SIMPLE YOGA POSES TO OVERCOME A BAD MOOD

When you’re having one of those days when you just can’t seem to shake off a bad mood and fume at every little thing, try doing yoga.

Here are a few yoga poses to get you back into a good mood, reports people.com:

 Open your heart with wheel pose: Sometimes when you’re in a bad mood, you just need to take deep breaths and oxygenate your body. Backbends are great heart-openers and they really boost your spirits. This pose will also get your heart rate up which energises you and helps with crankiness.

Go upside down with headstand: Headstand is another pose that you can try. It flips a switch in the brain letting all the blood flow in to the head.

 Challenge yourself with crow pose: One of the best ways to quit being cranky is to challenge yourself. When you hold yourself in an arm balance, you gain confidence and courage and it can help break your pattern of negative thinking.

FACIAL MASCULINITY NOT ALWAYS A TELLING FACTOR IN MATE SELECTION

Women living where rates of infectious disease are high, according to theory, prefer men with faces that shout testosterone when choosing a mate. However, an international study says not so much, says University of Oregon anthropologist Lawrence S. Sugiyama

The new study, on which Sugiyama is one of 22 co-authors, ended with that theory crumbling amid patterns too subtle to detect when tested with 962 adults drawn from 12 populations living in various economic systems in 10 nations.

The study -- coordinated by Ian S. Penton-Voak of the School of Experimental Biology at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom -- appears online ahead of print this week in the Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"It's not the case that women have a universal preference for high testosterone faces, and it's not the case that such a preference is greater in a high-pathogen environment," Sugiyama said. "And the opposite is also the case. Men don't uniformly appear to have a preference for more feminine faces, at least within the ranges of cultures shown in this study. In cultures tied to pastoralism, agriculture, foraging, fishing and horticulture, not so much, the authors concluded.

The closest the theory came to confirmation was in market economies in the study populations in the U.K., Canada and China, perhaps because, as Sugiyama's prior work has shown, preferences shift in response to the local range of variation in traits, and men in market economies have higher testosterone.

Also, Sugiyama said: "In large-scale societies like ours we encounter many unfamiliar people, so using appearance to infer personality traits can help cope with the overwhelming amount of social information. For instance, in all cultures tested, high testosterone faces were judged to be more aggressive, and this is useful information when encountering strangers."

Sugiyama and three other UO co-authors contributed to the study based on their work with the Shuar, a rural population with a long history of warfare in Ecuador and whose mixed economy today is based on horticulture, hunting, foraging and small-scale agro-pastoralism.

The Shuar did not come into contact with the outside world until the 1880s, and only since the 1960s have they organized into communities, Sugiyama said. The UO's research there is looking at the impacts of culture change on Shuar health. Data for the PNAS study were collected during routine sessions with 30 males and 31 females.

Each was shown culturally appropriate facial representations of potential opposite-sex mates and asked which one they'd prefer. Shuar women didn't like the faces of men whose faces suggested high testosterone levels. "Shuar women preferred slightly less testosterone-looking faces," Sugiyama said. The reason why was not clear, but he suggests that maybe Shuar women possibly have grown weary of years of warfare and would prefer mates who would be less likely to participate and encourage their offspring to engage in violent behaviors.

UO co-authors are J. Josh Snodgrass, a professor of biological anthropology, doctoral student Melissa A. Liebert, who has spent seven research seasons with the Shuar, and undergraduate student Ruby Fried, who has since earned a bachelor's degree from the UO and now is a doctoral student in anthropology at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

As with the UO team, the paper's other researchers contributed with data collected from the populations that they study. The study encompassed students and Cree populations in Canada, students and urban residents in two Chinese cities, the Tuvans in Russia, students in the United Kingdom, the Kadazan-Dusun in Malaysia, villagers in Fiji, the Miskitu in Nicaragua, the Tchimba in Namibia and the Aka in the Central African Republic.

"Performance by the different populations wasn't chance," Sugiyama said. "For each society there was a pattern. There were significant preferences in each culture. Market economies do play a part, but something more was going on.

"I think the real message of this study is that we in this field need to stop and rethink how we have been thinking about these things," he said. "Maybe the idea of infectious disease -- the presence of pathogens -- isn't the main driving factor. The underlying adaptations are likely to track other ecological considerations and local cultural factors that we don't have data on and may eventually be very important in understanding attractiveness."

Ulnar Neuropathy A Danger For Keyboard Addicts

Today's post from lindapoitevin.com (see link below) highlights a less obvious but increasingly common form of neuropathy caused by modern behaviour and that is ulnar neuropathy; often brought about by hours spent working at a keyboard. Now that statistics show that most people are spending some hours a day behind a computer screen, the physical problems caused by what is basically an unnatural activity, are appearing more and more often in doctor's consulting rooms. Ulnar neuropathy is a form of entrapment neuropathy and therefore has some hope of recovery (in sharp contrast to nerve damage) but you will need to alter your posture and try to avoid resting your elbow or wrist on the desk for long periods of time. Not very chic but using a gel pack under your wrist or elbow will help reduce the pressure that leads to nerve entrapment. Worth a read.

Ulnar Neuropathy: A Hidden Hazard of Writing
March 18, 2015 Linda Poitevin

Did you know it’s possible to injure yourself while sitting quietly at a desk, tapping away at your keyboard? Probably not. Until the other day, this idea would have been news to me, too. Then I learned about ulnar neuropathy (compression of the ulnar nerve)…the hard way.

To save you from similar discomfort, I thought I’d share my inadvertent discovery.



First, a quick anatomical lesson: The ulnar nerve runs from the cervical spine along the inside of the arm, around your elbow, and down to your hand–specifically to your pinky finger and the pinky side of your ring finger. It’s responsible for the sensation in those fingers, and for helping with motor control (particularly in gripping things).

When this nerve becomes compressed (or “pinched”), it can result in numbness, tingling, loss of motor function, and pain. In his article on A Nation in Motion, Dr. John Erickson describes it as being like “the experience of ‘hitting the funny bone': that painful buzzing, tingling, and numb feeling in the pinky finger when you hit the wrong spot on the inside of your elbow.”

Compression can happen in a number of places along the nerve, and for a number of reasons. If you’re a cyclist, for instance, the pressure of your hand resting on the handlebars can compress the nerve either just above or just below Guyon’s canal (see image), resulting in what’s commonly referred to as handlebar palsy.

If you spend a lot of time at a desk (as do writers and students), the compression frequently occurs at the elbow and is called cubital tunnel syndrome. It’s a direct result of poor posture–or, more specifically, resting your elbow on the desk. (Turns out our mothers and teachers were right about sitting up straight…who knew? )

The current “pins and needles” sensation and numbness I’m experiencing in my pinky finger (and half–but only half–of my ring finger ) is most likely a result of cubital tunnel syndrome. Though I suspect that four marathon days of typing on my laptop’s most unergonomic keyboard–with my wrists resting on the edge–may not have helped matters. (Using a laptop now? Pay attention to where your hands are resting.) Whatever the cause, it’s darned annoying, not to mention a little unnerving. (Ha! Bad pun there…couldn’t resist…sorry. )

The good news is that the condition is usually pretty easy to remedy. An online search turned up a number of exercises designed to get things back on track and prevent recurrences–this YouTube video from chiropractor Dr. Brian Abelson is particularly helpful. I started doing those yesterday and hope to have the feeling back in my pinky soon. Very soon.

And that, my friends, is how you get injured while sitting at a desk. Want to avoid it? Sit up straight, don’t lean on your desk, make sure you use a proper wrist support for your keyboard, and do your ulnar nerve exercises. You’re welcome.

http://www.lindapoitevin.com/2015/03/18/ulnar-neuropathy-hidden-hazard-of-writing/

Vitamins Supplements for a Healthy Life

Ever since we were kids, adults have preached the importance of vitamins for strong and healthy bodies. From school lessons to television programs most children know the basic vitamins: A, B, C, D and E. However, as adults the role vitamins play in our lives takes on a whole new meaning. The skincare and anti aging industry learned long ago the impact that certain vitamins can have on the complexion and even the aging process. Out of the vitamins we need, you’ll want to get to know the vitamin B family, which has a huge laundry list of responsibilities.

Most people that are not very skincare or health savvy might be very surprised to know that there is not just one vitamin B. There is, in fact, an entire family of B vitamins - all of which play their own roles in keeping the human body functioning properly. Once you become familiar with what the vitamin B family does, you’ll want to make sure they’re in your life on a daily basis.

The vitamin B family is made up of the following: B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B6, B7, B8, B9 and B12. This fairly large group of vitamins has responsibilities ranging from keeping the immune system intact, promoting healthy nerves, providing energy, improving memory, focus and proper circulation, to name a few. However, some of the B vitamins also have the ability to make a positive impact on your complexion. These days it is not uncommon to see B vitamins listed somewhere on a majority of skincare and anti aging products on store shelves. While not all of the B vitamins listed work to benefit a person’s complexion, there is a few that stand out and are the darlings of the skincare and anti aging industry.


Vitamin C improves the physical and mental health by assisting the functioning from the immune system. B complex vitamins like niacin, folate, thiamine, riboflavin and pantothenic acid may help in the production of Neuro transmitters. Magnesium can assist in the muscle relaxation and so provide greater relief from anxiety. Tryptophan helps in the enhancement from the nervous system while Coenzyme Q10 adds to the oxygen transport in the tissues. Omega 3 is a vital item that helps to reduce the anxiety. , Alpha Linolenic acid is really a vitamin that provides Omega 3. The retina needs vitamin A for color and low light vision. This vitamin will be the appropriate hormone functions. We could reduce the risk of oral and carcinoma of the lung by consuming vitamin A.

For the processing of fats, protein and carbohydrates vitamin B1 is crucial. It will also help- in the proper functioning in the nerve cells. It is going to stabilize appetite and generates energy. Vitamin B2 works well for the formation of antibodies and red blood cells and therefore prevents anemia. Vitamin C and E reduces the aging of the skin. It assists to to heal fractures, wounds and scar tissues. Vitamin E will raise the oxygen content within the blood and thus keeps your skin young. Vitamin K is essential for the clotting of the blood.

Vitamins can be purchased in the natural for and synthetic form. The organic substances perfectly located at the plants, animals and other living beings are termed as natural vitamin. We get plenty of vitamins in the food items like corn breads, wheat, nuts, cereal, oatmeal etc. Fruits and green vegetables are the other sources of vitamins. Different vitamins are contained in different food items. One item won't provide all the essential vitamins supplements. And we all must take care to consume number of vitamin rich food. Vitamin cannot produce energy however they can help in different energy producing processes.

Vitamin A - should be used for healthy skin and tissue and helps in the excretion of mucus, it can also help to prevent infection which is needed to maintain a healthy immune system. It could be found in liver, cheese, green vegetables and carrots.

Vitamin C - it will help heal wounds and infections and protects the immune system it may be found in fresh fruit and vegetables.

Vitamin D - is crucial for the maintenance of healthy bones and teeth as well as helps to regulate calcium in your body, it can be found in eggs, milk, breakfast cereals and margarine.

Vitamin E - really helps to protect our cell membranes and the nervous and natural defenses it can be found in vegetable oils, whole grains, nuts and green vegetables.

Vitamin K - this helps to maintain our energy so helping with blood clotting and may be found in liver, meat, potato and cereals.

Vitamin B1 - helps regulate our energy metabolic process and can be found in bread, potatoes, meat and wholegrain cereals.

Vitamin B2 - this utilises energy from fats and protein and can be found in meat, milk and eggs.

Vitamin B6 - this is necessary for protein metabolism and can be found in potatoes, meat, vegetables, milk and fish.

Vitamin B12 - this can be essential for our red blood cells and our nervous system and can be located in liver, milk, fish and eggs.

Folate - this helps with creation of red blood cells and our nervous system and can be found in raw vegetables.

N Is For Neuropathy A Personal Story

Today's post from http://frecklesandapinktiara.wordpress.com (see link below) is a personal account of having neuropathy as a result of lupus. There will be things in this article which will strike a cord with most neuropathy sufferers and it always helps to read about how other people are dealing with the problem. If you're experiencing the same symptoms, you should talk to your doctor about the possibility of having neuropathy alongside your original illness. 

“N” IS FOR NEUROPATHY, PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHY
April 16, 2013 · by Monique  in Blogging from A-Z April 2013 Challenge,


Last night while PJ and I were putting everything away so we could settle into bed, I irritated the crap out him. In the process of trying to move my pill cups, I dropped them, sending my meds into a hundred different directions. Then I tried to grab one of my cups, which are the acrylic cups with lids and acrylic straws that don’t fall out for this very reason, and dropped it too. Since it’s essentially a sippy cup for grown ups, only a few drops came out. Since I have some mobility issues, I have a Winnie the Pooh crib organizer hanging on my wall next to the bed. I keep things like my hair brush, lotion, deodorant, facial moisturizer, headbands…things like that in it. Well, as I was trying to put my brush up I missed the pocket and dropped it onto the night stand right where Prince Charming had just put the laptop, and he told me to stop helping. lol

Now, from the outside looking in, you’d think my name was Grace. That’s the problem with an invisible illness though, nothing is what it seems from the outside looking in. Because even though I have been touched with klutz stick, what was going on was Peripheral Neuropathy.

A few years back, I started getting this really odd feeling in my hands and feet. It was almost like they fell asleep, but it also felt like my hands and feet had swollen to the point of stretching my skin. They felt very slick to me. I chalked it up to another attempt by Lupus to try and make me look completely crazy. Over the course of the next year or so, those sensations would happen more and more. After a while, the tingling sensation started to precede these very strange feelings that I can only describe as an electric like buzzing bolt that would shoot down my arms. The first time it happened, it happened in my left arm only, about 6 months after a heart attack {oddly enough that was 3 years and; 2 days ago…seems like a lifetime ago though} and I was terrified that I was having another one. After a visit to the E.R, I had yet one more new medical diagnosis to add to my collection, Peripheral Neuropathy.

Peripheral Neuropathy is a condition resulting from damage or disease to the peripheral nerves-the motor, sensory and autonomic nerves-that connect to the spinal cord to muscles, skin and internal organs. The causes can range from Diabetes, an unbalanced diet, heredity, and you guessed it…autoimmune diseases, especially systemic ones.

As it has progressed, the sensations have evolved. I don’t get the tingling as often anymore, but the recurrence of my hands feeling slick has increased. It got harder and harder to turn a door knob, or open things when it required grip. And about 6 months ago I started dropping things a lot, and even though I was using my walker I started falling again. I couldn’t understand it. It was like the air was tripping me and gravity went into hyper mode to pull things out of my hands.

And then I found out that if your sensory nerves become damaged that slick feeling in your hands and feet prevent you from being able to tell that you don’t have your feet firmly planted or that you don’t have a good grip on things you’re holding even if you feel like you do. Which meant that neither the air or gravity had it out for me.

Since Peripheral Neuropathy is unique to each person, and the sensations are so odd, it’s easy to over look the signs and even easier for people to look at you like you grew a second head right there in front of them when you’re trying to describe the symptoms. But because there are some treatment options that might be available to you, you need to talk to your doctor as soon as you start to experience any of the symptoms to help prevent any further damage or possibly a cure.

If you have a Facebook account, tomorrow The Neuropathy Association is hosting a Facebook chat, “Advances in Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy Research” on their Facebook Page, starting at 7 pm Eastern time.

http://frecklesandapinktiara.wordpress.com/2013/04/16/n-is-for-neuropathy-peripheral-neuropathy/comment-page-1/

CBD Cannabidiol Oil A Major Breakthrough In The Struggle Against Nerve Pain

Today's post from peoplespharmacy.com (see link below) illustrates just how far we've come in finding solutions for neuropathic pain. Who would have thought ten years ago that marijuana and its derivatives would be able to play a major role in reducing severe pain (and...just as important, be sanctioned by the authorities because it helps in the current and over-hyped: 'war on opioids'). I can actually speak from personal experience regarding cannabis oil (CBD oil). I never expected it and was roundly skeptical but after a few days of 2 drops under the tongue, twice a day, my symptoms also reduced significantly. Now here I need to add a disclaimer:- my experience and the experience of those mentioned in the article, have absolutely no bearing on how you may react. As you probably know, neuropathy is a disease that is peculiar to each individual and each individual reacts differently to different treatments. Why do you think doctors are scratching their heads in frustration at not being able to provide a 'cure' or often, even help with the symptoms. There are over 100 sorts of nerve damage and over 100 causes - add that to over 100 potential treatments and you have one of the most frustrating and serious diseases on earth. This blog is aimed at providing information about as many options as possible but you still need to seek advice from your doctors and do your own research. An article such as this one below, needs to be looked at objectively and not jumped upon as being the 'elixir of life'. But you know all this don't you!

Cannabidiol Oil Solved Severe Seizure Problem and Painful Neuropathy Joe Graedon December 5, 2016 Diabetic Neuropathy (nerve pain)
 
Medical marijuana is now legal in many states but many people are unaware of the pros and cons. Does cannabidiol oil work for hard-to-treat pain and epilepsy?

Many doctors are skeptical about the benefits of medical marijuana. That’s because they did not learn about this “herb” in medical school. If it was discussed at all, the likelihood is that the lecture would have been part of a class on drugs of abuse rather than therapeutic benefits. Sadly, there has been relatively little research on medical marijuana. This reader shares a poignant story about cannabidiol oil.

Q. My 19-year-old son had intractable seizures starting at age 12. At age 17, he was up to 9 seizures a day despite taking three different meds (29 pills a day). The side effects were awful; he got so skinny that the doctors considered inserting a feeding tube.

Two years ago, I started him on cannabidiol oil (CBD). In California, you go to a special doctor who asks lots of questions to decide if you’d benefit from it. You get a special card for a dispensary.

We had to experiment to see how much he needed. We were able to gradually decrease his pills.

His neurologist was horrified at the idea two years ago, but he has watched in amazement as my son reduced his medication without a single seizure. CBD has made a world of difference in my son’s life!

A. Many states have approved the medical use of marijuana compounds. Cannabidiol oil does not cause the high associated with marijuana. Research is beginning to show benefit for some people with hard-to-treat epilepsy (Pharmacological Research, May, 2016).

A study in the journal Frontiers in Pharmacology (Sept. 30, 2016) also reported improvement:

“Novel antiepileptic compounds with new mechanisms of action, fewer side effects, and better safety and tolerability profiles have been approved over the last years. However, although more than 20 different drugs approved for the treatment of epilepsy exist today, around 30% of patients continue to have seizures…

“The medicinal effects of cannabis in epilepsy have been known for centuries and, nowadays, the anticonvulsant properties of its components have received increasing attention…

“The present report is in line with pre-clinical and preliminary clinical data suggesting that CBD may be effective for some patients with epilepsy.”

These researchers call for randomized controlled trials. We couldn’t agree more!

Stories from Readers About Cannabidiol Oil:
Ellie in Connecticut:

“Were it not for medical marijuana, I’d be taking opioids regularly to deal with my chronic pain. The world of med MJ is indeed a whole new world.

“Initially I stuck very closely to only oil based tincture strains that were very high CBD, with virtually no THC (the pyschoactive element in MJ that gets people high). Now I’m realizing that a small amount of THC along with high CBD produces the pain relief I’ve been looking for.

“Yes, I had to literally jump through hoops to become certified to purchase medical MJ in my state but it’s all been very worthwhile. Does the marijuana totally eliminate my pain? No, it doesn’t. But what it does is ease it back to a far more manageable level. I’m delighted to have this option to control my pain.”

David reports:

“My wife experiences relief from stroke related pain with oral CBD oil: an eye dropper full under the tongue when stomach is empty. She has experienced no adverse effects. It has a pleasant taste. CBD oil is derived from non-THC hemp and doesn’t get people high.”

Brian in California reports on cannabidiol for diabetic neuropathy:

“My diabetic neuropathy came on suddenly and without warning. The severity is such that I’ll literally scream out, even in a public place like a restaurant! The pain is very sharp but only lasts about a second. Sometimes it pulses. I’ve even been prescribed narcotics (opioids) but they don’t even touch it. Neurontin (gabapentin) doesn’t work, even after taking it for months.

“When I tried Marijuana it worked immediately and the relief lasted 3-4 days!

“Now, I make my own tincture and take about two dropperfuls every three days or so. If I forget, the pain will return to remind me, but if I have the tincture handy, it takes care of it immediately with NO side effects. I’m sure it is high in CBD but it also has some THC in it and I think a bit of THC is necessary for this purpose.

“I’m a retired Chiropractor with an additional degree in Natural Medicine. The synergy of the two substances working together is very important in natural products.”

A Doctor’s Perspective on Medical Marijuana:

If you would like to learn more about one physician’s experience with medical marijuana, we recommend our one-hour radio interview with David Casarett, MD, MA. In it you will learn about the use of cannabidiol oil and medical marijuana to treat neuropathic (nerve) pain. Dr. Casarett also explains how medical marijuana may be helpful in calming the agitation experienced by some patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Here is a link to the show.

https://www.peoplespharmacy.com/2016/12/05/cannabidiol-oil-solved-severe-seizure-problem-and-painful-neuropathy/

Compression Neuropathy I think A Personal Story

Today's post from ehlersdanloscontemplations.wordpress.com (see link below), is another personal story of life with one of the many forms of neuropathy. Experience has shown that readers like reading about other people's stories in this regard, so long as it's not too often and not a continuous pity-party. This article highlights the fear many people experience when they start to feel 'mysterious' neuropathic symptoms that can't easily be diagnosed. It goes on to reinforce the importance of having doctors that can not only diagnose and treat their patients but support them too. The old 'bedside manner' makes such a difference when the situation seems a little overwhelming.

Numbness, Compression Neuropathy, and Storytime
November 22, 2015 by Stephanie McManus

So, I want to tell you about the onset of a new problem I was dealing with this year. It was eventually diagnosed as compression neuropathy (in my hips). Basically, my ligaments in their looseness cause some sort of problem in my hips and impinge nerves from the base of the spine. I now lose feeling in my upper legs and up into the… bum, when I walk ‘long distances’ and then sit in a normal upright position.

The only relief I’ve found to prevent it from happening is to minimally, sit ‘normally,’ and to spend more time slightly reclined or standing or laying down. Not cool. Whenever I think, “no, I’m sure it’s fine and I’m going to vacuum and then cook and then walk the dog…” it comes back, and despite knowing what it is, I’ll admit, it disturbs me.

My neurologist at UW explained the compression, diagnosed a little vaguely as compression neuropathy, is caused by the hypermobility in my hips and repeated stretching of the ligaments followed possibly by responding muscle spasms. She did research on case studies with EDS patients with these symptoms prior to even seeing me, and she was able to narrow down the diagnosis. What?! It’s what we all hope for in a doctor, that they’ll do their ‘due diligence.’ I almost cried when she came in and knew what Ehlers-Danlos was and familiarized herself with the secondary complications we can develop. You’ll understand the tears of hope?… joy?…if you’ve been diagnosed. 

Anyway, I don’t notice a lot of this going on in my hips, because it’s normal for me and muscle spasms elsewhere feel more troublesome day-to-day. Plus, as I’m sure you’ll understand I start to tune-out sensations that interfere with ‘living life.’ You learn to survive this, and more than surviving, you eventually learn to live more often than survive. Or, always strive for it… every situation is different.

This troublesome, embarrassing, and potentially serious problem started in May of this year. I ignored it! (Don’t do that… ). In June, very ironically after a visit to the first doctor I could find after we needed to move to Washington for my husband’s job, I ended up in the ER. :sigh: My doctor was a whopping 2 hour situation to get to. I drove to Bremerton from our rental in Gig Harbor, rode on a ferry for 45 minutes, sat upright in a chair for an hour waiting for said appointment at a coffee shop, then walked a mile to the doctor’s office to then repeat this going back home.

On the ferry, of all places!, that’s when my legs up the inner thighs all the way into my lower back, and in-between, went completely numb. No feeling at all.

I called my doctor who told me to go straight to the ER. My husband was riding back on the ferry with me from his work in Seattle watching as I laid there unable to 1. panic, because there was nowhere to go or 2. talk, because I was shocked thinking it was the onset of something called cauda equina, an emergency that requires spinal surgery and can happen in EDS.

After many hours at the ER and imaging and a slightly freaked out looking doctor (that’s never a good sign), I was told they didn’t see evidence of cauda equina at this time, and I’m immensely grateful. That’s that, and you know the rest.

So, the point of my story is to illustrate you’re not alone in dealing with ‘mysterious symptoms,’ that eventually, hopefully, are figured out. Some things I deal with remain a mystery, and I’m okay with that right now, because I will keep pushing for a good team on my side when I can in-between living. We fight too hard for good care. But, it’s also important to keep fighting for good care. I got unbelievably lucky being pushed into an appointment with the top neurology clinic in the country. Lucky isn’t my normal, but look, it does happen!

A sad fact, I started experiencing this problem over a year and a half ago off and on. I’d previously been admitted to an ER in Oregon with the same symptoms. This is how I knew about the possibility of cauda equina. But, then, I had been summarily dismissed after the physician couldn’t see the problem on imaging, as if that doctor’s job was confined to diagnosis by MRI lacking any clinical insight. Well.

I’m happy I have such an intelligent and discerning doctor now. I know it will still be difficult because of the lack of awareness about EDS. I’ve continued to experience weakness in my legs and numbness, but I was told to expect it. The difference is I now have a plan and have been told when this could be a more serious problem, and how it will be handled.

Knowing you are cared for and looked over makes all the difference in the world. Right?

https://ehlersdanloscontemplations.wordpress.com/2015/11/22/numbness-compression-neuropathy-and-storytime/

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Treat a sciatic nerve after back surgery

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A Salutary Lesson

This post acts as a warning to all of you who have lost some or all of the feeling in your feet and hands. It comes from someone called Marcy and speaks for itself. Hopefully, her foot makes a complete recovery - thanks for the heads up (see link below).

Living with Neuropathy & Other Chronic Pain Conditions

As I sit here tonight with major pain and burning in my feet, I cannot help but think of what happened to me a few weeks ago. I got to thinking I should update my hub so that anyone that thinks of doing what I did "duh" may be interested in what happened to me. I hate the constant burning of my feet. So here is my experience with trying to help relieve the burning...

A few weeks ago my feet were on fire. You know that cold burning, like you have been standing in snow with cold wet socks and shoes, that horrible freezing burning about a step away from frost bite. I badly wanted some relief.

So, I put very warm water (so I thought) in the tub. Now, I stuck my hand in it to check temperature of the water. I also have neuropathy in my hands so not real well with temp but did not realize how bad they had gotten.

I got into the shower and could feel just a bit of sensation on my feet, so thought it may be a bit hotter than I thought, if I can feel any sensation at all It is unusual. So I then turned on the cold water and cooled the water a bit.

The next evening I was at a friends house having dinner and just happen to look down and realized I had a very bad blister on my little toe. It was about the size of my little toe. After looking a bit closer I realized that the blister on my left little toe went all the way around my toe and I had several other blisters on my other toes and a couple small ones on my foot ( I have pics but too gross to post them). I had never felt them but for some reason none on my right foot.

So I started doctoring them myself. I used tea tree oil (I use it for most everything) and have healed burns with it before. Anyway, in a few days half of my foot was beat red and hot. So I went to the convenient care at the local clinic. The practitioner got a little upset and told me that I needed to go to the ER and get antibiotics because it was serious and they could not help me.

I went to emergency room and they put me on IVs and took care of my wounds. But as they were doing this they were telling me I may lose my little toe (it was really bad) and it already looked dead. The doctor told me that my toe may be the least of my problems because with my neuropathy it is not going to heal like it should and if it does not get under control real quick they may have to amputate my foot.

I am thinking "what the heck, take my toes but leave my foot. Anyway, with a lot of different antibiotics and a couple different burn creams and a lot of keeping it bandaged it finally healed.

Sometimes when I take a bath I have no idea how hot it is until I sit down. Sometimes I get up out of the tub much faster than I got into it LOL

So if you have any loss of sensation in your feet or any other part of your body, you should use a thermometer or one of those baby toys that tells you if the water is safe or not. Maybe you have someone else in your home that can check the temperature for you.

And if you ever realize that you have gotten burnt, do not do like I did and try to doctor it yourself. Go see a physician as soon as you realize you are burnt. As far as that goes you should go see your physician if you have a cut, scrap or any kind of injury as soon as you can. Because it can get out of hand very quickly.

If there is a bright side to this story it is...that I could not feel the pain of the swollen red foot. Now every now and again I would feel a very light throbbing sensation, and a sharp pain every once in awhile. But, then again if I could have felt it in the beginning it never would have gotten to this point anyway.

http://marcyl04.hubpages.com/hub/NeuropathyandOtherChronicPain

Diabetes A Neuropathy Epidemic

Today's post from lillypad.lilly.com (see link below) looks at the massive health problem in the western world that is diabetes and by definition, the increase in neuropathy patients as a result. It should be pointed out here that whatever other diseases or conditions you may have, you could still be prone to diabetes and therefore neuropathy as a result, or a worsening of the neuropathy you already have from another cause. Furthermore, anything from 30 to 70% of people with diabetes will go on to develop neuropathy. There are many things you can do to reduce the risk of diabetes and most of them have to do with lifestyle choices. You don't want diabetes and you certainly don't want neuropathy as a result, so making changes seems to be a no-brainer.

Diabetes: A Skyrocketing Epidemic  
by Amy O'Connor 07/17/14

In an article published on Forbes, our Chairman, President, and CEO Dr. John Lechleiter highlighted the real story of life-saving medical advances for people with diabetes, pointing out that “an advance that appears incremental or limited may in fact make a big difference.” A study from the New England Journal of Medicine that demonstrates the impact of medical advances provides additional support for these words of hope for the future of our fight against diabetes.

Despite these discoveries, the diabetes epidemic continues to grow. Last month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report showing that the number of people in the United States with diabetes has increased from 26 million in 2010 to more than 29 million people. Diabetes takes a heavy toll on patients and communities across the country, with an estimated $245 billion in total medical costs and lost work and wages in 2012.

The need for action to effectively treat and prevent this chronic disease grows increasingly more pressing as the diabetes epidemic shows signs of continuing to snowball in the future. Today, 86 million American adults have prediabetes and an estimated 15 to 30 percent will develop Type 2 diabetes within five years. Projections show that by 2050 diabetes could affect one in three U.S. adults.

As these numbers continue to skyrocket, the U.S. needs nationwide investment at all public, private, and government levels to tackle this epidemic. This costly disease can be combatted with new medical advances that simultaneously improve the lives of diabetes patients and reduce the economic costs:

Our history links us closely to the fight against diabetes and addressing this continuously vexing problem continues to be a top priority for us. From encouraging Americans to find out their diabetes risk to advocating for legislators to take steps toward improving health policy, we remain committed to fighting diabetes. Together, we can work to prevent and cure this debilitating disease that affects so many millions of Americans.

https://lillypad.lilly.com/entry.php?e=4751

Is Zonisamide A Good Idea For Neuropathic Pain

Today's post from onlinelibrary.wiley.com (see link below) looks at Zonisamide as a possibly effective drug for reducing neuropathic pain. Zonisamide is one of the anti-epileptic/ anti-convulsant drugs that are designed to treat epilepsy. Like some other anti-convulsants, it's now being prescribed to treat neuropathic pain and discomfort. However, this study shows that there is very little evidence to support its effectiveness in suppressing nerve pain and that other anti-epileptics are far more effective - for instance, Gabapentin and pregabalin (Lyrica). However, there are also questions surrounding the effectiveness of pregabalin especially for neuropathy caused by diabetes and HIV (see other articles on this blog), not least from the manufacturers themselves! Gabapentin has a far better reputation but as this article shows, Zonisamide hasn't proved to be effective at all. Worth discussing with your doctor or neurologist, if anti-convulsants are being prescribed for you.
 

Zonisamide for neuropathic pain in adults
R Andrew Moore1,*, Philip J Wiffen1, Sheena Derry1, Michael PT Lunn2 
Editorial Group: Cochrane Pain, Palliative and Supportive Care Group
Published Online: 22 JAN 2015

Abstract

Background

Antiepileptic drugs have been used in pain management since the 1960s; some have shown efficacy in treating different neuropathic pain conditions. The efficacy of zonisamide for the relief of neuropathic pain has not previously been reviewed.

Objectives

To assess the analgesic efficacy and associated adverse events of zonisamide for chronic neuropathic pain in adults.

Search methods

We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (via CRSO), MEDLINE, EMBASE, and two clinical trials databases (ClinicalTrials.gov. and the World Health Organisation Clinical Trials Registry Platform) to 1 August 2014, together with reference lists of retrieved papers and reviews.

Selection criteria

We included randomised, double-blind studies of at least two weeks' duration comparing zonisamide with placebo or another active treatment in chronic neuropathic pain. Participants were adults aged 18 and over. We included only full journal publication articles and clinical trial summaries.

Data collection and analysis

Two review authors independently extracted efficacy and adverse event data, and examined issues of study quality. We considered the evidence using three tiers. First tier evidence derived from data meeting current best standards and subject to minimal risk of bias (outcome equivalent to substantial pain intensity reduction, intention-to-treat analysis without imputation for dropouts; at least 200 participants in the comparison, 8 to 12 weeks duration, parallel design); second tier evidence derived from data that failed to meet one or more of these criteria and were considered at some risk of bias but with adequate numbers in the comparison; and third tier evidence derived from data involving small numbers of participants that were considered very likely to be biased or used outcomes of limited clinical utility, or both.

We planned to calculate risk ratio (RR) and numbers needed to treat (NNT) and harm (NNH) for one additional event using standard methods expected by The Cochrane Collaboration.

Main results

We included a single study treating 25 participants (13 zonisamide, 12 placebo) with painful diabetic neuropathy over 12 weeks. No first or second tier evidence was available for any outcome. The small size of the study and potential major bias due to a high proportion of early study withdrawals with zonisamide precluded any conclusions being drawn. There were two serious adverse events (one death) in zonisamide-treated participants, which were apparently not related to treatment.

Authors' conclusions

The review found a lack of evidence suggesting that zonisamide provides pain relief in any neuropathic pain condition. Effective medicines with much greater supportive evidence are available.

Plain language summary

Zonisamide for neuropathic pain in adults

Neuropathic pain can arise from damage to nerves and injury to the central nervous system. It is different from pain messages carried along healthy nerves from damaged tissue (a fall, or cut, or arthritic knee). Neuropathic pain is treated by different medicines than those used for pain from damaged tissue. Medicines like paracetamol or ibuprofen are not usually effective in neuropathic pain, while medicines that are sometimes used to treat depression or epilepsy can be very effective in some people with neuropathic pain.

Zonisamide is one of a type of medicine normally used to treat epilepsy. Some of these medicines are also useful for treating neuropathic pain. We looked for clinical trials that used zonisamide to treat neuropathic pain. We found a single study with 25 participants treated either with zonisamide or placebo. Study reporting may have led to major over-estimation of any treatment effects because most (8/13) participants treated with zonisamide withdrew before the end of 12 weeks of treatment for a variety of reasons, mostly adverse events (side effects).

There was too little information, which was of inadequate quality, to give any guidance as to whether zonisamide works as a pain medicine in any neuropathic pain condition. Other medicines have been shown to be effective in some types of neuropathic pain.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD011241.pub2/abstract

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A Blessed Mabon

These are a few of my sacred wares that I 'purchased' (we used silver stones, shells, and little treasures for currency) from our Children's Mabon Faire. This was the best holy-day I've ever had.

It was a gathering of old souls and new friends, us and our spirited children, totalling about 20 of us. A perfect small community. We started out with the faire, a sort of re-enactment of a harvest market. The children made crafts and goods to 'sell', all good enough for a real faire and all indicative of their creative niche. My daughter crocheted Medicine Pouches, enough for every attendee to get one. She also made stick sculptures Andy Goldsworthy style and sold out of every one except our favorite, a sort of Labrys, which perhaps was strategically placed out of sight. My son made killer lemonade which everyone adored and needed on such a perfect warm fall day. The little lemon candle you see in the photo was the side benefit of each person's order, and they later adorned our feast table like a hundred fireflies in a row.

More beautiful wares were made by my friends children, sweet catnip bags for the kitties, amazing mint tea and tussie mussies, beautiful herb sachets for our home, herbal tea bags ready to comfort on a chili fall night, exquisite handmade herbal bath salts and infused oil for the body. Delightful incense, after meal herbal kits, tennis balls with anise for our dog companions, Lego sculptures, and an incredible pirate ship built by our five year old engineer! Did I miss anything? There was such a plethora of creativity and beauty from these children it was a sight to behold.

My dear friend, whom I affectionately call Demeter, blessed us with an incredible meal. She cooked organic, local, free range steak which was absolute heaven and worth extra meal blessings. She made Chili with andouille sausage and a pinch of clove, fresh green salad, tomato and mozzarella salad, curry wild rice, fresh corn on the cob, and I am probably forgetting something because by that time I was totally intoxicated by the richness of the day. I only regret not taking many more photos.

My husband blessed our meal with a beautiful passage from one of our favorite books:



We join with the earth and with each other


To bring new life to the land

To restore the waters

To refresh the air



We join with the earth and with each other



To renew the forests

To care for the plants

To protect the creatures



We join with the earth and with each other



To celebrate the seas

To rejoice in the sunlight

To sing the song of the stars



We join with the earth and with each other



To recreate the human community

To promote justice and peace

To remember our children



We join with the earth and with each other



We join together as many and diverse expressions

of one loving memory: for the healing of the earth

and the renewal of all life.



-U.N. Environmental Sabbath Program



~~~~~~~~~

During supper, our engineer, also a deft storyteller, told us the story of Persephone and the story of Pandora. Couldn't have been better!

And one of our little sprites ...... lost a tooth! She got an extra medicine pouch for that! A tooth pouch!

Then we feasted on homemade apple crisp, ripe off the tree and baked with perfect love by my very own Pop. My Godfather/stepfather who blesses my life in countless ways and with unconditional love.

At the beginning of the day, we drew a child's name from a basket, assigning each child to an Elder for the day, not their own parent. The sacred crafts (a charcoal drawing and the making of dream pillows) were done together, acting as a meaningful activity through which we could better observe our child. Later during ceremony we shared the innate gifts of the children that we observed.

We wished into the wishing gourd that watered our gratitude flowers.

Ceremony was at twilight and even more members of the community showed up, our young adults. My Mother brought her most special smudge wand which she made at the Women's Herbal conference, and blessed all who entered the circle. We called in the directions with fervor around a blazing bonfire. We shared the gifts of the children, spoke on the meanings of the Equinox, drummed, planted our gratitude flowers and wishes, and celebrated.


And of course what I can't capture here in writing, are all the in between moments; of flushed cheeks, hugs, moments of eye contact, and sheer joy that pulsed through each of us on this sacred day of yin and yang meeting in balance. The sun shone warm all day and the moon rose with sharp brightness after ceremony. All hearts glowed with fullness. The children played contentedly.

And we brought home goodies.

GROWING BLOOD VESSEL IN A WEEK

The technology for creating new tissues from stem cells has taken a giant leap forward. Three tablespoons of blood are all that is needed to grow a brand new blood vessel in just seven days. This is shown in a new study from Sahlgrenska Acadedmy and Sahlgrenska University Hospital published in EBioMedicine.

Just three years ago, a patient at Sahlgrenska University Hospital received a blood vessel transplant grown from her own stem cells.

Suchitra Sumitran-Holgersson, Professor of Transplantation Biology at Sahlgrenska Academy, and Michael Olausson, Surgeon/Medical Director of the Transplant Center and Professor at Sahlgrenska Academy, came up with the idea, planned and carried out the procedure.

Missing a vein

Professors Sumitran-Holgersson and Olausson have published a new study in EBioMedicine based on two other transplants that were performed in 2012 at Sahlgrenska University Hospital. The patients, two young children, had the same condition as in the first case -- they were missing the vein that goes from the gastrointestinal tract to the liver.

"Once again we used the stem cells of the patients to grow a new blood vessel that would permit the two organs to collaborate properly," Professor Olausson says.

This time, however, Professor Sumitran-Holgersson, found a way to extract stem cells that did not necessitate taking them from the bone marrow.

"Drilling in the bone marrow is very painful," she says. "It occurred to me that there must be a way to obtain the cells from the blood instead."

The fact that the patients were so young fueled her passion to look for a new approach. The method involved taking 25 milliliter (approximately 2 tablespoons) of blood, the minimum quantity needed to obtain enough stem cells.

Blood willingly cooperates

Professor Sumitran-Holgersson's idea turned out to surpass her wildest expectations -- the extraction procedure worked perfectly the very first time.

"Not only that, but the blood itself accelerated growth of the new vein," Professor Sumitran-Holgersson says. "The entire process took only a week, as opposed to a month in the first case. The blood contains substances that naturally promote growth."

More groups of patients can benefit

Professors Olausson and Sumitran-Holgersson have treated three patients so far. Two of the three patients are still doing well and have veins that are functioning as they should. In the third case the child is under medical surveillance and the outcome is more uncertain.

They researchers have now reached the point that they can avoid taking painful blood marrow samples and complete the entire process in the matter of a week.

"We believe that this technological progress can lead to dissemination of the method for the benefit of additional groups of patients, such as those with varicose veins or myocardial infarction, who need new blood vessels," Professor Holgersson says. "Our dream is to be able to grow complete organs as a way of overcoming the current shortage from donors."

Cell Transplants For Neuropathy A Treatment For The Future

Today's post comes from newswise.com (see link below) and talks about another potential means of reducing neuropathic pain symptoms, this time by nerve cell transplants. As you can see, the idea is more or less still in its infancy but it's good to know that light is being seen at the ends of various long tunnels and that people are working hard to find effective treatments for neuropathy. Maybe people are waking up to the fact that this is a disease that needs urgent attention!

Chronic Pain Is Relieved by Cell Transplantation in Lab Study

Released:5/22/2012 3:25 PM EDT
Source:University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)

UCSF Scientists Aim to Use Embryonic Stem Cells for Treatment

Newswise — Chronic pain, by definition, is difficult to manage, but a new study by UCSF scientists shows how a cell therapy might one day be used not only to quell some common types of persistent and difficult-to-treat pain, but also to cure the conditions that give rise to them.

The researchers, working with mice, focused on treating chronic pain that arises from nerve injury -- so-called neuropathic pain.

In their study, published in the May 24, 2012 issue of Neuron, the scientists transplanted immature embryonic nerve cells that arise in the brain during development and used them to make up for a loss of function of specific neurons in the spinal cord that normally dampen pain signals.

A small fraction of the transplanted cells survived and matured into functioning neurons. The cells integrated into the nerve circuitry of the spinal cord, forming synapses and signaling pathways with neighboring neurons.

As a result, pain hypersensitivity associated with nerve injury was almost completely eliminated, the researchers found, without evidence of movement disturbances that are common side effects of the currently favored drug treatment.

“Now we are working toward the possibility of potential treatments that might eliminate the source of neuropathic pain, and that may be much more effective than drugs that aim only to treat symptomatically the pain that results from chronic, painful conditions,” said the senior author of the study, Allan Basbaum, PhD, chair of the Department of Anatomy at UCSF.

Although pain and hypersensitivity after injury usually resolve, in some cases they outlast the injury, creating the condition of chronic pain. Many types of chronic pain are induced by stimuli that are essentially harmless — such as light touch — but that are perceived as painful, according to Basbaum.

Chronic pain due to this type of hypersensitivity is often a debilitating medical condition. Many people suffer from chronic neuropathic pain after a bout of shingles, years or decades after the virus that causes chicken pox has been vanquished. Chronic pain is not merely prolonged acute pain, Basbaum said.

Those who suffer from chronic pain often get little relief, even from powerful narcotic painkillers, according to Basbaum. Gabapentin, an anticonvulsant first used to treat epilepsy, now is regarded as the most effective treatment for neuropathic pain. However, it is effective for only roughly 30 percent of patients, and even in those people it only provides about 30 percent relief of the pain, he said.

The explanation for neuropathic pain, research shows, is that following injury neurons may be lost, or central nervous system circuitry may change, in ways that are maladaptive, compromising signals that normally help dampen pain. These changes contribute to a state of hyper-excitability, enhancing the transmission of pain messages to the brain and causing normally innocuous stimuli to become painful.

The inhibitory neurons that are damaged in the spinal cord to cause pain hypersensitivity release a molecule that normally transmits inhibitory signals — the neurotransmitter GABA. A loss of GABA inhibition also is implicated in epilepsy and may play a role in Parkinson’s disease. Gabapentin does not mimic GABA, but it helps to compensate for the loss of inhibition that GABA normally would provide.

Basbaum’s UCSF colleagues, including study co-authors Arturo Alvarez-Buylla, PhD, and Arnold Kriegstein, MD, PhD, along with Scott Baraban, PhD, had already been experimenting with transplanting immature neurons that make GABA, using the transplanted neurons to bolster inhibitory signals in mouse models to prevent epileptic seizures and to combat a Parkinson’s-like disease.

However, in those experiments the cells — which originate in a region of the forebrain known as the medial ganglionic eminence — were transplanted within the brain itself, which is their normal home.

Upon hearing about the research, Basbaum became interested in transplanting the same cells into the spinal cord as a potential treatment for the loss of GABA-driven inhibition in neuropathic pain. Success was by no means assured, as cells normally do not survive outside their natural environments within such a complex organism.

Another co-author of the Neuron study, UCSF researcher John Rubenstein, PhD, has made major progress in identifying molecules that can be manipulated to lead an embryonic stem cell to go through developmental stages that cause it to acquire the properties of GABA neurons that derive from the medial ganglionic eminence.

According to Kriegstein, who directs the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCSF, “This research is at a very early stage, and we’re a long way from thinking about it in human trials, but we do have a method of making cells that are like these inhibitory neurons, starting with human embryonic stem cells.”

As a step toward eventual therapies, the UCSF team plans to graft fetal human cells from the medial ganglionic eminence, or cells derived from human embryonic stem cells, into a rodent model of neuropathic pain, to see if the human cells also will alleviate neuropathic chronic pain.

“Unlike drugs, the transplanted cells can have very focused effects, depending on where they are transplanted,” Kriegstein said.

According to Alvarez-Buylla, a leading scientist among those working to define the potentialities of various cells in the developing brain at different stages, "One of the amazing properties of these cells from the medial ganglionic eminence is their unprecedented migratory capacity, which enables them to navigate through multiple terrains within the central nervous system, and to then become functionally integrated with other cells. Those properties have proved useful in other places where we have transplanted them, and now in the spinal cord.”

Joao Braz, PhD, an assistant research scientist, and Reza Sharif-Naieni, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow, both working in the Basbaum laboratory, carried out the bulk of the experiments published in Neuron. The authors have a patent pending on the treatment outlined in the study.

The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Association for the Study of Pain and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

UCSF is a leading university dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care.
http://www.newswise.com/articles/chronic-pain-is-relieved-by-cell-transplantation-in-lab-study

A GLIMPOSE IN TO THE 3 D BRAIN HOW MEMORIES FORM

People who wish to know how memory works are forced to take a glimpse into the brain. They can now do so without bloodshed: RUB researchers have developed a new method for creating 3D models of memory-relevant brain structures. They published their results in the journalFrontiers in Neuroanatomy.

The way neurons are interconnected in the brain is very complicated. This holds especially true for the cells of the hippocampus. It is one of the oldest brain regions and its form resembles a see horse (hippocampus in Latin). The hippocampus enables us to navigate space securely and to form personal memories. So far, the anatomic knowledge of the networks inside the hippocampus and its connection to the rest of the brain has left scientists guessing which information arrived where and when.

Signals spread through the brain

Accordingly, Dr Martin Pyka and his colleagues from the Mercator Research Group have developed a method which facilitates the reconstruction of the brain's anatomic data as a 3D model on the computer. This approach is quite unique, because it enables automatic calculation of the neural interconnection on the basis of their position inside the space and their projection directions. Biologically feasible network structures can thus be generated more easily than it used to be the case with the method available to date.

Deploying 3D models, the researchers use this technique to monitor the way neural signals spread throughout the network time-wise. They have, for example, found evidence that the hippocampus' form and size could explain why neurons in those networks fire in certain frequencies.

Information become memories

In future, this method may help us understand how animals, for example, combine various information to form memories within the hippocampus, in order to memorise food sources or dangers and to remember them in certain situations.

Pain For HIV ers A Growing Problem

Today's article from pain.com (see link below) is the first of a week-long examination of living with pain for people living with HIV in general and pays special attention to neuropathy as being one of the main causes of pain. It is useful for people who are experiencing pain, in that it may help identify the cause more easily. The symptoms of neuropathic pain can't really be mistaken for anything else but that's not to say that people with HIV don't also suffer from pain from other sources. 

Treating Pain in the HIV/AIDS Patient

December 8, 2011

Treating pain in HIV/AIDS patients is a concern, as at least half of HIV/AIDS patients report some kind of pain complaint related to their disease. Pain related to HIV/AIDS can be categorized into three general categories: general complaints, neuropathy and pain from AIDS-related cancers. Each of these types of pain are treated differently.

General complaints of pain in HIV/AIDS patients comprise both acute pain related to HIV/AIDS and chronic pain problems. Some of the pain problems related to HIV/AIDS that patients experience include muscle aches, chest pain and chronic headaches. These are problems that are present in the general population, but more common in people who are ill with a disease such as HIV/AIDS. If these symptoms are caused by a complication of the disease, the root cause must be treated. For example, people with HIV/AIDS are prone to getting a lot of opportunistic bacterial, viral and fungal infections because of their immune system deficiency. Chest pain in some HIV/AIDS patients may be caused by an infection of the lungs, such as pneumonia. In these cases, the pneumonia must be treated, and medications may be given to control the pain and other symptoms that the underlying condition is causing. These general complaints of pain that HIV/AIDS patients may have can be treated with prescription pain medications, such as narcotics. For some conditions, such as chronic headaches, other medications or treatments may work better and are safer for long-term use because they are not as habit-forming as the opioid drugs.

Peripheral neuropathy is another type of pain that HIV/AIDS patients can experience. Peripheral neuropathy is damage to the nerves that go to the extremities. This nerve damage is widespread in HIV/AIDS patients, as opposed to affecting just one part of the body. Peripheral neuropathy causes symptoms such as burning or tingling pain in the hands and feet, numbness in the hands and feet and muscle weakness in the extremities. Pain that is caused by damage to the nerves themselves does not respond as well as other types of pain to narcotic pain medications. Thankfully, there are alternative medications that can have an affect on pain due to nerve damage. Certain medications that are used to treat seizures and depression are also useful for reducing nerve pain due to peripheral neuropathy. Examples of these medications include the anti-seizure drugs gabapentin and phenytoin. Antidepressants of the tricyclic antidepressant and mixed reuptake inhibitor classes have been shown to help control nerve pain. Other remedies that may be prescribed for peripheral neuropathy are topical medications containing the numbing medication lidocaine or the substance capsaicin, which is responsible for giving chili peppers their heat and can reduce pain sensations when applied topically.

Because HIV/AIDS creates severe immune system deficiency, people with this infection are more prone to not only opportunistic infectious diseases, but they have a greater chance of getting certain types of cancer. The immune system usually finds and destroys abnormal cells before they can become a cancerous tumor, but if the immune system is deficient, cancers arise more frequently. People with HIV/AIDS are much more likely to get a type of rare skin cancer called Kaposi sarcoma than the general population, and HIV/AIDS patients also have high rates of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Some other types of cancer are also more likely to arise in patients infected with HIV. As pain can be caused by a cancerous tumor itself, chemicals that are present in the body because of the cancer and the effects of cancer treatments, palliative care is an important part of any cancer treatment. Not all people with cancer experience cancer-related pain, but many people do. There are a lot of different pain medications that can be used for cancer pain. If the pain is severe, strong opioid medications may be used to control it.

http://pain.com/library/2011/12/08-treating-pain-hivaids-patient/

Fluoroquinolone Antibiotics A Direct Cause Of Neuropathy Discuss!

Today's post from personalmedicare.com (see link below) is an impassioned plea for common sense regarding a subject that has been 'current' for years and yet seems to produce no concrete results or changes, despite the condemnation of the FDA. Fluoroquinolones are dangerous if you already suffer from neuropathy and just as dangerous if you don't, yet despite the mountain of evidence that backs up this opinion, doctors still prescribe them as antibiotics of choice for a host of bacterial infections. This article asks why and this blog supports that question 100%. If a personal plea as in this article doesn't persuade you and you need more scientific evidence; there are other articles here on the blog on this subject (use the search facility to the right of the page) but even if you don't do any more research, always ask your doctor if a fluoroquinolone antibiotic is the right choice and ask him or her to prove why!

NEW FDA WARNING for Cipro, Levaquin, Avelox-Permanent Peripheral Neuropathy- Mixed Emotions
February 17, 2016 admin

The FDA announced on August 15, 2013, that fluoroquinolone drugs such as Levaquin, Cipro and Avelox will be required to change packaging inserts to contain a warning for severe, permanent and disabling peripheral neuropathy. The FDA states that the damage may occur very soon into the administration of the drugs and the damage may be permanent.

If you as the reader, are not familiar with exactly what peripheral neuropathy is, here is the FDA’s description: Peripheral neuropathy is a nerve disorder occurring in the arms or legs. Symptoms include pain, burning, tingling, numbness, weakness, or a change in sensation to light touch, pain or temperature, or the sense of body position. It can occur at any time during treatment with fluoroquinolones and can last for months to years after the drug is stopped or be permanent. Permanent. Yes, forever. Never going to stop burning for the remainder of your life. It’s the feeling of spontaneous human combustion with out all the nasty fire and flames. Holy cow. How is this even acceptable?

I have very mixed emotions about the FDA’s announcement today. As a victim of Fluoroquinolone Toxicity and peripheral neuropathy, I am caught between being pleased and being angry. Very, very angry. Most victims, and I know thousands of them, will tell you that they told their doctor about their peripheral neuropathy as well as their other grocery list of horrific symptoms and doctors simply smirked and informed them “These drugs don’t cause that”. Patients were then recommended an anxiety drug, psychotropic drug or asked if someone at home was abusing them. I wonder where doctors get their information regarding drugs that they throw out like beads at a Mardi Gras parade? Some physicians are completely unaware of the Black Box warning placed on fluoroquinolones in 2008 for tendon tears and those who know about it never ask the tendon tear victim “Did you take a quinolone?”. Victims who themselves have become aware of fluoroquinolones and their resulting tears (God bless the internet) have informed their doctors. Not many victims report that their doctor informed THEM that they had a tear as a result/side effect of the drug. Doctors are in denial and they are in deep. There is also money. Yes sireeeee! Good old money. It’s always found where shady deals are done and pacts are made with the Devil. If you don’t believe me Google Dollars for Doctors, put in your physicians name and magically (God bless the internet, again), you are informed as to how much he/she made from drug companies this last year. You also get too see which drug companies are lining the pockets of the people we entrust with our lives to. It’s business. BIG business, so don’t kid yourself for a moment that it’s not.

My next thought is the FDA is covering it’s hiney and trying to cover it fast. Victims are becoming more and more vocal, gathering in groups on Facebook (God bless the internet, again), having Floxie meet ups, organizing in an underground network. If you as the reader are not familiar with the term “Floxie”, it is a darling colloquialism fashioned by author Stephen Freid in his best selling book Bitter Pills-Inside the Hazardous World of Legal Drugs . The term has probably stuck because” Floxie” is much cuter than “disabled” or “eternally suffering human being”. Websites devoted entirely to flouorquinolone victims abound. Google Cipro is Poison or Death by Levaquin or even just the drug names and you will get more than you can wrap your head around. These groups have initiated petitions, organized a lawsuit registry for a potential lawsuit and last May, marched on the Washington Capitol and met with legislators proclaiming the dangers and devastating side effects of these drugs. Victims will no longer take this sitting down. They are no longer being strong armed into believing they are the one in a million, the 1% or just genetically inferior. Lets not forget Medwatch, the FDA’s reporting system. Floxies are reporting in massive numbers and re-reporting each year that they are symptomatic from the drug. (To file a report go to www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/medwatch/). There is a lot of boat rocking going on in the Flox world these days and I think the FDA is feeling it.

The warning also states that this is only for injections or oral doses. Many victims report the same symptoms of fluorquinolone toxicity by IV and eye drops and the symptoms are exactly the same. My own mother was floxed with Zymaxid eye drops for cataract surgery. Zymaxid is the eye drop form of Gatifloxacin which was banned by the FDA in 2006 for severe hepatic failure as a result of the drug. It’s poison orally but go ahead and drop it in your eyes and it’s fine. HUH??? The reality is the results are the same. Children are also given these drops for pink eye and ear infections with regularity. The results are the same but young children are not fully capable of communicating their symptoms so many of the symptoms are unnoticed, blamed on behavior or the illness for which the drugs were prescribed. With the ear drops, the busted ear drum is the only obvious tell tale sign of a child’s severe reaction.

I tend to write very tongue -in-cheek when I write about these drugs. The reality is pretty horrific and terrifying. The day in and day out suffering of Fluoroquinolone Victims should be recognized by doctors, family members, husbands, wives, partners and society as a whole and yes, the FDA. So is a warning on packaging for drugs that steal lives seems almost trivial and somewhat of an insult. It also feels like redemption for victims that have been called crazy by family members or hypochondriac by doctors. I have mixed emotions. It’s a win but it feels like a “gimme”. Like the FDA is tossing a bread crumb and ignoring all the other disabling effects of these drugs. My only hope is that doctors will no longer use these drugs on high risk patients with known chronic diseases like diabetes, Crohns, ulcerative colitis and Lyme.

It looks like a win but it feels like a loss. One thing I do know it that it not GAME OVER. Not by any measure.

Find help here: Fluoroquinolone Victims Advocacy Network – sign the petition for a BLACK BOX WARNING for peripheral neuropathy.

About me, the author. My name is Erin Wilson and I am an advocate and peer counselor for victims of fluoroquinolone toxicity. A two time victim of Levaquin, I have lived it and seen it all. I now counsel victims in recovery and make the public aware of the devastating effects of these drugs. If you have been harmed by Cipro, Levaquin or Avelox or any fluoroquinolone drugs, there is help.

http://www.personalmedicare.com/new-fda-warning-for-cipro-levaquin-avelox-permanent-peripheral-neuropathy-mixed-emotions/