproven treatment on me that poisoned me even worse and fucked me up really badly!)

The next day I felt fine except for a 4/10 pain in my liver area - I had not had any pain in my liver area at all until this point - and my liver enzymes had dropped a few points. The doctors decided that I was fine and that I could go home.

I went home and started to have issues with upset stomach and increasing pain in my liver area to a 9 or 10/10. I went back to urgent care who did a blood test and saw that my liver enzymes were normalizing and said that the pain might just be inflammation of my liver capsule. I was feeling a bit better and so figured it might just take a while for my liver to recover.

Over the next few months I was in and out of doctor's offices and the ER. I had problems with intense "attacks" of pain in my liver area and ongoing diarrhea. I had a constant dull ache in that area and would have - seemingly at random - stabbing/shooting pains that would leave me crying in 10/10 pain on the floor. I did a food diary to see if it was connected with something I ate. I went to a healthy low-fat diet and started taking a multivitamin. Nothing worked. I was also pretty stressed about this as the last time I had severe abdominal pain I had nearly died, and I developed a bit of a habit of doom-scrolling on medical journals and Reddit about medical issues. I also had some anxiety about school although this was fading as I adjusted to my new environment...

Eventually I was diagnosed with biliary dyskinesia and an ultrasound saw sludge in my gallbladder. Doctors guessed that my gallbladder had been harmed by whatever poisoned me in January. My dad had gallstones and so between the stabbing RUQ pain, upset bowels, history of biliary injury, etc, I was told that gallbladder surgery would probably resolve my issues. I waited until I had finished up with school and headed home to get the surgery.

The surgery went well and I seemed to be recovering well, and although I still had the dull ache in the liver area and occasional upset bowels I had far fewer issues with debilitating pain attacks (had a couple over the summer, but lasted for less time and were less intense. I also noticed that these attacks seemed to occur when I was particularly stressed or worried or tired). I went to a chiropractor who said I had been poisoned and also told me I had a lot of muscle tension, especially in my psoas muscle on the right side. He gave me some exercises to do which helped with the constant dull ache a little bit.

However, literally the minute I got off the plane back in the city where I was going to school, I suddenly had another intense 10/10 pain attack and my digestive issues returned with a vengeance. Although I was extremely depressed that the surgery had not fixed my issues, I realized that this was a big clue. There was simply no way that being in a different place would make such a difference in my health if I had a "real" medical problem.

I went back to the doctors, but I also went to a psychologist. The doctors ran another blood test on me that showed I was in perfect health. I also had a stool test done that ruled out anything other than possible mild inflammation in my colon. Doctors started talking about things like sphincter of Oddi dysfunction, IBS, chronic fatigue syndrome, complex regional pain syndrome, even fibromyalgia! I read up on these and it seemed to me like they are mainly issues with the unconscious mind-body connection, which for me has always been very strong until now. When I was hungry...I ate. When I was tired...I slept. When I needed to shit, I shat. Until when I needed to rest and relax and let my liver clean out my system, I instead poisoned myself again.

The psychologist talked with me for all of 10 minutes before diagnosing me with PTSD from my hospital experience. One phrase that I remember as being particularly helpful was the concept of the "baseline" - although I was stressed and anxious from law school, I had a comfortable and safe baseline to return to after finishing class, so I was still feeling good physically most of the time. However, after being hospitalized and poisoned (twice!), my mind and body stayed on high alert for more threats and was constantly ready to protect me and especially my liver - and "threat" could be something as simple as being in the city where I had been poisoned.

I started going to cognitive behavior therapy and trying to do things that I knew were safe for me to do. My gut symptoms improved a little, and I started physical therapy. Physical therapy was not super helpful at first as I was sent to a sports medicine place which focuses on injury recovery, however it got me confident in my body enough to go back to swimming which has always been one of my favorite ways to exercise.

Right around this point I figured that although I was fundamentally healthy my body and mind were not communicating well. My body did not trust my mind to do things that were safe after being poisoned twice and my mind did not want to listen to my body because it was reporting pain when there should not be any pain. So I decided to do things that help with the mind body connection. For everyone these will be different, but I firmly believe that when the mind and the body are working well together there is no pain without a reason. What had happened to me was that I got jammed in flight-or-fight mode as the result of my PTSD and I am working to shift my baseline to being able to go back to rest-and-digest-and repair mode.

Things that have helped me:

• Yoga. Although I am far from an experienced practitioner, yoga has helped me to identify messages that my body is giving me. I have a few poses that I try to do a couple times a week before bed, and I go to a yoga class every week. I feel a lot of muscle tension in my body that I was completely unaware of before starting yoga.
• Swimming. I have been a swimmer since I was about 3 years old, and although I am not a very "strong" swimmer I am extremely comfortable in the water. I have much less pain when I am swimming.
• Therapy. CBT has helped me to understand that I worry about things too much and that I need not worry about things I cannot control. I already knew this, but as I said I got thrown off my baseline very significantly in January.
• Acupuncture: I thought this was woo-woo nonsense (and I still kind of do) - but it works quite well! I think it helps to help you relax a lot if nothing else.
• Energy-focused bodywork. Jin Shin Jyutsu in particular. I noticed just how tense and jumpy I am at my first bodywork session. In fact after my first bodywork session the pain which had been centered in my liver area started to move to my back and hips and legs and became less intense. I also am working on improving my posture - the practitioner I saw told me (before I gave him any of my history!) that I was walking around like I was expecting to be punched in the liver/gut. After my first couple sessions I felt that muscles in my gut area that had been habitually tensed were relaxing a bit more frequently.
• Going to the dentist; this is for me personally, but I was also diagnosed with TMJ and given a mouth guard to wear which will help me with my nighttime sleep grinding. I am hoping to retrain myself to have less tension in my neck and jaw area. My s/o has mentioned that ever since January I have a frown on my face and grimace a lot.
• I read the book "The Way Out" by Alan Gordon. I have had some success trying somatic experiencing/pain reprocessing therapy and have actually managed to head off "attacks" of 10/10 pain with techniques from his book.
• Getting rid of social media. While I am not sure how much this has helped really (as I'm writing this on Reddit lol), distracting myself with a screen was initially one of my pain coping techniques that I think did more harm than good.

Things that have not really helped:

• Medication. Although I tried hydroxyzine and propanolol, I did not feel like they were really deeply relaxing me on the level that I needed.
• Stretching/PT. This may be the result of going to the wrong PT; I was sent to a sports medicine place at first. I will try again at some point with a pelvic and abdominal PT I think.
• Chiro sessions. Because my pain is muscular and myofascial in nature and the result of my mind-body connection being disrupted, I feel a little better after a chiro session but my mind and body soon return to the habit of tension.
• Being easy on myself. It was very easy to get into the feeling that I was sick and needed to take it easy on myself - and I do, but not really physically. For me, I need to take it easier mentally.

This is just the beginning of what I am describing as my healing and recovery arc, and I am sure that I will discover more modalities that work and do not work. However, in just two months of therapy and yoga and swimming etc. I have already reduced my pain from a constant 3-4/10 with episodes of a 10/10 stabbing pain to a 2/10 with moments of relaxation with 0.5/10 pain. I have had no flares of 10/10 pain in two months and have also had significant improvement with my gut issues. Sometimes I do have flares but they are far less debilitating. I believe that as I continue to work to improve my mind and body connection, I will continue to have less issues with pain until my mind and body trust each other again.

For all the folks on here! There is hope - anything that your nervous system has learned how to do, you can help it learn how to do something else.

I’ve had chronic body pains for the past 10 years, and my partner and I were able to put me on his insurance, so I can finally try and find care. I’ve only had two visits at the clinic I’m currently at, and while the first visit with the doctor was great, my follow up the week after with the NP was awful. She had no idea why I was there, and when I tried to explain, she found an ultrasound I had gotten about 7 months ago and went ahead to assume that I was there for that. She asked about my period, and I mentioned I had really painful periods but tried to redirect to talking about what I was following up on and what was discussed the previous visit since she didn’t seem to know. She just stared at me blankly until I stopped talking and said “Right, well you just dumped a lot on me. I was just asking about your period. I’ll refer you to a gyno to follow up on the ultrasound, and we can reconnect in 3 months,” and walked out. I tried to contact the clinic for over two weeks after that, and I finally put in a bad review for that specific provider. Maybe only 3 days after, she finally responded saying that she was sorry for my experience, but I’ve already scheduled a new establishing appointment at a different clinic for this week.

My mom is a nurse and is saying that it’s really really bad to switch PCP, but I really don’t want to continue my care at this clinic. Is it okay to switch, or is she right?

For about two weeks I've taken a photo intending to communicate here but when I open the app I feel intimidated. I'm still pushing and working out, actually down 99lb but I feel like shit. You guys are so strong and the most I can do is a forced smile right now?

But I'm still here and you guys really keep me going. Thank you guys for being strong for me when I can't. I think with my birthday coming up I get in my head about what I thought life would be? But I'm not doing bad

Hope all is well Friends ♿✊🏿🫂💪🏿

Anybody on here have this??I will be tested for it. They just can’t figure out all this spreading nerve pain