Low back pain/fatigue

[Guest guest]

Dagmar graciously wrote:

 

> Write me the problem (e.g.backpain), and then we

> will do

> some simple symptom differentiation together

 

I have a married, 44 year old woman (a mother of 5) with severe low back

pain (and occasional sciatica). She had surgery as a child to correct

scoliosis, with a steel rod placed in her back which remained for 30

years. About 5 years ago, her pain suddenly reappeared, and she underwent

several more surgeries to correct ruptured disks, remove scar tissue,

etc. Her back pain continued. The pain caused her to become depressed,

unable to have sex with her husband, unable to spend much time out of

bed, unable to care for her children or her house, unable to cook meals

for them, etc. After seeing many, many specialists (internists,

neurosurgeons, physiatrists, anesthesiologists, neurologists, etc) she

came to me for pain relief (I have an interest in managing severe and

intractable pain).

 

I began her on a combination of medicines (some of which are

habit-forming) that gave her remarkable relief. She became able to do

things again that she had been unable to do for years, and she was

profoundly grateful. As long as she stays on her medicines, she does

reasonably ok (but she always has some pain). She has been on the same

medicines for the last 10 months.

 

About 3 months ago, she began experiencing severe fatigue and weakness,

along with some very tender " trigger points " . This weakness persists, and

I do not know why. I do not think it is a side effect of her medicines.

 

My problems:

 

1) Is there a better way to treat her back pain?

 

2) What can I do for her chronic fatigue (which does not meet the

official criteria for chronic fatigue syndrome nor for fibromyalgia).

 

 

Sam the Perplexed

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[Guest guest]

Dagmar is going to give you a lot better info than I can. But I want to ask

some questions and give some feedback.

 

I also encourage others on the list to ask questions and contribute.

 

>About 3 months ago, she began experiencing severe fatigue and weakness,

>along with some very tender " trigger points " .

 

Does she ever make comments like it feels like weights are attached to her arms

and legs or they're encased in cement?

 

Is the not having sex a matter of the pain or decreased libido or both?

 

>2) What can I do for her chronic fatigue (which does not meet the

>official criteria for chronic fatigue syndrome nor for fibromyalgia).

 

With fatigue - if it's not coming from the meds - you're looking at Deficiency

(Blood, Qi, Yin, and/or Yang) and/or Dampness Accumulation. With Dampness

accumulation there often are feelings of heaviness. (Feelings of " weights

attached to the limbs is common in CFIDS though not restricted to that

condition.)

 

Yin Deficiency can manifest as increased sensitivity to pain. I'm not saying

she has Yin Deficiency. I'm teaching general info here.

 

This is not TCM info, but you may want to look into some of the info on

magnesium deficiency and pain if you haven't already done so. Some time ago

there was an article in the CFIDS Chronicle by Paul Cheney, MD, that included

info on why Mg frequently relieves pain in PWCs. It's a GABA enhancer. It can

have a rather dramatic effect on pain and weakness in some people. The blood

tests for Mg are inadequate. The best test is a urinalysis test (sorry - can't

remember the name). There can be enough Mg in the blood but not in the cells.

Malic acid increases the absorption of Mg. Many PWCs required the injections of

Mg. They can't absorb enough from the pills even with malic acid. Drinking coke

out of cans can interfere with Mg absorption because the coke cans aren't

coated, and a metal in the cans interferes with Mg absorption. The best info on

Mg deficiency comes from Mildred Seelig, MD, American College of Nutrition.

BTW, Mg deficiency has been linked to quite a number of disorders - one type of

kidney stone, some (not all) cases of hypertension, asthma, tics and spasms,

nervousness, allergies, immune response, atherosclerosis, loss of hair (not all

cases), insomnia, and a tendency to form blood clots. Mg usually is not replaced

in the soil, and a lot of Mg gets removed from processed foods. Not only do PWCs

(and celiacs) tend to be Mg deficient, I've noticed that the genetic relatives

of PWCs also tend to suffer from disorders linked to Mg deficiency even when the

relatives don't have CFIDS.

 

Something else to be aware of about fatigue. It also can be the result of being

dehydrated. A lot of PWCs have dehydration problems. In some cases we can have

both edema and dehydration at the same time. Not all PWCs are Kidney Yang

Deficient, but one symptom of Kidney Yang Deficiency (and Dampness accumulation)

can be an aversion to drinking liquids, except for hot soups. There have been

times in the past - before I knew better - that I would go more than half a day

without drinking anything. Needless to say, I was ending up in ER occasionally.

The doctors would ask, " Are you drinking enough? " , and being as dumb as I was

back then, I would say " yes " because I thought as long as I was drinking when I

felt thirsty (which wasn't very often), I was drinking enough. I had a real

adversion to liquids. Anyway, a nurse eventually realized what was going on and

educated me. Being dehyrdrated can cause fatigue so that's one thing to

consider. At first I had to force the water down. AFter I started on the herbs,

the problem of the adversion to liquids gradually lessened. And I got a lot of

the liquids via warm herbal teas. I was so Cold because of the Yang Deficiency

that even room temperature water would give me chills.

 

Victoria

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

Sam,

I used the book you just received for lower back pain and the routine

went ok. It felt better immediately afterwards. However that night

(before last) the back was distinctly worse. I would recommed the

treatment only for those with a very minor back problem. I stopped the

treatment at once. The back gets better on its own.

 

tmex

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