Pain killers, Chronic Pain & Women

From this news article, it sounds as though many middle aged women with chronic pain are becoming addicted to prescription pain killers:

http://xfinity.comcast.net/articles/news-national/20130702/US-MED-Drug-Overdoses/

Makes you wonder whether these drug overdoses are really the result of misdiagnosed TMS among 45-65 year old women?

 

I think you have got that right, Bruce. It is really a shame.

 

So sad...

 

Interesting how knowing about TMS gives you a new perspective on what news stories like this really mean. This video on Xfinity repeats the same information:

http://xfinity.comcast.net/video/mo...llers/35889731935/fanNews/newest/?cid=hero_sf

However, I find the medical editor's quip that the human genome hold the key to addiction simplistic and rather naive. I believe that Gabor Mate is correct in his belief that early childhood trauma changes the biochemistry of a potential addicts brain in such a way that certain drugs, like opiates and methamphetamines, satisfy emotional needs in such individuals. That whole genetic deterministic model, it seems to me, is fundamentally flawed unless it's used in conjunction with psychology.

 

I agree that it's sad and tragic that so many people are dying of pain killer overdoses, but it's a leap to attribute this phenomenon to undiagnosed TMS. My guess is that this is not a diagnosis specific phenomenon.

 

Misdiagnosed TMS is not the only reason to be sure, but it's a contributory factor I'd think. The higher rates of chronic pain in women have a lot to do with long-suffering goodist personality traits that are also often found in TMS patients. There is an unfortunate tendency among physicians to simply medicate chronic pain patients with stronger and stronger doses of pain killers. Drug addiction is not simply a physiological state but is deeply conditioned by underlying psychological programming. Chronic pain is in many cases, where there is no underlying tissue-issue, TMS.

 

I certainly agree that the lack of recognition of TMS plays a role. I would just recommend some caution in stating opinion as fact. For example, how do you know that a goodist personality trait leads to higher rates of chronic pain in women? Has this been shown in any studies? What leads you to state this in such a factual manner?

 

I think Dr Sarno speculates that "goodist" personality traits are behind the higher rates of TMS, fibromyalgia and chronic pain among his female patients. Depends on whether you accept TMS as having a psychological origin or no. Recently the theory has been advanced that lower back pain and fibro are due to the presence of a bacteria, but that might just be the result of biological changes caused by mental states associated with TMS. Chicken or egg? There is no doubt statistically though that women do suffer higher rates of chronic pain than males.

Big problem with all of this speculation though is that TMS is very rarely diagnosed as the reason behind chronic pain in the first place. It's sort of like reasoning from the less known to the unknown.

 

Pills, drugs are not the solution. I believe accepting that our pain is caused by TMS, repressed emotions, is the solution.
If you possibly can, stop using the pills or drugs. Try hot or warm milk. Some people including me have found that Kava kava, a harmless, nonaddictive herb, relaxes and calms. But I'm not a doctor. Look it up on the Internet. I'm not saying take it, but I am suggesting you read about it. Good luck and good health.

 

In fact, if you read Gabor Mate's In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts, Walt, you'll see that opioid pain killers often perpetuate a pain cycle because they requires higher and higher doses to get pain relief and that in turn modifies brain chemistry in such a fundamental way that the need for the pain syndrome is also perpetuated. That's why they call it addiction.

 

Hello Bruce. I don't know anything about Gabor Mate or his work, but I'm skeptical of his theories because as a pain physician experienced in prescribing opioid pain killers for over 15 years, I can tell you that from my experience, it is totally untrue that you need to use escalating doses of opioids to effectively relieve pain. At the same time, don't get the wrong idea. I am a real believer in Dr. Sarno's theories and in TMS. I just don't want truth to be distorted. Be very careful of what you say please. If you don't know something to be true, please do not repeat or perpetuate a myth.

 

Dr. Gwozdz, a tms doctor, list Manifestations of TMS. He lists "most chronic pain". I believe this is true.
www.gwozdzmd.com

 

I believe in this video Dr Schubiner gives a psychological explanation for why women have higher rates of chronic pain than do males:

http://www.tmswiki.org/forum/media/the-role-the-brain-plays-in-pain-the-mind-body-syndrome.20/

Dr Schubiner postulates that this is because women are more caring than men. Dr Mate echoes this in When the Body Says No. I do know that women have much higher rates of fibromyalgia and slightly higher rates of lower back pain than do men.