Pain and fear are a difficult cycle to break. Especially when you don't have answers. Finding a diversion helps some. Whether is coming to the forum, reading or a good show on the tube, anything to get your mind off the pain for a bit. Talking yourself through it may help as well. Its easy to be consumed by pain and fear if you let it. I wish I had something more tangible to offer, but I haven't figured that one out for myself, let alone be able to stop someone else's pain.

I'm in Indiana. Not being raised here, it surprised me when I finally found a pain specialist here. He's great and his staff is nice too. It was only luck that I stumbled upon his clinic. There may be someone in FL. that you just haven't found yet. Don't give up. If you have a good friend or spouse, just venting to them can make a difference. I'm glad you found this forum.

Sam

About Keeping your mind off of pain - or "Escapes"
as they are called.

Here are some things that help me personally. ...As it is, I have flare ups of bad days when the pain is very annoying and almost unbareble, but then days when I certainly feel it fading away...times where the pain is far "less frequent" and "less painful" - the 2 ways I judge my healing. I can only hope these are good signs.

I keep a "daily journal" of how I feel each day & what I've done. This helps me figure out what irritates my symptoms as well as what heals them, i.e, bad weather, exercise, new vitamins, whatever.

I started eating better and lost nearly 30 pounds in 3 months. (quit Fast-Foods) I will continue to try to be a healthier person, even when this neuropathy stops - better for life in general I think .


Escape #1: Dreams

On an odd note - I practice some strange "escapes" that keep my mind off of the pain. First off, I take no medication for the pain at all. I only take 0.5 mg of Clonozepam/Klonapin twice a day for the anxiety - the rest of the stuff I take are vitamins. So I'm always looking for an escape.

-- so, back to the escapes - I realized I dream every night and I kind of live a 2nd life there (in the dreamworld that is - like most of us ) where the pain can NOT follow. So that's something we can all look forward to EVERY night.

In the morning, I write down the dreams in a daily journal so I can remember them as life-experiences. We literally spend half our lives sleeping, so I figure remembering the dreams (no matter how odd or silly) owes the same as remembering real experiences at times.

Escape #2: RPG Video Games

I also got into playing certain types of Video games. Yes, I'm 42 years old, but I noticed that playing "RPG" or Role Playing Games (On X-Box or PlayStation, or whatever) provides a weird escape from real life. RPG games don't require much rampant button pushing as most video games; so it's not so bad on your fingers - and after a while playing them, they place your mind in an alternate world so to speak.

This might seem downright stupid. It certainly sounds stupid, but it's not. I actually got this idea when I heard that video games are banned from prisoners -why? Not because its entertainment (many prisoners have TVs) but because they make time pass quicker and provide a kind of limited alternate reality that Wardons don't want prisoners to have.

It seems to me, that your mind can only focus on certain things at a time - playing video games for a while during your day or after work in your personal time WILL relax you and take your mind off of depressing thoughts -plus they are just fun in general.

There are many RPG games for women, too like any of the SIMS games. I play Fallout 3 -an apocalyptic game & some cool Star Wars ones, too. ..Is this immature? -- it probably is - does it work as mental therapy? - I KNOW it does for me.

In my therapy group other people use TV shows to pass time and for similar reasons (any Netflix or cable TV Series to be specific) to get their minds off of negative things - I think gaming may be similar, just more interactive. The difference being, games place YOU in the show rather than just watching it.

Anyway, that is my two thoughts regarding "Escapes".

Magnesium oxide is not absorbed to any useful extent. It remains in the GI tract.
Mixtures tend to not be real mixtures. Magnesium oxide is the smallest volume maker in pills because oxide does not weigh much. Gluconate is a heavy portion however, and I would not expect much of it in that tablet.
There is a link to the studies on absorption in my magnesium thread here:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread1138.html
Magnesium oxide is however an excellent laxative and is used as such (Phillips tablets).. because the magnesium remains in the bowel.

I've called manufacturers and they cannot tell as a rule from their recipes how much of each is in a mixture.
http://www.drugstore.com/products/pr...6&aparam=92272

This means 63% of your daily RDA requirement value. However I take issue with that. Magnesium oxide is 60% magnesium elemental by weight. That 63% on the label does not mean you will ABSORB any of it.
So 250mg of the magnesium oxide is 150mg magnesium by weight, but very little if any is absorbed from this. Don't count on anything being helpful from this product therefore.
from http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Mag...hProfessional/

My link to my magnesium thread gives more details on this subject. You can read further there.

Oxide therefore does not give much if any absorption into the blood stream, and is to be avoided.

For MrsD:

That was very helpful. I did not know that. Still, I can't find any other types of Magnesium in my local stores. For the time being - is it alright if I keep taking the Oxide Magnesium that I'm taking now? ...I mean will it hurt me in some way?

--Just asking until I can get a hold of the other type.

The oxide won't hurt you unless you take alot of it...then it will cause diarrhea.
But it is not doing what you want it too.
Of course you didn't know this, along with most doctors who still find it in their reference books:


WalMart carries SlowMag and its generic called Mag64, or MagDelay. SlowMag was initially formulated for use by doctors for patients low in magnesium. It remains over the counter too.
Your initial dose should be one tablet twice a day at different times.

Ask at the pharmacy if they are out of it, and they will order it for you.
http://www.walmart.com/search/search...straint=976760

Any pharmacy can order this for you... drugstores, Kroger's
Target etc. Will take a couple of days, depending. WalMart may take a week.

To mrsD:

Thanks, you saved me a lot of time with such practical advice. I would have been struggling to get that info from anyone and anywhere else. I'm glad to know I can get this from a store rather than getting stuff on-line as I somewhat distrust buying supplements online.

It seems you know more about dealing with PN than I do and I'm tempted and a bit embarrassed to ask you questions, especially as new circumstances arise. But I don't want to overburden you, so if you don't mind - I'll ask them one at a time.

I'm still baiting a question that I feel a little silly for asking though - but I'll ask you anyway. It's about the weather and PN pain. Is it just a mind trick, or does rain and high humidity actually irritate PN pain? I don't know if this is in my head, or if there is some actual basis for this kind of thing.

Many of us here on PN and on the other NT forums that are pain related...find low barometric pressures (from storms/rain) increase pain. It is common, I think. Even my kitties get sluggish when it is low barometric times. LOL

Some find high temps with high humidity also a problem. But those who normally live in those areas, don't complain as much as people in more temperate areas. I myself find burning more common during hot temps, than cold. But that is just me.

I find it difficult to breathe comfortably in very humid conditions, however.

Always feel free to post your questions to Neuro Talk. None of them are silly. People do care on this site, and will always try to help you. Glad you found Neuro Talk, feel welcome and at home here. ginnie

To mrsD:--

I bought the "SlowMag" today at CVS. Magnesium Chloride: Included -- (238 mg of calcium, 143 mg Magnesium, chloride 405 mg, and sodium 5 mg - this amount based on a 2 tablet serving per day) It was 15 bucks for 60 tablets. But the only one I found was the one with calcium added with it.

I don't know if this is good or not. I heard calcium in high doses could aggravate your kidneys and or prostate, I'm not sure. I did have a Kidney stone last year. So I figure I'd take 1 pill a day instead of 2, with the idea that the better absorbing magnesium will equal out the old oxide type I was taking.

Is this a logical idea? ...I'd really like your opinion on this.

Also, I don't know what "Chloride" is, but 405 mg seems pretty excessive, so I'd appreciate your thoughts about that, too. ...Thanks.

The amount of calcium in it is not really in the supplement range for calcium. Don't worry about it. Supplement doses start at 1000mg a day and up. That little bit of calcium is in all the SlowMag versions, including the generic.

Chloride is just the carrier molecule. Most chemical compounds are in two parts. The most common chloride is sodium chloride, which is table salt. The amount of chloride in this is a spit in the ocean compared to one fast food meal in a restaurant. Just about every processed food is loaded with salt, and sugar in US. There are 2 chloride molecules for every magnesium in this product... this is because magnesium is divalent..remember your HS chemistry?
MgCl2.

Here is an article on chloride:
http://health.nytimes.com/health/gui.../overview.html
It is rare that chloride is a problem in people because the kidneys, do remove it. Those in hospitals on massive diuretic therapy may become
low in it. But it is so common in our environment that we consume it commonly.

There are some simple restaurant meals that can have 2,500 or more milligrams of sodium in them. Yahoo often has "Eat this and not That" snippets to reveal this abuse. In fact the men's book is quite interesting for everyone...
Read this site, if you dare...
http://eatthis.menshealth.com/home

example:
http://eatthis.menshealth.com/slides...staurant-meals
This massive burger has 6,600 mg of sodium !!!!!! And chloride is in equal measure since NaCl has one chloride per sodium ion.
http://eatthis.menshealth.com/slide/...sharetagsfocus

Magnesium chloride is one of the forms tested that showed good absorption. Neither the calcium nor magnesium is 100% absorbed, as the body has transport systems to do that and it is selective. However, a goodly amount of the magnesium is absorbed into the blood stream, to be effective for you.

If you eat magnesium containing foods, like almonds, beans, oatmeal, and yogurt, you need less magnesium. Two of these provides about 1/2 the RDA for those eating some but not ideal amounts of magnesium. People lose magnesium in urine daily, as well. Alcohol and caffeinated beverages, some drugs prevent normal magnesium levels in most people. Studies have shown that 70% or more of Americans are below the daily RDA of magnesium daily. If you take acid blocking drugs you are blocking its absorption from food, along with calcium and zinc too.

If you don't recall your high school chemistry, now is the time to
have refresher courses. I do not have the time to provide chemistry lessons for every poster. That information is easily found on the net.