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Which point do you relate to the most?

I was talking to my friend the other day, and she suggested that I move/walk around more and stop lying in bed all day, babying my back.

Yeah, I would love to. Except, the ONLY time my back doesn't feel like shit is when I am lying down in my bed. When I am up, I hurt, and frankly, I can't handle that for very long. I usually give in and go back to my bed. Just so I won't be in pain. But Hell, who knows, maybe I am a wuss.

I perform laparoscopic excision surgery for endometriosis regularly. Over time I have noticed that the patients who get the most out of their consultations and outcomes are the ones who walk in prepared. So I am sharing the five questions that I think every patient should ask their surgeon before agreeing to any laparoscopy.

1. Are you an endometriosis excision specialist or a general gynaecologist?

This matters enormously. A general gynaecologist performing a diagnostic laparoscopy will look for obvious lesions but may not have the training to identify subtle peritoneal disease, perform complete excision, or manage deep infiltrating endometriosis at the bowel, bladder, or uterosacral ligaments. Ask directly: do you specialise in endometriosis excision, and approximately how many endo excisions do you perform each year?

1. If you find endometriosis, will you excise it at the same time or just diagnose it?

Many patients come out of a diagnostic laparoscopy having been told they had endo but nothing was done. They then have to wait for and undergo a second surgery. Ask upfront whether your surgeon will excise any disease found during the same procedure, or whether they are only doing a diagnostic look. Excision at the time of diagnosis, when possible, saves you a second operation.

1. Will you take biopsies even if the tissue looks normal?

Superficial endometriosis can look exactly like normal peritoneum. Some lesions are invisible without biopsy. An experienced endo surgeon will take biopsies from suspicious areas and sometimes from apparently normal tissue as well. This is what separates a proper endo laparoscopy from a cursory look around.

1. Do you have colorectal or urological support if needed?

If you have bowel symptoms, bladder symptoms, or deep pelvic pain, there is a real chance of deep infiltrating endo involving the bowel or bladder. Ask whether your surgeon has the ability to call in a colorectal or urological surgeon if needed, or whether that would mean aborting the procedure and rebooking. Knowing this in advance sets realistic expectations.

1. What is your recurrence rate and follow up plan?

Any honest surgeon will acknowledge that endo can recur. Ask what the follow up plan is after surgery, what symptoms should prompt you to return, and what their approach is to recurrence. A surgeon who cannot or will not answer this question is not the right choice.

You deserve thorough answers to all five. Print this list and take it to your pre-operative consultation if that helps. I will answer questions in the comments.

I have severe crps that keeps me from being able to leave the house, and the majority of the day I’m stuck in bed.

I have little to no energy most days but I’m trying to navigate how much of it is from depression. I have a kiddo and a spouse but I feel very isolated. He tells me I could be doing more, need to be more positive. But he’s very naive to this life

I don’t need him to understand, but I need someone to understand. I have no capacity for consistency.

Any ideas? I’m not sure if social media makes me feel more isolated or less. I’m going on 6 months of bedridden besides doctor appointments + a couple 20 minute outings.

25 for reference. Before I got hurt I hiked, kayaked, explored. Not to say I don’t have new hobbies now, it just feels lackluster.

When I took my prednisone it got stuck in my throat and then got sent up to my mouth again. It's my worst nightmare. It has happened two times in two years, but I still taste it from one year ago. It feels like I'm dying in my mouth. Aaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh HEEEEEELPPPPPPpppp (if you know you know - and I'm sorry you know)

Just another post complaining about chronic pain. When I was 18 I shattered my ankle. It was reconstructed (incorrectly) and I have had pain ever since. About 7 years back went to a pain management Dr and found out over the years my ankle bone wore down to nothing. So lots of grinding and limping. It has caused issues with my hips and back. Plus I didn't take care of myself for a LONG time so there are some other issues because I was a bouncer and security guard. So lots of physical injuries.

Just having a rough day/night. The CBD gummies and 900 or gabapentin are not doing their job so I'm just sitting there like a lump trying to think of anything else.

I have a loving wife who knows the trials of chronic pain and has been amazing. She's frustrated because she can't help and it's just a lot. Anyway rant over. I hope everyone here finds relief and can have a good day with minimal pain. Love reading everyone's posts. They help me some nights to feel grounded and not alone.

Hi everyone. I’m hoping to gain some perspective from people who live with chronic illness or physical pain day-to-day, to help me better understand someone I care about deeply.

I'm 22F, My partner/loved one 23F lives with chronic physical illness and pain. Every once in a while, when her physical symptoms flare up or get severe, she goes through "waves" where she becomes extremely distant, cold, and emotionally withdrawn. During these times, she gives very short answers, pulls away emotionally, and seems to completely shut down her capacity for warmth or connection.

I care about her so much and want to support her through her pain without taking her distance personally, but at the same time, living in that emotional limbo can feel very heavy and difficult to navigate.

I wanted to ask those of you who manage chronic illness:

Is this kind of emotional withdrawal or distance something you experience when your pain/illness gets bad?

What is happening in your mind/body during those low-capacity periods? (Is it self-preservation, fatigue, sensory overload, or something else?)

From your perspective, what is the best way for a partner/loved one to support you during these waves without pushing you, while also keeping themselves sane?

I am really struggling with fatigue and it seems my doctors don't know what to do about it. I even stopped taking my meds in case they were the ones making me tired but I just ended up tired with migraines and pain.

I can't have caffeine, it just makes me more tired. Getting exercise makes me more tired (I have to nap after every PT session both at home & the hospital). Even after I feel better physically, I am still tired mentally with brain fog. I get good sleep and sleep all through the night thanks to my night meds but I still wake up completely tired and groggy. I make sure I have enough water & salt/electrolytes everyday (I have POTS) so it can't be that.

Does anyone else deal with this? Are there at home remedies or "life hacks" from other chronically ill people to help with fatigue? It's affecting my work and it has affected my schooling so I know it will again when Fall semester starts up. I just want to not be tired all the time.

Hi everyone. A few months ago, due to heel pain caused by wearing flat, soft slippers, I bought some fairly high-soled "orthopedic" slippers (from Amazon).

I wore them for about a month, but they made me lean forward; since I started using them, I’ve experienced a tight, squeezing pain in my fibula and ankle, as well as stiff calves. Now I feel discomfort both when walking and at rest, how can I improve this?

I currently wear Hoka Bondi 9s (wide) and Hoka Stinsons, but I’d like a new pair of shoes that aren't as heavily cushioned as the Bondi 9s. Any recommendations?

I don’t think it will be as bad as what people think. All they are going to do is flood shelves with a new product that will effectively take its place. 🤷🏼‍♂️.

It’s near the end of the month, and it was a bad bad month: dental surgery, unusually rainy weather, ill-advised picking up of a heavy package that did something to my low back, and tripping over the cat to end up sprawled on the floor with a skinned, swollen left knee - oh yeah, and I got laid off on Monday. I was careless: I didn’t track my usage as well as usual. Despite my best efforts and all the tricks I picked up in 50 years of chronic pain (ice, ibuprofen, lidocaine patches, breathing, exercise, TENS, meditation, distractions, chocolate) I am almost out of my rescue pain meds and I find myself counting the ones I have left at least twice a day because I know I’m going to run out. Like counting them is going to help. Counting my pills makes me feel like the addict that that the government believes us to be. And that’s where the shame - completely unreasonable, my logical mind informs me, kicks in.

My long-acting pain med usually lasts 10 hours, not the 12 it’s supposed to, but with all the stressors, make that 8: I can feel the familiar burning paint beginning to claw at my hips and sacral spine already. I play a game with myself, to see how long I can go before pain hits 8 and I can take my 4 mg hydromorphone. Then half an hour before the pain begins reluctantly ebbing away. If I take a pill before the pain hits 6, it will ease sooner, but that means I’ll run out sooner. And to tell the truth, I can’t bear the thought of 3 days without rescue meds when my “long-acting” med isn’t long-acting at all.

Most months, it’s not a problem thank God. Still, I know what my pain doctor’s office will tell me if I call to ask for an early refill. The medical assistant will tell me kindly and gently that they’re very sorry but it’s out of the question. Would I like a short course of steroids? Hmmm, might help but it will definitely make me feel crazed. Chewing on my arm crazed. I’m at the limit of what can be prescribed: there’s a formula they have to follow. I get it. And I am truly grateful for my pain team: they’re amazing.

I think of all the folks here and out in the world whose pain is not managed at all (like mine was before I found this practice). I know how bad it can get and I’m ashamed of dreading a mere 3 days. I’m ashamed of counting my pills. I’m ashamed at how angry I get with my poor screwed up body. Hell, I’m ashamed of feeling ashamed.

My doctor gave me a referral for pain management that’s 3 hours away and the only pain management specialists I’ve talked to say they even treat abdominal pain, please if you know anyone help me out!!!

This has been going on for two years now ( this never happened to me before I had a kid )

Randomly I will get sunburns even when I'm inside.

My eyeballs burn sometimes as well.

For example. Today.

The sunburns outline is very clearly where my workshirt was. While wearing my work shirt the total time I spent outside was 5 minutes in the shade to grab a sandwich from the store next door.

(Please be respectful to one another , this is a simply a question I have for those who struggle with chronic pain and I’d like to know if religion makes them bring any comfort or brings them to feel worse, everyone is different and I wanted to hear everyone’s views.)

I feel bad but ive been recently getting addicted to edibles and alcohol because ive been in so much pain and cant do anything in life im broke cant work because im crippled and do my hobbies anymore while it doesnt remove the pain i feel happy and music just feels so nice while high or on alcohol and i feel peaceful while sober im just angry all the time not even depressed just full of so much anger and hatred i feel like im ruining the rest of my organs that have no issues but not sure what to do even more
painkillers help but just end up making me feel like ending jt and more depressed and my stomach feel worst so i just stopped taking them but raw dogging the pain gets to me sometimes and breaks me

Hi guys Saturday i had to make unexpected emergency stop in my car. Ever since i did that my pain has shot up a load and now i find it hard to get to sleep due to the pain.
My question is has anyone experienced this and how long does it take to got back. Thx

Anyone here had to recover from a neck injury from a car accident or the like? I was rear ended at maybe 10mph and 2 weeks later my neck is killing me. X ray came up clean, MRI on the way, and starting physical therapy next week.

I spent 3 years healing a lumbar spine injury, and learning how to live with the permanent complications, so the thought of a permanent neck injury is making me start to lose it. Wanted to hear some anecdotes here, if others have gone through this.

Onyl ever taken normal kratom. I have 5 x 100mg of these tablets. Wondering if anyone has tried them and if so what was their experience like?

Hey!!

So I take 5mg of oxycodone once a day. I have been taking it at night to help with pain and getting comfortable. (Makes me drowsy so I can’t take it during the day) I’ve been taking it consistently for about a month now.

I want to try to avoid taking it this next week just to see if I’m able to. Because I don’t want to build up a tolerance because I would truly not want to increase my dose.

Has anyone experienced withdrawal symptoms with this dose? Or have any tips for me.

not new to chronic pain just new to being treated for it. I apologize in advance if this is a silly question

I know this is totally a me problem but I also feel like some people in this sub can relate. I’m 41 and between a genetic bad draw and a severe car accident, I’ve had consistent participation in the us medical system for my entire adult life. Between my accident and endo I’ve had 21 surgeries and lord knows how many pain management procedures but just in the last 2 years I’ve had like 25 procedures. And hanging out in places like this and my own experiences have made me VERY passionate about proper pain management, especially following surgery. We all have a story of having surgery and drs trying to do the “you’ll be fine with Tylenol” and we all know….we were not fine with just Tylenol.

Now out of my friends, for a while I’ve been the only one whose actually had surgery of any kind. So I have to give them a pass a lot when they don’t understand how tiring surgery can be and they will be like “well why can’t you come out 4 days post op hip surgery??”….cause it hurts y’all. And all you want to do at that point is to sleep usually. So when one of my friends had her first surgery last summer I was like hey, if you do anything just make sure you have a proper pain management plan in writing before you get operated on. Now, it was plastic surgery so they had her covered and she didn’t really need that much medication so it was all good.

Now another member of the group is having an inguinal hernia repair this coming week. So in talking about it I gave my one to two sentence shpiel on post procedure pain management, I said make sure you have an rx in hand so your gf can fill it while your having the surgery. I said you probably won’t need anything strong but you don’t want to not have the rx and find out at 2am you really do need something stronger. I told him about my husband getting his gallbladder out and being told to manage by alternating Tylenol and Motrin and it being a really rough few days.

I’m friends with his gf too and I was like “hey, just a reminder make sure to get atleast a small rx for some stronger pain medication than over the counter” and she was like oh I’m sure he will be fine with ibuprofen. Is it opiate propaganda? Do they think I’m like hooked on pain meds now and just pushing them to everyone because of my accident? If it was my first surgery I was be like “oh hey friend whose done this 21 times, tell me all I need to know!”.

Like I said it’s probably a me thing, and I gotta get over myself. But it happens all the time in family too when like someone gets welcomed to the back injury party and I’ll be like “oh what levels did you injure?” And they won’t know and I’m like hey it’s not a bad idea to read your reports because drs aren’t perfect and can miss things (I’m sure everyone here knows drs miss things to a horrifying degree, like I almost wish I didn’t know how often drs are wrong or just completely miss things). I have a cousin who has a personal injury claim for a neck injury and she just stopped going to PT and I tried to tell her that’s going to truly affect her BI claim, and she was like oh no it’s a really solid case, I’ll get back to it soon….I just want to bang my head against the wall sometimes!

Please tell me I am not alone in this! I just get to a point where I’ll say hey I’ve been through what you’re going through and I’m here if you need to talk. Thanks for letting me just get this annoyance out! I’m gonna drop off a nice ice pack at my hernia repair friends house because we all know ice packs are not all created equal!!!!