3 Years post op, severe neuropathy, intense pain. Anyone else?

Post nephrectomy pain.
Hello Nicole
I had a nephrectomy in September 2001. Since then I have suffered post operational pain, particularly in the precise area of the section of removed rib, done to facilitate to remove my left kidney. I attended a pain clinic for 4 years having numerous treatments, including Axain cream, Gabapentin, Amitriptyline,and intercostal nerve block injections. None of these treatments had any effect. As a last resort I asked about using a TENS machine.[trans cutaneous electronic nerve stimulation]. I was given the use of one for 6 months,til I purchased one for myself, and it provided some relief, in fact I wear this whenever I go out and have worn it during periods of hospitalization when I had pancreatitis.
I have to say that it is only of marginal benefit. Sometimes the pain is quite bad and is agravated by stress and general illness such as colds and flu.
I am now in the process of consulting my GP with view to possible surgery. In my case my problem so far has been based on the assumption that it is nerve damage, post operational.
I have got to the stage where I need to know exactly what is causing the problem and what the medical professionals can offer me here in the UK.
One word of encouragement is don't be disheartened by my tale of misfortune. Go see your doctor and be persistant. Mention the treatments I have noted, but in the meantime you may get some relief by getting your own TENS unit, but get instruction on it's correct use first.
If anyone out there, doctors or patients, who can offer any further advise I would be most grateful to hear from you.However, if I manage to progress with curing my problem in the near future I will certainly let you know. I have recently learned of research being carried out at Manchester University here in the UK, into nerve damage treatment. After e-mailing them I got a reply to say that it could be another 5 years before any procedures are available, even then I would have to be considered suitable for treatment. I live in hope.
Best regards David.

3 years post op, severe neuropathy, intense pain, anyone else?
hi Nicole,
sorry to hear of your pain,
I am not sure if this will help or not but here goes
I had endometrial cancer full historectomy, abdomen cut wide open, after had pain in abdomen , at times extreme , couldnt wear anything that would rub my belly.
had a slew of pain pills and doc saying it was all in my mind, he couldnt find anything, got rid of that gyn oncologist , for that and many other reasons, got second doc, she said well we could give you this pill, I showed her the 7 pills I had already tried, she said WOW I would have done something else much sooner than this! and said try phisical therapy, they massaged the area, muscles were hard as a rock, lots of pain getting to this point, but now only once in a while the pain gets bad, the last option my doc said would have been pain management ,
not sure if this will help but I have seen many come in to phisical therapy in extreme pain and seen wonders happen!
just a suggestion .
hope it helps

cathy k

Hi Nandra, I know this
Hi Nandra, I know this posting is like a year late, but I wanted to tell you that my husband experienced the exact same symptoms you were experiencing s/p left nephrectomy. The doctors said it was nerve damage and that they were trying to find the ends of nerves to reconnect and were misfiring. My husband's pain was so intense and constant that we had to do something more. I found the chief of neurosurgery at Mt. Sinai in New York and he said he could reopen the excision, find the nerves that have been cut and tie each of them off (in a knot) so they will not fire any longer, essentially killing them. We went for it and my husband does not experience that pain any more, the surgery was a success. He does however have extraordinary pain unrelated to the nerve pain though. For your information the neurosurgeon called this phenomenon a neuroma.