The Fight Is On Today!

My body is tired, but my mind is not. Nerves on my right side is burning and tingling, but my left side is not. It feels weird when one side of your body feels very different from the other the last time I felt split in half it was the left side of my body.

My body is tired and my mind is not because INSOMNIA decided to visit me. If INSOMNIA thinks it is going to prevent me from doing what I have to do later today it have another thing coming.

My day is going to be interesting because MS causes life to be out of the ordinary. We have to adjust to the burdens of the symptoms of MS and I have plans that I must and want to keep today.

However, at my last neurologist appoint a month ago. I did mention to the doctor how painful my fingers were in my right hand. She told me what I already knew, which was it was the nerves in my fingers. I am an expert on distinguishing PAIN, but I would not wish NERVE PAIN on my worst enemy. It is one thing to have severe pain, but serve pain that also burns is HELL. Let me get back to my neurologist, insomnia is causing my mind to wander.

It is time to give the doctor a call because the nerve pain in my right hand fingers is now afflicted my entire right side and feeling slight dizzy on and off. In the early years of living with MS, I would have stress myself out wondering what is going on, but now I know better. Not that I am playing doctor, but I am 99.9% my doctor is going to order up Solu-Medrol…the remedy when MS exacerbate.

Nonetheless, that call can what until Monday; there is no need for me to ruin the day I have plan. I am tired and my right side feels like Hell, but I have a plan...THE FIGHT IS ON.

I PLAN TO WIN TODAY!

Nerve Pain Is Different

In the beginning it was hard for me to distinguish my pain because I experience pain in the joints, muscle, and nerves. All I knew was I was in pain and I wanted it to stop. Now that I know how to distinguish my pain, I know what pain medication works for me which is Cymbalta for my nerve pain and the Duragesic patch for my joint and muscle pain.

The following is an article from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society Mid South Chapter newsletter called the Connection. It is about nerve pain and I can vouch for Cymbalta when it comes to nerve pain it is also an anti-depressant. That’s one capsule that attacks two symptoms of MS and I highly recommend it over Neurontin. Why take three Neurontins a day that only helps with nerve pain when you can take one Cymbalta that helps with nerve pain and depression?

All pain is transmitted by nerves, but nerve pain is different. "Phantom limb pain" is a vivid example of "neuropathic" or nerve pain. This type of pain originates in the central nervous system in injured nerve pathways, not in the bones or muscles. A person with phantom limb pain feels pain in a body part that was amputated in the past.

MS lesions can injure nerve pathways and produce neuropathic pain - or unpleasant sensations called dysethesias (or "di-es-THESE-ee-ahs"). The burning, aching, stabbing, prickling, or itching may start and stop or drag on. MS lesions may also cause "allodynia" (Al-oh-DIN-ee-ah") - which is pain from something that shouldn't be painful. A soft touch, the weight of bed covers; even a cool breeze can be the trigger.

Neuropathic pain is not soothed by the over-the-counter medications that work on muscle pain. Even powerful prescription medications such as Percocet, Lortab, Oxycontin, or Darvocet are not effective for this kind of pain.

Instead, physicians need to prescribe medications that work on nerves. They may be anti-convulsants (such as Tegretol, Dilantin, or Neurontin), antidepressants (such as Elavil), or new drugs approved for diabetic pain (such as Lyrica or Cymbalta). It's not uncommon to try out several drugs to find what works best.