Chronic Pain

Im a little surprised to find that there is so much discussion about chronic pain on the web. I have been suffering on and off with chronic pain in the vicinity of c3/c4 in my neck for years now and its only getting worse. I have tried so many things that its depressing to think of what I have gone through with such pathetic results ( so far, im not giving up ). I am a current serving military member in Canada who injured himself approximately 9 years ago. Since then the pain has come, and gone, and come back again with increasing regularity. With the work environment I work in, cramps and discomfort are often just a part of the job, so I think I tended to ignore the problem for far too long before seeking help. Whats worse is, in the military when youre injured there is a " Sick, lame, and lazy " stigma that everyone seems to get labelled as. The incredible depression I feel at not only having my livelihood ( over 16 years in my profession ) but my ability to provide for my wife and son taken away is tearing me up inside. Being a professional I have had to do some soul searching and admit that I simply cannot perform at the level that is expected of me for certain jobs, and therefore have had limitations placed on me. Not really sure what to add other than to mention some treatments I have had unsuccessfully. Chiropractor, acupuncture, various anti-inflammatory meds, physiotherapy several times ( traction helps my neck quite nicely, but temporary results at best - thinking of buying a home unit ) and most recently I have had local injections of lidocaine and steroids. The next treatment they are considering for me is some kind of high frequency radio wave where they will ZAP my nerves to basically fry them so that I wont feel the pain anymore. Im cautiously hopeful, but a little apphrehensive about frying nerves in my neck to ALLEVIATE pain. Why else would I be up at this insane hour of the day when I have to leave for work in 2 hours???? ( 3 am here ). Feels better having let all that out, thanks for being an EAR people, cheers.

Hi- you are deifintely in the right place. there are many of us who have neck problems as well as TMJ and other challenges. I've had neck trouble for years too , worse over the last 1 1/2 years. Have tried all of what you mentioned, the latest being botox injections in the back of my neck with side effects of severe weakness, difficulty swallowing and ended up with brochitis from the breathing suppression. It works well on some people. i'm just too knocked down system wise to have it work I guess. Now it's wearing off and pain is back. I'm usually a workaholic too so it's frustrating to get held down by limitations. I just had to cut my hours and pay b/c they wanted someone in my job 5 days a week- even though I was doing 3 12 hour days. There's plenty of us up in the middle of the night too from not getting good unbroken sleep!- Welcome to the site- Deb

I agree... I had no idea there were so many people suffering in pain until just a year or two ago. It's amazing, yet so sad. I think places like this are such a huge help!! I'm so grateful for my online community of support!