RE: Fwd: [QUAD-L] Getting Old

[greg]

I was fine for 20+ years after my injury, no meds, pain was not great, but could deal with it. But after a hip injury, I developed Heterotopic Ossification (HO). When your  bones try and heal they start growing calcium, but when you have HO, the calcium does not stop growing. It grows like tree branches into your muscles. Have to take meds and use radiation to stop the growing. They will only cut it out if it grows so much you loose range of motion. Because it grows into the muscle, it's a very bloody surgery, and that is a main cause to restart the growing.   Without pain meds, my leg will not go straight. Spasms are so bad, I grunt, almost pull myself out of my chair, and the worst thing is my chest gets so heavy it's hard to breath. Like someone is sitting on my chest. If I miss my meds, within hours my body is like 1 solid muscle clinch.   They almost OD me trying to raise Baclofen high enough to ease my spasms. Many tests to find the cause. Finely took pain meds for my shoulder and it was like life changing difference. Docs said no way would pain meds stop spasms, I need more Baclofen. I went in and showed them, I'm not spasming. Then finely they agreed it was pain causing the spasms. And they found the cause.   Everyone feels pain differently, has different causes. Both can have pain for same issue, but one be in more pain. Not just let it get to them more. Just can't quantify pain in different people. 5 quads can each have shoulder pain, different causes, different location, different nerves. I would be hard pressed to call a pain a 9 out of 10, because I can always think of something that could hurt more. My shoulder makes me want to rock, but a hot needle in my eye would be worse.   Greg