Riding the Tiger, the metaphor;& Defining terms (Benign Chronic Pain Syndrome)

The metaphor of ‘riding the tiger’ was popularized by a number of Organizational Development gurus in the 80’s-90s (maybe earlier). Riding the tiger is the bind you’re in when you have chronic pain — you really can’t get off the tiger, for that fate is death, but you sure don’t want to stay on the tiger’s back; sort of like having a permanent chronic condition, be it pain or anything else at all. One can extend the metaphor as far as you want, but I’ve always felt it was an apt metaphor for this experience of chronic pain.

Also, thought it would helpful to talk about the meaning of the term Benign Chronic Pain Syndrome(BCPS) . I learned it from a pain Doctor a pain center in 1986. The key term I think is benign . The big difference between benign and conventional episodic  pain is that regular pain is a message tothe brain & body to protect or defend the organism (that’s you :} ); benign means that the pain is coming from other sources, for other reasons. When it becomes chronic, that’s a whole other kettle of fish.

For example, a tooth ache, a broken thumb, a bump on the head all cause pain, episodic pain. For each example it is obvious where the pain comes from and the course of action is equally as apparent. With benign pain there is no clear cut causation or event which is causing the pain. With regular pain, if you ignore it, something bad will befall you; with benign pain, the pain is not a call to action.

Pain (of either variety) also brings into action the body’s and brain’s defense systems, to include the fight-flight responses, fear, etc. and all the brain neurotransmitters, blood flow changes etc which are produced in such situations; It’s all rather limbic, happens on its own to us and we usually aren’t aware of all these inner processes (because our mental spotlight is on the pain of the moment but of course ).

Now…what happens when a person gets a pain — say it starts like a regular episodic pain — but continues and continues. What is happening to all those brain-body changes stimulated by the initial pain? mmmmm…. This to me is what makes BCPS Such a totally different creature.

But I fear I’ve become didactic — apologies, did just only want to clear up the difference for anyone who may not have been familiar with it.

Riding the Tiger, the metaphor;& Defining terms (Benign Chronic Pain Syndrome)

The metaphor of ‘riding the tiger’ was popularized by a number of Organizational Development gurus in the 80’s-90s (maybe earlier). Riding the tiger is the bind you’re in when you have chronic pain — you really can’t get off the tiger, for that fate is death, but you sure don’t want to stay on the tiger’s back; sort of like having a permanent chronic condition, be it pain or anything else at all. One can extend the metaphor as far as you want, but I’ve always felt it was an apt metaphor for this experience of chronic pain.

Also, thought it would helpful to talk about the meaning of the term Benign Chronic Pain Syndrome(BCPS) . I learned it from a pain Doctor a pain center in 1986. The key term I think is benign . The big difference between benign and conventional episodic  pain is that regular pain is a message tothe brain & body to protect or defend the organism (that’s you :} ); benign means that the pain is coming from other sources, for other reasons. When it becomes chronic, that’s a whole other kettle of fish.

For example, a tooth ache, a broken thumb, a bump on the head all cause pain, episodic pain. For each example it is obvious where the pain comes from and the course of action is equally as apparent. With benign pain there is no clear cut causation or event which is causing the pain. With regular pain, if you ignore it, something bad will befall you; with benign pain, the pain is not a call to action.

Pain (of either variety) also brings into action the body’s and brain’s defense systems, to include the fight-flight responses, fear, etc. and all the brain neurotransmitters, blood flow changes etc which are produced in such situations; It’s all rather limbic, happens on its own to us and we usually aren’t aware of all these inner processes (because our mental spotlight is on the pain of the moment but of course ).

Now…what happens when a person gets a pain — say it starts like a regular episodic pain — but continues and continues. What is happening to all those brain-body changes stimulated by the initial pain? mmmmm…. This to me is what makes BCPS Such a totally different creature.

But I fear I’ve become didactic — apologies, did just only want to clear up the difference for anyone who may not have been familiar with it.

Ride the tiger, cont’d

I happened upon a really great Chronic Pain forum ‘Healing Well’ (it’s in my blogroll. Since going there and adding some comments there I’m feeling a bit better than I was when I wrote above on Feb.14.Still, I know it’s time for me to have another consult w/ pain Dr — as I’ve started taking too much tylenol in one day (1000mg 3 or 4x a day–not good for the liver). After researching via the pain forum and elsewhere I’m going to see him to see what to use in lieu of all that Tylenol.

(Also, Feb 15th was the 3rd anniversary of my nephew Jeremiah’s suicide, so on Feb 14th I’m always bummed out …feeling better now emotionally at least).

And…extending myself socially, to attend to others, to listen to them and attempt to either empathize or offer suggestions help — all this is itself a good tonic for me, I know. Looks like at last I’m beginning to break the shell of my self-spun cacoon, the better to see you with…:}

How I use electro-acupuncture & Microcurrent Stimulator

On a Chronic pain forum I was asked about this topic. Thought I’d cc it here, as it is relevant to everything. Here ’tis:

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I’ll try not to go into too much detail but here’s a summary of how I came to use the microcurrent electroacupuncture originally (1986) and how I use it now, 20+ years on (I’ll try to keep it short ):

Original Use/Context:

In 1986 I was exhaused, unable to work (and soon to be fired), bedridden and immobilized by pain, unable to sleep more than 40 minutes. All the pain meds had basicallystopped working (there’s another story there about Talwin NX, but that’s for another time:} ), and I was on all sorts of anti-depressants etc. It was living hell.

Before I went to the Temple Pain Center I had been in the hospital for a week or so, and they tried everything they had, trigger point injections, facet injections, all the Physical Therapy equip they had, and of course kept me pretty doped up on something or other (I don’t remember, but while it did make me sleep ahell of alot, when I was conscious it didn’t touch the pain. Basically, my body’s endorphins producing system had shut down I think. Then they sent me home with a referral to Temple U Pain Control Center. (I’ll skip ahead to how I encountered the microcurrent electroacupuncture)…

While waiting for my appointmentat Temple my wife was told about a nearby chiropractor who had been a ‘miracle worker’ for a friend’s grandfather, using ‘electro-acupuncture’. Never having been to a chiropractor I figured what did I have to lose.

The Chiropractor had also been trained by a Chinese acupuncturist on the West Coast and had certificates on the wall(1 in Chinese). I was skeptical. He interviewed me for an hour and he saidn, “I think we can help you” and smiled. Then I was put under an interferometer (I don’t know anything about it, or even if that’s the right name). After about 20 minutes of that I was relaxed but still in the same pain. Then the Dr. did his thing with what I later learned was a microcurrent TENS (transcutaneous Electrical Stimulator).While he was putting the probes at various points all over my body, and on the incisions area he explained Chinese meridians and the chinese medical model etc.(I was aware of it from my undergrad studies but not in the detail about acupuncture that he explained. He is an amazing healer, let me tell you).

He treated me for a long time ( I went into a weird altered state, where time stopped and I felt very strange. Then he thanked me and asked me to come back in 3 days. I rose to leave and noticed I could stand up straight. I walked effortlessly to the clerk and then to the car.

By the time I got to the car I realized that the worst pain of the last 2 years had ‘broken’, it was there, but had ‘quieted down’. I went home and slept 12 hours straight! That was the beginning of my road to going back to work and resuming my life. (I’ll be putting this stuff on my blog where I can go into all the narrative and details).

3 months from that day I could work half-days, in 6 months from that day I was back to work, could drive and was on a strict PT regimen from then on. Oh, he also gave me L-Tryptophan and B6 with Niacinamide.

History/Present use:

I went for the electroacupuncture at the Dr. 3x a week after that, then 2x a week, then once, then every 2 weeks etc. For about 3 years I went until I got my own unit. Even so, these days I still go to him twice a year, or, often in the Fall — which for some reason is always my worst time of year and even my own unit doesn’t help.

Here’s a pretty good explanation of how it works:(so that this is not tagged a spam, here’s the URL deconstructed:

(Usual Http_color_//here)medicalproductsonlineDOTorg/microcurrent–micro-ii.html

Below is the company I bought my most recent unit (RX required)and I was
satisfied with their service and the unit itself, The Micro II:

(Usual Http_color_//here)promedproductsDOT com/s.nl/it.A/id.1810/.f

History & Details are on separate page, here’s URI

Click HERE to go to history and details in a separate page, for general context.

Inviting participation here…

As I’m still a newbie to this platform and to blogging, still feeling my way around the software. But…I have 2 things I wish for through this blog: 1 — a place for me to journal my experience in the hopes that if anyone reads it (who has chronic pain) that it will help them somehow; 2- to be a place for discussion on the inner world of chronic pain, for I feel that it is inside oneself that the best pain management begins….

A bit about the flow of it all…

A cloud of silence seems to have settled over me. While it’s true that the clouds of a snowstorm have descended as well, it’s more that the neuropathy side of the pain has progressively worsened, and with it the depression seems worse than usual. I guess that a snow storm, sleet and cold weather don’t help either. The pattern is that by late afternoon the darker thoughts begin their intrusion, increasing in their volume and frequency as the evening progresses. By bedtime the appeal of not waking somehow in the morning is quite strong. I have too many who love me to initiate my own death, but that doesn’t stop me from asking God each night to take me back — I’m done already! I just need a break from this pain which affects almost all of my body now.

But then, the next morning (after the first hour which is sort of like sea water in the eyes for an hour or so until I adjust to the pain) I jump back into the responsibilities of my life, getting busy so I don’t focus on the screams of my nerve endings.

The funny (strange) thing is that shortly after I went to the trouble to set up this blog I came to a point where words felt like a waste of time. That even talking about all this was a waste. Also, feeling a sort of agoraphobia, of not wanting to be in the company of people; not fearful, but something else I can’t quite articulate. But for now I must get back to subsistence activities…