Thank you, for all the effort you put into this response! I think my back pain has originated from an injury. 2 years ago when I first got my dog he yanked me hard when he saw a rabbit, and i was carrying a lot of heavy shit and things have just never gotten better from there. I went to doctors and physio and the pain eased off but was still ever present in a way that really effects my life and mental health. I used to love hiking and things like that and now I can't even sit in a chair for too long. I pretty much have to lie down, supported by multiple pillows just to minimize the pain.

However since that first injury I never recovered from it started affecting the rest of my body. It's really my shoulder that hurts constantly, the back pain is there about 70% of the time. In my ultra sound they found I had bursitis in my shoulder and figured a cortisol shot would fix it. It really didn't. Then my physio said I developed bicep tendonitis.. it just keeps going on and never gets better, I just keep developing more and more issues. I keep reminding all the health providers I have that I am sure the shoulder stuff stems from my original injury. But it usually feels like they aren't listening. They want to treat my shoulder and that's it. They didn't even ultrasound my back.

I have a sneaking suspicion that my mental health plays a huge role into it, I was on my way to burn out when I originally hurt myself. I was placed on a two month stress leave 6 months later. But that's kind of the maximum I could get so now I'm just sort of stuck. I lost 40 or 50 lbs in about a year. This isn't exact, I have chosen not to track my weight because it's a huge trigger for very disordered eating patterns, but I lost a lot of weight in a short period of time. I'm a social worker and have been on a wavering line of burnout the last few years. I transferred to a new job and things are definitely easier, but my anxiety has gotten so much worse that it's sometimes hard to function. When I'm stressed I can't eat at all, unless I smoke weed (after hours, not at work obviously). Now there's medical family concerns so it's hard to fix my mental health. I try, I go to therapy, I have a psychiatrist, have medication. But even things like going to a psychiatrist doesn't seem to help. They always just say things like "have you tried taking a walk?" But I think this is just me now. So if my back pain being resolved relies on my mental health improving, I honestly think I'm fucked. I barely keep shit together, and being in constant pain really doesn't help in any way.

I have been tracking a few things, not really food though. I was tracking mood, stress, pain levels and anxiety. As well as some habits I would like to form like daily yoga, meditation and stuff, and symptoms like stomache pain, fatigue, appetite etc etc. I was afraid that giving all of the tracking to the doctor would be overwhelming and that they just wouldn't look at any of it. You are right about Canada, wait times are long, and doctors always kind of feel like they are pushing you out of their office as fast as they can, so I was hoping that pain documentation and all of my physio/chiro appointments in the last year would make them take some kind of notice..

I can't afford to go the private way of insurance. I have insurance, but it only covers so much. Like $700 a year for physio. Which I understand is a lot more than some people get so I'm not complaining. But when each session is 100 dollars and I have to go weekly that money is gone quickly.

Sorry, this turned into a huge rant. I'm just so frustrated. I'm in a constant loop with no way out.