Pain And Ptsd

[sun seeker]

Oh yes, chronic pain of various kinds is very common after trauma. Studies show that most fibromyalgia patients start exhibiting symptoms after a trauma of some kind. Scientific explanations aside, the way I look at it the pressure builds up to a point where we have to express the pain we feel somehow, and sometimes expressing it physically is more socially acceptable than expressing it emotionally.

I feel for you with the tooth ache. The peroxide is a good suggestion, but it takes time and you have to be very persistent with it. Another thing you can use is a compress of cloves to dull the nerve endings. I once worked with a woman who had abscessed teeth and couldn't go to a dentist for physical reasons. The doctor prescribed a mouthwash that made more of a difference than either of the above methods. No idea what was in it but would you be willing to talk to your GP? I know sometimes just seeing a doctor can be a trigger - it can for me anyway - but it sounds like you are really needing some help.

 

[TXbandit]

Hey Little Flower. Been thinking about you. Hope you feel better hun :) :hug:

 

[Seagreen]

Sympathy for he tooth ache @Little Flower. I hope that you are able to find the courage to have it sorted out soon as infection is bad news.

I get a lot of muscular aches and pains in my back, face and head. Not sure if that is from my PTSD. At night I clench my jaw a lot and cant seem to relax the muscles in my upper back or pelvis even when laying in bed. I think its all the nervous energy trying to get out.

 

[Chava]

My most bothersome symptoms are chronic pain, especially when it clouds my whole upper body. I was reading something on how the stress response messes with the inflammatory stuff...I'm not even using the right words....but it makes sense. When I really stressed or triggered, the pain feels acute. With ongoing stress like this, it like seeps all over. My whole body is over-reacting. I can't just pain meds to solve my problems. I take some to function, but have to work on better movement, maybe some Chinese medicine stuff, hopefully being able to still do SE and movement therapy if my new insurance company doesn't suck. Nobody in my family has my pain problems. nobody in my family has my early medical trauma and abuse in their background either. So I connect all of it to cues that were never learned early on. Also my back pain is almost like fibrosis caused by lung collapse, but my breathing is fine. Mostly I'm strong and healthy, but a bad day will become SO bad...everything hurts, like my body is being attacked from the inside and I don't even know what triggered the situation...I just have a total meltdown and feel immobilized, and likely glued between far past and present in a really messy way.

 

[sun seeker]

My favourite book by far on what early trauma does to people and how it can be healed, is Healing Developmental Trauma. It goes into detail about how and why certain emotional and physical symptoms are related to trauma at specific developmental stages. One thing it explains is that we have membranes, or diaphragms, in several parts of the body we never hear about - one is the soles of the feet - and these membranes are unnaturally tightened in people with early trauma. This can lead to physical symptoms such as migraines. I really like how it explains the physical process by which we develop supposed "psychosomatic" symptoms. And I know I've said this before, but I really wish more therapists were trained in the Neuroaffective Relational Model the book describes, which has some things in common with SE but goes far beyond it in scope.

I've wondered whether there is a relationship between chronic stress and tooth decay, but haven't found anything on this. My own teeth seem to develop cavities faster than they should considering how well I take care of them, and my dentist is noncommittal as to why. Maybe stress contributes to an acidic body condition that contributes to eroding enamel? I don't know, it's just something I've wondered about.

 

[Chava]

@sun seeker looks like a very good book. I hesitate to even learn more because at this point I don't know if my new insurance will be able to help at all with somatic therapy (I've been doing somatic psychotherapy, Dance/Movement Therapy and SE...lots of regulation, trying to be in my body, and little bits of trauma release)...I don't want to feel stuck with new knowledge and lack of hope or just that stuck feeling...not sure if that even makes sense. But I want to just forget all of this and live on a semi-pretend level just to be okay. I think there is a lot of sense and hope in this sort of study but F#k the world if nobody can afford the therapy that might make sense (my new insurance company sucks). Anyway, saving the link for future if I dare.

 

[Seagreen]

@sun seeker I wondered that about dental cavities too. They have always been a problem for me. High levels of stress would have to reduce the immune system. Which could explain increased risk of cavities and infection in the mouth. I've broken my tailbone a few times. The first was 10 years ago and the pain / numbness has never gone away even after several years between reinjuring it. I'm not sure if my poor recovery has anything to do with PTSD.

 

[Chava]

As for teeth, I supposedly have almost no enamel. Lots of silver and porcelain in my mouth. I've cracked some teeth too...grind my teeth in my sleep sometimes. Not helpful. I don't know about a possible acid connection (would show up elsewhere too, right?) but I know lots of stuff gets connected. I mainly noticed the stress-tension-spasms-inflammation-meltdown cycle.

 

[sun seeker]

I don't want to feel stuck with new knowledge and lack of hope or just that stuck feeling...not sure if that even makes sense.

Yes, that makes sense. I felt a bit gypped when my previous therapist gave me the book to read and I loved it... but then found she isn't trained in that method, nor is there anyone around here who is. So I have the knowledge, and now what? I haven't even gotten to the point of wondering about how to pay for it, it just isn't available. I don't know where in the U.S. you are but the authors are centred in LA and have trained others.
Where I do feel the knowledge helps, for me anyway, is in terms of validation. So many books I've read about trauma and recovery - and I've read a lot - focus only a little on the recovery aspect and give generalized advice that I don't find very helpful. Like many of us, I've worked really hard trying to find a solution for myself, and most methods just don't work. The longer this goes on the more it contributes to the feeling that there is something fundamentally flawed about me and my problems are hopeless. This book is the first I've read that really gave me hope that if I were able to use the methods it suggests, it would make a significant difference. In that way, it makes me feel better about myself. And maybe there are at least some parts of what it suggests that my new therapist (crossing my fingers - we haven't met yet) would be willing to use. It sounds like you have several people you are working with on trauma release, and I wonder if some of them would be willing to learn more?

 

[sun seeker]

I don't know about a possible acid connection (would show up elsewhere too, right?) but I know lots of stuff gets connected. I mainly noticed the stress-tension-spasms-inflammation-meltdown cycle.

The inflammation part of it would tell me there is a problem with excess acidity, as there is a strong connection between a too-acidic condition and inflammation anywhere in the body. So it sounds to me (not that I'm an expert) as if it is showing up elsewhere. Apart from diet, stress is a major contributor to an overly acidic body, so probably most of us have this problem.

I wondered that about dental cavities too. They have always been a problem for me. High levels of stress would have to reduce the immune system. Which could explain increased risk of cavities and infection in the mouth.

Yes, and something else I've wondered about teeth is the Catch-22 where acid reflux (which can be caused by stress) erodes enamel, but antacids leach calcium and other minerals from the bones and, I would imagine, also the teeth. I've had digestive problems for years and would guess this is part of what's harming my teeth.

I also have a dry mouth, even though I'm not taking any medications that are supposed to cause it. I've tried some herbs that are supposed to help but they don't really. Anyone have any ideas on that?

Little Flower seems to have disappeared for the time being, hope she's feeling better.

 

[Chava]

@sun seeker Interesting. I don't know anything about food acidity. I'm trying to eat stuff that is considered less inflammatory though (probably less acidic too then?) and keep learning. Overly processed foods are the devil.

My therapist does all this somatic and movement stuff but that's what probably won't be covered by my new insurance. I feel like I'm just permanently disabled. My back is so f##ked up right now. Insurance will probably just cover a regular GP check up and, if I'm lucky, meeting with some social worker who wants to ask me what I'm doing for fun. Not helpful, and so the standard talk therapies available leave me even more with that "I'm-F#cked" feeling. It would be easier to not do anything therapy and not try, in a completely lost and confused way, to get better but just find a new or different way to adapt better.

 

[sun seeker]

I'm trying to eat stuff that is considered less inflammatory though (probably less acidic too then?) and keep learning. Overly processed foods are the devil.

Yes, if you're doing that you're on the right track. Processed sugar is the most acid-forming food there is. In fact, there is a naturopath I read about who claims one sugar cube could kill you if not for the body's response of immediately leaching minerals out of the bones to buffer the acidity. Not that I've stopped eating it myself, though I have cut down.

Insurance will probably just cover a regular GP check up and, if I'm lucky, meeting with some social worker who wants to ask me what I'm doing for fun. Not helpful, and so the standard talk therapies available leave me even more with that "I'm-F#cked" feeling.

Right, I get it. What do they teach in social worker school anyway??

I don't have any brilliant ideas for you, but I do still recommend the book.