Topic: What's the difference between nerve pain & other pain?
sparkle7
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 10397
posted
Hello-
I've been ill all of these years & I don't now what the exact cause of the pain is. I don't know if my pain is nerve pain or the pain associated with Lyme.
Is there definitive ways to tell if the pain is nerve related or arthritis or something else?
My doctor suggested to try Cymbalta. He said some of his patients have had great results from it. I'm beginning to think that my pain is nerve related.
Is there a way to know what is really causing the pain & how to make it stop? The best way is to kill the spirochetes but I still have to deal with it in the mean time.
I've read that people can still have Lyme related arthritis even though the spirochetes are not present.
How exactly does having Lyme create pain? Does anyone know?
All the best to you guys!
Posts: 7772 | From Northeast, again... | Registered: Oct 2006
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posted
You KNOW I love and respect you TUTU but I have to disagree.
I have had nerve pain that WAS excruciating and wanted to scream, yes. Sciatic was the worst of this!
But I also have nerve pain that doesnt want to make me scream! It is not as severe. It is the shooting pain. Now I guess if I wanted to split hairs on that if it lasted and lasted and lasted and didnt give up yeah I would want to scream, but it doesnt. It will shoot, I will feel it, yes it hurts, but it doesnt last for a long period of time.
I have also had nerve pain that would alter. Dx neuropathy. It goes from painful, to numb, to tingly, to diminished - but even the painful events are not extreme. It just hurts. I can diffretiate by location often.
The arthritic pain is in the joints and the nerve pain can be distributed, typically in a line going downward.
There are diagrams on line that show nerve pain distrubution. Study them and keep a page that seems best explanation to you in a bookmark. The next time you feel that pain, go to it and look at the area you are feeling it in the disbribution chart and see if there is correlation.
-------------------- Seeking renewed health & vitality. --------------------------------- Do not take anything I say as medical advice - I am NOT a dr! Posts: 830 | From TN | Registered: Aug 2007
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Aniek
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Member # 5374
posted
It is not always clear what type of pain you have. My foot pain feels like it's the muscle, but I'm pretty sure it is nerve pain. The reason is that vicodin and muscle relaxers do not help that pain.
Nobody does know exactly how Lyme causes pain. Especially since there are so many different types of pain that are caused by Lyme. Arthritis, nerve, muscle, tendon.
Can you give us a description of the type of pain you have?
It took me months of different medications to find what worked for me. It's not easy to find the right pain treatment and I recommend working with a good pain specialist if you don't have one.
-------------------- "When there is pain, there are no words." - Toni Morrison Posts: 4711 | From Washington, DC | Registered: Mar 2004
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map1131
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Member # 2022
posted
I agree with Tutu and Sarah based on my experiences along the way. I experienced 4 types of pain in 10 yrs.
Nerve pain- this pain is shooting and likes to travel around the body. It's like firing stinging pain. It also in my bad years could be sharp and make me want to scream out, but thankfully it would move or subside. My "restless leg syndrome" is a good example of this.
bone pain- This is the pain that bothers me the worse usually. It is deep in my shin bone and the long bone on my arms. My pain meds usually don't help much with this pain.
arthritic pain- This of course it my knees, wrists, ankles, fingers/hands, elbows and neck. It has good days and bad days.
connective tissue pain/muscle type- this is the ache all over, someone beat me with a baseball bat. Every part of my body aches from head to toe. I think of this pain as my inflammation pain. I take tramadol with lots of non-steroid anti inflammatory ibuprofen. This is when I know my liver, kidneys, gall bladder, spleen, colon is mad. I need lots of detox supps during this time. Plus lots of water drinking to flush.
Sometimes I have all of these on the same days. This is usually during my monthly herx lyme cycle. Sometimes I only have the bone pain by itself. That is what I believe to be a bartonella type cycle. It seems to me to be more often than lyme cycles.
My favorite treatment for all of these pain types is my detox baths. Many days one in morning and one in the evening. They will help ease any of these pains with meds of course for a few hours.
Anytime you have relief from pain sx, it's a aaaahhhh moment.
Pam
-------------------- "Never, never, never, never, never give up" Winston Churchill Posts: 6495 | From Louisville, Ky | Registered: Jan 2002
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posted
I have found that the only thing that really relieves my pain (whatever type of pain it is, I also can't distinguish between them) is the hot tub baths.
Pam, when you say detox baths, is there something you put in your bath? I'd like to start trying different things but don't know what to try.
-------------------- Jennifer Posts: 266 | From Ocean County, NJ | Registered: Aug 2007
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quote:Originally posted by cjnelson: I have had nerve pain that WAS excruciating and wanted to scream, yes. Sciatic was the worst of this!
That is the pain I speak of!! Excruciating SHOOTING pain from my spine to my foot. Shooting pain that doesn't stop for hours [or days] on end. Horrible.
Neuropathy is very different...but is a type of nerve pain. It can also be excruciating.
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96239 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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sparkle7
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 10397
posted
Thanks guys!
I have very bad lower back pain, mostly. It throbs & aches. It's hard to get up when I'm sitting or laying down. Sometimes I have difficulty walking. If I'm standing for a while, I can manage. Going between standing & sitting or laying down is hard.
I also have neck & shoulder blade pain. It's not quite as bad as my lower back but it's annoying. It varies in severity from day to day.
The new pain I'm having is scalp pain. It's a weird kind of pain where my skull & scalp hurt - it's not a headache. I'm thinking that this may be nerve pain.
Posts: 7772 | From Northeast, again... | Registered: Oct 2006
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Tracy9
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7521
posted
What about this pain on the bottoms of the feet? It's a new one for me, and it is like a very painful, stinging, burning, horrible feeling; no topical pain releivers help, massage maybe a little, it also moves up my calves. It really hurts!!!!! Feels like you just moved or walked a marathon but for no reason.
13 years Lyme & Co.; Small Fiber Neuropathy; Myasthenia Gravis, Adrenal Insufficiency. On chemo for 2 1/2 years as experimental treatment for MG. Posts: 4480 | From Northeastern Connecticut | Registered: Jun 2005
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lymebytes
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 11830
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I hate to put it so flatly, but had you experienced nerve pain you wouldn't even be asking this question.
It is the absolute most nightmarish, excruciating pain that feel like hot wires, shooting pain, electrical shock, bee stings and much more.
Aniek
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 5374
posted
Sparkle,
the low back pain could be muscle pain or even from the gut. I have the really bad shoulder blade pain and neck pain. Tizanidine (brand name) zanaflex) helps with that pain. It's an antispasmodic.
Tracy,
Bartonella cause foot pain. What helps me is elastic ankle supports, the ones that look like ace bandages.
Lymebytes,
Like all pain, there are different levels of nerve pain. There can be nerve pain that is not excruciating. Some people just get an uncomfortable tingling type of pain.
-------------------- "When there is pain, there are no words." - Toni Morrison Posts: 4711 | From Washington, DC | Registered: Mar 2004
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quote:Originally posted by lymebytes: I hate to put it so flatly, but had you experienced nerve pain you wouldn't even be asking this question.
It is the absolute most nightmarish, excruciating pain that feel like hot wires, shooting pain, electrical shock, bee stings and much more.
I totally agree with lymebytes as quoted above. I find myself curled up in a fetal position unable to have anything or anyone touch me. The slightest breeze sents excruciating pain throughout my body. A trip to my doctor has to be in a certain car for the motion and vibration exascerbates it so much I can't tolerate it.
I have suffered through many different types of pain with lyme as most have but the nerve pain is one you would definitely know what it is.
My neurologist along with other doctors told me it is much worse than pain associated with cancer. That I can't compare for I forunately never had cancer.
And yes, you would feel like screaming and I shouldn't say this but many times you really don't want to go on for the pain is that horrendous. Please forgive for the last comment but it is so true.
My best to all..
Posts: 139 | From nj | Registered: Mar 2005
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