Its not TMI - I'm really sorry you have to deal with such pain. I don;t think there's any guidelines to how long these things take or what we should do...but I d know that smoking on long held pain, trying to numb ourselves just keeps the wound fresh...when the numbness wears off (if it works at all) it hurts again.
I think you're on the right road for dealing with your pain in a healthy and permanent way
D