Question for all would be doctors, for my mother.

[Mark Vader]

Hello all, my poor mom has been in constant pain for going on nearly a year now.

 

She has pain on her right & left sides. She has seen her regular doctor, she's been to the emergency room, and she's seen a specialist.

Through it all, X-Rays, MRI's etc. The doctors can find NOTHING to diagnose.

 

My mom is in her 70's and has type 2 diabetes, and I believe she has hypertension as well.

 

My mom suspects that it's nerve pain, and absolutely nothing works to help her with her pain. She says it feels like there are thorns sticking in her sides.

 

The doctors did prescribe a certain pain killer for her to take, but it is filled with numerous potential side effects, and my mom doesn't want to take them.

Does anyone have any suggestions on what this condition could be, if it sounds familiar to anyone?

My mom cannot take ibuprofen either. 

Feel free to comment with anything. I'm tired of seeing in my mom in constant pain and nobody who is willing to help her. Thank you!

[ExiledInIllinois]

Just a thought... Did she get tested for MS?

 

https://www.webmd.com/multiple-sclerosis/manage-ms-pain

 

So sorry... Hope she can find an answer!

[Irv]

Lyme disease?

[Wacka]

Mark is in CA. There is very very little or no lyme disease there

[Mark Vader]

2 hours ago, ExiledInIllinois said:

Just a thought... Did she get tested for MS?

 

https://www.webmd.com/multiple-sclerosis/manage-ms-pain

 

So sorry... Hope she can find an answer!

Thank you.

 

My understanding is that they did numerous tests, including biopsies, and they could find nothing wrong.

[ProcessImproverMan]

Gall bladder pain perhaps? If it's abdominal pain on the right and left it can be...

[Doc]

Did they prescribe Lyrica?

[Augie]

Sorry to hear you are all  dealing with this. What did the Doc prescribe? My mother was given gabapentin for sciatica type nerve pain and it did seem to help. 

Edited February 10 by Augie

[Greybeard]

  Years ago, a friend had a brother who complained about pain in his knee.  It turned out to be a tumor in his brain.

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

17 hours ago, Mark Vader said:

Hello all, my poor mom has been in constant pain for going on nearly a year now.

 

She has pain on her right & left sides. She has seen her regular doctor, she's been to the emergency room, and she's seen a specialist.

Through it all, X-Rays, MRI's etc. The doctors can find NOTHING to diagnose.

 

My mom is in her 70's and has type 2 diabetes, and I believe she has hypertension as well.

 

My mom suspects that it's nerve pain, and absolutely nothing works to help her with her pain. She says it feels like there are thorns sticking in her sides.

 

The doctors did prescribe a certain pain killer for her to take, but it is filled with numerous potential side effects, and my mom doesn't want to take them.

Does anyone have any suggestions on what this condition could be, if it sounds familiar to anyone?

My mom cannot take ibuprofen either. 

Feel free to comment with anything. I'm tired of seeing in my mom in constant pain and nobody who is willing to help her. Thank you!

I am no doctor, but I am one of those guys that constantly googles every ache and pain I get and thinks he is a doctor! 

 

i am wondering if it is just bad neuropathy from the diabetes. That strikes me as the most plausible explanation.

 

The other thought is sciatica. Does she have back issues at all? 

[Mr Info]

Sorry to hear what you are going through with your mother and hope she & you can find the underlying cause. I am dealing remotely with diagnosing medical issues with my mother.

I will suggest she address the two medical issues you note though uncertain if these will lead to addressing the pain problem. 
Surprised that her pcp has not determined if hypertension is present and provided a treatment. Unsure if she can monitor herself with an automated cuff and write or show the readings to the doc to ascertain hypertension and the appropriate treatment. Whether a chlorothiazide, ACE inhibitor, or beta blocker. All are very safe and can treat hypertension quickly. Regarding the type II diabetes, if her pcp is unfamiliar with continuous glucose monitors, then see if you can get her an appt with an endocrinologist (this may be challenging for a quick appt) for obtaining a continuous glucose monitor but Medicare will cover this expense and these readings can be shared with you or others and then with the doctor to determine treatment. These both  should addressed asap and hopefully may lead to pain resolution. Even if not, these treatments would abate other medical issues which may result if these are left untreated.

[Mark Vader]

10 hours ago, Doc said:

Did they prescribe Lyrica?

 

6 hours ago, Augie said:

Sorry to hear you are all  dealing with this. What did the Doc prescribe? My mother was given gabapentin for sciatica type nerve pain and it did seem to help. 

They prescribed Gabapentin. Did your mother appear to have any side effects from it?

[Augie]

19 minutes ago, Mark Vader said:

 

They prescribed Gabapentin. Did your mother appear to have any side effects from it?

Well, her nurse wrote it out for her in a confusing way. My mom took SEVEN instead of one. Like that European one, but it did look like a 7. Her side effect was falling out of her chair and spending the night on the kitchen floor. We have video, which doesn’t do a lot of good now. She’s now in full time care, but the medicine DID help her, or so it seemed. 

 

It’s an interesting time. My mother is now like an infant, and my son has an infant. God bless us all. 

[Gugny]

On 2/9/2024 at 10:41 PM, Mark Vader said:

Hello all, my poor mom has been in constant pain for going on nearly a year now.

 

She has pain on her right & left sides. She has seen her regular doctor, she's been to the emergency room, and she's seen a specialist.

Through it all, X-Rays, MRI's etc. The doctors can find NOTHING to diagnose.

 

My mom is in her 70's and has type 2 diabetes, and I believe she has hypertension as well.

 

My mom suspects that it's nerve pain, and absolutely nothing works to help her with her pain. She says it feels like there are thorns sticking in her sides.

 

The doctors did prescribe a certain pain killer for her to take, but it is filled with numerous potential side effects, and my mom doesn't want to take them.

Does anyone have any suggestions on what this condition could be, if it sounds familiar to anyone?

My mom cannot take ibuprofen either. 

Feel free to comment with anything. I'm tired of seeing in my mom in constant pain and nobody who is willing to help her. Thank you!

Sorry to hear this and I hope they can figure this out for her. 
 

Until then, have you (or she) considered CBD or THC as a pain management solution?

 

[dpberr]

Neurology happens to be my area of expertise in my "not a professional MD" 

 

Uncontrolled diabetes and/or uncontrolled blood pressure will create pain.  Gabapentin's sole purpose is to eliminate the feeling of pain, but it does nothing to correct the root cause of the pain.  I've never particularly cared for the medicine because it just masks pain.  

 

My advice:  She is likely suffering from diabetic neuropathy or peripheral artery disease.  Her doctors should be focused on controlling the blood sugar and blood pressure and that will bring relief.  If she's overweight, losing weight will help and the new GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy and Zepbound have shown to have great effect on not just controlling blood sugar, but inflammation in the body as well.  

[Mark Vader]

2 hours ago, Gugny said:

Sorry to hear this and I hope they can figure this out for her. 
 

Until then, have you (or she) considered CBD or THC as a pain management solution?

 

Thank you, and yes my mom has purchased some CBD to give it a try. She's said it has helped a little, so we'll see if she's going to continue with it.

[Mark Vader]

2 hours ago, dpberr said:

Neurology happens to be my area of expertise in my "not a professional MD" 

 

Uncontrolled diabetes and/or uncontrolled blood pressure will create pain.  Gabapentin's sole purpose is to eliminate the feeling of pain, but it does nothing to correct the root cause of the pain.  I've never particularly cared for the medicine because it just masks pain.  

 

My advice:  She is likely suffering from diabetic neuropathy or peripheral artery disease.  Her doctors should be focused on controlling the blood sugar and blood pressure and that will bring relief.  If she's overweight, losing weight will help and the new GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy and Zepbound have shown to have great effect on not just controlling blood sugar, but inflammation in the body as well.  

My mom has been working on her diabetes for years, and it's been quite a task. She's lost weight, but is still working on losing more.

 

She has stopped taking many of her medications. She had been on Metformin for so long that it was beginning to affect her kidneys. She does take insulin and another medication for her blood pressure, and it has helped.
I've heard about the GLP-1 drugs, although they are quite expensive, but worth looking into.

 

Thank you!

[BringMetheHeadofLeonLett]

On 2/9/2024 at 7:41 PM, Mark Vader said:

Hello all, my poor mom has been in constant pain for going on nearly a year now.

 

She has pain on her right & left sides. She has seen her regular doctor, she's been to the emergency room, and she's seen a specialist.

Through it all, X-Rays, MRI's etc. The doctors can find NOTHING to diagnose.

 

My mom is in her 70's and has type 2 diabetes, and I believe she has hypertension as well.

 

My mom suspects that it's nerve pain, and absolutely nothing works to help her with her pain. She says it feels like there are thorns sticking in her sides.

 

The doctors did prescribe a certain pain killer for her to take, but it is filled with numerous potential side effects, and my mom doesn't want to take them.

Does anyone have any suggestions on what this condition could be, if it sounds familiar to anyone?

My mom cannot take ibuprofen either. 

Feel free to comment with anything. I'm tired of seeing in my mom in constant pain and nobody who is willing to help her. Thank you!

I've had to go through both of my parents dying now.  It is still brutal, and it's a mix of wanting to do everything you can for them, and also accepting the inevitability of life. 
 

I have no idea what your mom is going through, but the one thing I learned with my Mom, and I wished I'd known a few weeks earlier, is to ask her doctors if there were any experimental treatments.  
 

Probably totally different circumstances.  In my mother's case she had a brain lymphoma, which honestly could've (possibly) been treatable if they'd gotten her on Keytruda soon enough, but there were so many delays in starting treatment it was maddening.   Keytruda was an unapproved/experimental treatment at the time, but had I even known it was an option- I would've liked to have known it was a possible treatment. 
 

That was my circumstance, and I may have lost my beautiful Mom a bit earlier due to just not knowing to ask about potential/experimental treatments.  It's not my fault, because we all die, but if I can be of any help, let me know. 

[dpberr]

On 2/11/2024 at 1:17 PM, Mark Vader said:

My mom has been working on her diabetes for years, and it's been quite a task. She's lost weight, but is still working on losing more.

 

She has stopped taking many of her medications. She had been on Metformin for so long that it was beginning to affect her kidneys. She does take insulin and another medication for her blood pressure, and it has helped.
I've heard about the GLP-1 drugs, although they are quite expensive, but worth looking into.

 

Thank you!

The Gabapentin may be the trade-off from the doctor in the case of where she is no longer taking a lot of her medicines.  It's in the vein of "something is better than nothing."  Unfortunately gabapentin is one of those drugs where you get used to a dose and need to take more and at least in my experience, made me forgetful and tired when I took it.  

 

The reason I suggested the GLP-1s is that it is one shot a week to replace a bunch of pills,  and for that one shot, she'd get appetitive control and control of the inflammation that is likely creating the pain.   I hope she feels better soon.

Edited February 13 by dpberr

[WhoTom]

You said the pain is on both sides, but is it localized to a specific area of each side?

 

I have a TENS unit for lower back pain and it works better than pain meds - even prescription meds. You can find a decent one for about $30. Get one that has a rechargeable battery built in, because the TENS will drain a battery in about 10 hours.