Pain: testing if MS related or not...

[anaishunter]

Nothing about this post is scientific but just want to get opinions on whether this makes sense or whether I'm completely off. (and of course, I'll talk to my doctor).

I live in a 50+ year old body. This naturally comes with all kinds of pain, including arthritis in one hip. I'm fairly new to MS (dx in May 2018) and never had a major relapse since double vision in Jan18 and a potential flare in May18 (pain in neck, heat sensitivity, dizziness, bladder control, tripping but nothing that seemed like a real crisis).

I'm back to having the same type of pain in the neck I had last May, while I have no other symptoms (yet). I'm thinking that if it were muscle soreness or arthritis, Tylenol would help, which it does not. So it has to be MS (neuropathic pain).

Could Tylenol or other OTC pain medicines be a test of whether your pain symptom is MS or something else?

[greaterexp]

I think you're on to something, but I would wonder about other pain relievers, such as ibuprofen or Naprosyn, as well as things like ice packs, or perhaps warm packs. I would probably begin to think it may be MS-related if none of those typical remedies helped. I'm glad you are checking with your doctor, since neck pain was one of your initial symptoms.

[jackiesj in reply to greaterexp]

I have been warned by pain and and cardiologist never to toake ibuprofen which works...only if you have that card problem..ask..doc

[anaishunter in reply to greaterexp]

well, cold or warm packs never worked for me to release neuro pain but they work on muscle pain so I could use that too as a test.

I rarely use pain medication (tylenol, ibuprofene, naproxene) for arthritis because I don't want to mask the pain. I use pain as an indicator that I need to stop or slow down whatever I'm doing that bothers my hip. But once in a while I just want to not deal with it.

[carolek572 CommunityAmbassador]

anaishunter greaterexp Has a valid concern. Your health care provider(s) should be helpful especially since you have already explored the OTC pain relievers. Sending you gentle vHugs.

[jackiesj]

I got on you tube and looked up stretches, neck pain etc and found some relief temporarily.poor body mechanics when these bodies go their own way.....

[Iona60]

I have always used ibuprofen for MS related inflammation.

[MarkUpnorth]

I have a whole file cabinet drawer at least half full of failed pain meds from my Neuros, and other doctors for my neuropathic burning feet. You could try all them too. I tried them all, didn't help. Maybe....maybe the pain isn't there? It's just in my head? They say it's in my brain, not my feet. Isn't my brain in my head? That's the only thing that kept me from performing self surgery to remove my burning feet with my construction saw! BUT what if I could just tell myself it isn't there and ignore it??? Yeah, tried that. Didn't work either. Will stick with the vaped CBD, thank you. Maybe it works by forgetting??? Speaking of,.. forget it! This one sided conversation is lame! LOL!

One more thing. The CBD by the way, does nothing for...dropping something heavy on my foot....wait!?!? I felt That??? For years my feet were half numb...except for the burning pain at night. I used to tell people, go ahead, stomp really hard on my foot.... My balance was bad because of lack of feeling in my feet for years???

Hmmm, things are all falling in place & looking up! No more pain, no more cane.... CBD and nutrition for me! And an air conditioner on this latest heat wave going on now in Chicagoland and the rest of the country. Stay inside.....Hottest weather since 1942??? Forget the actual date, but it was an amazingly long time ago.

[Juleigh21]

Gabapentin helps my MS pain. It calms the nerves better than any OTC drug. It also helps me to sleep better at night. Baclofen/Tizanidine works for me when the pain is really bad. I don’t know if this is what you were wondering about.

[Brindisi1]

Can Neuro also look at MRI to see if stenosis or other nerve issue. Think x Ray's show arthritis just to rule out or confirm. I do antiinflamatory diet, but things still happen

Maybe therapy and exercises can also help with stretching exercises.

My best for your healing

[TracyBelle]

Do you take Neurontin? (Generically called gabapentin?) it is the most widely used med for “nerve pain”. Pain is common in MS, because the nerves become damaged and repeatedly send your brain the message that you feel pain. This was the first symptom I had (after my vision had returned). I had an unbelievable pain underneath my arm, right where your bra is. It felt like I had been kicked in the ribs. It was sore in the bones, in the “meat”, and the skin felt ripped off. I felt like someone had kicked me with those steel toed waffle stomper boots everyone wore in the 1990s.

Do NOT let your Drs tell you that pain isn’t caused by MS. Of course, there is also a possibility of Spinal Stenosis in your neck. (Diagnosable with MRI.)

As well as countless other causes, but don’t allow the Dr to blow it off.

MS pain is the most common complaint according to the polls of MS patients, but some Drs will still say “we don’t treat pain, we treat MS.”

Best of luck- Tracy

[anaishunter]

MS related pain is really tricky. I'm still learning to make the difference between muscle pain (mostly soreness+), bone related pain (I had a broken leg so I have a sense of what it is), joint pain from arthritis, and MS-related pain.

I have Hip osteoarthritis in my right leg and often had pains in my leg that I thought where just referral pain from the bad hip before MS diagnosis. And no common pain medicine would do anything to it - my hip pain would be gone but the leg pain would still be there.

The only thing that ever worked for me is alcohol...

Now I'm able to use yoga, relaxation and breathing to calm my nervous system and stop leg pain.

I'm looking for good resources, training, etc... to learn to manage pain naturally, with as little medicine as possible. Anybody has a good pointer?