I am not sure where to start: I was diagnosed 3 yrs ago with multiple congenital cervical spine disorders. Inoperable & impacting 6 of my cervical discs & compressing multiple nerve roots. Also herniated L5/S1 with nerve root compression. Add to that severe depression, numerous neuropathic issues resulted in being prescribed multiple heavy duty opiods & neuropathic pain fixer-upperers :-)!! Then developed more medical conditions with more severe disabling pain in back & legs followed by osteomyelitis. Needless to say I know what severe excruciating chronic pain is & more to the point, it's impact on my life. The latest issue resulted in losing 95% of use & feeling in my right hand & fingers. Am on various antidepressants but recently reduced the doses as I had had enough of the various other side effects. So, how do I exist - I have retained & enhanced my sense of humour & I immerse myself in education regarding my favourite subjects which are IT Security & IT Knowledge in general. I read voraciously, and find that if I can immerse myself in learning new things every day I can push aside the pain so it sits in the background.. it is always there but when I am immersed I can function ( sort of :-) )... sleep suffers; tend to sleep more at my keyboard than in bed!! Cant walk without a walking stick anymore & occassionally lose the plot and get very teary but am now able to side track both the depression & the constant pain on demand... its not easy but it is do-able... it is possible to live with chronic excruciating pain and I believe that it is very much an individual thing but everyone can find a way to do it if they try hard enough & are stubborn enough. Honestly, fighting it is way better than letting it beat you!!
Good Luck to you all.