Chronic Pain Support Group

Physicians and professionalsdefine pain as chronic if it lasts longer than three to six months and is persistent. It's distinct from acute pain that is a direct result of injury or trauma. This support group is dedicated to those suffering from chronic pain. Discuss treatments that have worked for you, find advice for your specific experience, and find support. You're not...

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Trancemission 05/18/2014

Im new here so I might know the rules of the game, but I like to discuss an issue with you. About twenty five years ago I was in a car accident and I started having pain and stiffness in my neck area. In addition to usual doctors and so-called pain specialists and pain clinics, I have been to a number of alternative therapists, including acupuncture; chiropractor; massage therapy, naturopathy; cranial therapy and Alexander Technique. Now the weird part is that for the last ten years or so, I have had the pain on alternate days. It means I feel normal one day and Im in pain the next day. I can even arrange my life around this schedule since I know on what days Ill be in pain. I have stopped telling therapists and doctors that my pain is every other day since they look at me if there is something psychosomatic going on. I was wondering if anyone out there has the same issue where the pain is every other day or on a schedule. I have googled this condition many times and have not found any similar cases. Many thanks. Mat

LynnJ55 05/18/2014

Hmmm...that's a tough one. The only thing I can recommend is keeping a pain journal for maybe a month, recording all your daily activities, meds you take, your pain levels (1 to 10), thoughts, etc. This has helped me in the past to track my various pain conditions and triggers. It seems like there should be an answer of some kind.

Take care.
Lynn

AnnNY 05/18/2014

Could it be that you over do it on pain free days and suffer the next day? Yesterday, I did the laundry (which is my most excruciating job) and today I'm on the couch and totally exhausted.

deleted_user 05/18/2014

Pain journal is the best idea. Don't over think it. Just write down everything you are doing, what hurts and when, what you take. If you live with someone ask them to write their observations.

This may be psychosomatic in that you experienced this and have convinced yourself that it is true. The mind is the most powerful part of the body. What would happen if you tell yourself it will only hurt every third day? Worth a shot.

deleted_user 05/18/2014

I've been in Chronic Pain and Pain Management for 28 years and I've worked with various different folks on various different Support Group Platforms over the years and can honestly say your the first person I've ever heard of with that particular problem.

Kat

Trancemission 05/19/2014

Thanks everyone for your comments. It's good to know there is such a caring community here. I will definitely give that "pain journal" a try. As I said it started about 10 years ago and it's been going on ever since. And believe you me, I've tried everything to break the cycle. It could be that I overdo it on my "good" days, but sometimes one has no choice, especially in my case since I'm still working. So I try to do all my task on my good days since I know on my bad day I simply have to lie in bed.
Kat, thanks for your honest answer. That's what I thought, but I'm puzzled what I should do about it...
Mat

RJRelaxing 05/19/2014

It does sound like you are planning your events around the one day on and the one day off cycle. If I have an event that I have to be in public for, I rest that entire day up to the time I have to get dressed so I can tolerate most of the event. It may be the same issue for you.

You do as much as you can on your planned good day, and recoup on your bad day. What might help is to pace yourself. Do the pain journal and see which activities increase your pain and your exhaustion. Then learn how to spread those out through out the week. Pace yourself with short breaks through out the day. This may allow you to function each day without having to shut down an entire day.

Just some thoughts. Wishing you well.
-RJ

yadlim 05/19/2014

Decades ago, I got a concussion. It took a couple years to figure out what triggered my migraines as there was about an 18 hour lag time between the trigger and the pain. It took someone pointing out to me that bright light - like watching a movie in a theater - would trigger a migraine the next day or the day after.

Once I had the idea, I was able to journal what I was doing to trigger by knowing the time delay. A couple years of making sure to avoid all triggers (which sucked) and I was migraine free. Give it a try, you might be surprised.

AnnNY 05/19/2014

I am reminded that I used to be in considerably less pain when on weekends and when out of the country. I was beginning to wonder if it was psychosomatic! Then I did an elimination diet and realized citrus (nice healthy citrus) was a pain trigger for me. I used to drink orange juice every weekday, but would run out on Friday morning, so no orange juice on weekends. Also, no one drinks orange juice in the other countries I used to visit. It all made sense once I figured that out.

deleted_user 05/20/2014

Mat,

Okay having said that, have you ever talked to a Dr. about trying to "retrain" your brain to interrupt that cycle and get things on a different cycle?

I'm not saying the pain is psychosomatic, but if you set your body/mind on a schedule, which is what you say your doing, your body/mind systems can get used to that cycle....the brain is a tricky instrument...it can be "programmed" to work in a certain way.

Kind of like detoxing off of a drug, you reset your brain chemistry...you might check with a Neurologist or Psychiatrist about trying to reset your "brain" schedule.

just a thought...

Kat

Trancemission 05/20/2014

I want to thank everyone for their constructive and helpful suggestions. Now I will try to put some of these suggestions to practice. I will try to eliminate certain foods from my diet and I will look into starting a pain diary. I was hoping that someone else in this community would have the same symptoms but it seems my condition is quite unique. So it might be psychosomatic after all. In that case Im not sure how I would deal with the issue. I cannot talk to my GP since he is a moron and I dont know how to find a qualified practitioner who deals with this kind of issue. But Im glad that I brought up this subject. Its better to talk than remain silent and suffer.
Mat

deleted_user 05/21/2014

Mat,

There are Psychiatrists who deal with Chronic Pain....you might check and see if there are any in your area. They might be able to give you some insight as to why this would be happening as it is. These Pdocs (psychiatrists) usually have Neurological Training as well.

Just a thought as to what the "jumping off" point might be for ya.

Kat

Trancemission 05/21/2014

Thanks Kat. The challenge is to find the right psychiatrist. I might ask my GP but most likely I'll get his blank look, like he does not want to take any responsibility. I guess the other challenge is to find the right GP.

Oh well, life is full of challenges.

Thanks for showing interest in my case and have a good one.

Mat.

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