Pain
Saturday, January 27, 2007 -- A friend of mine and I have been
discussing the pain that we experience and how something that doesn't
seem very painful while we are doing it, can have extremely painful
effects later, effects that may last from hours to weeks or months.
First, of primary importance is the saying, "no pain no gain." It may
be a good idea in relation to muscle, but it is BAD in relation to nerves.
If you have a nerve disease (I am still recovering from tetanus) then
you need to know that rest and sleep will make it possible for your
nerves to heal.
But, while you are resting your muscles will get out of shape and so
will you. This is a horrifying reality. And, so far I don't know how to
avoid it.
The best that I have been able to do is to begin with a paltry one
minute of exercise a day, and work up by seconds from there.
Hard to believe, isn't it?
One minute.
But yes, for instance, while I had tetanus, while the disease was
actually active as a central nervous system disease, I couldn't lift my
Brita Water Filter Pitcher if it had an inch of water in it. I couldn't be
up long enough to make a cup of coffee. Each morning I would have
my longest period of time that I could be up, maybe four minutes.
Then as the day wore on I could not be up that long again. I could be
up three quarters of that time if I rested an hour and a half first, and
so on during the day till I was bent over and hardly able to take ten
steps.
But, if I rested and had B12 shots, if I did not push it, then each day I
could be up maybe 15 seconds longer first thing in the morning. Then
if I didn't push it and thereby set myself back, I could be up a minute
longer each day.
Yes, I am saying that at best I could add 7 minutes of being up, out of
bed in a week. And I am also saying that when I didn't think that was
enough and tried to do more, the pain was quickly prohibitive and did
not go away in a day or two.
So, maybe it's time to try to get a picture of what's going on here.
discussing the pain that we experience and how something that doesn't
seem very painful while we are doing it, can have extremely painful
effects later, effects that may last from hours to weeks or months.
First, of primary importance is the saying, "no pain no gain." It may
be a good idea in relation to muscle, but it is BAD in relation to nerves.
If you have a nerve disease (I am still recovering from tetanus) then
you need to know that rest and sleep will make it possible for your
nerves to heal.
But, while you are resting your muscles will get out of shape and so
will you. This is a horrifying reality. And, so far I don't know how to
avoid it.
The best that I have been able to do is to begin with a paltry one
minute of exercise a day, and work up by seconds from there.
Hard to believe, isn't it?
One minute.
But yes, for instance, while I had tetanus, while the disease was
actually active as a central nervous system disease, I couldn't lift my
Brita Water Filter Pitcher if it had an inch of water in it. I couldn't be
up long enough to make a cup of coffee. Each morning I would have
my longest period of time that I could be up, maybe four minutes.
Then as the day wore on I could not be up that long again. I could be
up three quarters of that time if I rested an hour and a half first, and
so on during the day till I was bent over and hardly able to take ten
steps.
But, if I rested and had B12 shots, if I did not push it, then each day I
could be up maybe 15 seconds longer first thing in the morning. Then
if I didn't push it and thereby set myself back, I could be up a minute
longer each day.
Yes, I am saying that at best I could add 7 minutes of being up, out of
bed in a week. And I am also saying that when I didn't think that was
enough and tried to do more, the pain was quickly prohibitive and did
not go away in a day or two.
So, maybe it's time to try to get a picture of what's going on here.
http://www.health-boundaries-bite.com
- Your fingernails reflect your health --
Learn some warning signs --
Karen Kline
Pain: a health boundary that bites
Graphic image of a section of the spinal
neuronal network. By Jürgen Sandkühler
neuronal network. By Jürgen Sandkühler
Prof. Jürgen Sandkühler of the Department
of Neurophysiology at the Medical
University of Vienna has published
findings in the June 2006 edition of
SCIENCE which explain "pain
amplification."
of Neurophysiology at the Medical
University of Vienna has published
findings in the June 2006 edition of
SCIENCE which explain "pain
amplification."
In Strong Feelings - Latest Findings on Pain Sensitivity it says, "In
the case of persistent pain impulses, it brings about permanent
changes in the neurons responsible for transmitting the pain signals.
This leads to an increase in pain sensitivity and the sensation of pain
can even persist long after the actual pain signals has faded out." (Full
article)
Prof. Sandkühler said: "We were able to show in a controlled
laboratory system that the amplification arises even when the pain is
quite weak. We actually used electrical impulses that were 50 times
weaker than those previously employed to induce this response."
Prof. Sandkühler's group was able to identify and locate the cells
responsible for this previously unknown phenomenon. They are in the
lamina I of the spinal dorsal horn, and ensure that signals from
peripheral pain fibres are transmitted to spinal nerve tracts leading to
the brain...
As part of this large-scale project, Sandkühler and his team loaded
cells with dyes which emit light when exposed to sufficient
concentrations of calcium ions. This made it possible to show that the
concentration of calcium ions in these lamina I cells also increases
dramatically in response to weak pain impulses... The calcium ions
activate enzymes which amplify the pain impulses.
These new findings are of fundamental importance for pain therapy.
As Sandkühler put it: "Treating patients with pain killers for a short
period of time after an operation, for example, is not an effective
means of avoiding pain enhancement. Pain therapy must be continued
without interruption until the pain has largely subsided."
the case of persistent pain impulses, it brings about permanent
changes in the neurons responsible for transmitting the pain signals.
This leads to an increase in pain sensitivity and the sensation of pain
can even persist long after the actual pain signals has faded out." (Full
article)
Prof. Sandkühler said: "We were able to show in a controlled
laboratory system that the amplification arises even when the pain is
quite weak. We actually used electrical impulses that were 50 times
weaker than those previously employed to induce this response."
Prof. Sandkühler's group was able to identify and locate the cells
responsible for this previously unknown phenomenon. They are in the
lamina I of the spinal dorsal horn, and ensure that signals from
peripheral pain fibres are transmitted to spinal nerve tracts leading to
the brain...
As part of this large-scale project, Sandkühler and his team loaded
cells with dyes which emit light when exposed to sufficient
concentrations of calcium ions. This made it possible to show that the
concentration of calcium ions in these lamina I cells also increases
dramatically in response to weak pain impulses... The calcium ions
activate enzymes which amplify the pain impulses.
These new findings are of fundamental importance for pain therapy.
As Sandkühler put it: "Treating patients with pain killers for a short
period of time after an operation, for example, is not an effective
means of avoiding pain enhancement. Pain therapy must be continued
without interruption until the pain has largely subsided."
I wonder:
Could this mean that the more calcium we take, the more pain we
feel? Could this mean that if we take more magnesium we may feel
less pain? (When I next order vitamins, I'm going to find a multi w/o
calcium. I hope.) Is this why Epsom salts reduces pain and swelling?
because of magnesium ions?
Could this mean that the more calcium we take, the more pain we
feel? Could this mean that if we take more magnesium we may feel
less pain? (When I next order vitamins, I'm going to find a multi w/o
calcium. I hope.) Is this why Epsom salts reduces pain and swelling?
because of magnesium ions?
"The connections in our brain are
formed by neurons that extend to
each other and to muscles long
wires called axons. Just as an
electrical wire needs insulation,
our axons require an insulating
sheath (myelin) that helps to
propagate the electrical signal and
maximize the efficiency and
velocity of these signals in our
brain and body.
It is this property (myelination)
that facilitates the long-distance
formed by neurons that extend to
each other and to muscles long
wires called axons. Just as an
electrical wire needs insulation,
our axons require an insulating
sheath (myelin) that helps to
propagate the electrical signal and
maximize the efficiency and
velocity of these signals in our
brain and body.
It is this property (myelination)
that facilitates the long-distance
communication in our nervous system across junctions called
synapses, such that a thought can result in the movement of a finger
or a toe. Diseases and injury that compromise the integrity of myelin
... have dramatic consequences like ... neuropathic pain." Major
breakthrough in the mechanism of myelin formation, by Cayouette,
Chan, Innovations Report, 06.11.2006.
"The study showed that a protein called Par-3 is at the base of the
myelination process. This protein becomes localized to one side of the
myelin-forming cells called Schwann cell, upon contact with the axon
that is to be myelinated. Par-3 acts as a sort of molecular scaffold to
set-up an "organizing centre", which brings together key proteins
essential for myelination, in particular a receptor for a molecule
secreted by the neurons. The scientists found that when they
disrupted this organizing centre, cells could not form myelin
normally." Ibid.
synapses, such that a thought can result in the movement of a finger
or a toe. Diseases and injury that compromise the integrity of myelin
... have dramatic consequences like ... neuropathic pain." Major
breakthrough in the mechanism of myelin formation, by Cayouette,
Chan, Innovations Report, 06.11.2006.
"The study showed that a protein called Par-3 is at the base of the
myelination process. This protein becomes localized to one side of the
myelin-forming cells called Schwann cell, upon contact with the axon
that is to be myelinated. Par-3 acts as a sort of molecular scaffold to
set-up an "organizing centre", which brings together key proteins
essential for myelination, in particular a receptor for a molecule
secreted by the neurons. The scientists found that when they
disrupted this organizing centre, cells could not form myelin
normally." Ibid.
I wonder:
Could this be why taking amino acids (protein) has improved recovery
for me?
Could this be why taking amino acids (protein) has improved recovery
for me?
Pain is life altering. If you're in pain, you know that. The question
is, what makes pain worse and what makes it go away?
Rest often relieves pain. But, rest isn't as easy as it sounds. While
it may seem as if a nap is rest, if you've been running your nervous
system hard for years, one or two or even a week's worth of naps
is not going to be enough to restore your system to normal.
Here's an example, when I had tetanus I could not tell from day to
day if I was getting worse or better. It was only after I began
keeping TimeLine notes that I could see that if I was careful not to
do too much (and that was very little indeed) then I could be up a
few more seconds every day. That is slow improvement and it's
hard to accept that such small change is the best there is. But, it's
even worse not to recognize that small improvement is possible. So,
keep notes. Once you see that by taking it very easy for a few
weeks you can do things pain free for a few minutes you will be
able to feel more confident that rest will work effectively.
The thing is, it's hard to do such a small amount that it will not set
you back. That's the bugaboo. Plus, if something stressful happens
you can rest all day and still be worse than you were the day before.
As an example of that, there was a day I was in bed all day without
doing anything physical. All I did was fill in forms to file
Chapter 13. But at 2:30 p.m. when someone came to collect the
papers to take them to Albuquerque to file for me, I was bent
over and in pain as if I'd been doing physically demanding work.
If you keep TimeLine notes you will get an idea of what your new
limits are. Once you know those you can make real gains as long as
you remain respectful of the new reality.
When I am careful and keep myself on a gradual exercise program I
get so I can walk around a store. When I'm not careful I get worse
and have to use the store's electric scooter to get around, else the
pain becomes so great within five minutes that I can't stand it.
Rest with gradually increasing exercise of a gentle nature--that's a
powerful restorative for pain problems related to the nervous
system.
Like rest, vitamin B12 helps: the Methylcobalamin form of B12
has the ability to regenerate nerves thereby creating a lot of repair.
1/16/2011 - A note about leg bone pain: Low B12 levels over time
will in many cases cause leg bone pain so severe that the pain
makes sleeping almost impossible. And, without sleep all pain is
escalated. The first time I experienced leg bone pain I had no idea
the pain was related to low B12, I just knew that it was becoming
more and more excruciating. When I had B12 replacement the pain
subsided and eventually went away. Since then I've experienced
stress so severe that the leg bone pain came back. In one instance I
wore out a new fitted sheet within a couple of weeks because I
moved my legs so much, trying to escape or lessen the pain.
Recently in dealing with Wells Fargo which put me into a HAMP
loan modification program, then reneged after I made my trial
period payments, the leg bone pain came back, accompanied by
pain in my ankles, thighs and hips. At night I could sleep 20 minutes
at most before the pain would wake me. I have a clock opposite my
bed, so I was able to track the time accurately. Then a water pipe
split at a join and mains water gushed into my front room. I had to
sweep as much as possible out the front door to keep it from
making a wading pool of my entire home before the plumber
arrived. The exertion and the stress made my pain much worse, and
within a step or two my hip, knee or leg would give out when I tried
to walk.
It seemed hopeless -- I was getting less and less sleep which made
the pain worse, so I got still less sleep. I concentrated on getting rid
of the leg bone pain by using a LOT of Methylcobalamin lozenges.
I knew I'd had the leg bone pain before and each and every time
B12 made the pain go away. So, I was encouraged..
Because our bodies can use only about 8mg of Methylcobalamin an
hour I paced my use of the lozenges. Two days later a blanket
could rest on my legs without causing discomfort, and I slept till 4
a.m. before hip pain woke me. For the next four hours I'd try to go
back to sleep but pain kept me awake. Shortly thereafter the leg
bone pain would come back. I continued with the B12 and added 2
Ibuprofen every six hours with the result that the hip pain wasn't as
severe and more sleep was possible, which reduced daytime pain. I
haven't wiped out the pain entirely at this point, but it's much less.
1/20/2011- By the time there's leg bone pain B12 deficiency is
advanced, so I wasn't surprised when I had a nose bleed, which I
have only at times my B12 is low. My balance is bad, so it's often
impossible to carry water to soak my feet in Epsom salts to help
eliminate the biological products that transmit pain sensations.
Today I was walking better and put together an Epsom salts soak.
I'm going to try eating eggs for their tryptophan content, which
converts to seratonin, in which form it aids sleep. 1 egg apparently
has 521 mg of tryptophan. I think the pain would feel less acute if I
had more rest.
Additionally, I need to lose the weight I gained back after I hurt my
back and couldn't exercise. Exercise reduces muscle pain, as long as
there's not too much exercise to the point of wearing on the nerves.
My plan is to approach this on a day by day basis, with the goal of
feeling better in a month, and MUCH better in three months. Not
fast, I know, but hopeful. The pain is just so wearing, the idea of
being able to get rid of it is uplifting.
1/25/2011 - Reporting on the eggs: I'm amazed at how well they
work. Day 1: I had two eggs in the morning and two for dinner.
That night there was no difference in my sleep pattern at all. Day 2:
I had eggs again, and that night there was no difference, but Day 3:
I felt as if I'd slept and that if I closed my eyes I'd go back to sleep.
I ate eggs as before and that night got over four hours uninterrupted
sleep, as opposed to a few minutes at a time. Day 4: I was nearly
euphoric about the night before and again ate the eggs. But that day
was extremely stressful, in part because there was still a lot of pain,
whereas I'd thought that if I slept the pain would be gone; and that
night I didn't sleep better. Day 5: I could really feel the calming,
makes-my-eyelids-heavy affect of the eggs. There wasn't much
stress today, and I got some walking in, very little, but as much as I
could do. I'm hoping to sleep well tonight. Overall, eggs work really
well. I think the more depleted ones Tyrptophan reserves, the more
days it takes for eggs to restore a healthy sleep pattern.
2/7/2011 - Not only are the eggs helping me sleep, they are so filling
that I've been eating less and losing some of the weight I gained
after I hurt my back and couldn't move without huge pain. The pain
in the long bones of my legs remains pretty much under control,
due to using extra (nearly twice as much) Methylcobalamin. I'm
grateful because that's an extremely painful pain. The pain in my
hips and groin muscles is reduced by walking, but when I overdo
the walking my nerves react by making my legs almost too heavy to
lift. That happened two days ago. I was so proud of myself for
walking around my house several times every hour; but then next
day I could barely lift my legs to take a step. Which is scary. So
that day I hardly moved at all, and next day my nerves were better
and I could lift my legs more easily. I'm hoping that today I'm able
to walk well enough to carry water to fill a basin to soak my feet in
Epsom salts, which has helped with the pain every time I've done it.
I should mention that when I had tetanus I could barely lift my legs:
crossing a 1 square foot Saltillo tile took three steps, and I couldn't
step over the phone cord running to my bedroom. So, I have to
trust that it will again improve.
2/24/2011 - While I should be giving thanks every day that I'm no
longer in pain 24/7, what I'm doing is lamenting how much worse I
am than I was a year ago. I began to fear that I'd never be able to
do fun things again because of how this pain interferes with
walking, bending, lifting, almost everything.
Despite knowing that I've read a lot about how calcium increases
the feeling of pain, I was going to order some, in the hope of it
reducing my pain. But then I happened on several articles about
how vitamin C reduces pain. I used to take a lot of vitamin C, but
after I had the infected dental implant removed I cut way back. I
wonder if I begin using a lot more, the way I did previously, if the
pain will again stop being an issue.
Today I am taking larger amounts of vitamin C, with bread and
olive oil so as to give my stomach something to do besides being
besieged by vitamin C. I'm hoping that tonight I'm not woken by
pain every couple of hours (and again: every couple of hours is
vastly better than not being able to sleep more than 5 minutes at a
time due to the pain.)
2/25/2011 - The vitamin C has made a big difference already, even
yesterday evening I could feel a difference. But, last night is when I
experienced the best of the improvement so far: I was able to sleep
much better because there was that much less pain, and whether
related or not, I only had to get up once to pee, versus every two
hours.
First thing this morning I made coffee, ate some Deli bread a local
woman makes and delivers, and began having 5 of the 500 mg
vitamin C tablets... and so far, so good. I was even able to do a bit
of vacuuming, for which my rugs rewarded me with renewed
brightness.
3/9/2011 - Stress set me back. IRS claims I made nearly $500,000
in 2006, which is false and meant to put me under duress. I actually
made about $8,000. New Mexico Tax and Rev bought into the lie,
so now I get threatening calls and scam calls about help. Saturday
night I didn't sleep well, Sunday I had more pain, then I slept sitting
up to reduce pressure on my hips, which tend to start hurting during
the night. That made my back hurt. What a littany. In any case, the
Astaxanthin I ordered to help me with the hip pain just arrived, and
I'm making this note so that I can report on how much it helps... or
doesn't... with accuracy in terms of when I started using it.
3/22/2011 - The Astaxanthin seems to have made the grinding noise
less loud, but I'm still having difficulty walking despite buying a
wonderful Rolling Walker. So, I've ordered Glucosamine-
Chondroitin to see if that helps my hips and knees.
The eggs I've been eating to help me sleep soundly and longer are
also helping me lose weight. Every night I know I have to cook and
eat an egg or two. Just knowing keeps me from wanting anything
else.
I wish my legs were stronger. I'm hoping that losing weight will
make it easier to walk, and that more walking will help my legs get
stronger.
It worries me that I've been using Ibuprofen since October, when I
know that Ibuprofen is bad for the jaw bone and weakens it. I'm
concerned that the Ibuprofen is also affecting my hips, since before
now they never made a grinding noise when I got up.
4/1/2011 - I've begun using Glucosamine-Chondriotin. I'm hoping
that it helps my hips. I'll report on it in about three weeks.
4/2/2011 - Reporting on the Astaxanthin: I used it for three weeks.
It seemed to decrease the grinding noise my left hip made when I
got up, and when I was taking less during the last couple of days of
the test period I had more pain in my legs. And, I haven't gotten a
sunburn even though I've been sitting in the sun most days. Most
years I get a bit of a burn, despite being careful not to stay in the
sun too long. I'm going to continue using the Astaxanthin.
While rest is excellent for nerves, rest can take a toll on
muscles and contribute to weight gain which often contributes to
pain, so it's a bit of a vicious circle.
One thing I learned when I had whiplash, which I had thought was
a joke prior to experiencing it, is that when we are in pain we tend
to stiffen our bodies in an attempt to fight the pain. But, that
actually makes it worse and the tightening can create pain problems.
For instance, some months after I got whiplash I developed a limp
and was told by reputable healthcare providers that it was related to
the fact that one of my legs was a little shorter than the other.
Months later I went to a Feldenkrais practitioner because my friend
said he'd helped her and it wasn't the kind of body work that hurt,
which some does... a lot. So, I was expecting something gentle and
hoping it would work. What I found was that the man made feather
light tracings, which he called adjustments, over parts of my body
and after each he asked me to walk. I would walk back and forth to
the end of his long therapy room, and he would say, "Ah, that's
better. Your hips are beginning to move again." Once he asked,
"Did you know that you had begun to walk without moving your
hips?"
Apparently once we are experiencing back pain we tend to walk
more stiffly and over time we all but eliminate hip movement,
which increases tension in our backs and ultimately increases pain
as well.
Once I began to move my hips when I was walking my leg length
evened out and the limp went entirely away.
Now, well over a decade later, when I walk for five or ten minutes
a day for the sake of exercise to reduce my weight, and it does, I
pay attention to my hip movement and take longer strides to
increase the swing of my hips. This became especially important
after I had peripheral neuropathy and used short steps to
compensate for my impaired balance so that when pain suddenly
struck and I started to lose my balance I would be over my feet and
less likely to fall.
Each time that I've not walked for exercise for weeks or months it
becomes hard to move my hips, as if they've frozen. Trying to
swing them gives me a movement like a waddle. It's very peculiar
feeling.
Once my muscles "thaw" after a few days of walking around my
garden my hips begin to move naturally and I have a lot less pain.
Another aspect of exercise in relation to pain is that when we
are solitary, as so many diseases and health problems make us to
be, we are more likely to have cramps in our feet and legs at night.
I was surprised that when I had a B12 shot after five in the evening
and did no exercise after the shot, that I would invariably have
cramps during the night in my feet. My answer to the problem was
to give myself the shots earlier in the day, or if I had no other
choice, to give myself a shot late but then do five minutes on my
Gazelle.
As long as I did some exercise after the shot I didn't have the
cramps, but then I got tetanus and I couldn't exercise because even
the bare minimum of exercise made my muscles clamp, sort of like
lockjaw of the body. At the same time B12 shots helped with the
pain and, because tetanus is a central nervous system disease, the
shots helped reduce damage from the disease, but, no matter how
much I wanted a B12 shot at night to help with the pain, I knew
that if I had one and it set off cramps they might turn into the
horrifically painful seizure-type contractions in my back muscles
which I wanted to avoid at all cost.
It was around that time that a friend with Parkinson's wrote to me
about magnesium. I think she'd read about it on Dr. Sanjay Gupta's
site. In any case, the idea was that magnesium was not only a
necessary nutrient, but a powerful one that in many cases was a
"cure" because a deficiency in magnesium was actually the problem.
I immediately ordered magnesium, gave it a try and to my surprise I
discovered that if I had a B12 shot late in the evening or even late
at night and followed it with a magnesium tablet I did not have any
cramping. That was an amazing discovery to me.
Today I use magnesium tablets the way I used aspirin or Excedrin
in the past: I use magnesium to relax away headaches, and
yesterday when I had a bad pain in my side after a bit too much
exertion while I was doing the wash (I have a little hand-crank
washing machine), I took some magnesium and in an hour the
cramping pain was gone.
There are many foods containing magnesium but I can no longer
trust food alone to deliver the amount of magnesium my body
needs in order not to have cramping and increased pain. (My
deficiency today probably relates to years of not eating enough
magnesium rich foods, an impaired digestive system that can no
longer get the magnesium out of the food I eat, and stress causing
digestive system impairment.)
Pain results from combinations of things, so getting rid of pain
by healing, rather than blocking it with pain killers, requires a
balanced combination of things: rest, exercise,
vitamin B12, magnesium and learning
to relax stressed muscles. The last,
I think, is the hardest.
For instance when I had tetanus and
stress made my nerves cause my
muscles to painfully tighten it scared
me and that made the tightening worse,
till I was bent over and hobbling about
in intense pain.
When I got some money I ordered
a massage chair, hoping it would help
relax my muscles -- and thankfully it
did, but it also helped me learn how to relax them a bit myself.
The iJoy is not one of the expensive massage chairs, but it works
really well. For me it was convenient and, having had massage
twice a week for months when I had whiplash, paid for by the
insurance of the driver who hit me, I had something specific to
which I could compare the iJoy's massage. The iJoy compared very
well. I would buy it again in a minute!
is, what makes pain worse and what makes it go away?
Rest often relieves pain. But, rest isn't as easy as it sounds. While
it may seem as if a nap is rest, if you've been running your nervous
system hard for years, one or two or even a week's worth of naps
is not going to be enough to restore your system to normal.
Here's an example, when I had tetanus I could not tell from day to
day if I was getting worse or better. It was only after I began
keeping TimeLine notes that I could see that if I was careful not to
do too much (and that was very little indeed) then I could be up a
few more seconds every day. That is slow improvement and it's
hard to accept that such small change is the best there is. But, it's
even worse not to recognize that small improvement is possible. So,
keep notes. Once you see that by taking it very easy for a few
weeks you can do things pain free for a few minutes you will be
able to feel more confident that rest will work effectively.
The thing is, it's hard to do such a small amount that it will not set
you back. That's the bugaboo. Plus, if something stressful happens
you can rest all day and still be worse than you were the day before.
As an example of that, there was a day I was in bed all day without
doing anything physical. All I did was fill in forms to file
Chapter 13. But at 2:30 p.m. when someone came to collect the
papers to take them to Albuquerque to file for me, I was bent
over and in pain as if I'd been doing physically demanding work.
If you keep TimeLine notes you will get an idea of what your new
limits are. Once you know those you can make real gains as long as
you remain respectful of the new reality.
When I am careful and keep myself on a gradual exercise program I
get so I can walk around a store. When I'm not careful I get worse
and have to use the store's electric scooter to get around, else the
pain becomes so great within five minutes that I can't stand it.
Rest with gradually increasing exercise of a gentle nature--that's a
powerful restorative for pain problems related to the nervous
system.
Like rest, vitamin B12 helps: the Methylcobalamin form of B12
has the ability to regenerate nerves thereby creating a lot of repair.
1/16/2011 - A note about leg bone pain: Low B12 levels over time
will in many cases cause leg bone pain so severe that the pain
makes sleeping almost impossible. And, without sleep all pain is
escalated. The first time I experienced leg bone pain I had no idea
the pain was related to low B12, I just knew that it was becoming
more and more excruciating. When I had B12 replacement the pain
subsided and eventually went away. Since then I've experienced
stress so severe that the leg bone pain came back. In one instance I
wore out a new fitted sheet within a couple of weeks because I
moved my legs so much, trying to escape or lessen the pain.
Recently in dealing with Wells Fargo which put me into a HAMP
loan modification program, then reneged after I made my trial
period payments, the leg bone pain came back, accompanied by
pain in my ankles, thighs and hips. At night I could sleep 20 minutes
at most before the pain would wake me. I have a clock opposite my
bed, so I was able to track the time accurately. Then a water pipe
split at a join and mains water gushed into my front room. I had to
sweep as much as possible out the front door to keep it from
making a wading pool of my entire home before the plumber
arrived. The exertion and the stress made my pain much worse, and
within a step or two my hip, knee or leg would give out when I tried
to walk.
It seemed hopeless -- I was getting less and less sleep which made
the pain worse, so I got still less sleep. I concentrated on getting rid
of the leg bone pain by using a LOT of Methylcobalamin lozenges.
I knew I'd had the leg bone pain before and each and every time
B12 made the pain go away. So, I was encouraged..
Because our bodies can use only about 8mg of Methylcobalamin an
hour I paced my use of the lozenges. Two days later a blanket
could rest on my legs without causing discomfort, and I slept till 4
a.m. before hip pain woke me. For the next four hours I'd try to go
back to sleep but pain kept me awake. Shortly thereafter the leg
bone pain would come back. I continued with the B12 and added 2
Ibuprofen every six hours with the result that the hip pain wasn't as
severe and more sleep was possible, which reduced daytime pain. I
haven't wiped out the pain entirely at this point, but it's much less.
1/20/2011- By the time there's leg bone pain B12 deficiency is
advanced, so I wasn't surprised when I had a nose bleed, which I
have only at times my B12 is low. My balance is bad, so it's often
impossible to carry water to soak my feet in Epsom salts to help
eliminate the biological products that transmit pain sensations.
Today I was walking better and put together an Epsom salts soak.
I'm going to try eating eggs for their tryptophan content, which
converts to seratonin, in which form it aids sleep. 1 egg apparently
has 521 mg of tryptophan. I think the pain would feel less acute if I
had more rest.
Additionally, I need to lose the weight I gained back after I hurt my
back and couldn't exercise. Exercise reduces muscle pain, as long as
there's not too much exercise to the point of wearing on the nerves.
My plan is to approach this on a day by day basis, with the goal of
feeling better in a month, and MUCH better in three months. Not
fast, I know, but hopeful. The pain is just so wearing, the idea of
being able to get rid of it is uplifting.
1/25/2011 - Reporting on the eggs: I'm amazed at how well they
work. Day 1: I had two eggs in the morning and two for dinner.
That night there was no difference in my sleep pattern at all. Day 2:
I had eggs again, and that night there was no difference, but Day 3:
I felt as if I'd slept and that if I closed my eyes I'd go back to sleep.
I ate eggs as before and that night got over four hours uninterrupted
sleep, as opposed to a few minutes at a time. Day 4: I was nearly
euphoric about the night before and again ate the eggs. But that day
was extremely stressful, in part because there was still a lot of pain,
whereas I'd thought that if I slept the pain would be gone; and that
night I didn't sleep better. Day 5: I could really feel the calming,
makes-my-eyelids-heavy affect of the eggs. There wasn't much
stress today, and I got some walking in, very little, but as much as I
could do. I'm hoping to sleep well tonight. Overall, eggs work really
well. I think the more depleted ones Tyrptophan reserves, the more
days it takes for eggs to restore a healthy sleep pattern.
2/7/2011 - Not only are the eggs helping me sleep, they are so filling
that I've been eating less and losing some of the weight I gained
after I hurt my back and couldn't move without huge pain. The pain
in the long bones of my legs remains pretty much under control,
due to using extra (nearly twice as much) Methylcobalamin. I'm
grateful because that's an extremely painful pain. The pain in my
hips and groin muscles is reduced by walking, but when I overdo
the walking my nerves react by making my legs almost too heavy to
lift. That happened two days ago. I was so proud of myself for
walking around my house several times every hour; but then next
day I could barely lift my legs to take a step. Which is scary. So
that day I hardly moved at all, and next day my nerves were better
and I could lift my legs more easily. I'm hoping that today I'm able
to walk well enough to carry water to fill a basin to soak my feet in
Epsom salts, which has helped with the pain every time I've done it.
I should mention that when I had tetanus I could barely lift my legs:
crossing a 1 square foot Saltillo tile took three steps, and I couldn't
step over the phone cord running to my bedroom. So, I have to
trust that it will again improve.
2/24/2011 - While I should be giving thanks every day that I'm no
longer in pain 24/7, what I'm doing is lamenting how much worse I
am than I was a year ago. I began to fear that I'd never be able to
do fun things again because of how this pain interferes with
walking, bending, lifting, almost everything.
Despite knowing that I've read a lot about how calcium increases
the feeling of pain, I was going to order some, in the hope of it
reducing my pain. But then I happened on several articles about
how vitamin C reduces pain. I used to take a lot of vitamin C, but
after I had the infected dental implant removed I cut way back. I
wonder if I begin using a lot more, the way I did previously, if the
pain will again stop being an issue.
Today I am taking larger amounts of vitamin C, with bread and
olive oil so as to give my stomach something to do besides being
besieged by vitamin C. I'm hoping that tonight I'm not woken by
pain every couple of hours (and again: every couple of hours is
vastly better than not being able to sleep more than 5 minutes at a
time due to the pain.)
2/25/2011 - The vitamin C has made a big difference already, even
yesterday evening I could feel a difference. But, last night is when I
experienced the best of the improvement so far: I was able to sleep
much better because there was that much less pain, and whether
related or not, I only had to get up once to pee, versus every two
hours.
First thing this morning I made coffee, ate some Deli bread a local
woman makes and delivers, and began having 5 of the 500 mg
vitamin C tablets... and so far, so good. I was even able to do a bit
of vacuuming, for which my rugs rewarded me with renewed
brightness.
3/9/2011 - Stress set me back. IRS claims I made nearly $500,000
in 2006, which is false and meant to put me under duress. I actually
made about $8,000. New Mexico Tax and Rev bought into the lie,
so now I get threatening calls and scam calls about help. Saturday
night I didn't sleep well, Sunday I had more pain, then I slept sitting
up to reduce pressure on my hips, which tend to start hurting during
the night. That made my back hurt. What a littany. In any case, the
Astaxanthin I ordered to help me with the hip pain just arrived, and
I'm making this note so that I can report on how much it helps... or
doesn't... with accuracy in terms of when I started using it.
3/22/2011 - The Astaxanthin seems to have made the grinding noise
less loud, but I'm still having difficulty walking despite buying a
wonderful Rolling Walker. So, I've ordered Glucosamine-
Chondroitin to see if that helps my hips and knees.
The eggs I've been eating to help me sleep soundly and longer are
also helping me lose weight. Every night I know I have to cook and
eat an egg or two. Just knowing keeps me from wanting anything
else.
I wish my legs were stronger. I'm hoping that losing weight will
make it easier to walk, and that more walking will help my legs get
stronger.
It worries me that I've been using Ibuprofen since October, when I
know that Ibuprofen is bad for the jaw bone and weakens it. I'm
concerned that the Ibuprofen is also affecting my hips, since before
now they never made a grinding noise when I got up.
4/1/2011 - I've begun using Glucosamine-Chondriotin. I'm hoping
that it helps my hips. I'll report on it in about three weeks.
4/2/2011 - Reporting on the Astaxanthin: I used it for three weeks.
It seemed to decrease the grinding noise my left hip made when I
got up, and when I was taking less during the last couple of days of
the test period I had more pain in my legs. And, I haven't gotten a
sunburn even though I've been sitting in the sun most days. Most
years I get a bit of a burn, despite being careful not to stay in the
sun too long. I'm going to continue using the Astaxanthin.
While rest is excellent for nerves, rest can take a toll on
muscles and contribute to weight gain which often contributes to
pain, so it's a bit of a vicious circle.
One thing I learned when I had whiplash, which I had thought was
a joke prior to experiencing it, is that when we are in pain we tend
to stiffen our bodies in an attempt to fight the pain. But, that
actually makes it worse and the tightening can create pain problems.
For instance, some months after I got whiplash I developed a limp
and was told by reputable healthcare providers that it was related to
the fact that one of my legs was a little shorter than the other.
Months later I went to a Feldenkrais practitioner because my friend
said he'd helped her and it wasn't the kind of body work that hurt,
which some does... a lot. So, I was expecting something gentle and
hoping it would work. What I found was that the man made feather
light tracings, which he called adjustments, over parts of my body
and after each he asked me to walk. I would walk back and forth to
the end of his long therapy room, and he would say, "Ah, that's
better. Your hips are beginning to move again." Once he asked,
"Did you know that you had begun to walk without moving your
hips?"
Apparently once we are experiencing back pain we tend to walk
more stiffly and over time we all but eliminate hip movement,
which increases tension in our backs and ultimately increases pain
as well.
Once I began to move my hips when I was walking my leg length
evened out and the limp went entirely away.
Now, well over a decade later, when I walk for five or ten minutes
a day for the sake of exercise to reduce my weight, and it does, I
pay attention to my hip movement and take longer strides to
increase the swing of my hips. This became especially important
after I had peripheral neuropathy and used short steps to
compensate for my impaired balance so that when pain suddenly
struck and I started to lose my balance I would be over my feet and
less likely to fall.
Each time that I've not walked for exercise for weeks or months it
becomes hard to move my hips, as if they've frozen. Trying to
swing them gives me a movement like a waddle. It's very peculiar
feeling.
Once my muscles "thaw" after a few days of walking around my
garden my hips begin to move naturally and I have a lot less pain.
Another aspect of exercise in relation to pain is that when we
are solitary, as so many diseases and health problems make us to
be, we are more likely to have cramps in our feet and legs at night.
I was surprised that when I had a B12 shot after five in the evening
and did no exercise after the shot, that I would invariably have
cramps during the night in my feet. My answer to the problem was
to give myself the shots earlier in the day, or if I had no other
choice, to give myself a shot late but then do five minutes on my
Gazelle.
As long as I did some exercise after the shot I didn't have the
cramps, but then I got tetanus and I couldn't exercise because even
the bare minimum of exercise made my muscles clamp, sort of like
lockjaw of the body. At the same time B12 shots helped with the
pain and, because tetanus is a central nervous system disease, the
shots helped reduce damage from the disease, but, no matter how
much I wanted a B12 shot at night to help with the pain, I knew
that if I had one and it set off cramps they might turn into the
horrifically painful seizure-type contractions in my back muscles
which I wanted to avoid at all cost.
It was around that time that a friend with Parkinson's wrote to me
about magnesium. I think she'd read about it on Dr. Sanjay Gupta's
site. In any case, the idea was that magnesium was not only a
necessary nutrient, but a powerful one that in many cases was a
"cure" because a deficiency in magnesium was actually the problem.
I immediately ordered magnesium, gave it a try and to my surprise I
discovered that if I had a B12 shot late in the evening or even late
at night and followed it with a magnesium tablet I did not have any
cramping. That was an amazing discovery to me.
Today I use magnesium tablets the way I used aspirin or Excedrin
in the past: I use magnesium to relax away headaches, and
yesterday when I had a bad pain in my side after a bit too much
exertion while I was doing the wash (I have a little hand-crank
washing machine), I took some magnesium and in an hour the
cramping pain was gone.
There are many foods containing magnesium but I can no longer
trust food alone to deliver the amount of magnesium my body
needs in order not to have cramping and increased pain. (My
deficiency today probably relates to years of not eating enough
magnesium rich foods, an impaired digestive system that can no
longer get the magnesium out of the food I eat, and stress causing
digestive system impairment.)
Pain results from combinations of things, so getting rid of pain
by healing, rather than blocking it with pain killers, requires a
balanced combination of things: rest, exercise,
vitamin B12, magnesium and learning
to relax stressed muscles. The last,
I think, is the hardest.
For instance when I had tetanus and
stress made my nerves cause my
muscles to painfully tighten it scared
me and that made the tightening worse,
till I was bent over and hobbling about
in intense pain.
When I got some money I ordered
a massage chair, hoping it would help
relax my muscles -- and thankfully it
did, but it also helped me learn how to relax them a bit myself.
The iJoy is not one of the expensive massage chairs, but it works
really well. For me it was convenient and, having had massage
twice a week for months when I had whiplash, paid for by the
insurance of the driver who hit me, I had something specific to
which I could compare the iJoy's massage. The iJoy compared very
well. I would buy it again in a minute!
Pain, Calcium and the Neuronal Network
Planning travel takes
my mind off my pain,
so... it actually helps.
my mind off my pain,
so... it actually helps.
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