Oh your opinion is welcome. My tendons are all very swollen and the docs are perplexed as to the cause. They do not respond to treatment. So they are sending me to a specialist in pain in a few weeks. Mayo clinic seems to be more concerned about my pain then previous doctors. I used to see a neurologist. I would get shots in my neck and spine. One day he gave me seventeen shots in my muscles and tendons in my back and shoulder area. Really it did not help much just made me fat. It is a serious problem.
Edited to say do not respond to treatment. I had left out the not.
milly2009-05-13 11:02:04[QUOTE=milly]Oh your opinion is welcome. My tendons are all very swollen and the docs are perplexed as to the cause. They do respond to treatment. So they are sending me to a specialist in pain in a few weeks. Mayo clinic seems to be more concerned about my pain then previous doctors. I used to see a neurologist. I would get shots in my neck and spine. One day he gave me seventeen shots in my muscles and tendons in my back and shoulder area. Really it did not help much just made me fat. It is a serious problem. [/QUOTE]
I'm sorry you are in so much pain Milly. I hope that the pain specialist can get to the bottom of what is causing your problems and that you can get some well deserved relief!
I think the most telling part of that article was this part:
But in people with chronic pain, a front region of the cortex mostly associated with emotion "never shuts up," said Dante Chialvo, lead author and associate research professor of physiology at the Feinberg School. "The areas that are affected fail to deactivate when they should."
They are stuck on full throttle, wearing out neurons and altering their connections to each other.
I have read similar studies re:pain/over-reactivity/hyper-emotionality and indeed have had the personal experience of being in a situation where unrelenting pain was my constant companion. I found myself living on the edges of my emotions, being quarrelsome, responding harshly to even the most innocuous conversations, and dissolving in a puddle of emotions, tears, or rage at no provocation whatsoever.
Good reminder Lynn: emotional reactivity can be, and often is, a sign that pain is out of control and the symptoms of our diseases are running our lives.
To pain being controlled, to gaining and maintaining self-control, and to being aware enough to recognize the signs then seek professional help. Cheers, Shug
Scarry isn't it. I saw a show once about a lady that was stuck in bed and was completely immobalised and stiff because of a hamstring injury. I think they gave her sezure medication.
milly2009-05-13 18:33:25Another reason to control pain either by pain medications, a pain clinic, biofeedback, meditation, walking, whatever it takes. Like Shug, I've been there and through a very physically painful period and I did eveything I could to lessen the pain level. Some worked, some didn't and it finally resolved with many changes of meds. Thanks for the article, Lynn. LindyAfter reading this, I should maybe rethink my pain med issues. Good article and a must read for RA suffers...
It is a constant struggle knowing what the best approach is. I have to admit money comes into play when you get into things like PT. I worry about the money side with Lyrica also. I have a pretty good supply of sample bottles. I think this is one of those physically addicting meds. So I have to have the doc call in a prescription and see what the out of pocket cost is. I worry about alot of things don't I. It is said not to stop taking without a doctors advise. I guess I will worry less when I find out how much it will cost. He is going to call me next week to see how I am doing on them and I am not sure see if he needs to raise the dose?
Maybe the pain doctor will know something different.
It is to quite I am babysitting teenagers. I think they went out side. Time to go get emotional. Some times it comes in handy.
I was just watching a show on schitzophrenia. They showed scans of the brain on and off of medication. So I am wondering if they did this same scan of someone on Lyrica if the scan would be different? That is any pain medication that was actually working?
Milly, although the following article does not directly address your question, the information provided should be the basis of a sound theory upon which an answer can be formulated.
___________________________
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/03/AR2008110301698.htmlScans Reveal Brain Abnormalities in Fibromyalgia Patients
HealthDay Reporter
Monday, November 3, 2008; 12:00 AM
MONDAY, Nov. 3 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers have detected abnormalities in the brains of people with fibromyalgia, a complex, chronic condition characterized by muscle pain and fatigue.
"We showed in our study that the functional abnormalities observed were mainly related to disability," and not to anxiety and depression status, said Dr. Eric Guedj, the study's lead author and a researcher at Centre Hospitalier-Universitaire de la Timone in France.
While some researchers have suggested that the pain reported by fibromyalgia patients was the result of depression, the new study suggests otherwise. The abnormalities found on brain scans done by the study authors were independent of the women's anxiety and depression levels, Guedj said.
The French researchers evaluated 20 women diagnosed with fibromyalgia and 10 healthy women without the condition who served as a control group. They asked all the women to respond to questionnaires to determine levels of pain, disability, anxiety and depression.
Then, the researchers performed brain imaging called single photon emission computed tomography, or SPECT.
The imaging showed that women with the syndrome had "brain perfusion" -- or blood flow abnormalities -- compared to the healthy women. The researchers then found that these abnormalities were directly correlated with the severity of disease symptoms.
An increase in blood flow was found in the brain region known to discriminate pain intensity, the researchers found.
The findings were published in the November issue ofThe Journal of Nuclear Medicine.
An estimated 10 million Americans are thought to have fibromyalgia, the majority of them women, according to the National Fibromyalgia Association. They report a history of widespread pain in all four quadrants of the body for at least three months, and pain in at least 11 of 18 "tender points."
Besides pain, fibromyalgia symptoms include fatigue; problems with cognitive functioning, memory and concentration; difficulty sleeping; and stiffness.
The cause of fibromyalgia remains a mystery, according to the association, but it may occur following physical trauma such as an injury, experts say. Treatments focus on relieving symptoms and helping patients function.
In previous research, Guedj and his team had found functional abnormalities in areas of the brain of fibromyalgia patients. The latest study goes a step further, demonstrating that the brain abnormalities are correlated with disease severity, he said.
Dr. Patrick Wood, senior medical adviser for the National Fibromyalgia Association, said the new study provides "further evidence of an objective difference between patients with fibromyalgia and those who don't have the disorder." Wood reviewed the study results but was not involved with the research.
Other studies have found a correlation between brain abnormalities and fibromyalgia symptoms, Wood said, adding that the new study adds more evidence and information on how the abnormalities affect patients.
More information
To learn more about fibromyalgia, visit the National Fibromyalgia Association.
SOURCES: Eric Guedj, M.D., researcher, Centre
Hospitalier-Universitaire de la Timone, Marseille, France; Patrick
Wood, M.D., senior medical adviser, National Fibromyalgia Association,
chief medical officer, Angler Biomedical, Rockville, Md.; November
2008,The Journal of Nuclear Medicine
© 2008 Scout News LLC. All rights reserved.
So they need to decrease blood flow to the brain. Scary thought. I would hate to get that wrong.
[QUOTE=milly]So they need to decrease blood flow to the brain. Scary thought. I would hate to get that wrong.[/QUOTE]
Well...that certainly was not my impression from reading the article. The scans demonstrated that increased perfusion was present in fibromyalgia patients. I did not read any recommendations to decrease the blood flow to the brain, although I admit that I may have missed that implication.
My purpose in posting this dated article, was in response to your question re: brain scans and Lyrical. It seems, at least to my admittedly limited understanding, that yes, the scans of people who were taking Lyrica for specific symptoms would be altered in before and after MRI sequences; one series taken before beginning the medication, one after the medication had reached a therapeutic level.Well the show I watched on schitzophrenia they did a scan of the brain on unmedicated patients. It showed red in a particular area of the brain. After they were given proper medication the red area was no longer presant.
The way to truly fix an abnormality in my opinion is to correct it. However I am saying that would be possibly dangerous to correct if over corrected. I did not get my thinking from the article. I am getting it more from a show I watched. Just thinking outloud.
Interesting post.
[QUOTE=milly]Well the show I watched on schitzophrenia they did a scan of the brain on unmedicated patients. It showed red in a particular area of the brain. After they were given proper medication the red area was no longer presant.[/quote]
Yes, most schizophrenics demonstrate a readily recognized set of brain patterns, however does the red correspond to blood flow or to activity. It is my limited understanding that the various colours of brain scans represent activity in the brain. Can you tell me, please, what the correlation is between chronic pain, and schizophrenia, please be explicit for my sake.
I have obviously lost the trail from the previous parts of this discussion to this part of the discussion.
It doesn't take much to confuse me, and I am, without a doubt confused right now.Outside of the brain there is no correlition between the two. There is a difference between brain activity and blood flow.
I am just wondering if a person with fibromyalgia, say in remission would show differently on the brain scan than they would show while in a flare. I am not trying to confuse you. Fibromyalgia is a confusing problem. There is not much understood about it.
Also I guess what I am saying is that since it is bloodflow, not activity is that it may not be possible to fix.
On the brighter side it can go away all on it's own some times. Or go into remission for periods of time.
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