Medical Journeys

Posts Tagged ‘anti depressants’

I’ve got depression & above mentioned problem & I’m also using anti-depressants.I’m suffering this from a month until now!! I want to know that can this be a effect of depression?

We’re all familiar with experiencing some type of physical pain in our lives. Go to your medicine cabinet and look at how many medications you stock to alleviate pain. Makers of pain relief medications (over-the-counter) even go so far as to create medications that target specific types of pain. It’s obvious that we’ll do whatever it takes to avoid pain, but what about when our choices are limited?

If you’ve ever been in the hospital, you may have been asked how severe is the pain you’re experiencing on a scale of 1 to 10. This is no time to be a hero. You should know that the level of pain will be the deciding factor on the type of pain medication or other pain reducing procedures used to help you. Too many people, who aren’t drug seeking, try and brave the pain because we have a cultural myth about being a hero and pain (even if the hero is only in our own heads).

It’s important to tackle pain because it is extremely intrusive in our lives. It interferes with our quality of life, our day-to-day responsibilities, clouds our thinking and disrupts our body’s ability to function properly. Pain is not a universal experience. The type of pain you’re experiencing is dependent on your illness or injury. Muscular skeletal pain differs greatly from never pain, both in experience and treatment. Just as there isn’t one type of pain, pain treatments are tailored to the type of pain you’re experiencing. Don’t assume that the medication a family member took for migraines will help you following surgery.

The other differentiating factor is when pain is a major symptom of the disease as in Fibromyalgia and when it is a byproduct of treatment, like following surgery. Believe it or not doctors prescribe medications other than analgesics and narcotics to relieve pain. Some types of pain are best treated by anti-depressants. This is the time when speaking with your doctor or your pharmacist can help you understand the treatment and how it alleviates pain.

Along with the countless number of pharmaceuticals on the market, some are choosing to tackle their pain with alternative treatments. Acupuncture has become a more mainstream treatment for pain. Increasingly acupuncture is being recognized by insurance companies and reimbursement is available. The type of treatment you choose for pain is up to you. However you choose to reduce or eliminate pain, be sure that you do it safely and with guidance. This is no time to self-medicate (with alcohol or illegal drugs), that won’t eradicate the pain, only mask if for a short period of time.

The problem with pain is that there is no test that shows the veracity of your pain. It is an experience your doctor has to believe. It’s a personal experience so having a good rapport with your medical provider goes a long way when fighting pain. Understand that pain can’t always be eradicated so looking for other techniques like acupuncture or meditation and visualization can aid in improving your quality of life.

Pain is real; don’t allow others to discount your experience. You may decide to seek a consult with a pain specialist. Palliative care physicians are well versed in pain relief. We’re accustomed to seeing palliative care physicians work in hospice with the dying, but they are increasing being referred patients with long standing, uncontrollable pain. Always ask “what next” as long as you’re experiencing pain that is consuming or intruding in your life.

Author: Greg Katz
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: PCB Prototype & Manufacturing

Pain is our nations hidden epidemicmore than 75 million Americans live with some kind of chronic or recurrent pain. Pain is the number one reason people seek medical care.

Inadequate treatment of pain has serious physiological, psychological and social consequences. Pain uses up all reserves in the immune system, thus leaving it weakened and leaves the person susceptible to other disease. Pain diminishes the quality of nearly every aspect of a persons lifeincluding sleep, work, social and sexual relations.

Pain is simply a message sent by the body to the brain, signaling the presence of disease, injury, stress or strain. Without pain, you would be unaware of many problemstorn ligaments to cancer. Pain is simply, Mother Nature’s way of telling you something is awry.

Traditional medicine focuses on killing the messenger with narcotics, anti-depressants and tranquilizers that take care of the symptoms, but not the cause of the pain. This treatment only masks symptoms of serious dis-ease, but can also create a lifetime cycle of chronic pain.

The good news is with adequate holistic care nearly all chronic pain can be eliminated or greatly eased.

Unfortunately, there are barriers that prevent people from engaging in the most effective pain treatments. Pain carries a stigma. Many people with pain are fearful or embarrassed to let others know they are in pain because they believe they will appear weak or they will be accused of making it up to avoid lifes travail.

Another major barrier is government and insurance policies impede adequate pain treatment by restricting access to holistic treatmentsuch as: Chiropractic, Acupressure, Acupuncture, Metaphysical HealingMind, Body and Spiritusing Hypnosis, Rolfing, Massage, Biofeedback, Cranio Sacral Therapies, Body Walking, Bodywork and Movement Therapies.

Another important part of holistic treatment is herbal remedies. Herbs have been used for centuries for their pain relieving qualities. These herbs are recommended for pain relief:

Cramps and Spasms: angelica, cramp bar, kava, rosemary, valerian root.

Nerve Pain: capsaicin, chamomile, gotu kola, licorice, white willow.

Back Pain: hops, wood betony, passion flower. Migraine: feverfew, linden, skullcap.

Headaches: peppermint, spearmint.

Joint pain: ginger, sea cucumber.

Sniffing or applying essential oils is believed to change brain chemistry so that pleasurable neuro-transmitters called endorphins are released to relieve pain. Geranium, jasmine, juniper, lavender, peppermint, rose, rosemary and thyme are oils commonly used to ease pain.

As the body ages the ability to manufacture or produce certain elements diminishes and thus diminishes the ability to short-circuit the cycle of chronic pain. Green lipped sea mussels, glucosamine, sea cucumber, spirulina, Sam-e, HGH (Human Growth Hormone), MSM (Methulsuflonydmethane) and melatonin, aid joint, muscle, head, teeth, jaw and general tissue pain.

Meditation is highly recommended to calm the mind so that it is not racing with thoughts and anxieties that might be contributing to an unnecessary belief in the existence of pain. There are hundreds of different meditation techniques. They fit into three categories: concentrative, mindful and transcendental meditation.

Eating a well balanced diet that includes fresh fruits and vegetables can raise your pain threshold or resistance to pain. A deficiency in any of the main vitamins (A, B, C, D or E) can cause chronic pain. Vitamin E is used to treat joint pain. A deficiency in calcium, iron, magnesium and other minerals can lower your pain threshold. A calcium magnesium supplement taken in a 2:1 ratio of calcium to magnesium relieves joint pain and headaches. Manganese is a vitamin that is sometimes used for chronic headaches and neuralgia. A deficiency of the B vitamins can cause nervousness, headaches and chronic pain.

Research indicates that bodily functions that were previously thought to be beyond conscious control, such as chronic pain, can be controlled thorough the use of visualization. Guided imagery encourages the sufferer to think in pictures that eliminate negative thoughts thus raising levels of pleasurable brain chemicals, such as serotonin, decreasing anxiety and increasing the effectiveness of the immune system. Through guided imagery, the mind brings forth mental scenes in order to better direct the body’s energy. For instance, if a person is suffering from a stabbing pain, she/he might want to imagine a knife being removed from the spot and a subsequent glowing feeling of relief. Guided imagery has been used successfully to manage headaches, sinus problems, arthritis and cancer.

Inadequate pain treatment has an enormous toll on the U.S. economy. The National Institute of Health estimates that pain costs the American public over $100 billion per year in medical expenses, lost wages and other costs.

Adequate pain treatment requires educating yourself, a support system and willingness to buck traditional medical treatmentsi.e. pain medication and surgery.

Author: Dorothy M. Neddermeyer, PhD
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Digital Camera News