In retrospect, I was not mentally ready for the switch from medicine to surgery. I could barely tie a knot, much less make an incision. My stress levels went through the roof.

The burning begins

I began to notice a slight burning sensation on the balls of my feet as I went for a jog. I didn’t think much about it and thought that it was a combination of the warm pavement combined with the jarring associated with running. It became progressively more constant and clearly was not due to the heat of the pavement.

Feet on fire

I moved to Sun Valley in 1999. It was a difficult time for me personally. The persistent warmth in my feet was aggravating, but still tolerable. One night that abruptly changed. I had experienced a particularly difficult day and became extremely upset. Within 12 hours, the burning dramatically increased to a level where they felt like they were in a toaster oven. It didn’t matter what I did, the pain wouldn’t abate. Seeing patients usually distracted me from the pain. Now, it didn’t help. The only time I didn’t experience the severe pain was during surgery and it persisted for six months.

It strikes me as I am writing this how frustrating it is to describe your pain to other people. Words really cannot convey the severity of this pain and the absolute frustration I felt being trapped by it. I can sense this same frustration in almost every patient who is trying to convey his or her suffering to me. Hand over the stove

I knew how angry I was at life. I intellectually knew that my anger was a problem, but I didn’t connect it to the pain, nor could I let it go. Every possible diagnostic was normal. I continued to sink into what I now term the “Abyss.” I define the abyss as “anxiety multiplied by anger multiplied by time”. I could not see a solution or the possibility of one. I completely lost hope. I don’t think words can convey the depth of suffering when you are so trapped.

Understanding my victimhood

It was on Mother’s Day 2002 that I realized what a victim role I had placed myself into. Prior to that moment I honestly didn’t understand what being a victim entailed. I was frequently frustrated and was quick to blame anyone close by for my problems. As I felt so “right” in having these emotions, I thought it was just a normal way to be. It is such a powerful role that I realized that I would never willingly want to surrender it. I had to simply choose whether I was going to remain in that role or not. I chose to give it up.

Relief

Within two weeks the burning began to abate and within three months it returned to the baseline nuisance pain I had experienced for over 20 years. It took me a while before I linked the improvement to my letting go of the victim role. Burning sensations throughout your body are one of the symptoms of the Neurophysiological Disorder (NPD).

Dr. Schubiner’s test for NPD

I still experience intermittent flare-ups that clearly are related to extreme stress and lack of restful  sleep. I also quit using the tools that had pulled me out of pain, such as the expressive writing, relaxation, getting consistent sleep and allowing myself to remain angry. Other symptoms that reappear are migratory skin rashes, knee pain, tinnitus, insomnia, and scalp itching. These episodes resolve quickly once I re-engage with some basic strategies and realizing how deeply I had fallen back into a victim role. I’m always a bit perplexed why I keep jumping back into the pain mode.

I am well-aware of the fact that many patients suffer from documented peripheral neuropathy caused by diabetes, thyroid imbalance, vitamin deficiencies and those of unknown cause. This situation is created by damage to the substance of the nerves. It’s unclear how much of the suffering could be alleviated by the DOC (Direct your Own Care) process. My situation did not show any abnormalities on EMG testing.

The burning can occur in any part of of the body. One of the more common areas is around the mouth. Decades ago I had a friend with this problem, well before I had a clue about the neurological nature of chronic pain. I don’t know if she ever found relief.

Pain and anger

The link between anger and the pain circuitry is absolute. Pain is a warning signal that creates anxiety and often anger to cause you to take action to protect yourself. Then when other circumstances agitate you there is a reverse connection to the pain circuits. It’s a miserable endless loop. That’s why it’s essentially impossible to have pain relief unless you can let go of your anger, including your deepest anger. Since anger is also permanently embedded in your brain, forgiveness is an ongoing daily process. It’s both the most rewarding and challenging part of healing.

The post My Feet on Fire first appeared on Back in Control.

The post My Feet on Fire appeared first on Back in Control.

Dr. Sarno

He is a well-known physiatrist who described the “tension myositis syndrome.” (TMS) I had been familiar with his observations described in his best-selling 1984 book, Mind Over Back Pain. He felt that the nervous system was created muscle tension and inflammation. He also made the astute observation that anger or rage was a critical factor in the evolution of chronic pain. He was partially correct about the anger, but modern neuroscience research has shown that the symptoms are created from the physiological response to threat and not primarily from muscle tension.

Dr. Schubiner

Howard Schubiner is a pain physician who practices in Detroit, MI, who spent time with Dr. Sarno. He has authored a book, Unlearn Your Pain, which addresses chronic pain as one of the symptoms of the Mind Body Syndrome (MBS), which is another name for the tension myositis syndrome. I have chosen the term, Neurophysiologic Disorder (NPD).

In March of 2011, he was one of the keynote speakers of a seminar I co-chaired, A Course on Compassion-Empathy in the Face of Chronic Pain. I had a vague understanding of what I had been through but was still searching for more answers. As I sat in the lecture I had a deep insight into my experience and it instantly all made sense. He concisely presented the over 30 possible symptoms of stressed nervous system and I realized that I had experienced almost half of them. In chapter five of his book, Unlearn Your Pain, Dr. Schubiner lists 33 symptoms of NPD (He uses the term Mind Body Syndrome).

The Neurophysiological Disorder (NPD) – Make the Right Diagnosis

As your nervous system is connected to and controls every cell in your body, the potential symptoms and combinations are almost endless. Mainstream medicine does not embrace these concepts and that would, historically, include me. I have both watched it and experienced it. Our medical culture has “medicalized” a neurological diagnosis. The first step in being successful in treating any disease is making the correct diagnosis.

My Experience with NPD

Here is the list of my symptoms of NPD. I will tell the stories in detail in later posts.

• Migraine headaches
• Migratory skin rashes
• Severe burning in both of my feet
• Obsessive compulsive disorder
• PTSD
• Anxiety/panic attacks
• Severe depression
• Chronic tendonitis
• Heartburn/acid reflux
• Tinnitus
• Insomnia
• Back/neck pain
• Tension headaches
• Unrelenting itching
• Chest pain
• Palpitations

Every one of these symptoms has vanished or is at a level that causes minimal interference with my quality of life. However, if I quit practicing the principles that I am teaching some of my symptoms will re-occur in about two weeks. These are permanent pathways. Usually my ears will begin to ring, my feet will burn and a skin rash will appear on the back of both of my wrists.  Fail well

Terminology

There have been many attempts at using a term to describe the array of symptoms that occur when your body is full of adrenaline and cortisol. These terms include:

• Tension Myositis Syndrome (TMS)
• Mind Body Syndrome (MBS)
• Stress Illness Syndrome
• Central Sensitization Syndrome
• Neurophysiologic Disorder (NPD)

All of these terms are describing the same process. Any stress, perceived or real is going to put your body into a fight-or-flight mode and you will experience multiple physical symptoms. The key to healing is feeling safe, which creates a wonderful chemical environment where you can both physically and mentally thrive. It is a learned skill that is not difficult.

The post My Battle with NPD first appeared on Back in Control.

The post My Battle with NPD appeared first on Back in Control.

Dr. Howard Schubiner is board-certified in pediatrics, adolescent medicine, and internal medicine. He was a full time professor at Wayne State University for 18 years and now works at Providence Hospital in Southfield, MI. He is the founder of the Mind Body Clinic and the co-author of several of my posts on the Neurophysiological Disorder.

Neurophysiological Disorder is news to a surgeon

I am a surgeon. Like all surgeons I am focused on finding a source of pain that I can fix. When this happens, my patient is happy. When I make my patient happy, I’m the hero, and that makes me happy. Not finding an exact cause of your pain is almost as frustrating for me as it is for you. The Doctor is Missing Something

Neurophysiological Disorder (NPD)

Dr. Schubiner presented recent neurological research demonstrating that the brain has a quality called neuroplasticity, the ability to create new nerve pathways in response to life events. When you learn to ride a bicycle or play the piano or swing a golf club, your brain cells develop new neural circuits that are connected to your body. They consist of millons of nerve cells. What most doctors do not know is that pain can be caused by these learned embedded circuits. Even when there is no tissue damage in the body, such as a tumor, fracture, or infection these connections can cause real physical pain.

Emotional Pain = Physical Pain

Recent research done in Pittsburgh has shown that the brain can create pain which is identical to the pain of a physical injury. We have also learned that an emotional insult is processed in exactly the same way in the brain as a physical injury (Kross). We now know that stressful life events and our emotional reactions to them can cause severe pain. Treating this type of pain with pain medications, injections, or surgery is usually not effective. These treatments often leave the patient extremely frustrated and depressed. However, when the true cause of the pain is recognized, these pathways can be reversed by programs utilizing NPD principles. Dr. Schubiner’s book Unlearn Your Pain outlines one process. This website is also another resource along with the book Back in Control. The key is using tools that create alternative neurological detours.

Your brain can generate pain

The notion that all pain has an identifiable structural source overlooks several key points:

• Soft tissue injury can occur at a level that is below the sensitivity of any diagnostic test.
• Tissues can be irritated without being torn—another undetectable injury. The irritation occurs through inflammation, which is a chemical, not mechanical, source.
• There is no routine diagnostic test to specifically tell us that the nervous system is “short circuiting” from the Neurophysiological Disorder.We do know that if a “functional MRI” (which shows what part of the brain is “active”) was performed on a patient who suffers from NPD, then the pain parts of the brain would light up.

Fibromyalgia

We enjoy treating NPD – especially chronic pain

The post Neurophysiological Disorder -“Short Circuits” first appeared on Back in Control.

The post Neurophysiological Disorder -“Short Circuits” appeared first on Back in Control.