News & Research

Researchers Find Cause of Pain!?

Cause of Chronic Pain Discovered” read the headlines this morning. Sure, I thought, this is another case where headlines glorify the findings and mislead readers. Or not. The story speaks for itself:

“In a study released Tuesday, Sally Lawson and Laiche Djouhri of the University of Bristol revealed that healthy nerve fibers are the culprits of spontaneous pain, one of three symptoms of chronic pain.”

“‘We really followed our noses. No one was examining this problem of spontaneous pain,'” said Lawson, a professor of physiology.

“Lawson and colleagues found healthy nerve fibers send messages of pain to the spinal cord, an unexpected discovery. Of the little research done on chronic pain, researchers had previously focused on damaged nerve fibers as pain conduits.”

“Lawson and colleagues concentrated on the healthy nerve fibers of rats and found these robust cells were detecting damage and firing electrical impulses from the site of the injury to the spinal cord. These healthy nerve fibers, called nociceptors, are the tiniest of nerve fibers, about a thousandth of a millimeter across.”

“The study also found that the more information these healthy fibers send, the stronger the pain.”

This finding is equivalent to landing on the moon, at least in my mind. I’m definitely skeptical, but I still teared up and starting shaking when I read the articles. Is it too good to be true?

The story was released less than an hour ago, but major news sources should be digging into in the next couple days. I’ll keep you posted.

Meds & Supplements, News & Research, Treatment

An Opioid Without a “High”

Nubain, an injectable opioid, was effective for managing chronic pain in a recent study — without euphoria, sedation, tolerance or psychological side effects. Injecting Nubain daily, participants’ with previous level 8 to 10 pain had their pain reduced to a level 2 or 30. And the drug is already on the market.

It sounds too good to be true, but my heart still leapt when I read the Reuters article. I’ve got my fingers crossed.

Community, Society

A Celebrity in Our Midst: Marcia Cross & Migraine

Desperate Housewives actor Marcia Cross is part of our club. A migraineur since she was a teenager, Ms. Cross has partnered with GlaxoSmithKline (maker of Topamax and Imitrex) to spread the word that migraine isn’t “just a headache.”

The headache movement is gaining momentum! Someday soon society — including health care providers — will understand the debility that headache disorders cause. They have to. We’ve got a celebrity from a massively popular TV show as our spokesperson.

Sharing the stories of non-famous headache sufferers is also important. GSK and iVillage are sponsoring the My-graine Story contest for patients to do just that. There are prizes for the top entries, including a trip to meet Marcia Cross. More important is that participants can release their stories for future use by GSK or iVillage, which will our experiences even more real to non-sufferers. Entries will be accepted until January 31.

A recent Seattle Times story takes a deeper look at what Ms. Cross has to say about her struggles. But I warn you that the article contains an inaccurate stereotype of migraineurs that may make you as angry as it does me.

“Of the more than 28 million Americans who suffer from migraines, three times more women than men are affected — and tightly wound, control-freak Bree would seem to be a ready candidate.”

Does this mean that three times as many women are more high-strung than men? Or that migraineurs are tightly wound control-freaks? The theory of the “migraine personality” has been studied for years, but isn’t widely accepted. My favorite headache resource, Migraine: The Complete Guide, published by the American Council for Headache Education debunks the myth:

“Researchers who have intensively studied the personality makeups of migraineurs have found no evidence of a ‘migraine personality.'”

“Some migraineurs who display these personality traits may have developed them as a reaction to their illness. They may feel a strong need to keep order around them because they never know when their lives will be disrupted by a migraine attack.”

“Some experts suggest that this myth may be perpetuated by physicians who resent the demands of patients who illnesses they can’t successfully treat.” (Page 21)

Finding links for this post, I learned that Ms. Cross recently completed her clinical training to earn a master’s degree in psychology. How cool is that?

[Correction: Ortho-McNeil, not GSK, makes Topamax]

Coping, Friends & Family

Self-Disclosure and a Pleasant Surprise

Chronic illness complicates a person’s social life, particularly when meeting new people. You’ve got to decide who, how much and when to tell others about your illness. Secrecy isn’t always the best option, but neither is laying it all out.

Impulsively shrugging off her lifelong silence about her illness, writer Laurie Edwards got an unexpected response. Instead of walking away, the cute and friendly guy she was talking to asked for her phone number.

“As a new couple, we survived our first dinner with my parents, our first real fight, and our first “I love you.” But soon into it, we also experienced our first surgery together, our first emergency room crisis, and a slew of messy infections.”

“I waited for the reality of it all to overwhelm him, for my illness to crowd him right out of our relationship. I told myself I would understand if it did.”

“‘None of this is ever going away, John. Wouldn’t you rather be with someone healthy?’ I asked one cold winter day. I spoke with the halting confidence of someone who knew the answer but needed to hear it anyway.”

“‘No, because then it wouldn’t be you,’ he said without hesitation.”

[via ChronicBabe]

Society

Assisted-Suicide Ruling Gives Hope for Treating Chronic Pain

Pain management docs and advocates for treating pain with narcotics when necessary see a glimmer of hope in last week’s Supreme Court decision to uphold Oregon’s assisted-suicide law. This ruling might help defend doctors, pharmacists and patients in jail or awaiting sentences for drug trafficking. An effective defense could advance society’s understanding of using narcotics for pain control.