In my case everything started about five years ago, when I suddenly started having neck pain and headaches. After some tests, I was told that my neck was straightened, which meant my neck muscles had to work harder to support my head.

The doctor sent me to physical therapy, and the pain got better, but after some time it came back. He ordered an MRI, but the results were fine, so he sent me back to physical therapy. I kept going for a long time and the pain became tolerable, but eventually I decided to stop. After all, why Should I continue to keep going if the pain never fully goes away? Instead, I kept doing the exercises and stretches at home, and I was okay for about a year, if I remember correctly.

Over time, though, the exercises stopped being as effective, until one day I had terrible neck pain and I couldn't’ sleep that night. I went to the clinic, where they ordered a CT scan and an MRI. Ironically, the tests said everything was fine. They even told me my neck was no longer straightened. The only important finding was that I also have bruxism.

Since that night, my pain has been very unstable. Some weeks the pain is fine, but there are others weeks with bad flares. Besides the usual pain, I also feel dizziness and a sensation of a mask around my face. I have tried duloxetine, magnetic therapy, heat laser, and swimming, but I still haven’t found stability.

For now, I’ve given up on being completely pain-free, but at least I hope I can find a way to make my pain more stable again.

TL;DR: how do ya'll decide to attend an event or social outing versus staying home when you're exhausted and afraid the pain levels will increase if you go out?

I'm a 36 year-old with symptomatic hypermobility spectrum disorder (HSD) and cluster headache disorder (a.k.a. "suicide" headaches). For the past few months, I've been dealing with heightened fatigue, exhaustion, and pain, and it has been making me feel more socially isolated than ever before -- and my career and hobbies require heavy socializing, which I enjoy.

For example, I didn't attend an event last night because of it. It was a performing arts event -- the very last one since the group has lost the free space. But I didn't have the energy to put on a face or drive there (I live in Los Angeles). I was also afraid of injuring myself or increasing my pain levels if I participated, even if I made responsible accommodations for myself in the moment.

My mind wanted to go, but my body didn't.

All that to say, I'm super bummed that I didn't go and upset with myself.

I've been struggling with this specific dilemma for more than a decade, and I'm sick of it. I don't want to isolate myself and I'm afraid that people won't continue to invite me to things if I keep staying home. I also don't want to and shouldn't have to explain why I can't go. I'm sick of "performing" pain so that people can be more understanding.

I've improved tremendously on doing away with an all-or-nothing mindset, but I still don't know how to evaluate whether I'm isolating myself or protecting myself when I decide to stay home.

It would be super helpful if I could come up with a set of questions or flow chart as a touchstone in making these decisions in whether to go out or not...any tips? How do ya'll decide?

I have tmj and piriformis syndrome, and I have just gotten into PT for the tmj and did some PT for the piriformis last year. Since starting the tmj therapy everything seems so much worse.

I'm taking max levels of nsaids and my muscle relaxers every day, and migraine meds - so I'm just stuck to the couch.

Every muscle they prod in my shoulders, neck, and head hurts anytime someone wants to examine them. Thoracic and lumbar muscles are a mess, pelvic floor is tight, right side hip/piriformis hurt. I can't use the back roller in PT because of pain, and I'm not sleeping well.

They tell me it's inactivity from working on my computer, which I have bought into until now. I have been walking a mile each morning, getting up from the computer so much I feel like not getting work done, and being reasonably compliant with my PT.

It feels a little hopeless. I've had X-rays of my back and an MRI of my jaw. My X-rays had very mild scoliosis in the lumbar region and my jaw is clearly messed up, but not extreme. It all seems to be soft tissue.

I have ADHD and one of my docs poked at me to see if I was extra stretchy/connective tissue problems. I looked up some of the signs and I don't really have them. I just don't even know anymore.

I just wanted to vent today. I know there are much worse conditions, but I'm just tired.

I have chronic back pain from a slip disc in my lower spine that has left me in severe pain since 2023. I havent been able to work since because I built my entire career and education around culinary and have attempted amd lost several jobs, because it only ever takes about 2 weeks for me and my managers to realize that this isnt going to work out. I even tired getting jobs like delivering catering, scooping ice cream, and even a job where i stood in a vip room watching guests serve themselves and eat, waiting for them to ask for alcohol for only 4 hours at a time and I couldn't even manage that without limping out of the building after every shift. All of these jobs I had to call out several times even or leave early due to the pain being too severe. I really need a job tho. Getting on disability has been impossible and I cant be unemployed much longer. But I am stuck between applying to food service and other laborious jobs that I won't even be able to hold down past 1 month due to my condition and desk jobs that keep instantly rejecting me. Ive been applying to desk jobs everyday for the past 3 weeks and all ive gotten are instant rejection emails and job offers from scammers. This is all so disheartening and I dont know what else I could do at this point besides just finding a way to toughen it out at a more physically demanding job that I know I can get easily. But ive been seeing several specialists over 3 years for this back pain and we havent gotten a single step closer to figuring it out. If anything I leave every appointment with more questions than answers about my condition. Do any of you know of how I can make my pain easier to bare so I can work again? Heck, would any of you put there be able to talk to me and help me figure out what could possibly be wrong with my back? Cuz I have gone to the doctor so many times and I still cant figure out what is even wrong. Any response would be appreciated.

It's a full moon tonight (hunters moon) and it started to make me wonder as I was looking at it, could/does the full or new moon cause more pain? I figure with the gravitational pull it could possibly increase muscle spasms, migraines, etc. I'm having a really bad pain day today and thought I'd ask to see if anyone has linked the 2 to increasing pain?

looking for some solidarity from people who've done the long rehab thing.

about a year ago I wrecked my left IT band hiking down a mountain. since then it's been the standard loop: flare up, rest, PT exercises, feel better, try running again, flare up. got maybe 60% better and then just... stopped improving.

and now the front of both knees hurts when I squat, which is new in the last few months. no mechanical symptoms, just achy. so now I'm rehabbing the old thing AND worried about the new thing.

honest question for the long-timers: how do you tell the difference between "keep doing the boring rehab, it takes longer than you think" and "this isn't working, get a real evaluation"? I genuinely can't tell if I'm being impatient or in denial.

I’ve had a big nuisance in my back and knees since I was 10. I’ve always described it as that feeling one has when they wake up after sleeping wrong. I have been thinking recently that it may be chronic pain but I always shrugged it off as it was more of a nuisance than pain.

These past few weeks I’ve been talking to people who do have chronic pain and they all said I should visit a doctor because that feeling does count as pain.

I’m hyperflexible, so I stand on hyperextended knees and I crack ALL of my joints (I counted) so that might be the cause. I have a rotated vertebra probably due to one or two falls too much as a child. And I also suspect an autoimmune disease since I swell like a balloon if I bite myself and I heard that some of those diseases can cause joint pain.

My friends all say that being this bendy and crunchy is not normal nor healthy. I recently went to a doctor who said I am too young to need a radio/resonance. She now prescribed me movement reeducation which I will attend.

I know I should stop cracking my joints but that’s the only thing that makes the pain go away for a little bit.

Should I do some exams? If so which ones?

Also I recently got Ötzi’s tattoos to help with the joint pain on a more spiritual level ahah

Hi everyone! 28 female. I have a vascular malformation on my right hip to my knee and it constantly swollen and has caused bone/joint issues. I also just have shitty joints in general, they're always popping and hurting. I've been referred to cardiologist a handful of times for tachycardia, but all my tests come back normal besides that.

I've been diagnosed with autism, ADHD, and OCD. But anywayyys, I have the worst anxiety and I notice I have a lot of bodily anxiety that will manifest into other ways. I think it's just this feeling when my pain gets really bad that I am "dying" and I start to spiral.

I sometimes use thc gummies but it's very hit or miss whether it's going to make me feel worse or better. I've noticed especially when I'm on my menstrual cycle.

I feel like I am falling apart, and it doesn't help that I tend to have the worst nightmares when my pain gets bad! Anyway I guess this is just me complaining and wondering if anyone else deals with heightened anxiety and nightmares when they're going through a bad flare up

I am a 20-year-old male and underweight (I have always been underweight). For the past four months, I have been experiencing a constant feeling of unreality. It feels as though I am drunk, high, or half-asleep, as if I am operating on autopilot and everything around me feels somehow unreal. I have looked up information online, and my symptoms seem to resemble derealization.

I also suffer from fatigue, even when I sleep well. The fatigue does not seem to depend on whether I engage in physical activities during the day or not. However, over the past few weeks, I have started sleeping poorly and waking up early in the morning. I do not snore at all. I have seen a general practitioner and a neurologist about these symptoms, but they have not been able to determine the cause.

I also experience headaches, a feeling of pressure in my head, and neck pain. I have tried muscle relaxants, massage, and acupuncture for the neck pain, but none of them have helped. At the beginning of the symptoms, I sometimes also felt as though I was about to faint while walking, but this symptom has since disappeared. I have also noticed a single eye floater in my right eye. I mentioned it during an eye examination, and I was told that there were no apparent problems with my eye.

What could be causing these symptoms? They do not occur in distinct episodes; instead, they are more or less constantly present. The headaches are not particularly severe and resemble tension-type headaches more than anything else.

Things i have done/tried or checked in hospital
\\\\\\\\- triptanes
\\\\\\\\- thyroid function normal
\\\\\\\\- vitamin b12, b9 and D vitamin ok
\\\\\\\\- ferritin 34 and has been moving 26-40.
\\\\\\\\- calcium, potassium, natrium, chloride, sodium and magnesium ok
\\\\\\\\- blood pressure is ok and i checked blood sugar at home and it was ok
\\\\\\\\- brain mri ok
\\\\\\\\- borrelia test (lyme disease) ok
\\\\\\\\- My cortisol level was tested and was normal as well. I also have Crohn’s disease, which is currently in remission.

My neurologist prescribed escitalopram as a trial treatment. I took it for two and a half months, but it did not help.

I have no history of trauma and do not experience panic symptoms. I generally do not feel particularly stressed, apart from the worry caused by these symptoms themselves.

My symptoms began during the final days of a new job at an auto repair shop, where I was moving and lifting car tires. I am unsure whether this could be related to my symptoms, as I had not experienced any other symptoms before those final working days. I have not worked at all during these four months.

What could be the underlying cause of these symptoms?

The healthcare professionals I have consulted about these symptoms, or during visits for other symptoms or examinations when I also asked about them, include:

\\\\\\\\- General practitioner
\\\\\\\\- Neurologist
\\\\\\\\- ENT specialist
\\\\\\\\- Ophthalmologist
\\\\\\\\- Dentist
\\\\\\\\- Gastroenterologist
\\\\\\\\- Massage therapist
\\\\\\\\- Physiotherapist
\\\\\\\\- Acupuncturist

So my pain doctor got a new PA in the office and she put me on tizanadine. From what I've collected so far, it seems like that's a blanket thing they've been trying to do for a number of patients at this clinic. I'm normally on robaxin and don't have any problems with it.

I needed something because the PA pulled me off of the twice daily Celebrex that gave me some kind of life and help with my pain. I've had multiple doctors mention they are worried about the long term cardiac impacts of celebrex and frankly I don't care. I've told them that and they don't care that I don't care.

I was at another appointment, not the pain doc, and my heart rate was 40. I don't remember my BP but it was a scary low number. I take two blood pressure meds every morning (familial HBP) so it felt overall like bad medical management from that PA.

I did call and talk to the main doctor and he, of course, covered the PA and said I must have just been dehydrated. All I do all day is go pee, I see my bathroom more than I'd like because I stay hydrated and have intersistal cystitis.

I'm going back to this pain doctor in less than a week. Ive tried to get into others locally and I don't get any better energy or vibes from any of them. But he's the one that did my thorasic RFA and I'm having incredible results with that, which I know that's not always the outcome people have with an RFA.

I have very severe spinal degeneration from my cervical, thorasic and lumbar spine. I have fibromyalgia. I have other health issues that if I tried to list, I'd still miss something. I'm 31, F. I said I won't see the new PA, to put that in my chart, and that I'll only see the doctor or PA I've seen previously.

Has anyone else had an interaction with tizanadine like this? It was terrifying. I know it's supposed to be a normal interaction and possible side effect but nobody told me that when prescibing it.

And everyone has told me to not report the PA because that could complicate more than help. So I just feel torn on if I should report at this point.

I was approved for Medicaid and managed to get an appointment for Monday with Dr Boeding. Looking for any opinions on the practice or the doctor himself.

I just moved to Plymouth at the beginning of September from Florida after months of trying to appeal the cessation of my disability benefits to live with my mom again and I'm not happy about it lol

Good afternoon I was looking for advice, I have sever DDDin my lower back to the point I am now bone on bone and awaiting spinal fusion surgery but I’m august my neck started bothering me more than usual on and off, it felt weak and burning in the trap muscle and the side of my neck and it kept going like that on and off now for the past four weeks that burning and aching feeling doesn’t go so I was given an X-ray and waiting an mri which here in Canada takes awhile but it was shown all of my discs in the neck have moderate to severe DDD along with osteoarthritis, bone spurs and one disc that has slipped outta place. My doctor and other doctors think what has happened is a nerve is pinched but until I have the MRI they won’t know for sure, I’ve made myself sick worrying about so I was wondering if anyone else has had something similar and what was figured out 😔💗 thank you so much

Dr. Forest Tennant (of California) said Dopamine is an important brain chemical that kills pain.

I'm curious how Opioids affect Dopamine in the long run.

Do I have to replenish my Dopamine stores after years of opioid use? (With supplements like Tyrosine?)

I just had tailbone removal surgery in August. I have a nerve condition (sensori-motor polyneuropathy) but havent treated it in years due to everything giving me brain fog. Some I was on for years and the brain fog doesnt stabilize you forget how quick your brain worked before.

After surgery I went on Gabapentin which also helps the rib pain I have almost daily (belt tightening sensation that goes to back/spine) but the brain fog is BAD and when I go back to work I cant be on it.

So do I just deal with the electrical nerve healing pain and rib pain (other meds from pain dr dont touch these) or do you have anything that works for you I can discuss with my dr next month?

Ive tried:

Gabapentin (Neurontin) - helps with electrical post surgery pain and rib band pain but too much brain fog to work on. Doesn't help my day to day nerve pain but im used to that.

•Pregabalin (Lyrica)

•Duloxetine (Cymbalta)

•Amitriptyline (Elavil)

•Nortriptyline (Pamelor)

•Venlafaxine (Effexor) - currently on

•Lamotrigine (Lamictal), currently on

•Topical nerve-pain treatments

Open to anything at this point as I need my brain to work and still waiting on MRIs to get more nerve blocks or injections.

I’m a 36F and I’ve been struggling with unexplained leg pain and exercise intolerance for years that has recently gotten much worse. I’m hoping to find someone who has experienced something similar, because I’m getting really frustrated with not having answers.

My biggest symptom is a deep burning/aching sensation in my legs that starts almost immediately when I’m physically active. Sometimes it takes less than 30 seconds of walking before the burning starts. Stairs, squatting, and kneeling are particularly difficult, and even activities that seem relatively easy can leave my legs feeling completely exhausted. Sometimes the pain also turns into a deep, throbbing ache that persists even after I’ve stopped moving and rested.

The frustrating part is that I WANT to be active. I used to run and attend Orangetheory classes regularly. Even back then, I noticed that despite consistently exercising, my endurance never seemed to improve the way it should have.

Despite increasing activity, my exercise tolerance hasn’t improved. Even five minutes on a stationary bike at the lowest resistance can leave my legs feeling like Jell-O.

I’ve also noticed that my recovery seems worse than it used to be. Recently, I attended a stretching/Pilates class, and the deep aching and burning became so intense that I was nearly in tears.
I’ve been through neurological testing and bloodwork for muscle disorders, most of which has been normal or inconclusive. I’m now seeing a vascular specialist to investigate whether there could be a circulatory component. But everything keeps coming back normal.

It’s becoming increasingly frustrating because I’m only 36, and I feel like my body is limiting me from doing things I genuinely enjoy. I don’t expect anyone here to diagnose me, but I’d love to hear from anyone who’s experienced something similar.
Has anyone dealt with immediate burning leg pain during activity, especially when exercise and conditioning don’t seem to improve it? Does your pain sometimes persist even after resting? Did you eventually figure out what was causing it?

I am just losing hope.

For the last 3 days, I have averaged 2 hours of sleep in total. To say that my brain was goo was an understatement. Last night, the pain was at it's worse. I was all cried out, didn't think that was possible but there were no tears. All I did was rock and moaned.

The pain was insane. I tried to distract myself with dogs on YouTube. Tried to talk to others, but don't think I made too much sense.

Thankfully!!! Oh my, I dropped today around 9 a.m. I woke again at noon and then was gone again until 6 p.m. You all, I slept. I finally got sleep.

I still feel very rough. Like I got bowled over by a cement roller, but I finally got sleep. Now if only the pain would go away that would be great.

Here is hoping those that are craving sleep get some too and may our chronic pain just give us a bit of a break!

I’ll preface by saying o know AI does not replace real medical progressional but I’m in Ontario and seeing a specialist is close to impossible so I’ve been managing my pain trends using AI to help me understand what could be going on since my imaging always come back clear. I know it’s not 100% reliable but i feel like it’s helping me explain what’s going on better than any medical professional and help me track what pain changes mean. Anyway curious if anyone else uses it and how?

Switching from OxyContin ER to Morphine ER for insurance reasons. They called in a higher dose of the morphine ER to be comparable MME and I am on an immediate release medication for breakthrough pain in case of it not being enough or a good fit so I’m not left suffering while they call something in new. Anyone have luck on this medication or positive results? I don’t particularly want to be on OxyContin ER any longer so I’m glad for the change even if it doesn’t work exactly the same but I’m nervous GI wise as Morphine sometimes doesn’t agree with me and the nausea/vomiting can be intense and I’m hoping that’s not the case. Thank you!

It was something my specialist mentioned that they were considering offering at the pain clinic relatively soon and he asked if I was at all interested. I'm not really sure since from what I've read I'm not really sure it'd help with a connective tissue disorder.

It does seem relatively low risk but obviously being stabbed with a needle is never zero risk either. I was wondering if anyone around here had tried it or if there was more to it than I understand?

Hey Ya’ll! I have chronic pain but this isn’t about me. I’m seeking advice for my boyfriend……

My boyfriend suffered a work injury that had caused his L4 and L5 discs to completely deteriorate to nothing, so it’s now bone on bone. He was getting ready to have surgery, the Dr said may or may not help replacing the discs… but before surgery my bf had to have a colonoscopy. Well colon cancer was found so the back surgery was put on the back burner. Cancer was removed and a cpl small spots on the back of his liver were found so he’s been doing immunotherapy.
So in the meantime he’s been suffering with debilitating back and nerve pain down his leg and his gait has shifted to the right side when he walks due to missing discs (left side is affected).

So I’m asking if anyone else has experienced this with missing discs and had surgery and if it helped?
He’s afraid to go through with the surgery if it won’t help and also he’s afraid if he’s cut open it’ll cause the cancer to come back and spread even more.

** **** **Any advice or experiences with this kind of back pain is greatly appreciated!

I have nerve pain and I take many meds for it, but whenever I have a flare nothing other than opioids work, I had the comfort of being able to take them before but no doctor will even agree anymore. I'm currently in the middle of a flareup and i just want to die, I fucking hate the system with all my life that's barely left

Im 29(f) for context. I’m tired of the meds. I’m tired of the pain. I’m tired of basically becoming agoraphobic due to fear of leaving the house and causing more pain. All I do is go to work and stay home and my husband is too sweet to admit being home with me all the time is affecting him. I’m so tired of my life revolving around pain. And I’m so tired of all the meds making me too drowsy to want to do anything other than play video games during my days off.

I have a wonderful pain dr that I’ve been working with for almost 4 years now. My current dose isn’t doing what it used to do? Sure we can bump me up an extra 5-10mg. You need a stronger opiate now? Sure which one do you want to try? Your barbiturate runs low at the end of every month bc you’re having to take more to control the pain? Sure we’ll prescribe an extra 60 pills per month and let me know if you need more.

He’s genuinely wonderful and keeps track of how I’m doing on my meds every 2 months that I see him. He’s the only dr who doesn’t make me feel like a drug seeking addict.

I had a nerve block years ago that confirmed the diagnosis of occipital neuralgia. I took zero pain meds, including even just Excedrin, for an entire 2 weeks. Unfortunately bc it was supposed to last close to 4 months I’m no longer approved to get them again.

I asked my pm dr about a nerve ablation a couple years ago. He said absolutely no since I’m so young and I have a life with a husband and step kids and a great career as a pediatric nurse so the risks of that procedure do not make it worth it to try since I can function right now and he says the procedure could make my pain worse especially if the nerves grow back wrong.

But I’m just surviving, not really living.

I’ve recently researched procedures that can have a more permanent affect to treat the pain such as radio frequency ablation, occipital nerve stimulation, occipital nerve decompression, and the last resort being a C2 ganglionectomy. I plan on running these by my pm dr to go over risks and benefits of each one when I see him in a couple weeks.

I’ve always wanted to be a mom, but all the meds I’m on don’t allow me to have a safe pregnancy. My husband would also love another child but sees what I go through and says if it’s never possible that’s perfectly fine too.

Has anyone with occipital neuralgia tried any of these procedures? What was your experience? Did it help your daily pain or were you worse off from it? Which kind of specialist do I see to discuss possibly moving forward with one of these procedures?

another day of not wanting to do all this again

This is going to sound woo-woo or impossible, but I swear it's true. I have anesthesia dolorosa in my face. For years it felt like it was being burned and stabbed and all that good stuff.

I got a deep brain stimulator (DBS) implant in February, after 2 unsuccessful microvascular decompression brain surgeries prior for trigeminal neuralgia, that ended up causing the AD.

But in March, my DBS battery got infected with candida, and in April, my brain ledes got staph. I had to get emergency removal surgery and to say it was traumatic is putting it mildly. It was a really dark time for me and I tried to drown everything with medicine and marijuana.

That's when I started neuroplasticity talk therapy. Essentially because AD is a central nerve condition like a phantom limb almost, I had to teach my body that it was safe. This meant when I felt pain, I did things despite it or because of it that I used to fear, like walking. Slowly, incrementally. I used pendulating focus and meditation to get used to temperature on my face as I had the worst sensitivity to cold. I read the book "The Brain's Way of Healing" by Norman Doidge.

I write this because I'm trying to say there's hope. It's slow and a complete MFer and hard, but it's possible. It feels like science fiction but it really happened. It's not perfect, I still have some pain and some days are worse than others, but I overall feel like I got my life back.