Sounds like we have the same spine and shoulders. I've got spinal stenosis and had herniations in my neck that needed 2 surgeries to fuse me from C3 to C7 (my neck basically doesn't bend backwards anymore) and I still have a herniation or two in my lumbar spine. My shoulders are basically toast - I've had three surgeries for torn rotator cuffs, and they are both all torn up again, because the arthritis (bone spurs) in them is so bad, it chews up all the soft tissue. I used to get trigger point, facet point, all of those injections at a pain management clinic, but the ones with the local anesthetic like lidocaine wore off so quickly and really didn't do all that much good, and the steroid ones made me deathly ill - my body does not tolerate steroids in any form, apparently (which I have since heard is not uncommon for people with fibro.) So I have avoided going back for anymore of that brand of torture. I have thought about trying a TENS unit - I know some people who have used them and loved them. I don't know how you manage without your pain medication.... I seriously doubt I'd ever get out of bed without mine, really. I'd be totally crippled with the pain. I don't even like to think about it. Not to mention the fact that I'd never get one bit of sleep. Can't your doctor get you referred to the programs where you can get the meds for free from the RX companies? My brother did that, and another friend of mine does, too. Want me to look into it for you?
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