[ozzie]

I had a session with a health psychologist today at the headache / pain control center that I've been going to this past month since I learned I was having migraines. According to her, our brains can't tell the difference between emotional pain and whether someone kicks us in the shin. It all registers as pain.

She is trying to motivate me to do something about the emotional pain in my life in an attempt to relieve some of the physical pain in my head. She said medication won't get rid of all of it.

What are your thoughts about this? I may have heard this before but to tell the truth, this Topamax has me so "stupid" right now that I really don't know much of anything.

[pachyderm]

I get migraine "auras" but not the headache. It appears to happen when something emotionally stressful has happened -- even thoughts alone. That jibes with what your psychologist said.

[LadyDragus]

I get migranes all the time.. I'm going to my first visit at St Johns health and something or other office on the 16th of this month.. They are going to try and help me with the FM pain, the Migrane pain and all other ascepts of my life..

My new thearpist said something along the lines you spoke of Ozzie.. She belives that we all need to let ourselves heal, and try to deal with the all of it.. and once we do deal and start to heal, some of the pain will go away.. not all of it, as no one is ever with otu some type of pain....

[DePressMe]

Well, I don't know if this is helpful...a health psychologist taught a class I took in college. He said the same things about pain--that emotional pain can cause what appears to be physical pain--migraines and such. That taking care of yourself emotionally was an important part of feeling good physically. I think that sounds realistic...

[biiv]

i completely agree with the psychologist ozzie. i know for myself that stress and emotional pain does translate into literal pain e.g. in my back, stomach and mostly head. i know this because occasionally when it happens it will vanish when i do some meditation, stomach upset/cramps go when i do some deep, centred breathing and of course my body does the strangest things during and after seeing my T. i can get smashing headaches accompanied with dizziness and nausea when i leave T sometimes and they go when/if i can calm myself down again.
i think going with that theory cant hurt anyway in your case!
good luck. i really hope you can get some relief soon.
if you would like them
biiv

[Perna]

Makes sense in a "mind over matter" sort of way?

Explanation similar to what your psychologist said: http://www.painrelievers.org/html/learn_about_pain.html

This page on psychological ways to reduce pain looks especially helpful: http://www.painrelievers.org/html/letter_2.html

[eskielover]

I believe it to an extent, but I also know that unless the pain is controlled, you can't work on the other things because pain is a consuming thing that takes over the whole body & mind, not allowing it to think about relaxing or anything else.

I believe that pain medication to take away the pain & also work on the issues....when most of the issues have been taken care of then one can reduce the pain meds gradually & the pain should not be there if the theory works.

So what in the world is wrong with pain meds to give you back some quality of life while you are working on the issues.....then just don't want to deal with prescribing the meds that help with the pain because they are controlled substances & don't want to chance the DEA coming down on them.

I know that I have other painful issues going on (my teeth for one) besides the migraines that were 24/7. For a long while 4 years to be exact, I wasn't dealing with any migraine pain once I was on the duragesic pataches.....Even when I went through the trauma with my Mother, the only pain I was in was from the central line for the IV nutrition.....but now. During the truck drive from CA to KY, there were days when the migraine was coming back....not permanently, but twindges were there & with the stress I am going through now, I can relate to the pain being caused my stress.....at least the pain isn't debilitating like it was & I am able to live while dealing with other issues of my life.

I don't believe it's all one way or the other....think both have valid sides.
Debbie

[ozzie]

You guys are such a big help! I think she was talking about how emotional pain feels the same as any and all other pain to our brains. Hmmmm...... break your leg and your brain might as well think someone broke your heart???

I do believe there is a connection and I've always heard that stress can make us physically ill. It's not a coincidence that I never had a migraine till my husband retired. Not placing blame, just stating a fact.

I think the doctors should have mentioned that the cure for migraines was to reduce your ability to think. (thanks to this awful medication)

[(JD)]

First let me say congrats on seeking expert help!
Second, let me tell you Topamax is either good or bad for you (the pharmacist says it works or it makes you sick) lol It made me sick.
Third, yes! I see a clinical psychologist for pain and stress management. Now you know why. I also have chronic pain. It's all to help me get the pain to a manageable level so I can live day to day.

The old way of thinking is finally going out the window. The mind and body are so intertwined you cannot separate them.

I'm sure your T will remind you about the stress chemicals and the fight flee or freeze response we have to stressors (fight or flight.) When these stressors don't go away, and our systems continue to kick out the cortisol (not only do we become fat but..) that hormone begins to cause the rest of the systems to break down causing hypertension, irritable bowel, heart conditions, well, it's a huge laundry list!

Don't even think..and I mean this... DON'T EVER EVEN THINK THAT IT'S ALL IN YOUR HEAD though. That is not what is happening. Yes, there is plenty of mind over matter, we do that daily in life, but it's not the only way to ease pain.

Emotional pain causes stress, and thus the brain has the same reaction: fight or flight.

Good wishes on your continued healing. Unfortunately when it involves couples, when one begins to heal, the other often becomes upset and sometimes the relationship fails. It's because in both of your ill-ness, you feed each other and feed on each other, when one heals, that doesn't happen any more. Hope he goes to someone also.

TC

[LadyDragus]

Topmax used to work on my migranes. a few years ago.. But after I had my little boy... They started me out ona differnt dose which was all in good, till I got to the takeing two in the moring and two at night (50mg) and my panic attacks started to get worse.. So did my anxiety.... I could rarealy go out of the house...

I stoped taking topmax and my doc put me on Lyrcia 75mg twice a day.

Seeking help with your migranes is a wonderful thign to do.

I so hope you do not ever have them as bad as mine are to me... I know everyone's pain is differnt, but i'm here in body and spirt Susan..
In love and light
Lady. D. .. Trish

[heyjoe]

I believe that stress and emotional turmoil can give you pain in the form of headaches and also make existing physical pain feel worse, due most likely to inflammation, however, i think that this theory in pain management is being used to dismiss patients illness or pains as being pscyhosomatic when they cant find the cause or are too lazy or uninformed to persue the myriad of testing that pertains to the diagnosis of some diseases. I think also that this theory in pain management is used by quite a few doctors who because of fear of the DEA ,dont want to prescribe the narcotics that may be necessary for the patient to achieve livable levels of pain. I read and hear so many stories of doctors refusing to prescribe needed pain relievers and also of doing a few tests and then telling the person their symptoms and or pain are caused by stress.

[Fuzzybear]

((((((((((((((((( ozzie )))))))))))))))))