Soldering On

joyful164

I have just got back from my Pain Clinic Appointment and do not feel as though I have come away with anything positive.

I am to stop the Pain patches and have been prescribed Clonazepam, which having read up on, do not like to the sound of at all. They are to substitute the benefit of the pain patch in helping me rest and relax through the night. Before I started the Bupranorphine, I was getting very little rest because the pain was so much.

Pain Killers. Do I start back on Co-codamol, he didn't say. Mind you, my OH was putting his ten pennyworth in so much, I could hardly get a word in.

He felt and moved my neck around, didn't think the problem was coming from my neck and thinks it is actually coming from some restriction at the joints, shoulders, elbows, wrists so he will be reporting back to Rheumy and perhaps eventually, I will get my appointment for September brought forward.
Will probably sort my dMards out again and injections.
He is also going to report back to my GP. It's all wait, wait and more wait isn't?
So, it doesn't look like it's referred pain from a trapped nerve. Accupuncture didn't work before, so not going to try again.

Got to get my weight down. Plenty of "You are what you eat", Eat to live, not live to eat. "You would be surprised at what you actually eat"., use a smaller plate, etc. etc etc.

So, he wants to see me in a couple of months and I have to show him that I have lost some weight.

Exercise. Well, I'm always busy, don't sit around being sorry for myself. Told him how active I was. He was very impressed when I told him what I had done.

But please, please I want the pain to go away, but, at the end of the day, it's up to ourselves. That's the message he was certainly giving me.

joyful

ninakang

Joyful

He sounds like a right- actually, do you know, I'm not going to spend valuable time describing what he is. We both know that anyway.

I'm glad you're trying to stay positive through this and are still looking at your options. Well done for that. You're being very stoic and practical about this, I can tell that from your post.

As for weight loss, I really do try to see eating as fuel for my body. If you think about it, you wouldn't put rubbishy fuel into your car if you knew it was going to damage the engine and we should follow this same principle for ourselves. Most of what we eat should be in some ways good for us. And it's not that hard, really, just takes a bit of forward planning. Like, today for instance, I've had a glass of orange juice, two satsumas, a bowl of cereal with raspberries, two cups of tea, two pints of water, tuna mayo and sweetcorn sandwiches and am about to have a cup of coffee and a couple of biscuits. For dinner I'm going to have something with veg and so that's about 4 out of my 5 a day there.

I do have treats, I eat crisps and chocolate etc but I try to eat more of the healthy stuff.

I hope this helps anyway

Nx

joyful164

ninakang wrote:

Joyful

He sounds like a right- actually, do you know, I'm not going to spend valuable time describing what he is. We both know that anyway.

I'm glad you're trying to stay positive through this and are still looking at your options. Well done for that. You're being very stoic and practical about this, I can tell that from your post.

As for weight loss, I really do try to see eating as fuel for my body. If you think about it, you wouldn't put rubbishy fuel into your car if you knew it was going to damage the engine and we should follow this same principle for ourselves. Most of what we eat should be in some ways good for us. And it's not that hard, really, just takes a bit of forward planning. Like, today for instance, I've had a glass of orange juice, two satsumas, a bowl of cereal with raspberries, two cups of tea, two pints of water, tuna mayo and sweetcorn sandwiches and am about to have a cup of coffee and a couple of biscuits. For dinner I'm going to have something with veg and so that's about 4 out of my 5 a day there.

I do have treats, I eat crisps and chocolate etc but I try to eat more of the healthy stuff.

I hope this helps anyway

Nx

On the whole, I do eat very healthily. I make my own soup without adding fat. I do tend to have days where I like my bread, and my Gp has said that if I was to just cut out bread then I would lose weight. But then, you get calcium from bread. From today, I will cut it out for a week and see what happens. What I intend doing is to use a much smaller plate. I do not normally have anything between meals, but I think I am going to start making smoothies. They are good for you. I would certainly love to lose a couple of stone by 22nd Aug. That's my target. My son is getting married that day. That my goal. What I can't understand is why is said that the problem could not be my neck. If you could feel and hear the noises that come from it. At times, it feels like my knees, Grinding and jumping out of their sockets. Makes my teeth grind, so to speak.

I'm certainly having a job getting comfortable at night and can only lie on my back. Having just got use to the Pain patches and the way that they relax me, I have to get use to something else now.

How many of us must feel like guinea pigs half the time.

luv
joyful

skezier

Hi Joy,

I am sorry you haven't had a good result from the pain clinic, I am so lucky as mine really help me. Are they doing a follow up appointment for you?

Have they x rayed your neck? I am surprised they didn't know before it was coming from your shoulder etc. Did you have an MRI at all? Did I read you hadn't in one of your posts?

I know what you mean about being a guinea pig........ but I really will try anything I hope you find the new pain routine is helpful but I can't help thinking either you have been let down or else I have been very very very lucky....... Though having had more jabs in the spine and neck today define lucky! I really hope the change of pills etc will help and not put you back to being in too much pain to sleep. take care, Cris

valval

hi trying to loose weight and have looked up foods that r anti-inflam,such as pinapple strawberries broc.ect so adding these as much as can stand time will tell keep trying

joyful164

skezier wrote:

Hi Joy,

I am sorry you haven't had a good result from the pain clinic, I am so lucky as mine really help me. Are they doing a follow up appointment for you?

Have they x rayed your neck? I am surprised they didn't know before it was coming from your shoulder etc. Did you have an MRI at all? Did I read you hadn't in one of your posts?

I know what you mean about being a guinea pig........ but I really will try anything I hope you find the new pain routine is helpful but I can't help thinking either you have been let down or else I have been very very very lucky....... Though having had more jabs in the spine and neck today define lucky! I really hope the change of pills etc will help and not put you back to being in too much pain to sleep. take care, Cris

Hi

Yes, I had an XRay about 4 weeks ago, Showed wear and tear apparently, was give the patches because I was actually crying with the pain.The day that I went to have the XRay, I could hardly walk to the XRay dept. and OH had to go and find a wChair for me.
A few days later, had made an appointment with the gp and again, could walk because of the pain, so he had to come and see me. Just increased the strength of the patches.

The Pain Clinic consultant moved my neck around and in fact, I didn't seem to have any problem, it was restrictive enough to be the problem and so therefore felt that the pain and swelling in my arms must be due to something else, restriction of some kind on the joints. He is contacting my Rheumy consultant to discuss treatment. He is also contacting my gp to arrange for some small patches to ween me off them altogether and to increase the pregabaline. The next two months before I go back to the pain clinic are going to be spent trying to get use to the new drugs, feeling like **** again. I've got holidays and my sons wedding I was hoping to enjoy.

I asked him about the MRI scan and thought I was going to have one arranged and he said "MRI will not necessarily focus on any one problem that I have and I have numerous". I really do not understand this.

Perhaps I am too big to go into the machine. I know I must be about 3/4 stone overweight and this is my priority now because as he said, there is too much pressure on my joints. I know that I have come away very disappointed that nothing decisive seems to have been done and I just feel that I am being batted from court to court like wimbledon, love, deuce, love duece and on and on and on

If you sit there and show him one arm and hand swollen, sore joints (the hand measures 1 in bigger than the right). You describe the pain like having your arms cut open all the way down and three almost dead feeling fingers. Well, you can understand why I am fed up.

Sorry but I feel like crying.

joyful

skezier

Hi Joy,

I am sorry your feeling down. its hard when you think they are going to help and nothing seems to be happening but maybe he will suggest things to your rumo and in the end they will really get down to helping you.

I think the MRI is targeted to one bit of you, ie mine were very clear on the spinal cord but the peripheral things are not targeted so are only there as a blur if that makes sense. So what he is saying is they wouldn't be able to target it all so it may not be of any use.

I am very lucky where the pain clinic is concerned as most of my problems with my neck and back are centered round the cord so the MRI's have been useful.

I really hope the pregabalin help, I find them very good and maybe you will? What has he told you to increase it to?

I am sending you a cyber (((()))) and wish I could help you more. Luv Cris x

joyful164

Hi Skezier, Nina and everyone
Thanks for your input and thanks for explaining the MRI scan. Your explanation has helped. This is more or less what he told me. The fact that I seem to have 3 ongoing problems. it is going to take some time and patience to find out how they are going to do it.
I think, because I have so much happening at the moment especially with the wedding and now I have given myself a deadline with the art thing, I was really hoping for some answers.
I have woken up today with excrutiating pains down my right arm and it is painful typing.
So, this weekend, I am going to take time out, do absolutely nothing (I hope) except sleep. There comes a time when you just can't do anymore. Took my new prescription down to the drs, that won't be ready until Monday. Wait for all the correspondence to go between hospital depts. Goodness knows how long that will take. I have emailed my Rheumy nurse begging her to get my appointment brought forward. So folks have a nice weekend. Speak to you all again next week.

luv from joyful thanks again

ninakang

Hi Joyful

Thanks for keeping us posted. Get some rest this weekend and I hope you feel better soon

Nx

frogmorton

Hi Joyful
Sorry I missed your thread yesterday.
I don't have much to add - just that I hope the new meds combination WILL help you.
Have a restfull weekend and take care
Toni x