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Hello, I'm (ignore the screen name).

About 10 years ago I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease. About a year

ago, after nearly 2 years of pain, I was diagnosed with an hemangioma

in my spine and had kyphoplasty surgery. The back pain was relieved

almost instantaneously.

In the past year I have developed horrible pain in two different parts

of my back. Though I have had follow up MRI's, no additional

hemangiomas have been discovered. In the meantime, I have a fairly

sympathetic doctor who is trying to manage my pain through medication.

All testing (sed rates, blood pressure, etc.) show signs of pain.

To complicate matters, I have both a very high tolerance for pain and

unfortunately a correspondingly high tolerance for pain medication.

Most narcotics are barely more effective than Tylenol.

To FURTHER complicate things, because of Crohn's, there are

medications that I cannot even take, and I am on a vast amount of meds

related to that illness. Which means drug interractions are a concern.

I am married to an understanding and sympathetic man (I know how lucky

I am, yes), and I have two fairly young children. They try to be as

sympathetic as a 6 year old and a 3 1/2 year old can be.

Unfortunately, my pain is getting worse. I've been to the ER once

this week, and I already feel overwhelmed again, and rather hopeless

about aleviating my pain. The morphine barely touches it, let alone

the percocet. I have allergic reactions to certain narcotics, so I am

somewhat limited in what I can take at home. Even the Demerol took 4

doses before I was out of pain enough for my blood pressure to drop

down to even close to normal (and that was necessary for them to

release me from the ER).

I am frustrated, I am hurting, I am barely able to function. I have

no choice in the matter, unfortunately, as I have kids, work and

household tasks that simply HAVE to get done.

The doctors are unable to determine the cause of my pain. They've run

numerous tests. Everything comes back as either " normal " or with

results indicative of being in pain and having inflammation (which may

be a symptom of active crohn's, but may also be related to the back pain).

I have a TENS unit, which I use regularly. It does help, but only

WHILE I am using it. I have lidocaine patches and creams which do

absolutely nothing. I am depressed and irritable. I take an

anti-depressant and an anti-anxiety, but my depression and anxiousness

really aren't chemical. I have reasons to be anxious and depressed!

So, there's my story. Thanks for listening.

in land