Posted by Elizabeth on March 9, 2002, at 16:52:19
In reply to Re: chronic pain and Acupuncture, posted by trouble on March 9, 2002, at 15:42:15
Hi everyone. Thanks for all the responses. You guys are great.
I still haven't heard from my mdoc, and I'm going out of town for a few days so I probably won't get to talk to him until I see him.
I went to a pain clinic when I was living in Boston. The pain doctor diagnosed me with thoracic [T8-T9-T10] facet syndrome. The pain is caused by inflammation in just a couple of the joints between my lower thoracic vertabrae -- it's amazing how widespread it is (it typically goes from my neck down to my waist).
When they identified the source of the pain, I had steroid injections in those two joints. This eliminated the pain entirely for a week (this is what convinced me that the diagnosis wasn't entirely bogus). That's not something that I can do regularly, though (my understanding is that it was done for diagnostic purposes), and I'm scared of the potential mood effects of systemic steroids.
The pain is on only one side at a time (usually), but it isn't always the same side. (Was that clear?) I don't know what to make of this. It's this harsh stabbing sort of pain.
I've been relatively active lately. I try not to sit at the computer for too long at a time. The pain subsides some when I'm standing/walking/running, but then it comes right back when I sit down again. I was quite active when I had the really bad flare-up that made me decide to go to the pain clinic, so I don't think that activity is sufficient to relieve it.
Nardil seems to have helped. I didn't notice this the first time I took it, but when I stopped, the pain returned almost immediately. Then I went back on Nardil and the pain went away, then I stopped taking it again and the pain came back. It does have a relapsing/remitting course, but I'm pretty sure that the Nardil was doing something for me. Unfortunately, Effexor doesn't have that magic.
I saw a massage therapist (a legit one, not -- well, you know) for a little while. It was nice, but there weren't any long-term benefits and it was too expensive.
John: do you remember anything about the stretching exercises that you mentioned? Like, what's an example of one? I wonder if all those anticholinergics had something to do with why that "homeopathic" stuff helped you sleep?
IsoM: I think that sleep problems are to blame for much (or all) of my difficulty concentrating. I manage to get enough sleep, but it's fragmented, not continuous. I think the music idea is a good one. I need to set up my stereo (it's packed in a box somewhere right now). You also mentioned fantasizing about being in different places/times/cultures; that's something that I used to do when I was younger (it was a form of escapism, I guess :-) ). Soma, which I mentioned, is a prescription muscle relaxant. There are a lot of things that are marketed as muscle relaxants that are really just antihistamines/anticholinergics. (Some of them are similar to tricyclic ADs.) Hot water bottles might not be so great -- I'm always too hot as it is! But showering seems to help some. (Of course, that might just be due to standing rather than sitting.) I did try acupuncture at one point, but it was expensive an ineffective. Some doctors who've seen the effect that opioids have on me when I'm depressed think that my depression is due to a dysfunction of the endogenous opioid system. If they're right, maybe that's why acupuncture didn't help me.
beardedlady: I once met a guy who knew some Shiatsu techniques. He tried them on me, and while it didn't have enduring effects (we only met once), it was pretty cool while it lasted. I don't have any of the conditions you mentioned; I have what's sometimes called myofascial pain. When you say you have TMJ do you mean that you have pain originating in that joint? That would be a type of myofascial pain also, I think. My mother has a friend who's a massage therapist; maybe I should go see her.
Nikki: I've never been to a chiropractor, and I don't have the money to see one now. I'll keep that in mind. One concern I would have is how to tell a good chiropractor from a bad one. Also -- may I ask why you're afraid of local anaesthetics? Is it just that you don't want to be conscious while anaesthetized, or is there something more, or don't you know?
Col: I get the "maybe it's psychosomatic" thing a lot. Some doctors hear that I've been depressed and just assume the pain is related to that. I don't see a relationship, though. Certainly not a temporal one; I've been depressed without pain a number of times, and vice versa. Nardil is the only antidepressant that ever helped with it (now on Effexor 375 mg/day). I've never tried SamE. Is it safe to take with Effexor, and if so, do you know of a brand that is reliable? I did see an acupuncturist for a while, but it wasn't helping after a certain number of sessions (I forget what number, but someone I trust recommended that I give it that long) so I quit.
Thanks for listening, and thanks for all your ideas and suggestions. I wish all of you the best, but especially those of you who are in pain too.
-elizabeth
poster:Elizabeth
thread:97162
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020307/msgs/97230.html