Some interesting information about nerve pain in general

I saw this on the TMS forum where most people have nerve pain, I thought this might apply to vulvodynia as well, since it's a type of peripheral nerve pain.


" I had a conversation with an ER doctor and an ER nurse about this very topic at one of the top hospitals in Chicago recently; I've also explored this concept in depth with my wonderful doctors at Mayo Clinic, Chicago Peripheral Nerve Center, University of Chicago, etc. It's all about recognizing that constant pain signals can indeed be quieted by embracing the neuroplasticity of your brain, as well as heightening your consciousness as an individual and fully integrating your physical, mental, and emotional health care in a positive way. It may take time, but please don't lose hope. It is possible to heal, and don't let anybody tell you otherwise! Central censitization is just the brain getting stuck in a loop after experiencing traumatic or substantial circumstances (physically, mentally, and/or emotionally) - the loop can be broken.

As an example of neural retraining, my internist and neurologist at Mayo Clinic gave me some advice when I was recently diagnosed with hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos (which is closely tied to autonomic dysfunction and overactive mast cells - both of which I had been suffering from so badly, I was actively planning to commit suicide). According to them, I had to learn how to retrain my brain and how it processes continuous pain signals from my hyperactive nerves. Chicago Peripheral Nerve Center assigned biofeedback and meditation to me as well. And guess what... IT ALL WORKED! My Mayo internist specifically warned me to not log onto online message boards and read horror stories from other patients with negative attitudes all day, as they said that would absolutely seal my fate as a hopelessly sick patient with no future. They asserted that my condition lies on a spectrum and some people do have worse situations than me, but they also said that many people could better themselves and their situations if they truly wanted and knew how to (for what it's worth, better doesn't have to mean perfect). I went from having pain that averaged from being an 8 to 10 out of 10, to pain that is now a 1 to 2 out of 10 at the most (with 1 being almost no pain and 10 being extremely unbearable pain). Despite having structural issues, I was still able to calm my autonomic nervous system and mast cells down, and anxiety, depression, and stress were indeed the driving forces behind the issues. Similarly, central sensitization also requires some retraining of the brain; I've discussed this with Northwestern University, Chicago Peripheral Nerve Center, etc. as a patient. I was fascinated with the idea of central sensitization, so I had to inquire!

It must be noted that central sensitization has been said to not have a high rate of recovery, but that's only because a lot of medical professionals and patients aren't aware of the neuroplasticity of the brain. The medical world instead tries to "help" patients by simply prescribing them medications like Cymbalta and Lyrica, and then telling them to go home and hope the medications will scramble some of the stronger pain signals. These medications may work for some individuals, but they aren't actually addressing the root of the central sensitization problem - the pain loop still continues in the background. Additionally, similar to how Jeff Goldblum's character famously says "life finds a way" in Jurassic park, pain signals within the body eventually find a way to make it back to the brain (they want to be heard!), so the medication's effectiveness often reduces over time. This is why patients frequently say a medication stopped working and need multiple dosage increases. The good news? As members of this forum who deeply understand and believe in the mind-body connection (and it's critical to our own success that we do truly understand and believe), we do recognize that neuroplasticity is real, so we can beat the "pain brain."

At the end of the day, a lot of these "separate" conditions really aren't so separate from TMS - it all boils down to the mind-body connection and ending that pain loop/cycle.

Some good reading material: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/health-science/training-the-brain-to-beat-pain/news-story/45ad7b7daaaf3c4bbbab6c76b0190ac7 (Nocookies)"

Thank you Mary Jane, it was an interesting read