1/20/12
what do others do.....
I have been having problems when my pain has just been spiking from a 4 to an 8/9 lately. Not predictably either. and When it does this I am not prepared. When my pain first started I did a lot of grinding my teeth. I ended up chipping one tooth and cracking another which had to be capped. It was only partially successful. I still have to be very, very careful with it now as it is very fragile and still hurts; often on nights that I am in a lot of pain I wake up to a VERY tender tooth. My dentist has wanted me to get a bite guard and I will as soon as we can afford it. Which will have to be soon if these pain flares keep happening. I haven’t had this for a long time.

Anyways my question is related to all this. Now when I am at the 9/10/11 layers of pain i find that I am, in lieu, of clenching my teeth, I am biting my inner lip! To the point of biting off tiny pieces...oh its horrid......

I can't stand this - but in-the-moment of that severe pain I relish the feeling of the pain of biting myself versus the pain of my arms being crushed and ground around.

Does any one else do this? How do you regulate it? I feel like a person who hurts them self on purpose - but I am sincerely just semi-cognizant of what I am doing. I don’t want to make this a habit. I stopped the teeth grinding, but now this lip chewing has popped up. I am not able to stop and calm myself down with meditation, because it jumps so quickly. I take my pain meds when it happens but they take 40-60 mins to work, and it is during this time that I put holes in my inner lip. Uh, is ther any alternative to this? Have other people done this when thier pain gets bad? Thanks

"I take my pain meds when it happens but they take 40-60 mins to work"

When I first started taking Lyrica I was under the impression that it worked like a pain med ie, Take more if pain increases when in fact it wasnt that type of med. Nobody mentioned it had to be built up in the blood over time.

I used to swing from my initial dosage of 150mg to 450mg daily if the pain was chronic. I was in LALAland

what pain meds do you take?

I've been told you can get a generic bite plate that is boiled, then you chomp on it to fit your mouth. I think in sporting goods sections.


As for Lyrica, neurontin type meds, they do take time to build up to work.

I take oxycontin, oxycodone and flexeril (muscle relaxer)(which ALL put me in lalala land!) for the so called pain maintenance and breakthrough. They help to keep the pain down or bring it down. I use the oxycontin for maintenance and the others for the end of the day of flare-ups.
None of them are really helping as much as they used to, or I am going through something new; I am also breaking out with these itchy little sores all over my hair line, the back of my neck and the back/base of my head. This seems to happen every year around the anniversary of when I first got sick, normally February/March. So maybe I am having sort of virus fight and am having an autoimmune reaction? and the pain is just so bad the pain meds aren’t working anymore. Or I am worried I have become acclimatized to them, built up a resistance. I have not done a search into alternative pain meds as I have found it a bit overwhelming to look up med advise on line; I might just ask here about what others have found as better methods of breakthrough pain remedies?

Thanks aussiemom - that will be worth looking into!

Thanks for the input
p.s. Lyrica doesn't help me as I don't have any myelin sheath problems - just sfn.

Stress is a factor in pain levels and I know from other posts that your home life can be stressful, can you set some time each day to concentrate on breathing exercises to calm you down? this may help with the pain - although with children in the house this won't be easy(I speak from experience) .
Have you tried some of the supplements recommended on this board, I didn't for a long time but have been taking some and found I am more alert and more in control of the pain ( although I decided to switch from Gabapentin to Lyrica a few weeks back and was almost tipped over the edge).
I wish you luck in finding meds that helped - I have been prescribed tramadol for breakthrough pain and it has worked wonderfully for the moment....... But as we all know this horrible condition has a way of getting through all the pain barriers that we use

Thanks malawigirl and no I haven't been trying the breathing exercises enough latetly. I find that I just zone out to much into a book of game of computer solitaire. When I do try breathing exercises I give up to easily. I do have some time in the morning when my youngest is at k-garten. So OKAY enough of that because yes I am definatly under alot of stress. Time to kick myself in the hinney (sp?) and try harder. Thanks malawigirl!

I am so sorry that this additional problem has come up. Some people bite their nails, others their cuticals. I don't know how to help, but I do understand OCD when a person is in severe pain. My mother did something like that by "picking" at her legs when she was in pain.
If this really is this bad, that you can't stop. Please tell you doctor. You have anxiety of that much I am sure of. I just don't want it to lead to another medical conditon. Your pain management needs to get better. When you want to hurt one part, because the other part hurts so badly, this needs to be addressed with someone who can help with OCD. You already know how much I care about you. Please keep in touch with me and let me know if there is anything Ican say or do to help you. I know there are others who suffer with horrible anxiety and pain together, and do have some control now with the right medical intervention. The mouth is such a sensitive area, you could give yourself an oral infection which you do not want. I am in your corner always, and will pray for you. ginnie

Thank you ginnie for your caring. I don't know that this is an OCD, I think that it is more that it is just a physical reaction to pain - you know how people grimace and clench thier teeth when they are in pain? Half the time I am not totally coherant at the time. But I dont know. I am going to bring it up to my pain managment dr. I haven't seen him in a few months and I will be calling him on Monday to to make an appoinment about making some changes in meds and these new flares. Now I do pick at my cuticles which I do think is OCD or really just a really bad habit where do you draw the line ! It is such an irritating bad habit and I cannot stop it. But I will live with it any day vs biting my lip!

malawigirl I forgot to address supplements - I am on vit d, b-12, and magnisium. The wonderful mrsd gave some others but these are all I can afford at this time and they I do notice a difference with the vit d and b-12. I just strted the magnisium so have not had time to notice its effects. I hope that it will help with the circulation (as you know) and my blood pressure. If I get it to help with my blood pressure I could get rid of my blood pressure medicine. But specifically what are some supplements for the pain and alertness - I just don't remember at this point?

I am not sure if it is OCD or not really either. I only know if a behavior cannot be stopped by effort, their "may" be a problem. Hurting yourself isn't a good thing, and I am a bit worried. So glad you will check in with your doctor. I also want your pain better controlled like you do! Nobody should suffer like that. It seems what you are doing is like in labor, when someone squeezes somewhere else to take your mind off the pain. My husband was pinching me hard! just don't want this to be such a habbit that it causes a real injury or infection. Let me know how the doctors visit goes. I will be out of commision for a few days. Wed. of next week I get endoscopy, biopsy, and my throat stretched. Never ending,,,,ba humbug, have a good night adelina, ginnie

I don't think you need to kick yourself anywhere lol just be kind to you. I have to work at the breathing also but went through a 7week pain management course and the tutor couldn't stress how important this can be in helping.
Have you visited a pain management consultant yet?