How to deal with extreme physical pain • Hacker News Board

Re: How to deal with extreme physical pain

#221

Post by mtgx » Sat, Oct 31, 2020, 6:34 AM UTC

CobaltFire wrote: post #3

I’m dealing with chronic pain that’s bringing my current career to its end. I’m still unsure how active I’ll be able to be in the future due to it. In my case it’s autoimmune; my body has decided it’s going to destroy itself from the inside out. Arthritis, psoriasis, GI issues. It’s getting worse fast enough that I’m being transferred to a hospital for care (Military, stationed overseas) and preparation for retiremen…

Have you tried keto? I know I get mild arthritis when I eat some particular sweets or snacks. you should check your vitamin d, insulin and hba1c levels.

Re: How to deal with extreme physical pain

#222

Post by sebmellen » Sat, Oct 31, 2020, 6:36 AM UTC

chime wrote: post #165

Only posting this in case it helps anyone else. I am aware it is a single point of data in my case but it is backed by research and accepted medical advice ( https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3412202/ ). I had severe chronic pain from herniated disc that was not a perfect candidate for immediate surgery. My GP prescribed Cymbalta ( https://www.cochrane.org/CD007115/NEUROMUSC_duloxetine-treat... ) and I was…

Fascinating. I gained the ability to dissociate very similarly after I had all 4 wisdom teeth removed in one surgery as a teenager. Post-surgery, I fell into a very deep depression and took a fair amount of Hydrocodone for the pain.

For the next number of months, I could almost at will separate my "thinking/conscious" self from my depressed and deeply in pain self (due to a TMJ disorder from the surgery, when they had to crack my jawbone to excise the teeth).

I was prescribed an antidepressant, Prozac, at the time. Prozac is only an SSRI, not an SSNRI like Cymbalta, but the mechanisms of action may be similar. I've always wondered why I was able to do that kind of dissociation — it would make sense if the Prozac prompted it.

I think this same kind of dissociation can be achieved through tremendous discipline and practice at meditation. I think it was the technique used by Thích Quảng Đức when he self-immolated: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxrBik16Hzg.

Re: How to deal with extreme physical pain

#223

Post by [deleted] » Sat, Oct 31, 2020, 6:47 AM UTC

forgotmypw17 wrote: post #107

banana_giraffe wrote: post #12

I have a chronic condition that causes pain. One of the things I've learned, in as much as I can, is I don't tell anyone. I'd rather be rude than explain I'm in pain. Not because I don't appreciate sympathy. Not because I'm ashamed. It's because I don't want your advice on how to make the pain go away or to deal with it. I'm tired of advice. I've got too much advice. I try things, I research issues. I talk to doctors…

I think you're being unnecessarily dismissive of good, reliable information coming your way. Anecdotal advice is some of the most reliable, trustworthy advice that we come across. All those studies are affected by agendas from dozens of individuals and organizations, not to mention potentially poor procedure and general incompetence. You're being gifted information which was transported to you graciously from an actu…

[deleted]

Re: How to deal with extreme physical pain

#224

Post by shakna » Sat, Oct 31, 2020, 6:50 AM UTC

will_pseudonym wrote: post #219

shakna wrote: post #216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm loathe to answer this question. I'm not a doctor. Where you live, and how the disease is impacting you, will change the answer. Rather than issuing an institution name, because we likely live in different countries, it may be better to look at what kind of specialist you would be seeing, and perhaps adjusting expectations a little. I know that it is common in the US to be assigned to a rheumatologist for treatmen…

Thank you for your reply. It's about in line with my experience. I think my frustration so far isn't in the expectation of being cured, but in not have any treatment giving any kind of relief that's not measured in minutes, even just taking the edge off of the pain, as you described. I will definitely take to heart the suggestion of tempering my expectations. Thanks again for sharing.

For what it's worth on the expectation side of things, it took six months for me to begin seeing an improvement as mild as taking the edge off my pain. My recovery times from relapses are generally 18-24 months. It took me a very long time to come to terms with how slow moving things are, and it's entirely okay to not feel okay about that.

Re: How to deal with extreme physical pain

#225

Post by mettamage » Sat, Oct 31, 2020, 7:02 AM UTC

Waterluvian wrote: post #121

rpdillon wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My employer had me go through training that had this video as part of the curriculum. Though I already understood the ideas, the video was still useful for me. It's less than 3 minutes long. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Evwgu369Jw In short, sometimes people need connection to others; problem-solving mode isn't always the most useful path.

My wife once said to me, "I don't need an engineer I need my husband." And it clicked. She doesn't want a fix. She just wants a hand to hold and for me to hear her frustrations.

It’s not about the nail.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-4EDhdAHrOg

Re: How to deal with extreme physical pain

#226

Post by _nalply » Sat, Oct 31, 2020, 7:03 AM UTC

f2000 wrote: post #155

A few years ago I fell and broke my elbow. It was a mess and had to have emergency surgery to put it all back together. After surgery I'm sent home with a "ball" around my neck that is a reservoir for some pain meds that are being fed into my body via a catheter that was threaded into a vein in my neck. So I am sitting on my recliner a few hours after the surgery , awake but groggy. Anesthesiologist calls me on my ce…

I have a different story of pain medication gone awry.

My wife had surgery and there was a hydromporphone pump where she could press a button. The button was then blocked for eight minutes. She didn't understand the system. Then I realized that it had two different beeps, one if the pump delivered a bolus and the different one if the pump was blocked. My wife and I we are both Deaf so we just didn't know. I requested then the pump turned around so she could have a look at the GUI of the pump.

But my wife already lost her confidence, refused to press the button and a few hours later the hospital removed that contraption completely and switched to a different regimen.

Re: How to deal with extreme physical pain

#227

Post by mrmonkeyman » Sat, Oct 31, 2020, 7:06 AM UTC

centimeter wrote: post #201

banana_giraffe wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is exactly what I'm talking about. One beer every 3 months is proof my diet is a problem? For a condition you know nothing about? Really. Fine, then it's useless, and I've surrounded myself with idiots, all of my careful testing and attempts to understand my condition have failed. This kinda of nonsense, where I debate the very meaning of "me" to some extent is tiring. Even if I'm wrong in all of this, I'm not h…

I’m not responding to you because I think you’re harming me; I’m responding to you because I have been in a similar position to you and I feel empathetic towards you. My advice, from that standpoint, is that any diet that allows beer is probably way too lenient to do anything useful. I can make this judgement with high confidence without knowing the specifics of your condition. If you’re of European descent, I would…

Also, boil the liver of a 6 day old sparrow in pig fat.

Extremely effective and very, very high power to weight ratio.

Re: How to deal with extreme physical pain

#228

Post by dustinmoris » Sat, Oct 31, 2020, 7:28 AM UTC

> The cognitive dissonance is overwhelming. Your body says you're actively dying but your conscious brain can - must - override it and let the pain flow freely. You observe it, rather than obstruct it.

I have been doing this my entire life to every injury I have ever had, from small to big. As soon as something started to hurt me I did that movement so much until the pain vanished. I never let my body rust. Being active, healthy exercise, body stretches, feeling the blood rush through your veins and the sweat drop off your face is the best way to deal with any problems in life. It helps with mental and physical issues.

Re: How to deal with extreme physical pain

#229

Post by xyzzy_plugh » Sat, Oct 31, 2020, 7:37 AM UTC

chime wrote: post #165

Only posting this in case it helps anyone else. I am aware it is a single point of data in my case but it is backed by research and accepted medical advice ( https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3412202/ ). I had severe chronic pain from herniated disc that was not a perfect candidate for immediate surgery. My GP prescribed Cymbalta ( https://www.cochrane.org/CD007115/NEUROMUSC_duloxetine-treat... ) and I was…

Funny, my wife was put on Cymbalta for a bit and the side effects were absolutely the worst. Then, she started tapering off and things got so much worse -- brain zaps, nausea, starry vision. We even got the drug compounded to a comically small dose to taper with even smaller steps, and it didn't really help.

So, while your advice isn't wrong, drugs work differently for people. Great for some people, terrible for others.

My wife would probably rank being on Cymbalta as the worst time of her life hands down.

Re: How to deal with extreme physical pain

#230

Post by codegeek » Sat, Oct 31, 2020, 7:39 AM UTC

"Frozen Shoulder"

My mom had it over a decade ago when she was under 60. I saw her in constant pain and it really hurt. She used to get physical therapy, tons of professional heat therapy and forced stretching as well. It lasted for about a year and it went away. She is much older now but that thing hasn't come back yet. I can understand his pain even though I cannot feel it.