Pat, Sky and Freewill, better late to the party then a no show huh? On pain, I understand that we tighten muscles as a result of mental or physical stress. Our bodies are trying to protect us. What is hard for me is that the muscle tension is real and palpable and in it'self a cause for enormous pain. What I am not getting is that it is physiological and while I can tell my body to breath deep and blow out the stress and pain, the pain is real and sometimes unbearable. Yes we can learn lots of ways of coping. My P.T. did some major deep tissue stuff the other day and it has been really sore but not painful? Does that make sense? Sore to touch but not pain like I know.

This is a very interesting topic to me as I have NO idea what the RIGHT treatment is for pain. I can understand a doc not wanting to give too many narcotics because as I look around me I can see gross abuse and sales of narcotics. But that makes people like me pay. I don't get the level of pain management I need because others abuse the system.

And, quite on another track, I sensed something up with my doc and it was this issue. Pain and being believed and use of narcotics. Big stuff but can I blame her when I see the abuse? But I still am angry to hear her say that when I have a PTSD flareup my pain is worse. Does it take her to figure out why that is? It's not in my head, it's just connected.

And then there is the issue of people who are addicted to narcotics for recreation and experience severe pain coming off. Physical pain? What is that about? It's all confusing.