Emotion and Pain?
 

I know that many of us feel a considerable amount of pain when we are stressed, depressed, upset, crying, etc. I was wondering what is the connection in the body between emotion and pain? I also notice the opposite is true. When I am really up, or happy, or very distracted, my pain level will often drop. How does this technically happen in the body?

I don't know exactly... the neuroimmunological responses are affected by emotion. Inflammatory cytokines (PGE2 prostaglandins) are released with stress. Low levels of Omega-3 intake make this worse. Some people have very high PGE2 levels because they are eating far too many bad fats and high omega-6 oils from fried food etc.

If I get frightened, or really PO'd my feet will buzz for a while.
This is not often, but I can tell how upset I am by my feet. It will go down my legs sometimes.

Thanks MrsD. One thing I just hate is when I am in a lot of pain, then of course I get really upset. I may even start to cry, this of course causes more pain. It's like a vicious cycle, pain, crying, more pain, more crying. :(

Then the other night I went to my brother's house with other family members. I was laughing and having a good time, almost forgetting about the neuopathy. I could not help but notice a lower pain level. Of course this is not always a given, but it sure is nice.

I need more times like this, as my neuropathy has spread even more. Since November, it now affects my entire body. I am being sent to pain managment for the first time. I just pray that I can find that right combo of drugs that can lessen the pain greatly and help to give a better quality of life...

Oh, and I am still reading Liza Jane's hopeful message in the stickys. Even the neurologist I am seeing now said that yes, there are people with neuropathy who have gotten better. Which brings me to another emotion, hope. This is just so important to have....

When I have hope that this *can* heal it makes it a lot easier to bear. I used to have anxiety attacks about this and how it might or could progress as I get older (I'm 48 now) and my anxiety would rear it's ugly head, I'd get depressed and as you point out it starts a cycle. Without hope I'm done. :(

I find that I am mostly angry and frustrated, though after seeing a shrink years earlier after relationship issues, I've learned how to cope with this and not let it effect my family. My SFN will not ever cure, and at 46, this makes me very upset at the extreme levels of pain, balance issues, (and too many to mention) etc. I am now beginning the SSDI filing, another soon to be frustrating project! :-). I take large volumes of nerve and pain drugs which only partially allows me to function. We are not financially great right now.

But with it all, I enjoy my time with my 6 year old son. This always gives me a renewed prospective on my situation. And how unfair it would be to let my anger and frustration negatively effect my son's life (as well as my wonderful wife, whom I owe everything to). With this, people have commented on my realistic, positive, and non-negative view of my life as something they find refreshing and unexpected, considering my serious condition. I do this without religion or hope, but everyone has to find their own way to cope. But I tell people "just find a way", whatever it is, to find those good things in your life that you can reflect and spend time on. Too much free time can lead us to feel too sorry for yourselves and dwell on our pain. If a god, dog, or your kids work for you, go for it! It will only make you feel a bit better, but never worse. :-)

I am trying to find a pain management doc now and hope he'll bump my meds up a bit. Best of luck with your situation, and know that there are many of us here who know what you're going through.

Jay

jarrett, don't ever give up your hope. Sure, you will often read nothing but bad news about neuropathy, but no one, not even the doctors can absolutely prove that someone can never improve or get better. The body is complex and everyone really is different. I have had two other medical conditions that most people don't improve with, and I did. Yes, there is no guarantee either way, but keeping hope alive like you is vital to me as well....

Kitt, I am thinking positive thoughts for you. :hug:

Jay, I can certainly understand the anger and frustration. In fact, I am plain ****** off that neuropathy struck me after suffering from two other torturous medical conditions. After suffering for years with those conditions, I finally reached a point last fall where I felt a little better. I then made plans to go to school to be a veterinary assistant, something I have always wanted to do. Then the neuropathy came on in full force. It's crushed me. Like you however, I am going into pain management and hopefully can find that right combo of drugs that will help me. I agree about keeping busy, it really does help. Keep us posted on how the pain management works out...

Your pain levels can and do affect/effect emotions.
 

Read any post here and you can see frustration and hurt throughout.
Yes hope is a lifeline. But as one who went thru the whole Neuropathy food processor and had thought I was doing well? I got whammied also and again with cancer. I don't think I'm the only one here, but most of us 'older-timers' have sort of gotten past the anger parts and get on with what we HAVE and work hard to keep that.
Getting this, like getting cancer or other chronic illnesses or major physical/mental traumas is the need to go through someing like a mourning process. Your life is very different now? What you've known as 'Normal' is a thing of the past. So, make a new one! Often isolated and 'folks just don't get it'! Besides? It's never really OVER! You don't wake up one morning and find it all gone. Wish it were so-truly.
We create our own NEW normals and make the best with what all we have. What other choice is there?
What's that old saying?: 'Been down so long, looks like up to me!' Is apt for many occasions. Don't be afraid of the worst or even more worse, the only way to go is UP! Hugs and hope :hug:'s - j

Well said dahlek. Thank you for your wisdom. It's true about what you said, one does have to make their own normal with a new condition, and I am still so very new to neuroapthy and am leaning to except it as part of my life. I am still going through the mourning process. With my other medical conditions, I think I have reached that stage. I have a heart rhythm problem which causes me to have bouts of horrendous pvcs or skipped heat beats, sometimes thousands a day. This would most likely send most people to the ER pronto, but I have learned to deal with it, though sometimes it is torture. I am very sorry that cancer has entered your life. I hope things are stable for you at this point. Hugs and hope right back at you! :hug:

Are you taking fish oil for those PVCs?

Thousands a day..sounds like it is more than "normal".

Are you eating alot of MSG? (this additive causes alot of problems for most people)

Are you getting enough omega-3 flax oil daily and cutting back on Omega-6's?
This is a dietary way of controlling inflammation.
When your body is reacting all the time, in that mode, you can't help but feel anxious and off balance.

Dahlek first I am sorry about your cancer dx. You are in my thoughts. I am also sorry for everyones pain and health conditions. I think I have gone through so many phases of emotions/feelings through my health conditions. I still do but have learned new ways to help cope through these. Some days I do better then others. The past few weeks I have been hit real hard and so my feelings are everywhere but am trying to hold to hope. I also know that in general my mental resistence is down I guess you could say. A few things I am working on is staying in the day and getting through it in the best way possible. Also trying to not allow a breakdown mentally to happen when I see it coming. For ex I have been in a flare up with my legs and my eyes/ear are at the worst they have been from pressure and hard to see/hear often. I have been so upset so I am trying to be proactive getting treatment,reaching out for support,distracting in ways I can. Also trying to be hopeful and not worry so much about the what if's. This is hard because my fears turn into reality.
You make a good point about life being different. I agree and when I was at the pain clinic they tried to teach us to find things you can do or focus on in your current state. As my neuro said learning to live the best life you can with your pain. This was a hard one for me to wrap my mind around. Hang in there and as my mom says when I get upset take deep breaths. Hugs to all

First off? I have to say....
 

That the Cancer diagnosis was EASY compared to the PN/CIDP diagnosis! It took four months from finding a 'lump' to surgery and follow up things. It took FOURTEEN months from onset to diagnosis of the PN aspects. Specialty docs know more about cancer and how to deal with it than do Neurologists, plain and simple.
Had I not LEARNED all that I had from ALL the good people here and at other sites about PN and what to learn about the processes and treatments, I never could have coped w/the cancer so easily! The whammy's are like PN, this could come back or get worse. It comes with the territory.
YES! without exception are you allowed to be scared stupid at times! What is happening to you is akin to what severe burn patients or war veterans encounter.... But we are HUMAN and being so means that we have the ability to rise over fears and reason out a lot of what is happening. We either cope, compensate or self-destruct. To me, that latter option is not acceptable under any circumstances. Also to me, that is why I adocate PT and getting moving as best as you can as much as you can and as safely as you can... because to lose any mobility is to lose a good portion of access to LIFE!
LEARN about all that is going on wrong in/with you and find ways to help things along for the better! Knowledge is power they say...I believe it helps me when I get to things not going right and WANT, just want to panic? Knowing the processes that mite be happening calms me down...I go in my brain conversations: OK I'm doing something NOT OK! Yep, and you know what is happening, think it thru and then think it DOWN [as in small]. IF that doesn't work? Then I'll call the docs' offices and ASK, but only once I know I can't 'beat' this 'whatever' that is going on. And, I have had more than one 'red alert' incident over the years for sure!
No one here can actually hold your hand thru this...we are too far apart? But we can and will tell you what we would do/have done in similar situations. Got that? :hug:'s - j

Hi MrsD. Thank you, yes, I take my fish oil everyday and try and get enough omega-3. I know that is very important. I have had heart rhythm problems since I was 21, and now I am 51. I go through bouts of pvcs and tachycardia that are miserable. When in these bouts, my heart will skip endlessly, sometimes every other beat or third beat. It's so uncomfortable. I have been in the hospital and have had every test. So far, my heart is structurally normal. The last holter test I did last registered almost 4000 pvcs in 24 hours. This is an a hereditary condition. My brother and sister have it, but I have it the worse, and sadly, my son has it too now. Doctors can work with tachycardia, but pvcs are difficult to treat. There are times when I go into a remission mode, and that's heaven, infact, I am in one now. I have found other people on the net who suffer from this problem, and I belong to a support group for it. It makes me wonder about my whole nervous system and if the neuropathy is just part of the whole dysfuntion.

Hum.... this happen to me too.

I mean, if Im having a good time, laughing or distracted, I "forget" my pains and simply dont feel them...

When Im sad or stressed, oh hell... even my hair follicles hurt (no kidding).

I think it has to do something with serotonin too... I mean, I love that neurotransmitter... It is good for mood, for sleep... etc...

Hum, will go and read more about serotonin and pain to see if my theory collpases or not :D

Hugs for all you ! :hug:

Oh heck, maybe it is not serotonin but dopamin !!!! :D


Synapse. 2009 Jan 27;63(5):390-402. [Epub ahead of print]Click here to read Links
Human evidence of a supra-spinal modulating role of dopamine on pain perception.
Potvin S, Grignon S, Marchand S.

Department of neurosurgery, Faculty of medicine, University of Sherbrooke; Sherbrooke, Canada.

BACKGROUND:: Over the last decades, remarkable progresses have been accomplished regarding the understanding of the neurophysiologic and neuropharmacological bases of pain. A growing preclinical literature supports a role for substance P, endogenous opioids, glutamate, serotonin, and norepinephrine in pain perception. Recently, a series of studies explored the function of dopamine in pain perception, which we review here, while focusing on human studies. METHODS:: The literature was screened using electronic databases. RESULTS:: We found evidence from genetics, brain imaging, neuropsychiatry, and pharmacology of an involvement of dopamine in pain processing. Using positron emission tomography and molecular genetics, studies have been performed in healthy volunteers and patients suffering from chronic pain conditions, showing a key role of dopamine in pain perception. Moreover, abnormal pain perception has been documented in neuropsychiatric disorders, such as Parkinson's disease and schizophrenia, where dopamine has a pathophysiological role. Lastly, pharmacological studies have shown that dopaminergic drugs (antipsychotics, antiparkinsonian drugs, atypical antidepressants, psychostimulants) modify pain perception. DISCUSSION:: Although there is growing evidence supporting a role of dopamine in pain perception, the mechanisms by which dopamine influences pain processing remains to be determined. On the basis of preliminary findings, we put forth the hypothesis that dopamine is involved in endogenous pain modulation systems, and further discuss the implications of this hypothesis for the understanding of the physiopathology of chronic pain disorders associated with dysfunctional endogenous pain modulation systems. Synapse 63:390-402, 2009. (c) 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Thanks, fascinating reading! :)