Your new mantra: Hey, that doesn't hurt!

[cljanney]

This is a review of a very similar study to the one I participated with on pain at Stanford University using functional real time MRI machines to train individual to control the blood flow thru the regions of the brain responsible for pain (hence feeling less pain).

But this one is possibly more applicable since it is about people who are trained in mediation and their ability to not feel pain. All of us can learn meditation and don't MRI machine or clinic trails on pain to teach us.;)

Read on,
Chris

Two links to the Stanford study...
http://paincenter.stanford.edu/research/rtfmristudy.html
http://www.omneuron.com/technology.html




http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/living/2003554022_astrid04.html
Sunday, February 4, 2007

Your new mantra: Hey, that doesn't hurt!

By Astrid Pujari and M.D.

Not long ago, I read a fascinating research study.

MRI, as some of you may know, is a noninvasive imaging test that uses magnetic energy to take three-dimensional pictures of internal body organs. "Functional" MRI is a new application of MRI, in which you can see how blood flow to the brain changes as you think; it is a way to monitor brain activity.

In the research study, when 12 people who were skilled at meditation were examined using functional MRI, they had a 40 to 50 percent lower brain response to pain than 12 people who had never done meditation.

And when the people in the latter group learned transcendental meditation, their brain responses to pain also dropped by 40 to 50 percent when they were retested five months later.

Everyone experiences pain. Whether you've just stubbed your toe or gone through major surgery, the fact is that most people prefer a painless existence. This study suggests a prescription-free way to do just that.

In addition, I am excited by the potential ramifications for people I see with chronic pain. The International Association of Pain estimates that 35 percent of adults have chronic pain. As a doctor, I have seen how disabling and disempowering that diagnosis can be. Imagine how great it would be if someone could reduce his or her pain by 40 percent without ever leaving the couch!

The type of meditation used in this study was transcendental meditation. TM is a mantra-based meditation practice, which uses a repeated sound in order to allow the mind and body to achieve a state of restful alertness.

There are actually many mantra-based meditation practices, taught by many cultures for thousands of years. The benefit to TM is that it has research to support it, and that it is standardized; the downside is that it is fairly expensive to learn from an accredited center.

-------------------------------------------
Dr. Astrid Pujari is a Seattle M.D. with an additional degree as a medical herbalist; she practices at the Pujari Center and teaches as part of the residency programs at Virginia Mason and Swedish Providence hospitals. Her column is a weekly feature in Sunday Northwest Life. Send questions to apujari@seattletimes.com for possible use in future columns.

[firesmurf]

how well did this work for you chris?i don't have the time right now to read thru the info,just wondering what types of pain this was used on?are you able to put these skills into practical use now?i am just really curious about how your and others responses were.any info would really be helpful.

i tried bio feedback many many years ago to try and treat migranes that i started getting when i was thirteen.there just wasn't any real anti migrane type meds back then and some would go for two full days.i was able to somewhat control things in the office but couldn't get the same results when at home.i am just wondering if you were really able to channel or reroute your own bloodflow with this,and how did you feel overall with your pain levels?thanks for doing that study chris,really,everytime someone volunteers for these types of things,it helps all of us get better treatment in the long run.marcia

[LaMemChose]

Meditation works to an extent for me. While it doesn't take away all pain, I'm better able to cope using deep breathing, guided imagery, relaxation. On nights I meditate just prior to sleepoing, I have better, deeper, longer sleep, feel more rested the next a.m.

Glad to see research backing what I know to be true from personal experience and anecdotal "evidence" of others.

[cljanney]

Good 3 min news coverage video link on story posted above and below...

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=edell&id=5073839



Patients Learn To Use Brain To Beat Pain
Could Help Control Addictions


Feb. 27, 2007

Chronic pain is one of health care's biggest and most expensive issues. Innovative research from Stanford tries to teach patients how to control their own pain. Scientists hope this is major first step in pain relief for millions.

Sean Mackey, M.D., PhD, Stanford pain researcher: "As the brain activity increases, her pain also increased."

You are getting a unique look at a brain in pain -- the red area shows waves of pain racking a patient's body and brain. Stanford pain specialist Dr. Sean Mackey says he's trying a new approach to controlling pain, because pain is a very big deal.

Sean Mackey, M.D., PhD: "Pain is an absolutely huge issue. So it's estimated to affect over 50 million Americans alone -- over 170,000 people each year seek treatment in a chronic pain center."

Chronic pain sufferers have usually tried everything, from over-the-counter pills to prescriptions medications. Some still don't get relief. Stanford researchers are trying to teach pain patients how to control their pain, using their brains.

Phillip Morrison, pain study patient: "The worst days, it was so bad that I would have trouble brushing my teeth, brushing my hair and I couldn't really swim at all."

Pain has been a constant part of Phillip's life for more than 10 years. As a Stanford swim student training for Olympics, he could barely lift his arm.

Phillip Morrison: "Anything that was past here, it would hurt. It was painful."

During the study, Phillip was placed into a functional magnetic resonance imaging machine (fMRI). First Dr. Mackey had him do mental exercises to try to increase his pain while watching feedback of his own brain activity.

Phillip Morrison: "I imagined someone stabbing me here, and, you know, the knife actually tweaking around."

Sean Mackey, M.D., PhD: "When he would increase, the brain activity represented by this orange area his pain would also go up."

Then Phillip was told to try to reduce his pain while watching his brain waves.

Phillip Morrison: "I would think of, you know, either someone massaging it, or cool colors touching it, and sucking all the bad energy out."

And it worked -- the blue area shows Phillip was able to reduce his pain a lot.

Sean Mackey, M.D., PhD: "There were so many people who came out of the scanner who said for the first time, I can see the pain in my brain and I can control it. And that was a very powerful experience."

Dr. Mackey says patients in the study averaged about a 40-percent drop in pain, but he cautions much more research is needed before this is clinically available.

While Phillip is not pain-free, he says he continues to improve by practicing some of what he learned in the scanner.

Phillip Morrison: "I think that the studies show that you can definitely decrease or increase a lot your pain problems, just by your mental state or mind."

More proof that it's mind over matter.

Researchers hope to broaden the research to larger number of subjects trying to control several areas of the brain. Ultimately, they hope to expand outside of pain relief into control over tobacco or drug addictions, as well.

[metronycguy]

i think this is with low levels of pain, they talk about people using otc meds,. chronic intractable pain patients are well beyond otc meds.
"As a Stanford swim student training for Olympics, he could barely lift his arm.
Phillip Morrison: "Anything that was past here, it would hurt. It was painful."

this is not chronic intractable pain, this is pain caused by overuse or shoulder problem. wow he couldn't brush his teeth or brush his hair without pain? probably would have been fine if he used his other arm. if your training for the Olympics in swimming, your not in constant pain, it is a oxymoron.

[cljanney]

how well did this work for you chris?i don't have the time right now to read thru the info,just wondering what types of pain this was used on?are you able to put these skills into practical use now?i am just really curious about how your and others responses were.any info would really be helpful.

marcia

Marcia,
I just noticed your questions now, otherwise I would've replied sooner.

What I learned in my participation with these clinical trials helps me daily! Much better than any medication could, because there are no side effects. There is a learning curve to it, and I find that every once in a while I'll fall back into my reactive habits when I feel pain, and tense up and only make it linger longer, instead of using the imagining and mental/emotional solutions I devised during the trials.

The neuropathic pain I experience regularly through out the day is extreme. I was always very physically active and aggressive in sports prior to injury and have lived and played with my fair share of broken bones and thought I was a rather good master of pain. Having been stabbed, shot, and survived cancer also fed my belief that I could handle just about any type that came my way. Well this neuropathic stuff beats them all easy, it's in a league of it's own.

I drove up to Stanford University to participate in their trials just over a year ago. It was the first time I felt I had some kind of control over this black beast that eats me from the inside out. You can imagine how empowering it is when you realize you can have an effect on how much pain you feel. Mind you it hasn't fixed me... yet, but I am getting better month to month. The last week has been horrific for me, I got some kind of virus or food poisoning, and the weather has been all over the map, so my pain has sky rocketed. When I'm weak, I become more reactive and take a much less proactive role in controlling my pain. It hasn't become second nature yet, how I deal with it.

Also FYI I did the trials during the Christmas Holidays, so I believe I was the only one up there, don't know anyone else that participated in them as well.

Best of Luck,
Christopher

[cljanney]

It's for all levels and types of pain. The key to pain is our brain... and that's the only issue addressed here.

I learned to control blood flow in the regions of my brain responsible for experiencing pain. The less blood in those regions, the less active they will be, which is completely independent of what type of pain it is.

The example they used wasn't the best, but I can promise you it works for extreme neuropathic pain.



i think this is with low levels of pain, they talk about people using otc meds,. chronic intractable pain patients are well beyond otc meds.
"As a Stanford swim student training for Olympics, he could barely lift his arm.
Phillip Morrison: "Anything that was past here, it would hurt. It was painful."

this is not chronic intractable pain, this is pain caused by overuse or shoulder problem. wow he couldn't brush his teeth or brush his hair without pain? probably would have been fine if he used his other arm. if your training for the Olympics in swimming, your not in constant pain, it is a oxymoron.

[quadvet]

Yes, I survive by meditating. What I have bolded here is the core of how it works for me.
From: http://1stholistic.com/Meditation/hol_meditation_intro.htm


"Herbert Benson, M.D., a professor at Harvard Medical School, describes the meditation experience as the "relaxation response." He discovered by studying various yogis and longtime meditators that the meditation process counteracts the effects of the sympathetic nervous system-the one that wants to fight or flee. Whereas the sympathetic system dilates the pupils and gets the heart rate, respiration, and blood pressure up, the parasympathetic system, activated when we meditate, does just the opposite. Muscle tension decreases, blood pressure drops, and for some extraordinary practitioners, even temperature and basal metabolism rates drop during a prolonged meditation. Oxygen needs of the body are reduced when you are in a highly relaxed state, and brain waves change from the busy beta-waves to the blissful alpha waves."


I can induce the same effects on my body as Valium or all those other great narcotics, through meditation. Where narcs get bad with time, meditation only gets better with practice.

As much as I'd like to, I won't carry on about it because I did before and nobody gave a crap LOL. But really, the function of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems is worth understanding. Great discussion, thanks.

[alan]

I've never been a good meditator, not even before the SCI and central pain.

[quadvet]

I've never been a good meditator, not even before the SCI and central pain. Maybe you just don't know it. Same as controlling the effects of shock or autonomic dysreflexia, or even being in a MRI machine. I'm unfortunate enough to have the advantage of being totally alone virtually all of the time, lights off and either totally quiet or music blasting my blues and/or anger away.

Separating the mind and body's pain is the goal. Savor and remember and replicate the feeling of being under the influence of a good drug; or that first bong hit of the day, for those who partake.

Focus on the benefits of not taking narcotics; side effects, etc. - in the long run, the pain is the same.

For me, it is a constant battle trying to convince my mind that I am not in imminent danger of something - a fear that exacerbates the burning CP to extremes. As long as I can control that, I'm OK. Soon as I try to sleep, I lose control of it, and that fear takes over again and the burning worsens. I only sleep when totally exhausted, a couple hours here and there.


For me, narcotics and antidepressants only make things worse. Sorry I can't be more specific.
.

[john smith]

Just adding anecdotal info to the discussion of meditation. My son, Noah, is a C7 quad, four years post. He has found relief for spasms and pain with regular meditation. 2x a day for 30 minutes, I believe. His attitude and general sense of well-being is also improved.

John

[quadvet]

Thanks John, I've read that's all it takes to achieve results. I've been chastised for continuing to take Valium and baclofen before and am wondering if Noah is able to live without these, with meditation. It would be very hard for me to dc these drugs after so many years, but it would be nice to be free of the side effects. I don't take pain meds or antidepressants because of the severe side effects.

[darkeyed_daisy]

Thanks John, I've read that's all it takes to achieve results. I've been chastised for continuing to take Valium and baclofen before and am wondering if Noah is able to live without these, with meditation. It would be very hard for me to dc these drugs after so many years, but it would be nice to be free of the side effects. I don't take pain meds or antidepressants because of the severe side effects.

Sorry no one seemed to give a crap about your other meditation posts... I would like to know how you do this? I may be doing some of it already as I have a high tolerance for pain and do know that relaxing is one of the keys to getting rid of alot of the pain that I experience. I learned that the night my accident happened. As long as I wouldnt tense up, my body wouldnt feel like it was on fire. There used to be a bump on the road where they had to drive me to get me to the trauma center and I worried about crossing that bump all the way to there because I knew it was going to hurt (It was a place in the road that kept sinking and was about 200 feet in length). I was already at the trauma center before I realized we had crossed the "bump". (about 2 hours from my town).

The key to stopping the pain was to not allow my other muscles to tense up. I find that this does not work well with bone pain as that is my major problem now. I find that focusing on other things also alleviates alot of pain.

Any ideas would be most appreciative....

BTW..you have some pretty daughters. You are definately going to have your hands full in a few years trying to keep the boys in line. LOL

[john smith]

Noah only uses Ditropan. Baclofen, valium, and neurontin just made him groggy and did not help with his primary complication, which are spasms and tone.

His injury is very different from yours. He has some nerve pain but not to the degree you do. His pain is primarily muscular and related to the spasms and, of course, sitting. Meditation may help with serious nerve pain but I have no experience or knowledge of that being the case.

John

[Tiger Racing]

i think this is with low levels of pain, they talk about people using otc meds,. chronic intractable pain patients are well beyond otc meds.
Yes and no. OTC meds don't do squat for my chronic pain, but then neither do narcotics. I have taken them on rare occasion to dull my senses when I couldn't manage the pain in any other way, but it doesn't really make the pain go away, it just makes me care less about it. What has worked for me on a day to day basis for decades is meditation. It DOES work for neuropathic pain for a lot of people. If it's not something you've tried, give it a shot.

C.

[LaMemChose]

Like most things in life, meditation is a process, not a destination. The more I meditate, the better I become at it without realizing it at the time. I look at where I was in meditation even five years ago and how it works now. It's gotten better, easier most times.

I am in constant stinging, burning, electric shock pain. Even writing about it seems to make it worse because I'm acknowledging it and feel I want to fight it. However, with meditation I'm not fighting it. Oddly enough I relax into it. That seems the opposite of what should work, but it does.

By focusing on breathing, calming my mind, visualization of a physical, tiny bee of light (yes, a bee as in bumblebee ... Hey, this is my visualization.) which circles the inside of my body starting at my toes and going around and around inside removing pain as it goes, I slow my respiration, my heart rate, calm my mind, lower the scream of pain. At times pain goes to a whisper. Other times a louder voice, but my pain is lowered as is my stress. By the time the bee exits my body through the top of my head, I'm realxed, almost in a sleep state and in less pain.

Yes, I know. Sounds utterly bizarre. As for the bee, it's a friendly, non-stinging bee. For me, that tiny circling bright light inside my limbs and trunk and neck and face and head takes away some of the pain. Not sure how I found the light and decided it was a bee, but it's how I visualize.

You have my permission to decide I'm certifiable for that now if you wish. :p

I got into meditation and visualization with relative ease. Nothing else worked. I gave it a shot.

I've lowered my pulse rate and stress level in doctors' offices. At times it's been high, too high. I ask for a couple of minutes and a re-check. I close my eyes, focus on breathing and calm my mind. My pulse is always significantly lower with just a couple of minutes.

I use commercially available guided imagery when I can't get calmer and meditative on my own. A friend of mine got me a CD with this gay guy who takes you through relaxation. There are waves and gulls in the background. That CD helps me go to sleep most nights. I'm thankful to the flaming gay guy for his help. If I ever meet him, I'll propose because he takes me to bed most nights. :o

If you have constant pain, meditation may help. It's helped me in many ways. I'm grateful for it. If you're unsure how to do it, read a little, be open to it, check into CDs for relaxation and medtation. A psychologist may be able to help you learn how.

Pick a quiet room, dim the lights, get comfortable as possible, give it a go.

It just might help when nothing else will.

[quadvet]

A friend of mine got me a CD with this gay guy who takes you through relaxation. There are waves and gulls in the background. That CD helps me go to sleep most nights. I'm thankful to the flaming gay guy for his help. If I ever meet him, I'll propose because he takes me to bed most nights. :o
http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k170/Valiantdogs/Smileycrackup.gif http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k170/Valiantdogs/Smileycrackup.gif http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k170/Valiantdogs/Smileycrackup.gif


http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k170/Valiantdogs/SmileyROTFLMAO.gif http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k170/Valiantdogs/SmileyROTFLMAO.gif
.

[LaMemChose]

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k170/Valiantdogs/Smileycrackup.gif http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k170/Valiantdogs/Smileycrackup.gif http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k170/Valiantdogs/Smileycrackup.gif


http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k170/Valiantdogs/SmileyROTFLMAO.gif http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k170/Valiantdogs/SmileyROTFLMAO.gif
.

I know. How pathetic a gay guy on a CD is the one tucking me in at night, eh? LOL Glad we can laugh about this shiznit. :D

[metronycguy]

my pain is much different than the usually burning that most experience and complain of. i get extreme shocks in my foot. the timing between them is seconds. they get worse when i lie down. fortunately they only start appearing in the evening.
the last couple nights have been severe, 30 mgs of oxycodone and than 10 mg more for the next 2 hours doesn't even touch it. the oxycodone is my breakthrough meds, so last night 50 mgs of oxycodone wouldn't stop the insane pain. normally i may need 10 to 20 mgs for breakthrough. it is very intense pain

[LaMemChose]

my pain is much different than the usually burning that most experience and complain of. i get extreme shocks in my foot. the timing between them is seconds. they get worse when i lie down. fortunately they only start appearing in the evening.
the last couple nights have been severe, 30 mgs of oxycodone and than 10 mg more for the next 2 hours doesn't even touch it. the oxycodone is my breakthrough meds, so last night 50 mgs of oxycodone wouldn't stop the insane pain. normally i may need 10 to 20 mgs for breakthrough. it is very intense pain

Hey, Mike. I get what I call "shock/pops." Generally thoese hit my arms/hands/wrists/fingers when I turn my head and neck a certain way. Other times I have no clue what or why. It feels like the biggest sparkle/pop/shock is coming out the ends of my fingers. My thumb gets the worst of it lately.

Legs are hit less often, but it happens. Not sure why. It's maddening.

I can be around others and feel I'm getting the shiznit shocked out of me. Of course, no one else has a clue.

If these hit continuously every few seconds 24/7/365 I'd be nuts.

Sorry you have these facing you each evening. That'd make thinking about sleep something to dread beyond bp and other nightly care shtuff.

When they begin to calm is there anything you can relate it to? I've been amazed at the things which kick mine off. Pretty strange shtuff.

[quadvet]

I know. How pathetic a gay guy on a CD is the one tucking me in at night, eh? LOL Glad we can laugh about this shiznit. :DYeah, I wasn't laughing at you, I was laughing with you. In all honesty, though, the guy is annoying. Telling me to imagine being in a green meadow, blahblah, ugh, I just wanna smack 'im and tell him to imagine that. Glad he works for so many people, though.

Anyway, I find your post most interesting and comment worthy. Will return ASAP, must meditate some. I'm glad to see so many others using this to overcome such a wide variety of issues, including med replacement/augmentation.

.

[betheny]

When I get the shocks there is no going around it mentally. I'm so grateful that they come and go, usually related to being startled. Distraction helps. Meditation helps me with other kinds of pain though.

I have Graves disease, which is the immune system attacking the thyroid. Meditation really helps this. Last year at a time of high stress I went for a massage with this kid who is incredibly talented. He said "Wow, your 5th chakra is completely blocked." Meant nothing to me, until a few months later when I was skeletal and finally found out about the Graves disease. It took 5 minutes research to learn that the New Age folk say the thyroid is located at the 5th chakra.

Graves is all about the sympathetic/parasympathetic systems. High thyroid makes the adrenaline pump, and there you go. Combined with SCI stuff...spasms, esp, and those damned electric shocks, it it a nasty duo. The meditation is a lifesaver.

I visualize the energy moving away from that point, which I actually can feel. (Oddly not located at the thyroid.)

Nobody should chastise someone else for their pain management techniques imo.

[doingtimeonmyass]

For me, it is a constant battle trying to convince my mind that I am not in imminent danger of something -
. I have that same problem at times which really causes a lot of anxiety and feelings of helplessness. I sometimes feel like I'm on the verge of autonomic dysreflexia which freaks me out.

Is there a good source to learn meditation, possibly on audio CD?

[metronycguy]

yeah my shocks i get aren't the same shocks i get when i turn my neck, those zingers , startling but not extremely painful. i guess if they came came every 2 seconds they too would be intolerable.
my shocks are full fledged electrocutions. very similar to a 110 volt ac , actually a little less than the 110 vac feeling but a lot more than 48vdc,probably more like 60v. iworked in the telco indistry so i was shocked daily for years. the worse was getting the ringing voltage in my eyeballs:zombie:
i do have very rare occurrence of high shocks that are around 110vac, if they occurred while i was out of my apartment , i would be totally incapacitated and probably would be ambulanced to hospital, no way could i drive ,or take a train, since my while body starts getting affected.

[LaMemChose]

yeah my shocks i get aren't the same shocks i get when i turn my neck, those zingers , startling but not extremely painful. i guess if they came came every 2 seconds they too would be intolerable.
my shocks are full fledged electrocutions. very similar to a 110 volt ac , actually a little less than the 110 vac feeling but a lot more than 48vdc,probably more like 60v. iworked in the telco indistry so i was shocked daily for years. the worse was getting the ringing voltage in my eyeballs:zombie:
i do have very rare occurrence of high shocks that are around 110vac, if they occurred while i was out of my apartment , i would be totally incapacitated and probably would be ambulanced to hospital, no way could i drive ,or take a train, since my while body starts getting affected.

Sounds as though you are getting major zapped at night. Wish I had an answer for you, but I don't. :(

[LaMemChose]

Yeah, I wasn't laughing at you, I was laughing with you. In all honesty, though, the guy is annoying. Telling me to imagine being in a green meadow, blahblah, ugh, I just wanna smack 'im and tell him to imagine that. Glad he works for so many people, though.

Anyway, I find your post most interesting and comment worthy. Will return ASAP, must meditate some. I'm glad to see so many others using this to overcome such a wide variety of issues, including med replacement/augmentation.

.

I know you're laughing with. Had tongue planted firmly in cheek when I wrote I'd propose to Mr. Gay Meditation Guy. LOL :p

His CD doesn't tell me to hit the green meadow. He flamingly helps me regulate my breathing, letting allllllll the cares of the day go away. (Calgon take me ...) Sounds bizarre, but it works for me.

If I really thought about what he's saying, I'd probably get pizzed. LOL However, when I was gifted with it, I was willing to try it because nothing else was working. I'm off all vodka, opiates and benzos after detox and Betty Fording myself times two over three years ago. The CD hit when I needed it most.

Had had a really great meditation/visualization tape which I lost in a move. Haven't been able to find a copy of it since. In it, the guy did suggest places to go after getting heartrate and respirations very slow and low. Talk about leveled out pain and mellowness of being. It worked, sometimes better, sometimes not so well, but it always helped if I gave it a go.

I've found if I take ten or fifteen minutes in the a.m. to focus on relaxed breathing, even my heartrate and clear my mind, I have less pain, more tolerance for daily annoyances, big and small.

Have several theories about it, about why it works for me. One is that I'm less frustrated with myself and the world because I'm more relaxed. I'm able to better focus on just doing what I gotta instead of noticing all the ways I'm trying to do what I gotta and it's awkward, slow, cumbersome, leaves me fuddling.

Also, since there are so many things I cannot control with my body, meditating is something I can do. I can calm my mind, slow my heart and breathing to feel better mentally and physically.

Meditation helps kill the fight or flight response I get when I'm frustrated, my pain level is ratcheting through the roof and I'm thinking I just can't.

Didn't meditate today as this was an early rising day. Two days a week I'm up waaaaaayyyyyy early. Somehow it seems getting that extra ten or fifteen minutes of sleep is better than meditating when setting my alarm the night before. Yet as the day goes on, I can feel what not meditating earlier does to me. Will begin meditating on Tuesday and Thursday a.m.'s (again) because I feel a big difference.

[quadvet]

Sorry to do it like this, but like Betheny said, writing is difficult for me. So, I tried to highlight what I see we have in common. Like in my first post here: http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/showpost.php?p=616883&postcount=8 , we can use meditation to control the sympathetic nervous system - the one that wants to fight or flee by activating the parasympathetic nervous system, the one that relaxes muscles. I found the link in that post a great resource. I think we all have a very high tolerance to pain, through meditation. When I am awake, it is a constant battle to control these muscles that cause so much burning..., with the only relaxation coming with total exhaustion. Sleep (horribly) for a few hours, wake up hurting like hell for another round, LOL. Isn't Life fun....
When I get the shocks there is no going around it mentally. Graves is all about the sympathetic/parasympathetic systems. High thyroid makes the adrenaline pump, and there you go. Combined with SCI stuff...spasms, esp, and those damned electric shocks, it it a nasty duo. The meditation is a lifesaver.I'm less frustrated with myself and the world because I'm more relaxed. I'm able to better focus on just doing what I gotta instead of noticing all the ways I'm trying to do what I gotta...
Meditation helps kill the fight or flight response I get when I'm frustrated, my pain level is ratcheting through the roof and I'm thinking I just can't.

For me, it is a constant battle trying to convince my mind that I am not in imminent danger of something - (I've always got this freaked out feeling I have something on my clipboard waiting to be pasted, because I've lost so much that way, LOL) I have that same problem at times which really causes a lot of anxiety and feelings of helplessness. I sometimes feel like I'm on the verge of autonomic dysreflexia which freaks me out.
I would like to know how you do this? I may be doing some of it already as I have a high tolerance for pain and do know that relaxing is one of the keys to getting rid of alot of the pain that I experience. I learned that the night my accident happened. As long as I wouldnt tense up, my body wouldnt feel like it was on fire. The key to stopping the pain was to not allow my other muscles to tense up.
BTW..you have some pretty daughters. You are definately going to have your hands full in a few years trying to keep the boys in line. LOL Thanks, it's funny how girls seem to listen to advice better than boys. They're MY girls, so I tell them ALL about them horny little boys, LOL. Can't complain about the few boyfriends.

Matt out for the day...:grphug: