terrible leg & feet pains any suggestions??

[nanniejulie]

i had an accident in 1995 causing paralysis in my lower body. after 6 years i finally had an operation that allowed me to walk again but still suffer terrible back pains. for the last 8 months i have developed unbearable pains in my legs & feet which my GP has treated with pain killers to maximum level i can have without going into hospital. the pains are like balls of fire that come on suddenly without pattern although they are worst when i am sitting/laying down. nights are horrendous and i could scream at the pain. Sometimes i wish i had never had the operation..at least i wouldn't feel this pain. GP now thinks its not related to back injury and has tried stopping statin, beta blockers, iron tabs and all sorts of pain killers but nothing helps I am getting desperate now...i also suffer from depression and this is not helping..i just dont know what to do...any suggestions would be appreciated.

[pinknosedcat]

Have you had a look at your posture? Also what about your mattress? How old is it? Re your posture, as you've had a severe injury what about trying Alexander Technique. I would think you would benefit from one to one rather than a class becasue of your individual requirements. The trouble with these kinds of pain is that because they are so hard to diagnose the only thing you are left with is developing ways to keep them at bay and make it manageable. But don't despair there is a lot you can do to help. I think also some relaxation techniques would help you...meditation/tai chi/chi kung/mindfulness. Stress has a massive affect on your pain perception so try to keep your jaw and tongue relaxed (unless you're using them :-)) . And then I guess the last thing is pacing, you need to pace yourself so that you don't over do it, the body can only cope with so much. Be kind to yourself and don't do anything that causes you any strain. Do what you can but no more. Don't worry about being depressed, it's a common side effect of being in chronic pain, are you not on anti-depressents? What abut a pain clinic referral? Get on to your GP about anti-depressents and a Pain Clinic. There are anti-depressents that work well for chronic pain so don't despair. If your GP doesn't have much experience with chronic pain change to one that does. I hope this is of some help to you and please feel free to use this site to unload anything you need...we all understand what it's like look after yourself and don't give up. We are always here for you. Good luck.

[johnsmith]

There is depression and depression. Depression can come about because the brain is working to hard and it shuts down because it needs a rest. Trying to control pain is very hard work and can lead to brain shutdown (depression).

NICE has chiropractic treatment as a recommended treatment for some conditions. Get your GP to look this up. McTimony Chiropractic Can be very helpful if you pain is being caused by muscles in spasm. You can only detect this by using your hands. Treatment is some form of massage to release the spasm. Exercise does not always help for over contracted muscles.

Alexander Technique could help. But will not work by itself. You need a number of different treatments working together at the same time. CHiropractic. Massage and Alexander Technique.

Hope this helps