Gimps, how do you deal?

[WeAintFoundShit]

So most of y'all know that I've got a messed up ankle from a crash. It's not the worst thing that could ever happen to a guy, but it hurts 24/7/365 from when I wake up, to when I go to bed. I can't ever get comfortable coz I'm always shifting around, unconsciously searching for a position where it won't bug me, and there isn't one.

So the question I pose to y'all other gimps is, what do you do to deal with shit that just fucking hurts all the time? I know there are way more messed up dudes than me on the board, so let's hear it:

What's your "pain management" technique?

[motorpsycho67]

Go see the doctor and ask him why it still hurts.


And stay off it.


As for me, my left elbow that I shattered in April '08 still hurts ocassionally. Nerve damage can take a few years to heal.

[Shhted]

I had a pal that was cursed with constant back pain. Through surgeries and all of his PT he was wrecked. He finally went to a pain clinic and they got him to a point of tolerance. It was a mix of meds and alternative medicine. I'd say seek out pro help.

[tumbler]

i'm not sure about healing nerves. but anyway..



Pain sucks. my right hand hurts everytime i grab something. riding without one of those "cramp buster" things is very very painful. I just try to keep it in constant thought not to tweak my hand, or wrist in any way.

my left wrist (the one with the hardware) hurts when i type a lot. but its really not that bad. not as bad as my right hand.

[WeAintFoundShit]

Go see the doctor and ask him why it still hurts.


And stay off it.


As for me, my left elbow that I shattered in April '08 still hurts ocassionally. Nerve damage can take a few years to heal.

I've been off it for a looooong time. (I used to run around 10 or so miles a week, at least. Now I've run about 5 miles in the past 20 months.)

I went to the Dr. today, actually. Long story short, I stopped believing the first podiatrist, and while I've got definite (clinically verified) nerve pain, I've also got other pain that doesn't seem to match up with the nerve pain. Therefore, I went to another podiatrist (now that I've got insurance).

She was much more thorough, and told me that I've still got problems in my tendons, and have pronation in the ankle which puts extra strain on the part that was injured inside the joint itself. This, in turn, keeps that part from healing.

The outcome is that she shot my foot full of cortisone (always a treat) and is going to make me some orthotics to try and correct the pronation/take the pressure off the injury.

In the meantime, it just brought up the question at hand.
I've been dealing with this crap since April '08, and it's annoying to say the very least. Knowing that many of you have gotten way more splattered than me, I kinda just got curious as to how y'all dealt with it.

Put up and shut up?
Whiskey and vicodin for dinner?
Tantric meditation clinics?
Spirit journeys to the Patagonian highlands?
Island voodoo from Tonga?

[Ames]

If you're pronating ask your doc about pediatric inserts for your shoes. I used to have to wear these while running to help me avoid some rather severe foot pain (sole of the foot up through the ankle type stuff). Start a routine to help stretch your tendons and get the elasticity back, low impact yoga type stuff. And, if you really need to work out, how's your swimming?
Sorry to hear about the pain and I hope this helps.

[WeAintFoundShit]

Oh, and Tumbler, that might have been a pain in the ass to have both wings in a sling, but it automatically makes a person look bad ass.

I would want to go around whacking stuff and blocking punches if I had two casts like that (if it weren't for the fact that it would hurt a lot).

[guitargeek]

I've been known to smoke a little marijuana from time to time. It helps...

[piccini9]

Put up and shut up?
Whiskey and vicodin for dinner?
Tantric meditation clinics?
Spirit journeys to the Patagonian highlands?
Island voodoo from Tonga?

Yes.

[Rabbit_Fighter]

I can't straighten my right arm and it hurts 24/7, though not that bad. More painful than trying to straighten my arm, is trying to bend it. Holding a phone to my ear is really painful, so don't be offended if I try to keep things to the point (or I could just learn to hold a phone with my left hand).

On the bad days, I drink whiskey.

I drink whiskey on the good days too

[GeekGrl]

Shhted said it right: seek a pro; which it seems you just had the ability to do. Actually do her suggestions and give them some time to work - even if you now have the right course of action, it won't correct itself overnight.

But as for the question of "what to do if it really doesn't go away" ... drink, adjust, enjoy life just to spite it ... and sometimes yeah - just grit your teeth and deal.

Massage therapy can be helpful, but you need to seek out someone who specializes in rehab massage (not just the cute chick!) ... swimming (as Ames alluded to) can also be good for managing pain and targeting areas for rehabilitation.

Very glad to read that you've finally seen someone who has some concrete actions to take to deal with the injury/residual pain ... keep us posted on your progress and may it be very good indeed!

[/url]

[rc26]

Smoke weed, with a prescription from your doctor of course.

[Metalredneck]

Shoulder fuckage still haunts me. Good days I can do karate with my brace on. Bad days I can't wipe my ass with my right hand. ALL days contain Advil, some days Tylenol as well, most days alcohol.

The reason I put up with it for now is that, while some days suck; until they ALL suck, I don't wanna go back under the knife. The next surgery involves stealing some bone from my hip & grafting it into my shoulder socket.
I can wait.
For now.

[Shhted]

I've been known to smoke a little marijuana from time to time. It helps...

Legalize it already. I'd rather toke than pill pop.

[Jaeger]

Once you've given up on western medicine, give acupuncture a try. Make sure to find someone really good, and give it several sessions. No guarantee, but it's worked for me and members of my family.



--Jaeger

[Korpen]

In some ways, depending on how reparable the injury is, you almost get used to it after a time. Take what you can of what the podiatrist said, try to fix it as much as possible. My hip probs are par for the course - it just becomes one of those things you react to with 'ah there it is again...'

[motorpsycho67]

i'm not sure about healing nerves. but anyway..

This bit of info was from my aunt who managed a doctor's office for 25+ years.



Oh, and Rabbit..... speakerphone broham. The only way to go.

[Davros]

Man, I guess I'm very, very lucky in that regard.
My hardware never really bothers me. I don't have pain, at least not in day to day life, every once in a while I get a bit of an ache, but not regularly. I do not quite have the range of motion I did before it, but it's also nothing that causes problems.

[12ci]

kids.
just wait 'til you're my age. parts of your body start getting weird even without injury.

i certainly don't quailfy for the gimp club but i have arthritis in my right hand (a constant reminder from when it was slammed in a door some years ago). like all of you, some days are better than others.

i had a dream t'other night that my tinnitus went away. the lack of ringing in my ears was so strange that it woke me up...and my ears started ringing again.....


@ metalredneck: watch that tylenol and alcohol combo: it'll wreck your kidneys, and can be fatal at fairly low doses.

[erosvamp]

Two words...

Hot Yoga.

[Bo_9]

A friend of mine with a damaged back swears by acupuncture, does it whenever the pain comes back and is good.
Since I exploded my knee years ago and am missing a good amound of cartilage I eat some Glucosamin/Chondroiton/MSM and it does seem to help with the arthritis/joint pain. As in if I stop taking it for a week there is more pain.
If it is nerve pain there isn't much you can do. They damaged a nerve doing my knee that made my shin and top of foot completely numb, no feeling. Was great for kickboxing, not so much now that it has started to come back six years later. Tingling and sharp pain all the time, but like Joe, it's just normal now. Never tried accupuncture for it, but would if it were worse.

[tumbler]

i'm not sure about healing nerves. but anyway..

This bit of info was from my aunt who managed a doctor's office for 25+ years.

Nerves dont really heal, unless they have been reconnected so to speak, even then they barely ever heal correctly. Doctor's office manager is a bit different than a doctor's office.. doctor..
You might be talking about the shielding fatty tissue that surrounds nerves. If the shielding (much like an electrical cable has shielding) gets damaged, exposing the nerve, it can cause pain. The myelin (shielding) can regenerate, and can alleviate the pain caused by the damage to it.
This is what those guys in the white coats tell me anyway. My thumb is still fucked up from my wrist surgery. neuropathy suucks.

this is what i found on the internets.

Nerves in the arm and hand are extensions from the spinal cord. Each nerve contains millions of tiny fibers called axons. These microscopic structures are the "wiring" of the nervous system. When a nerve is cut, the axons that are on the side towards the hand and away from the spinal cord are no longer connected to the central nervous system. These axons degenerate and leave behind only the hollow tube in which they used to travel. After a nerve is repaired, the axons have to grow down these tiny hollow tubes to reestablish function. Of the millions of axons injured, not all are able to regenerate successfully. The axons that do regenerate will generally not travel down exactly the same path that they once took. For this reason, recovery after nerve repair is not perfect and depends upon many variables.

The most important part of nerve regeneration to emphasize is the difference from repairing electrical wiring. In other words, after nerve repair the connection is not immediately established. Regenerating axons grow at an average rate of one inch per month. With this information, you can predict the length of time required after nerve repair to regain function. A nerve repair at the wrist takes five or six months to recover sensation in the fingertips.

[motorpsycho67]

Nerves dont really heal, unless they have been reconnected so to speak, even then they barely ever heal correctly. Doctor's office manager is a bit different than a doctor's office.. doctor..

Oh I know, but she's a super smart lady and no doubt has picked up some useful info in 25 years.

You might be talking about the shielding fatty tissue that surrounds nerves. If the shielding (much like an electrical cable has shielding) gets damaged, exposing the nerve, it can cause pain. The myelin (shielding) can regenerate, and can alleviate the pain caused by the damage to it.

That could be, she didn't elaborate. She might've meant nerve related and not nerve specific.

[Jonny]

WAFS, a great question that will give you a bazigillion different answers/ opinions, some helpful, some not at all.

Shit, I was going to type an essay on this but instead I'll keep it short(ish). I think that most importantly you need to find what works for you, because as every person is different and so is every injury. Listen to health professionals, but don't be shy to ask for 2nd, 3rd, or even 4th opinions if you are not seeing improvement.

My rehab sent me to hydrotherapy, which helped me move from being a limping, leg-dragging freak to being able to consider light exercise. Hyrdo can be great. As pain persisted I was sent to this specialist and that. I only made the next step in improvement once I was encouraged to think holistically, instead of seeing practitioners that would only look at the point of injury/pain.

While an injury immediately affects one particular part of the body, soon after the rest of the body tries to compensate for the struggling part(s). An injury to a specific part can put everything out of kilter, which is why holistic thinking is important. The whole body is involved in the injury.

I ended up taking classes in the Alexander Technique, and that experience basically brought me out of 24 hour pain that I had dealt with for about 8 years.

Like I said, you will get lots of advice. Some may work for you and some may be counter-productive. Try some different ideas (acupuncture, whatnot), see them through for a while and find out if it helps. From my experience I can't recommend the Alexander Technique highly enough. Lessons can be pricey, but I suggest reading the book "Body Learning" by Michael Gelb as a very well written introduction. It's a great start, but then lessons with a good teacher will reap amazing results.

Two other points:

*As best (and as low impact) as you can try to stretch lightly and maintain flexibility.

*Try to stay away from alcohol, as it slows down your body's natural healing/recovery process.



That was basically an essay, right? Sorry...


Good luck, man. Hope you find the pot of pain-free at the end of the rainbow.

[Dirtbag]

Back in 92 my left foot got crushed. Lots of nerve damage and fun shit like pins.My Doc told me'' not much we can do except give you pain killers the rest of your life''. I told him I did'nt want to be a zomby the rest of my life and he could keep the pain killers. He also told me my right nee and hip would start to give me problims down the road. He was right about that shit!
I still dont take moor than asprin when it gets bad.Over the years I've developed a high tolorance to pain. "A day with out pain is like a day with out sunshine!" Just kidding,check with your Doc then get an other opinion. Medical stuff has come a long way . Try to stay off the hevey pain killers as long as ya can. Good luck hope ya find something to help ya cope and just rember your not alone. Hole lot of us Gimps out here!!

[goose]

when you find the answer, pm me. I am trying accupuncture on monday and hot (Bikram) yoga as soon as i have the arm strength to support my weight. In the meantime, just know that i empathize with your plight.

[MATPOC]

I have not got much to add since most of the stuff been covered, but in short I have broken both of my ankles about 10 years ago in separate accidents about a year apart. One had to have some hardware added and surgeon told me that even if he repairs the joint I will have a limp for the rest of my life (I had to convince him NOT to fuse it)

I quit my wrenching job cause pain was more than I could take while not taking any pills. I learned how to live with it, career change helped quite a bit and after couple years I did not even limp!

Few years back I started going to the chiropractic (badly broken ribs fucked something up in my back) he recommended glucosamine chondroitin and Omega3 (fish oil) and while my back pain still the same after about 6 month my ankles got waaay better, almost zero pain.

After my son was born things got crazy and for almost a year now I have not taken any Glucosamine pills and that fucking ankle pain is back! Every time I go to the store I tell myself "remember to pick up the joint medicine" and then forget, guess I should pick up some memory suppliment while I'm there...

[sun rat]

i don't have anything nearly as bad as others here. but i pay a lot of attention to what i wear concerning the weather. if i get chilled everything starts hurting, so i have a tendency to wear a little more, clothing wise, than most folks around me. i have even made myself wool fingerless gloves to wear in class if the rooms are too cold.

once i get chilled the wrist (1993, rollerskating), shoulder (2007, germany), knees (1978, skateboard), and back (2000, truck) start hurting and don't stop until a long HOT bath is applied.

normal for me is to have a dull lower backache that flies just under the radar. i only know it's there, because of its absence after applying medication for something else, like a headache. but i can live like this.

[deaconblooz]

I agree with many of the others who posed...if it is hurting that much you need to look for help. I've had one surgery to cobble my arm together...then a second to clean it up after the bone had a necrosis (it died). It does not have chronic pain. My wife has had knee surgeries and she has had unending pain.

Chronic pain is awful...it is not an easy riddle to solve, but a good pain doctor can help immensely.

[FastCat]

Obviously, there is no "one size fits all" solution.

My biggest "chronic pain" problem is casued by a "degenerative condition" of my lower back. I have also had various broken bones in the past and very intermittent/occasional migraine headaches.

I have had very good results from acupuncture and Chinese medicine.

I also find breath-exercises and meditation to be helpful.

On the worst days though, sometimes opiates are a blessing - I have to be very wary of this solution, but sometimes pain-killers really are the best way to deal with it.