Life is good again!

[kiramdear]

I hope this story could help someone:

Nearly two years ago began one of the biggest struggles of my life. I awoke one morning with an aggravated trigger point at the site of an old injury, under my left scapula, and numbness and nerve pain in my left hand and arm. Things worsened quickly and it felt like someone was poking me in back, hard, with a sharp stick, 24/7, while my left hand joints felt on fire. My left hand was still under motor control but half senseless, half painful. My active life and robust constitution became replaced with bed rest and heavy narcotic medication and its side effects, and it went on and on with no improvement. They found a pinched nerve in my neck and operated, which gave some improvement to my arm and hand. But the trigger point blazed on for a year and a half non-stop despite the doctors' best efforts. I turned down some treatment options that sounded too scary (lidocaine injections near my heart and lungs), while all gentler methods failed. The best prescription the doctor wrote was for a medical pot card which provided quite a bit of relief for mind and body. But my weight dropped to 112 lb (I'm 5' 9") and I couldn't walk to the corner, needed a wheelchair to get out. The months passed.

A few months ago I began to notice my pain count dropping slightly. I cut the narcotics in half over the few next weeks, and lo and behold, I began to walk to the store again, get out to jam with my buddies, take the dog out, and go putting in my little boat again. And I was getting interested in food. Small things that meant a lot. More patience and gentle rehabilitation. I made a successful road trip to SoCalCon, the first driving I'd done since before all this began

This week I dropped the meds entirely, substituting naps for the painkillers. I still hurt all the time but it's tolerable unless I overdo it (sadly still very easy to do). So I'm not ready for prime time yet but I'm out of bed and feeling feisty again (and hungry). I expect with some more patience to be nearly as strong as I was, but maybe not. I'm over fifty and who know the effects of the damage and the long-term medication. I used to sleep 10 hours a night; now I'm lucky for 5. Things like that. Probably no heavy lifting from here on in, too.

Hey, but the sun is shining and my aquatic "surrey with the fringe on top" is warming up outside. Smoke 'em if you got 'em. Life is good!

[jingle_jangle]

Wow, Kira. I had no idea when I met you at SoCal of your recent journey and experiences with pain. And to think that you spent about 16 hours driving there and back in a small car, in about a one-day time frame!

I'm very glad that you are seeing the light at tunnel's end. My electronics engineer consultant is in our age range, and suffers from a bad case of RA. It does not appear that he's getting any better, unfortunately, but he still works 8-10 hours a day and travels internationally on business. His spirit and energy are inspirational, as are yours.

I have struggled for over a half century with frequent migraine headaches. They only got to be interruptive as my career became increasingly stressful in the late 1980s. I was given every medication that was developed, and my treatment paralleled the various popular medications' rise and fall. I tried acupuncture when drugs didn't work. Everything seemed to work for a week or two, then the headaches returned. I'm sure that, besides stress, there was a dietary element. I was in a pilot study on stress reduction as a migraine contributor; worked sporadically at first and eventually not at all...seems that I'm most relaxed when I'm most active.

Gave some thought to medical marijuana, but working with tools made that a non-starter, plus the fact that my headaches were mostly in the morning, and arriving at my office half-stoned would not be desirable.

About 10 weeks ago, I was at the end of my rope, experiencing about 4 or 5 per week which lasted about 4 hours or more each. Occasionally I would get one that would last several days, and medication led to "rebound headaches". I would, typically, "work through" them, which got me to forget them, but wasn't particularly pleasant or efficient.

I had been given a drug to lower my intercranial blood pressure (my pressure taken with a cuff is fine), on a hunch, over a year ago. But it made me a zonker at the prescribed dose, although the headaches were held at bay. So, in desperation, I began taking it in a reduced dose, cutting the dose less and less until I still felt energetic, but didn't have the migraines, and timing dosage so it would not affect my work hours. Turns out that the effective dosage for me was only 1/8 of the prescribed baseline.

Following this adjustment, I've been migraine-free for over 8 weeks. I'm beginning to home in on my triggers, as well. So far, chocolate and beer. I'd make a lousy drinking buddy...otherwise, life is brightening up and energy is good, too!

[beatlefreak]

Glad to hear you're going well, Kira. No one should have to live in chronic pain.

[kiramdear]

Congratulations on your success with that, Paul. I hate headaches; thank God I almost never get them. Like you, when this thing hit me I was working in an artist's restoration/sculpture studio with many safety issues to be mindful of. I had to stop immediately the first day of my attack.
After two years, however, I find I don't want to go back! I've been screwing up my courage to apply myself full-time to my music, and with support of my boyfriend JD it's been going OK, getting out to jam, recording in my little studio the new songs that I've had time to develop.

And I'm looking forward to my first bottle o' beer in two years

I wonder how many people are walking around in pain every day. It makes me want to be a little less assertive when moving throughout my world. I know how I felt when someone would sense my weakness and respond with kindness: much better, thank you!

And thank you, Kris

[jingle_jangle]

Doing what you love goes a long way toward ameliorating the merde that life tosses at us...making a living doing what you love is a situation of being "twice blessed" and is well worth striving for as a genuine and rewarding goal.

Plus, it's good to have support from those we love and to hope for support, or at least consideration, from acquaintances and strangers!

[kiramdear]

Take a job you love and you'll never work a day in your life!

(edit) You might not get paid much, however)

[rickenbrother]

Kira, I'm sorry to hear that you've had to endure this awful pain. I'm glad you are getting better now and that the terrible pain did not change your pleasant and friendly personality.

[kiramdear]

Thanks, Joey, that means a lot. I think a good mindset is critical to the healing process, so I try not to dwell on the negative. It's a good preventive policy, too.

[rick_ovic]

Thanks for sharring your story, Kira. I'm pleased to hear that you're making positive progress.

[jdogric12]

I'm very sorry to hear the bad parts, but very happy to hear the good parts of that! Cheers and all the best as always Kira. Please keep us posted.

[kiramdear]

I'll let you know how that brewski goes down.... maybe tonight

[antipodean]

Great to hear that things are on the improve Kira - until I found this thread, I would never have known, given your bright disposition, that anything had ever been amiss. Thanks for letting us know.

[scotty]

Great to hear you on the mend! kira

[paul_yan]

My sincere best wishes for you, Kira.
May you be well very soon.

[kiramdear]

You guys are the best! Thank God things are getting a little better every day lately. I'm hungry all the time and I've got lots of things I want to do!