Chronic Pain Management Support Group

[creative couponer]

$$avingmom glad to hear it is working for you It only did a little for me, My Hubby had his major back surgery on the 12 April he is walking around but can't lift anything it was really hard on me for the first week and a half trying to everything for my son and my hubby , My doctor switched me nack to percocets and gave me a cortizone shot in my groin, it helped alot , I haven;t had time to do anything I found the gaba pilss dried out other parts of my body but from doing 25% work in a normal day to 150% I have alot more pain but at least I can deal with it with the percs, however it really backs up your system badly I am going to be getting more epidual shots in my back in July I found having these shots took away 40% of my pain before my Hubby had surgery I think if I did not get theese shots then I don't think my body would have been able to do everything that I have been doing since my Hubbys surgery

[Skippy]

Wow lots of good info.and suggestions, and other stuff
I did indeed call the Dr.'s office and got enough meds.to cover me till my next visit.
Unfortunately my pain is near constant and I'm needing to take Gravol.
DD commented on how negative I am, and all I talk about is pain. Unfortunately she is right
Next week I start physio.on my arm. Hopefully it will help.
May all have a pain/stress free weekend.

[PinkLincoln]

how's everyone been?

thanks to Savingsmom, I finally tried arnica and I thought i would do a little review on it.

the product I bought was Absolut Arnica by A. Vogel. I actually lucked out and found it on sale for 12.99 at SDM, regularly 18.99. I actually spent some time in SDM, and read the ingredients on EVERY arnica based product SDM carried. You will find some higher/lower priced products in bigger/smaller bottles. This one was the only one with the highest solution of arnica in the product (50%) where others ranged from 2%-25%.

I only use about a pea sized gob for my whole knee, and very small dabs for my ankle and wrists. This product does really work instantly, and for me lasted 30 min - 1 hr. This product didn't help my joint pain, but took the edge off my inflammation pain that I get around the top of my knee cap and the sides of my knee. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone with a floral allergy (ragweed, chamomile) as you might get a reaction as the product is flower based. DH wouldn't come near me when I had it on because he's so allergic to chamomile he broke out in a fever and hives (though he loved the taste lol) I found I used it after doing a lot of things, once I get moving that causes hurty and inflammation. I would definitely recommend this to anyone that has pain from inflammation, even if it's minor, it helped me a little bit, and even just 30 min of some edge off my hurty is well worth it.

[$$avingmom]

That's great PinkLincoln! I'm glad to hear that it has given you some relief! Anything that gives us even a little bit of relief is definately worth something .

Skippy, I hope your physio is going well! Hopefully it is giving you some relief from your constant pain.

To everyone else here who is dealing with pain\chronic pain, I hope that you are able to make it through this damp wet week with out having to deal with a great flare in your pain. I know my body doesn't like this kind of weather , but I guess all that we can do is deal with it one day at a time. It's a great thing to be able to come here and read and post messages and talk with those who share in our pain. Although, I would never wish pain upon anyone!! May your days be pain free or as close to that as you can be!

[Tweetybird999]

Has anyone tried Zostrix HP? I really like it. It burns, but in a good way and lasts. When needed, I use 3x/day. Available at Shoppers.
Capsaicin (kap-SAY-ih-sin) causes the burning sensation you associate with chili peppers. Capsaicin creams deplete your nerve cells of a chemical that's important for sending pain messages. Examples include Capzasin and Zostrix.

[PinkLincoln]

I was actually looking for that to try, but could not find it anywhere I may just have been looking in the wrong spots.

[Tweetybird999]

Shoppers Drug Mart. You may have to ask the pharmacist, as there is only one product and is hard to spot.

[PinkLincoln]

Thanks, I'll look for it the next redemption I do or 20x the points. I knew what the medical ingredient was, but had no idea what brand to look for. I looked at the ingredients of a wack load of different pain relief creams and couldn't find it.

[Skippy]

Thanks for the Product reviews, they are very helpful. Unfortunately I wouldn't be able to use Arnica due to my allergies. What exactly is Zostrix HP?(ointment/spray?)
I had my first Physio.yesterday and was ready to cry by the time it was all over. Today I did my homework then I couldn't remember how to put the immobilizer back on. So it has been a very painful day.

[Tweetybird999]

Zostrix HP is a cream.

[$$avingmom]

Thanks for the Product reviews, they are very helpful. Unfortunately I wouldn't be able to use Arnica due to my allergies. What exactly is Zostrix HP?(ointment/spray?)
I had my first Physio.yesterday and was ready to cry by the time it was all over. Today I did my homework then I couldn't remember how to put the immobilizer back on. So it has been a very painful day.

Skippy, I'm so sorry to hear about all of your pain . I really do feel for you, I hope that physio does give you some relief in the coming weeks\days. I can't use the arnica cream myself because of all of my allergies, I'm allergic to grass, trees and VERY allergic to ragweed. I use Voltaren emulgel especially at night before I go to bed and find that it helps alot with the inflammation and stiffness that I have in my neck and back from the osteoarthritis and all the other injuries, muscle spasming etc. I can not take anti-inflammatory medication orally, so rubbing some kind of anti-inflammation cream on the spots that hurt is my only option!

[kerrylj]

Hey all. Can I join?

Sad to say my TMJ is back with a vengence and I am in agony. My jaw on the one side is like a knife being stabbed in it. Not much is helping and the pain killers are doing a number on my guts.

I have been rotating the mouth guards because the Dentist is convinced it will help. At this point I figure it is helping save me teeth and not much else. Atleast my teeth are hurting a little less than when it first started 6 weeks ago. But I can't see how it will help the jaw because it is an unnatural position for the jaw.

I am using the Voltaren gel to help take the edge off when I can't take any more pain killers. It helps some.

Hey Skippy, Hope you are doing well.

[$$avingmom]

Hi Kerrylj Welcome! I can sympathize with you as I also have TMJ issues, my jaw was injured in the car accident I was in. I haven't had the money to have the mouth guards made. Do you think they help much with the pain? I've been told that I will need to use them day and night for the rest of my life! How about you? I also find voltaren helps with the jaw pain I rub it right on my face where my jaw hurts. I find weather often aggravates my jaw, rainy days, big temperature fluctuations. And of course there is the problems with eating certain foods. I try to eat healthy but it seems like all the healthy foods take a lot of chewing, which aggravates my jaw .

[Skippy]

I'm another firm believer in Voltaren. Without it life would be unbearable.

[Andit]

Hope everyone is doing a little better today (one can hope).

I`m sorry I`ve been awol, life`s been a bit busy. I threw myself into a major spring cleaning frenzy to distract myself after my friend passed away & a month later, the job that should have taken a week is still in progress. & a few extra ouchies are my reward. But my bedroom looks better than it has in years! We`ll see how long that lasts.

I`ve been trying to use my exercise ball to unkink some body parts (works some days better than others).

Critters are well - they insist on using me as a pillow when I suggest we take a nap.

Take care, everyone. Here`s to a pain-free (or at least a lower pain) weekend.