Aa
Becoming depressed from chronic pain
I've been dg. with occipital neuralgia and my doc gave me occipital block 3 weeks ago. The pain is not as severe as it used to be but I'm becoming more and more depressed every day from waking up with a headache. I can't go jogging (it makes the pain a lot worse), everytime I raise my eyebrows or move my head it hurts.
I'm sick & tired of popping advils, tylenols, and midol everyday. I don't enjoy the things I used to anymore...like reading a newspaper or writing. My neuro said to be patient......but for how long!? Sometimes I wish I could go to sleep for several weeks and wake up feeling "normal" with no headache.
What should I do?? Becoming desperate.....thanks!!
I'm sick & tired of popping advils, tylenols, and midol everyday. I don't enjoy the things I used to anymore...like reading a newspaper or writing. My neuro said to be patient......but for how long!? Sometimes I wish I could go to sleep for several weeks and wake up feeling "normal" with no headache.
What should I do?? Becoming desperate.....thanks!!
That was an awesome and inspiring post. I wish I had the courage you display here. May you continue to improve until you reach the results you desire. I too get by because of a beautiful family and their unshakable love and support. God Bless!
Dear Agony,
That was a beautiful post, sir, and I wish every medical student in the country could read it. I also could not make it without my drugs, and it wasn't until I went crying to my psychiatrist about how supposedly trained neurologists and orthopedists ignored my pleas that I FINALLY got the pain relief I so desperately needed. Bless you for taking the time to encourage Runner, and I wish you and your beautiful family God speed.
GG
That was a beautiful post, sir, and I wish every medical student in the country could read it. I also could not make it without my drugs, and it wasn't until I went crying to my psychiatrist about how supposedly trained neurologists and orthopedists ignored my pleas that I FINALLY got the pain relief I so desperately needed. Bless you for taking the time to encourage Runner, and I wish you and your beautiful family God speed.
GG
Dear 425 runner and ggreg
After my life was changed in a instant (broken neck /back nerve PAIN !)and I was suffering from pain I never knew a human could have let alone endure,The surgery to repair my neck only caused a stenosis and even more pain. Every surgeon I seen told me that my spine was to brittle to receive any new hardware and the Degenerative disc / Bone decease I had for 10 yrs leading up to the work accident is incurable and would eventually spread through my entire spine. I slumped into a deep dark depression, I was only 35 with a absolutely GORGEOUS wife and 3 beautiful children who all loved me very much, People would say, "Look at what a beautiful family you have, you should be grateful your wife is standing by you through this" But this was a source of my depression, I would look at my family and know that I will no longer be able to support them in a way they deserved. My wife was strapped with the added burden of caring for me when it was always up to me to spoil her as best I could, . We had such a fantastic sex life before I got hurt and even when we were able to do it, She was always in fear of hurting me.I knew my wife could have had her pick of Kings, but,, because we were so much in love she would never leave me and This was not fair to her, This is not why she pinned her life to my star. I tried to Over dose my self and Just got sick, I bought a gun with the intent of "Doing right the next time" I cant't tell you how many times I sat crying with the barrel of that 9mm pressed to my temple.Then one day my wife came to me and said that we were going to get through this together, She said that Dr.s have been wrong before and she was NOT willing to except the grim diagnosis for my future.
We found a Dr. willing to give me Pain meds, Not just the min that others thought I could get by on But This Dr gave me a HUGE bottle of 100mg time release morphine and Oxy codone I-R from fast relief when my pain spiked. He told me to go home and take as much morphine 3 Xs daily as it took to make me be able to move around, then come back in 3 weeks and tell him how much I was taking ! So I did just that. He was shocked at the high dose I was able to take but wrote the prescriptions every month. I went from crawling on my hands and knees with my wife standing over me holing a bath towel slung under my torso just to go to the bath rm, to walking on my own with crutches. As I was able to tolerate my P-T exorcists and stretching I was able to to loose the crutches and walk with a cane. I used the cane for about a year and I asked Dr, to reduce the morphine from the 24 hr time release to the 12 hr, a 50% reduction in the amount I was taking, I was walking every day and exorcising 3 Xs a day. I still had pain, and still woke up screaming 3-4 times a night but I knew it would pass with help from the pain meds. Today, I am down by another 50% and walking short distances with out any assistance and have not used my cane for almost a yr. I ride my bike EVERY day and work on my house for an hr or 2 every day. and I have sex with my wife as often as I can! My Dr. told me that "there is no shame in taking addictive drugs if they improve your quality of life. The drugs are the lesser of the 2 evils when compared to living with pain because pain destroys your very soul!" I have since had to change to a new Dr. who was shocked at even the lower doses Im taking today, She said that she has cancer patients who are not on this high of a dose. My answer to her was this, What I live with day in and day out is the same or worse then Bone cancer only I do NOT have the luxury of Dying in a year. Find a Dr. willing to treat your pain, Yes ,these drugs are addictive, Yes, they can have some long term effects, But the damage living with pain does to you mind ,body and soul, not to mention those who love you, is by far worse then any effects from the morphine!! DO NOT Take "NO" for an answer, Pain once gotten under control is easier TO control, and you can always reduce your dosage as you improve your situation,
Good Luck and Feel free to contact me with ANY questions
AGGGONY
After my life was changed in a instant (broken neck /back nerve PAIN !)and I was suffering from pain I never knew a human could have let alone endure,The surgery to repair my neck only caused a stenosis and even more pain. Every surgeon I seen told me that my spine was to brittle to receive any new hardware and the Degenerative disc / Bone decease I had for 10 yrs leading up to the work accident is incurable and would eventually spread through my entire spine. I slumped into a deep dark depression, I was only 35 with a absolutely GORGEOUS wife and 3 beautiful children who all loved me very much, People would say, "Look at what a beautiful family you have, you should be grateful your wife is standing by you through this" But this was a source of my depression, I would look at my family and know that I will no longer be able to support them in a way they deserved. My wife was strapped with the added burden of caring for me when it was always up to me to spoil her as best I could, . We had such a fantastic sex life before I got hurt and even when we were able to do it, She was always in fear of hurting me.I knew my wife could have had her pick of Kings, but,, because we were so much in love she would never leave me and This was not fair to her, This is not why she pinned her life to my star. I tried to Over dose my self and Just got sick, I bought a gun with the intent of "Doing right the next time" I cant't tell you how many times I sat crying with the barrel of that 9mm pressed to my temple.Then one day my wife came to me and said that we were going to get through this together, She said that Dr.s have been wrong before and she was NOT willing to except the grim diagnosis for my future.
We found a Dr. willing to give me Pain meds, Not just the min that others thought I could get by on But This Dr gave me a HUGE bottle of 100mg time release morphine and Oxy codone I-R from fast relief when my pain spiked. He told me to go home and take as much morphine 3 Xs daily as it took to make me be able to move around, then come back in 3 weeks and tell him how much I was taking ! So I did just that. He was shocked at the high dose I was able to take but wrote the prescriptions every month. I went from crawling on my hands and knees with my wife standing over me holing a bath towel slung under my torso just to go to the bath rm, to walking on my own with crutches. As I was able to tolerate my P-T exorcists and stretching I was able to to loose the crutches and walk with a cane. I used the cane for about a year and I asked Dr, to reduce the morphine from the 24 hr time release to the 12 hr, a 50% reduction in the amount I was taking, I was walking every day and exorcising 3 Xs a day. I still had pain, and still woke up screaming 3-4 times a night but I knew it would pass with help from the pain meds. Today, I am down by another 50% and walking short distances with out any assistance and have not used my cane for almost a yr. I ride my bike EVERY day and work on my house for an hr or 2 every day. and I have sex with my wife as often as I can! My Dr. told me that "there is no shame in taking addictive drugs if they improve your quality of life. The drugs are the lesser of the 2 evils when compared to living with pain because pain destroys your very soul!" I have since had to change to a new Dr. who was shocked at even the lower doses Im taking today, She said that she has cancer patients who are not on this high of a dose. My answer to her was this, What I live with day in and day out is the same or worse then Bone cancer only I do NOT have the luxury of Dying in a year. Find a Dr. willing to treat your pain, Yes ,these drugs are addictive, Yes, they can have some long term effects, But the damage living with pain does to you mind ,body and soul, not to mention those who love you, is by far worse then any effects from the morphine!! DO NOT Take "NO" for an answer, Pain once gotten under control is easier TO control, and you can always reduce your dosage as you improve your situation,
Good Luck and Feel free to contact me with ANY questions
AGGGONY
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Welcome to the medhelp neurology forum with this query. I understand how depressing and downtreading chronic pain can be. Occipital neuralgia or C2 neuralgia is characterized by chronic pain in upper back, back of head and behind the eyes. These correspond to lesser and greater occipital nerves. Damage to these nerves causes neuralgia which can be Concussive trauma, physical stress on the nerve, flexion or extension of neck. Treatment options include local nerve block, peripheral stimulation, steroids, phenol injections, antidepressants, occipital cryoneurolysis. It is not a life threatening condition. Usually there is improvement with therapy like heat, anti inflammatory medications, rest and muscle relaxants. Recovery is usually complete after the bout of pain has ended and nerve damage repaired or lessened. Try to keep the spirits high and the good faith intact. Things will improve. I hope this helps. Feel free to contact me again with any other doubt.
Thank you so much for your advice! I was becoming desperate but it's good to know it's OK to become depressed from dealing with chronic pain.
Yes, my neuro gave me a prescription for Tramadol 50 mg but I haven't used it yet. Afraid it'd make me dizzy or something but I'll give it a try. I do wear sunglasses every where outside, it does help.
Good luck to you and thanks again for the response!!
Yes, my neuro gave me a prescription for Tramadol 50 mg but I haven't used it yet. Afraid it'd make me dizzy or something but I'll give it a try. I do wear sunglasses every where outside, it does help.
Good luck to you and thanks again for the response!!
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In the meantime, if closing your eyes helps at all, try sunglasses everywhere, perhaps. And a little caffeine in the morning just might dissolve the headache... that's what is in Excedrin. Heat helps pain, too, so when you sit down in the daytime, you could get one of these smaller heat/cold things you can put in the microwave, and put it wherever it feels best, back of neck or forehead.
Keep in mind if the neurologist is nonresponsive to your pain, you may wish to seek a second opinion, could be another one will have some better ideas about how to treat you. And it's okay to be depressed...it will go away when your pain improves. Counting blessings helps me thru the rough patches.