Let me describe three different types of pain I have experienced.

The first is the common muscle pain we all get the day after we overuse some muscles.  It is sort of a dull pain and usually associated with trying to use the muscle we overused.  This is not the type pain I got from my herniated disc or the pain I associate with my Gadolinium Toxicity.

The second is the pain that was associated with my herniated lumbar (L4-L5) disc.  The was an excruciating pain that was all down my left leg.  It was so strong that I went to the emergency room twice for the pain that woke me up in the middle of the night. I could not walk without crutches when it was at it’s worst.  This occurred 4 times with varying intensities and length of incapacitation. When the non-contrast MRI showed disc material the size of the end of my little finger bulging out the left side of my spine, the doctor said it was time for surgery.  The day after the surgery, the pain was gone ant it has not returned.  I am working to strengthening the muscles in my back so that it does not reoccur at another disc.

The third type of pain is caused by Small Fiber Neuropathy (SFN) which I have been diagnosed with.  All of the easily diagnosed potential causes of my SFN have tested negative twice.  But it can be caused by metal toxicity. So although there is no way to prove this, I am certain it is caused by the Gadolinium Toxicity.  In SFN, something causes the very ends of the nerves to die.  As they die, the symptoms can be pins and needles, numbness, tingling, and sharp, burning pain.  I have sharp burning pain in my feet, my ankles, my right flank, and quite frankly the worst, in my mouth.  I take some mild medications to help relieve the pain, but it is there nonetheless.  I have just decided to go on with life in spite of the pain, since it will never go away, and likely get worse.  So I am very active playing golf, doing my exercises, going to the fitness center, biking, kayaking, painting my house, and anything else that needs done, because I may not be able to do these things someday.

So that is my pain story