Introduction-

[tndrft001]

Hello everyone! *waves*

A few of y’all already know me from the chat room but I know there are several who do not so I thought I would take a few minutes to introduce myself. I usually go by the name Tenderfoot or tndrft001, but most people call me Tender, which I’m fine with. I’m soon to be 48 and have been married to my best friend for 25 years. We have 2 adult children I call the M&M’s since their names both start with M. 😀 We also have 3 grand babies, ages 9, 5, & 17 months. They’re the lights of my life. We’re also owned by 3 kitties: Elsie, MoJo, and our newest, who adopted us this past summer, Frannie. She is expecting little ones of her own any day now. We also have our big fur-pup, Buddy. He’s 150 lbs of cuddle bug and thinks he’s a small dog stuck in a big dog’s body. lol

I really can’t pinpoint one individual event that led to my pain and unfortunately, neither can my doctors. Their theory is some I was born with and others are cumulative of a couple minor car accidents and falls I had over the years. For several years, after my pain became chronic, I didn’t even know what my diagnosis was as the doctor I had at the time decided to withhold that info based on his old-fashioned notion that women were better off not knowing what was going on with their bodies. After I found out he had been withholding info from me, I fired him and found a doctor that puts it all out on the table for me and lets me help decide what course of action is best. She also works well with the pain management doctor I found and as a team, we are ready to face whatever challenges I may come across. I did have a bit of a conflict with some new staff at my pain management docs office but have since been able to work that out. It was about 1996, after a MRI, it was discovered that I had degenerative disk and joint disease as well as the beginning stages of lumbar spinal stenosis. I had previously been dx’d with scoliosis but hadn’t really had any issues with it until the stenosis reared it’s ugly head. My docs and I tried several different therapies with different degrees of success and failures. In 2004, I had a spinal cord stimulator (SCS) implanted. While it doesn’t cure pain, it has been a huge difference for me. Over the years, it’s become a little less effective so my docs ordered more testing and a few years ago, it was discovered that I also have Arachnoiditis. There was a long time period when I let the pain rule me, but I finally learned that there is life on the other side of pain and I decided to rule the pain instead of letting it rule me. Some days it’s more difficult than others to do, but I’m determined not to let it rule my life.

I discovered a site, that is no longer available, where I met wonderful people who completely understood the pain. Fortunately, they have also discovered The Pain Community and we’re able to provide support, love, laughter, and sometimes tears, with each other to keep us going. If you’ve never stopped by the chat room, weekday mornings at 11 am (est), I invite you to come on in. Sometimes we kind of have a topic of the day but mostly just tend to chit-chat about everything in our lives. It’s been a wonderful source of support for me and we’re more like family than just friends. I would love to meet y’all and have you come in with us. Get to know us, let us get to know you, and join our family. We have room for lots more! 🙂

Thank you for taking the time to read and I hope, whoever is reading this, will also introduce themselves and when you are comfortable, come to the chat room and get to know us. 🙂

Huggles to all!
T

[Noki4]

Hi Tndrft001,

Thank you for starting a thread where folks can introduce themselves. For some folks coming to a forum is a little scary. I hope to see others join us here on this topic and on the others.

I was 24 yrs old when my pain issues started. I was the mom of three young girls. It took several years of me going from one healthcare provider to another to find out what was happening.

I have a very progressive form of degenerative joint disease. At the age of 24, I was told I had the back of a 60 yr old. Not what someone in their 20’s want to hear. Over the years as most of us know who live with pain, we add things on as the years go by. I have RA, OA, Sjogren’s syndrome, sciatica, neuropathy, spinal stenosis and the list goes on.

I find it easier to deal with this journey of pain for me by reaching out to others.

I would love to meet others here at TPC, one can not ever have too many friends 🙂

Keep your chin up and stay active is my motto!

Noki4

[petmom1]

Tender, you are an inspiration and a gentle soul. I enjoy chatting with you during the week. I am finding that when I cannot jump online, I miss those chats. Everything seems possible. I hope others will join in the conversation and find the solace that I have found with my new chat friends.

[karenisawriter]

Hi my name is Karen. I have been suffering with pain for many years now. I’ve had many operations and I think they probably made it worse. I’m 59 years young and I don’t want to go out like this. Recently my doctor told me that it is no longer safe for me to take acetaminophen (Tylenol). My main pain comes from Arthritis/Siatica. Any body out there have any suggestions?

[petmom1]

While I do not have severe back pain from several surgeries, I do have back, foot and ankle pain that has plagued me since the holidays. There are some things that seem to help me that you might try if you have not done so already. Have you tried ice packs to your low back? If not, use a bag of frozen peas or corn, put it in a pillow case, then place it on your low back where your pain concentrates. (Make sure you mark the veggie bag, so that when you return it to the freezer it is not used later for cooking—YUK) Keep it there for at least 20 minutes, then remove–you can reapply once your skin returns to normal temperature. I sometimes alternate between heat and cold. I use a heating pad with the cover on—same drill as the ice pack, and I make sure my skin has returned to normal temperature before switching or reapplying the same treatment. I find when I am in the shower, after the warm water has relaxed me, I can do back and leg stretching—like yoga cat and dog poses while standing and using the wall for support, hamstring stretches using my shower bench for support and balance, etc. It seems to lessen my pain. I have also started using shoe inserts for arthritis when I walk—which has helped lessen my foot pain. I try to walk at least 30 minutes every day or every other day. I have dogs who remind me to walk them, so that is a powerful incentive. What have you tried?

[Janice-R]

Been a while since I made it here-sorry about that; I am Janice and while I don’t have back pain (and my arthritis is limited to my hands) one thing I have seen to be very effective is water aerobics (or physical therapy). It does go by different names. The water gives support so there is less impact. I have a friend who has severe back pain and once she started low dose opioids and was no longer confined to a wheelchair because of the pain, she was able to partake in the water aerobics which did a world of good. Others have had good result with it also. Prescribed by your physician, insurance should pay for it (as it is a form of physical therapy). Good luck and know there is an answer out there-it just takes a while to find what works for you.

[TPC_YaYa]

Hi Karenisawriter,

Welcome to our family it is nice to meet you. I do wish it was under different circumstances. There have been changes made to the amount of Tylenol that is safe to take during a 24 hour period.

You can read more about this change at, http://www.tylenol.com/safety-dosing/usage/dosage-for-adults

The maximum daily dose for Extra Strength TYLENOL (acetaminophen) products has changed from 8 pills per day (4,000 mg) to 6 pills per day (3,000 mg). The dosing has also changed from 2 pills every 4 – 6 hours to 2 pills every 6 hours.

The best thing is to talk to your doctor about what he feels is a safe alternative for you to use.
Do you have a pain management doctor or are you seeing a primary care provider/family doctor?

If you are seeing a primary care/family doctor. You could ask for a referral to a pain management clinic or pain management provider.

If you look at the top of the page you will see a tab labeled “Education”. Under that tab is topics labeled “Pain 101.
There are resources that you can read on talking to your provider and other great information.

I would like to invite you to our hosted live chats on Monday-Wednesday-Friday at 11am Eastern Time. It is a great group of people who understand the journey of pain. We support each other and share our daily struggles with pain. We also laugh — laughter is a great distraction.
We would be honored for you to join us. It is a small group and you are never pressured to share more than what you feel comfortable sharing.
You will find the Chat room located at the top of the page under the “Community” tab.

Take care,

TPC_YaYa

TPC Community Moderator
“The views or opinion(s) contained herein do not necessarily represent those of The Pain Community.”

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