A few beers

Hello All - posted her a few times over the years. My saga is too long to go though but I'm on year 8. The list of symptoms is just sooo long - I wont bore you. Currently, I just had meniscus surgery after having 2 opinions saying it needed surgery. Now I wish I wouldn't have done it as the pain post surgery is worse than before - although it's only been 2 weeks. My fear is through the roof that I might never walk again w/o severe pain.

Anyway - since the start of my journey - I've noticed one significant thing with all my symptoms: The severity of my symptoms goes WAY down when I have a beer or two. Not talking drunk here - just a few beers. I'm not someone that wants to rely on booze to reduce my symptoms - but I'd be lying if I said it was a welcome reprieve from what has become constant 24/7 chronic pain.

Was wondering if anyone has heard of this? If this indicates that TMS is the likely culprit? And if so - how do I apply this state of mind in a sober state? And any other thoughts you might have. Thank you.

 

I thought this was interesting, so I asked perplexity.ai and this is what it came up with...

Alcohol reduces mind/body symptoms primarily by affecting neurotransmitters and neural circuits involved in stress, anxiety, and inhibition, especially in regions like the amygdala and basal lateral amygdala (BLA).

Neurobiological Mechanisms

GABAergic Enhancement: Alcohol acutely increases the release and activity of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), an inhibitory neurotransmitter, boosting neural inhibition and producing a calming, sedative effect much like anti-anxiety medications.

Amygdala Dampening: Alcohol suppresses activity in the amygdala, a brain region responsible for threat and fear responses, which helps reduce feelings of stress and anxiety soon after drinking.

Reduced Corticotrophin-Releasing Factor (CRF) Stress Signaling: Alcohol impacts CRF circuits in the amygdala, reducing stress signals and contributing to feelings of relaxation.

Inhibition of Excitatory Transmission: Alcohol increases inhibitory signals and reduces excitatory transmission, tipping the balance toward relaxation and lessened mind/body symptoms in the short term.

Behavioral and Subjective Effects

After consuming alcohol, individuals commonly report feeling less anxious, less stressed, and more relaxed due to reduced inhibition by the brain's control centers.

Alcohol can take your mind off troubles and produce a pleasant “destressing” effect for a short duration.

Limitations and Risks

As blood alcohol content falls, neural effects reverse, and symptoms like anxiety, sadness, or agitation can rebound or worsen.

Habitual use of alcohol for symptom relief leads to tolerance, dependence, and greater long-term vulnerability to emotional and physical distress.

Alcohol’s ability to reduce mind/body symptoms is rooted in its direct impact on neurotransmitters and stress circuits within the brain, especially those regulating fear, anxiety, and inhibition.

To get the relaxing, stress-reducing, and mood-lifting effects of alcohol, many healthier alternatives and proven techniques are available, including specific herbal blends, functional beverages, lifestyle habits, and mind–body practices.

Functional Drinks and Herbal Alternatives

Functional drinks like kava, Sentia, Three Spirit, and IMPOSSIBREW use herbs such as L-theanine, ashwagandha, valerian root, lemon balm, and passionflower to activate the brain’s GABA pathways for calm, social ease, and relaxation—without intoxication or hangovers.

Many non-alcoholic “social drinks” incorporate adaptogens and nootropics to mimic alcohol’s calming and mood-lifting effects.
CBD-infused beverages, nootropic sodas, and alcohol-free botanical elixirs are increasingly available in the UK and globally.

Lifestyle and Mind–Body Practices

Exercise of any type releases endorphins and can give a natural “feel-good buzz” as well as relieve stress.

Deep breathing exercises, meditation, and mindfulness reliably engage the body’s relaxation response, lowering stress hormones and anxiety levels.

Laughter, social connection, creative outlets, hobbies, and time outdoors also help restore calm and lift mood without relying on alcohol.

Self-Regulation Techniques

Guided imagery, progressive muscle relaxation, or simple stretching routines can soothe bodily tension and decrease the need for chemical stress relief.

Balanced nutrition, good sleep habits, and limiting caffeine further support resilience against stress and mind/body symptoms.
Opting for these alternatives provides relaxation, reduced anxiety, and social comfort—mimicking the calming effects of alcohol but supporting better long-term mind–body health.

Does alcohol work to lessen non-psychogenic pain?

Alcohol can reduce non-psychogenic (physical) pain in the short term, especially at moderate-to-high doses, by raising pain thresholds and dampening pain perception, but this effect is generally modest and influenced partly by psychological factors. Most controlled studies in healthy humans show that alcohol increases pain tolerance and decreases pain intensity following experimental physical (nociceptive) pain, though the effect is not as strong for all pain types or methods of pain induction. Findings suggest that alcohol acts more strongly on the discomfort and affective (emotional) component of pain than on pure physical intensity.

Short-term, moderate alcohol use may be associated with reduced pain severity and interference in everyday physical pain, and some evidence shows people may use alcohol for self-medication in response to certain pain episodes. However, chronic or excessive alcohol use worsens long-term pain outcomes, contributes to neuropathic pain, and increases the risk of developing chronic pain through changes in the nervous system.

In summary, while alcohol can blunt physical/non-psychogenic pain in the short term, especially discomfort and distress, its analgesic effects are inconsistent, moderate at best, and strongly outweighed by longer-term risks of increased pain and harm.

 

Alcohol is a depressant, so it’s going to slow/dull the nervous system, I imagine with that can come decreases in pain. You’re also just more relaxed from it. Also it’s a toxin, so the brain may be more focused on getting it out of your system than it is on transmitting pain signals.

that said, you’re in a delicate position. You just had surgery, you need to give yourself some grace, 2 weeks really isn’t that long for meniscus surgery, especially in an area of the body that you’ve experienced pain for sometime. You catastrophizing right now is doing you absolutely zero favors. And if you expect this awful outcome of being in pain forever, it will be a self fulfilling prophecy, you’ll fixate on the area and be the thing that keeps the pain going. I made this mistake with a vasectomy and dealt with months of hell because I OBSESSED over the pain, spent months regretting my decision, beating the absolute shit of myself over it. I’m through that journey now.

you’re TMS aware, so you at least have the base knowledge. Idk I really think the main thing you need at this time is to just find some self compassion and some healthy outlets that bring joy, any hobbies, exercises you can do while seated/without using your legs, anything, so you’re not just focusing on post surgical pain and ways to numb it. Meditation is definitely something to prioritize.

hopefully not coming across condescending or trivializing, I know none of this is easy. I just see so much of your mindset with me when I was in absolutely sheer terror at the reality I made for myself. I saw no way out and just chased different things to numb the pain.

 

Thanks to both of you. You've got me pegged Rabscuttle. I've been through so much the last 8 years. 40+ doctors, Mayo Clinic, ALS on the table at one point and the list just goes on and on. Went from being a marathon runner to having trouble making it to the bathroom. Then severe knee pain developed this year. Had sworn off doctors, but this was just so real. So of course they found a tear in my meniscus. Two doctors said it had to be operated on - but I had my doubts. Anyway - finally decided to go through with it and it's been an awful two weeks. Shooting pains in the kneecap at about a 9 level etc. Waking me up at night. I guess I'm just kind of done at this point. I've tried to overcome this for almost a decade. Its robbed me of my life. Nobody can relate to it my life - so I don't bring it up with anyone. I just deal with it all on my own. I just can't go on this way the rest of my life - currently 52. I'm spent.

I appreciate your response though. I know you can relate. I just can't believe this type of thing happened to me. Its just the worst in every way.

 

I am truly sorry for what you’re going through. I dealt with knee pain on and off throughout my life (since my late teens, am 31 now), I know how shitty it is, mine wasn’t as severe as yours but it was enough to keep me really fearful from exerting myself during sports. Prior to my vasectomy, my knees were really bad, I remember playing in a pretty competitive pick up basketball game and having a moment where I legitimately felt like my knees were going to buckle and snap. I started to become fearful about doing jiu jitsu because I thought someone would hurt my knees. I was actually looking forward to the vasectomy because I figured I would take a month off from sports and let my knees ‘heal’ (at the time I wasn’t TMS aware and didn’t realize the vast majority of my pain was TMS, ). Funnily enough that knee pain went away during the post vasectomy panic days. But those months had me begging for the knee pain again.

I’m not going to sit here and say what I think you need to do, I’ve read your previous posts, you know all this stuff, the journalling the meditations the lessening the fear. I just want to empathize, you’re in the doldrums, your entire outlook is clouded by the unfortunate shittiness you’ve dealt with these past few years, and it’s got you convinced that that is what the future has reserved for you.

Your reality is that you got this surgery. You regretting it now, while normal, is not doing anything for you. That said, you’re in a ton of pain right now, which is at least partially due to post op pain. Are you taking meds? If not, Have you spoken with your doctor? There is nothing wrong with taking meds to get through a rough patch even for TMS pain. I think at this juncture it’s most important to prioritize recovering from this surgery with as minimal catastrophizing as possible. Do you notice your other symptoms have decreased these past 2 weeks?

do you have anyone in your life you can open up to? When we are in these situations depression is common and it can feel like we’re totally alone and that no one, not friends or family could relate to us. And we stop thinking we deserve good things like the ear of a friend, we don’t want to be a burden. I get it, no one in my life truly knows what I’ve been dealing with, but I really wish I had more courage to be vulnerable with people, I don’t even give myself the opportunity to put myself out there, I just assume I’ll be rebuked. Yeah if we put ourselves out there it’s a risk, but if we do the same thing we know what we’re getting and for us tmser, what we’ve been getting typically isn’t that great.

 

I really appreciate your thoughts and so truly sorry for what you've gone through. You are wise beyond your years (I'm 52). I guess it's hard not to be convinced this is a life sentence. I know that isn't the attitude to have - but 8 years has really worn me down. Sometimes it just feels like - ok, what's next. That's why I don't talk to many people about it - it just sounds so outrageous and hard to believe. Anyway - I appreciate you listening and uplifting thoughts - thank you.

 

Yep.
Before I worked through Sarno and realized pain killers don't kill pain, I noticed that Drinking was more effective then pain killers as a false reprieve.

In fact, I had substance abuse issues for the long portion of my life when I did NOT have symptoms, so there you go!

I had a bunch of surgeries and procedures. None of that will stop you from getting better reading Sarno.
You'll probably find out that the surgery was not necessary, but that is nothing to worry about now.

The most important thing is to get a paper copy of "Healing Back Pain" by Sarno and start reading it...every day. Being Men we tend to build up vast reservoirs of repressed rage and modern society isn't doing a lot to relieve it, BUT the good news is we don't need their help. You can get better all by your lonesome.
I am 8 years your senior and work in Hardcore construction. I Imagine if I got MRI's I have tears and 'damage' all over my body. I can still throw a baseball hard, run as fast as my smokers lungs will let me, and I lift weights and hike/jog with my dog every day. The whole 'your getting old and that's why you hurt' is BS. When I occasionally get something, it is always because of ANGER that snuck by me without me paying attention. And it always goes away fast when I give it the attention

Get the book, read it and DM me if you have any questions. We are all here for each other.