I didn't have any pain at first, unless you count a little discomfort just
below my rght rib. (TM at C6-C8,) But as time goes by, I get more pain,
sometimes pretty bad. I realize now that I was numb at first, so I didn't FEEL
any pain. As I get more feeling, I get more pain. But on the other hand, as
my shiatsu therapist keeps reminding me, 'Pain is good'. It means the nerves
aren't dead - they're trying to 'come back'.
Interesting thing to me is that when the pain is worse and I take any kind of
meds or supplements for it (meds that work on the nervous system like
alprazolam, butalbital, GABA amino acid - specifically ones that work on the
GABA receptors - I get more numbness and therefore can't walk as well. In
other words, taking the meds seems to reverse my healing, depending on how much
I take.
This seems to make sense, since GABA is an inhibitory part of the nervous
system. So basically, what I take limits the firing of the nerves so I don't
feel pain. But it also seems as though it is limiting the nerves from
returning to normal. My personal (very unprofessional) theory is that it's
sort of like stopping a small baby from crying and making noises - expecting
him to either talk or keep quiet. His crying is part of the development of his
lungs and the noises are prerequisite to his learning to talk. If you stop him
from making noise until he can actually talk, he may never learn. It seems as
if when I stop my nerves from firing (so much) so that I won't have any pain,
they don't work enough to allow me to walk (or walk more normally, feel, etc.).
'Just my theory for myself. And I'm sure if I had a more serious case of TM
and more pain, I wouldn't have as much of an option, though. I'm also not very
pain sensitive - and even then I sometimes need to take something for the pain!
So my theory might not make sense for a lot of people!
Sally
