Can chronic emotional stress actually cause a peripheral neuropathy
 

I went to my neurologists office this morning he was not in but I spoke with his nurse and told her how I have been feeling the past few years. She wrote it down in my chart for the doctor to read. The one thing that I have been having a hard time dealing with and I think it has caught up with me, stress and possible anxiety. I have not told him about how much my emotional stress has been bothering me, but it has gotten to the point I can not ignore it or hide it anymore. When he mentioned the possiblity of autoimmune problems on my last visit and wanted to run more tests. Thats when I realized my stress could be triggering something in my body to go haywire. I do have nerve damage that is affected my myelin and axons. The sensations have been getting worse over the past few months and it is scary to think that I may have created this problem myself by not being able to control my stress level. I also read that stress can cause arthritis to progress faster than normal because of the bodies immune response causing a imflammatory issue to become worse. I am only 41 and also have osteoarthritis in my spine which I know is not considered a imflammatory type. It is somewhat prominent considering my age is what the radiologist said in his report. I really feel like I am aging faster than I should be.

I can't help with this, just wanted to add a few words. Stress is very difficult to deal with. I don't care how many people tell us to "cut back our stress" that is much easier to say than to do. Some of us are much more high-strung than others to begin with. Our minds seem to run all the time, we have no shut off switch. Some mornings I will wake up to a very sore jaw and teeth, only to realize I must have been clenching my teeth during the night. I have no idea how to stop it. You can't beat yourself up over being stressed, it's truly not something we can do anything about.
:hug:

Deb
a good dentist or orthodontist can fit you with a night plate, similar to a retainer, to help with the clenching and grinding at night.

Have no answers for stress.

Hi Lynn,

Yet NSAIDs are the first line treatment for osteoarthritis. Spinal osteoarthritis can certainly cause inflammation as the discs deteriorate and bones begin to rub together.
http://www.osteoarthritisremedy.com/...osteoarthritis

There's also a variety known as inflammatory osteoarthritis that typically affects middle-aged women, but it manifests in the last & middle joints of the fingers.
http://www.arthritistoday.org/commun...oarthritis.php

I don't know if there's any way to tell if stress could or actually has caused PN, but it can certainly exacerbate it as it can many other conditions & diseases. Either way, blame & guilt aren't going to help the stress, the arthritis, or the PN.

They told me close to the same thing; when all my chronic pain issues began in my mid-40s, the orthopedic surgeon (after reviewing all the imaging & reports) said I had the spine of a man in his 90s.

We can't change what's happened in the past. We can take better care of ourselves now and in the future, which includes dealing with those stress issues as best we can.

Doc

I know one thing for sure.......
 

PN can cause emotional stress and anxiety!!! I am living proof of that!

PN can cause stress, yes.
But the other things in our life that would cause stress
whether we have PN, or not..... those stress issues
can cause immense discomfort and horrific PN flares.

Trying to mentally tune oneself to an attitude that will
allow one's mind to accept stressful situations and not allow
the stress to undermine the effort to be as pain free as possible, is a key.

Yoga helps. Mantras help. Attitude adjustment in many forms, mentally and physically, as well as chemically.....can help.

But it is an absolute that stress hurts!
It does cause PN flares and discomfort as well as
ongoing pain to intensify.
That is a fact, not fiction.

Thanks for the posting
 

Im sorry to hear all the health issues you are dealing at moment, im also by my 40's and i can relate with your post and the early ageing feeling.
My PN is a traumatic one cause by an injury on my leg, but i always think about it how our emotions and psychological state can affect our bodies in the psychosomatic process...
I tried to investigate the Complex Regional Pain Syndrome/Reflex Sympathetic Distrophy i've developed and how my stress, after the injury, contribute to worsen my health... also all the many health issues that has been appearing time to time, the symptoms list can grow!:( As others mention above, stress is a daily component in our lives, and its real, althought many people dont believe about our invisible health condition, they have no idea how painful is (what makes myself even more stressed :mad:).
I've been researching about a different forms of healing and reading about mind detox and self healing studies (eg Louise Hay). Its been helpfull, despite im not fully healed, but i can certainly tell you its another empowering "tool" on my aid box. ;)
I hope you feel in control of your symptoms very soon, and please try to not find yourself in anyway "guilty", that would just give you more stress. Just be open with your doctors, do not hide your stress, they might be able to help you.
IF your stress has been the cause of such problems you would have a much more peaceful time when you feel that your health are improving and that you are able to self manage your actual symptoms, a stress/pain free life as much as possible :)
talk about this with your doctors too
hope i help somehow
lots of love
Carla