Kinda funny, and not funny at the same time. It seems the three of us have more in common than I'd previously realized. Us old fellas with our aches and pains and prescription history.
I've come to the conclusion that 95% of doctors are idiots and I do not like medication.
Keep on top of your doctor regarding both what you are being prescribed and how much each dosage each is at and EXACTLY how it is affecting you. Every person is unique and doctors tend to overgeneralize.
I went from 12 prescriptions of things like Tylenol 4s (before quitting, I was up to taking 4 to 5 at a time 4x per day), Gabapentin, Lyrica, some muscle relaxant, antidepressants and antipsychotics, to having 0 prescription meds. I'm pretty happy about that.
I now take a vitamin supplement specifically built to balance brain chemistry to help my bipolar. I still have my moments, but it's waaaay the heck better than being a medication induced zombie. And if I always remember to take them, those moments are very very minimal.
For my pain, I've learned after 20 years of chronic pain to not let it bother me so much, but exercise does help a lot. Also beer lol. When it's a pain that's not causing me injury, I don't let it limit me. I can either sit at home and be in pain or go work or go have a good time and be in pain. Either way I'm in pain, so I might as well do something that will give me a sense of accomplishment. Doing nothing for 10+ years convinced me of that.
Oddly enough, working at a lumber yard, I was in less pain piling ridiculous amounts of lumber 44hrs per week than I was the weeks before sitting around doing nothing. That is excluding the first 2 weeks of piling because good grief going from doing nothing to piling around 20,000lbs+ (~9000kg+) of lumber per day makes a fella a bit sore. Of course I ended up throwing my back out after working there a few months. Chiropractic visits and regular back and neck stretching as ordered by a kinesiologist helps.
I'm making do ok lately. I'm finally getting my life in order. I may even have my license and a car for the first time in my almost 32 years of life by the end of this year!
Jonse, Mexi, Komorebi, Valotonin, I really hope you find what works for you. One day we'll meet up for a pint or several.