Living With Chronic Pain

Living with Chronic Pain can be life changing, it got to the point where it would dictate my life and each day. Now don’t get me wrong, I had a few good days as well however the bad days outweighed the good days before receiving epidural injections. I remember the days/nights when I could barely move and the pain would put me in a bad mood. I couldn’t get comfortable no matter what position I sat or laid in, nor could I get any relief from medication. I remember watching my mom go through back surgery due to a fall she had at work and it took her almost a year to recover, that’s why I didn’t want to have neck surgery. At the time my job was my life, I was flying all over the US opening new markets and putting on special events, I remember waking up each day wondering what I could get done because the pain was debilitating me to the point where I wanted to cry, I put my big girl pants on each day and got through the day.

 After sleepless nights, never ending pain and depression I finally made the decision to start receiving epidural injections.  I remember how scared I was before my 1^st epidural injection and I kept telling myself I would feel much better after it was done and boy was I right , within 24 hours I felt so much better. The numbness and pain were gone. I received the epidural Injections for the next 3 years and I was able to live life and have fun again. I remember the day it all came back, I was playing outside with my daughter helping her with gymnastics for her cheer competition that she had coming up and all of a sudden the pain, numbness and tingling came back. I didn’t twist or fall or even move the wrong way.

 I thought to myself, Oh my I can’t go through this again. This time I did the right thing and called the orthopedic surgeon. He scheduled me right away for surgery on C-5-C7. I remember being extremely nervous leading up to my Anterior Cervical Fusion. The day of my surgery I went in the hospital not knowing what to expect when I woke up. My Mom was right by my side trying her best to not make me nervous. I was really sore when I woke up but the pain in my neck wasn’t as bad as it was before the surgery so I was on the right track right? Not so much. Due to me being so active I didn’t rest like I should of and I continued to work without taking any mandatory downtime.

The pain never went completely away after my 1^st cervical fusion in fact, the numbness and tingling got worse. 7 Months after surgery I started getting epidural Injections again which saved me , I felt so much better I wanted to scream from the rooftop , I couldn’t believe how good I felt from the injections. However I knew this would be temporary because the fusion I had 7 months ago wasn’t healing and I was told I would need a 2^nd surgery. The 2^nd Cervical Fusion I had was done posterior(through the back of the neck and cut through neck muscles) When I woke up from this Posterior surgery I felt like a train hit me , it was really rough , they couldn’t get the pain under control so I had to stay in the hospital for 4 days. Once I got home I listened to my surgeon and followed all of his rules for a complete recovery , It’s been 11 months since my last surgery and I will say I have good days and bad days but the good days definitely out weigh the bad days . I have my life back and enjoy every second of every day.  

After a while Chronic Pain will wear a person down, draining their energy and sapping their motivation and even limiting social contact with friends and family to decrease the amount of energy they spend reacting to their environment. Eventually, many people with chronic pain develop depression-like symptoms: Lack of interpersonal interaction, difficulty concentrating on simple tasks, and the desire to simplify their life as much as possible, which often manifests as seeking isolation and quiet. I understand how those living with Chronic Pain on a daily basis feel , If you have chronic pain please call your doctor or look for a specialist.

Dr Pierce at Michigan Sports and Spine center can help you with your pain , Dr Pierce understands what patients living with pain go through on a daily basis. MSSC also offers epidural Injections and cortisone shots.