Any Decent Pain Groups?

Been in the pain system for a long time in this area as well as having been a patient to my GP and Osteopath for many years. The main problem with most pain Dr.s is that they are one-trick-ponies. They will try upping my existing meds then what ever their favorite therapy is; epidurals, implant, target injections, etc, etc, etc.... and when I don't jump up and get "well" they get dejected and pawn me off on their PA who usually "doses" me and I end-up sick.
Not getting what I need is usually the opposite of my problem.
This has happened to me, in one form or another, three times so far.
Right now, I am with one who has pawned me off, but is still starting to get a bit frustrated.
However, he is staying with me and I think he is willing to stay the course and take-up the challenge.
The problem, as described to me by my regular Dr.s, is that they are not trained to deal with more than one issue. A pinched nerve, arthritis, one spinal issue... that is what they deal with day-in-&-day-out and what their training was really centered on.
People like me are usually terminal patients and just jacked-up on morphine (which is what I keep trying to keep them from doing)... finding that balance of reasonable pain management and what I am just going to have to live with is really their job. It is a lot of work, not just a visit every three months. It has been a growing experience for him and I have learned more patience with the medical community through this.

[WabUfvot5]

Have you tried any combinations yet? High levels of anything (THC, morphine, fentanyl, etc) will always have consequences but if a small amount of something takes the edge off that might allow another drug to work better. One of my favorite past times while on pain meds was to eat hot chilies. They didn't burn near as much yet still boosted endorphins (making me feel slightly better). Hot chilies aren't a magick cure of course but it should illustrate my point.

It really sucks that you have to be on meds for any reason and I wish it were as easy as saying meditate and and eat hot chilies.

I do eat a lot of capsicum, it does help with my arthritis, as well as the vinegar in the hot sauce helping also (with the Ph thing). Mostly, however, just because I was raised in the South and this illness gives me an excuse to eat more peppers and sauce.
You must have missed the pot discussion earlier.

Edit~ The shot of apple cider vinegar a day does actually work for stomach issues and with swelling and arthritis, believe it or not.
Not a cure like the Enquirer and Sun touted in the check-out-line, but a noticeable difference.

[WabUfvot5]

I can't speak for arthritis but vinegar did help some stomach issues I used to have too.

It's all a balancing act. How much of how many things can you do while living the best you can.

Just to clarify is it all opiates that give you trouble? Different kinds (codeine vs morphine for instance) use different parts of the plant. it's probably the case the whole group gives you fits but it's not always that way. Opiates are sort of a problem because they work so good. Standard procedure is to just give more and as a result other options / alternatives don't get explored like they should :-/

I do take one opiate, but it is pretty far down from the organic and I can't take it after six or so, or I won't be able to sleep. I have taken more kinds than I like to think about.

Getting a cottle epidural tomorrow (through the tail-bone because I have almost no epidural space)... I Hate them... but not as bad as I feel now.
Still, don't like getting put under and sucks having to have them, the long-term effects, well, they suck.
Think happy thoughts for me, please.
The next few days will be rough, it takes a while for the meds to dissipate and I experience "discomfort" as it compresses my spinal cord.
Edit... after that I should feel better for a while, as long as the weather behaves. Been sucky lately, however, the forecast is good, so I'm getting this for my son's third birthday.

[WabUfvot5]

*sends happy thoughts*

[Tse Moana]

*Sends good and happy thoughts to rkz*

Thanks... bout' that time. See ya'.

[limey]

More happy thoughts on their way to you ...

[Ridgeplate]

Apologies for the length of this reply...

Have you tried NLP? (Neuro Linguistic Programming) Quite a few people use it for commercial/corporate purposes, i.e. sales training, interpersonal skills, blah-blah-blah. It has another use, however. It can be used for pain and stress management. Now before you think this is just some kind of commercial...
A short story: I have degenerative arthritis in my spine which, with repeated injuries, caused me to blow out two disks. One merely herniated, while the other ruptured and took a piece of my spine with it. A bone shard the size of a pencil lead was pushed into my sciatic nerve which in turn lit me up like a Christmas tree. I had pain that would give me tunnel vision, knock me out and then wake me back up again, weeping like a damned baby. In addition, I have an unnaturally strong resistance to toxins which unfortunately means that things like pain killers, alcohol, and (gack!) even weed, tend to have dramatically lowered effects on me. (to all those who are about to tell me "you just haven't had good weed" please be aware that Yes Goddamit!, I have! It just doesn't work.) Now, because of all this, I was overdosing on 800mg Vicadin and chasing the OD's with three finger screwdrivers, and this would give me maybe 20 minutes of relief. In fact, I gave myself chemical hepatitis and had to detox so I could have surgery. Doc said I would have killed myself in pretty short order at the rate I was going.
The point of this rambling sob story is that most of the time, I had to grit my teeth deal with it, for months on end. Subsequently, I tried any number of ways to get the pain under control. I ended up using some meditative breathing techniques that, I found out later, appear to fall under the category of NLP. It helped. To be frank, I'm still never without some degree of pain, I just process it better these days.

Disclaimer! - I am NOT selling this. Nor am I specifically endorsing any form of commercial NLP techniques as most of it is promoted as corporate Ra-Ra bullshit. NLP is, as far as I'm concerned a *category* of pain management that has been useful for some. It's worth checking into even if it only manages to point you in the direction of something that helps.

rkzenrage, I feel for you, I really do. I wont offer sympathy, as I know how sour that is when you're going through this kind of stuff, but I will offer you all my best. I'll be rooting for you.

[wolf]

ymmv

[Trilby]

It's a caudal epi. Not cottle. Just FYI

[Elspode]

Happy thoughts, RZK. You'll find they're still coming your way when you come to and read this.

Thanks Brianna... it went pretty well, though, as you would suspect, my tail is very sore after having a large needle shoved through the tail-bone. It takes a few days for it to be easy to sit.
Thanks for the heads-up Ridge, had a double-lamectamy (sp?) down there, then had to have my sciatic partially reconstructed. Both discs ruptured, part of the surgery never really healed due to my osteoporosis and other issues. Without the stimulator implant I would not be able to walk at all, even with a cane short distances.
I have practiced Yoga and meditation for over twenty years, it is a large part of my pain management system.