Chronic Pain

[Jarre]

It also costs alot of money to do the surgery with all the aftercare and especially in the old county i lived in the risk outwayed the reward both financially and medically and surgery is the very last resort. I am currently balanced with the pain meds I am on (Tramadol & amytriptyline which is also a anti depressent) I do physio exercises every day and I have adjusted my life style to get by. Yes its cost me alot of money with getting a special memory foam mattress, High abck computer chair (though at work they did make sure I had a chair that would be ok for me) I don't lift heavy items if I can avoid it, I plan things like cleaning tidying etc to spread it over a time period to try and not overdoo it and be out of action in alot of pain the next few days (easier said then done) I am t-total, currently trying to loose a little weight to take some strain off my joints (again easier said then done) it effects sex pain spikes during can make you impotent, its something I have had to learn my limits etc. to live with. Chronic pain suffers always have to make sacrifices to carry on with as much a normal life as we can have. If was ever to get the surgery theres a 40% risk I could be paralyzed by it, I would have to wear a corset for 6 months and I would never be able to bend over I would have to learn to do things differently.

[magie06]

I've had two surgeries on my back, with another not far off. The surgeon in Galway refused to do it because he was going to just fuse the vertebrae together, and I was too young. When my gp referred me to a surgeon in Dublin, he agreed to do the surgery because he placed a plastic 'spring' between the bones and it has given me a lot of relief. I'm 46 and my surgeon said that it would give me relief for about 10 years. Unfortunately, the problem has been going up my back since, and I'll soon have to have more surgery, but I'm hoping that it won't be for a while. It takes a lot to get over back surgery!