Urinary incontinence is a term that basically describes any condition that makes it hard to control your bladder. Obviously, it’s not an easy thing to live with. It’s embarrassing, obviously. But many conditions that cause incontinence are very painful as well.
We usually imagine urinary incontinence as something that makes you suddenly urinate, or “wet your pants,” so to speak. But that’s not exactly accurate. More often, urinary incontinence is more like a weakened control over the muscles that control your bladder.
While sometimes it is difficult to get to a bathroom in time, more often an episode of incontinence causes urine to leak out slowly in small amounts. And there are actually a few different kinds of incontinence.
For instance, there’s something called stress incontinence. It’s caused by a sudden event, like a sneeze or laugh, that causes you to lose control of your bladder. Something similar is urge incontinence. Urge incontinence occurs when you suddenly have an intense need to urinate and you suddenly lose control over the bladder, allowing a small stream of urine to escape.
Urge incontinence is actually the most common type that people with fibromyalgia struggle with. Essentially, it occurs when you have a sudden, powerful need to urinate along with a minor leak. Although we aren’t sure what causes it, many people with fibromyalgia report having frequent urges to urinate. They usually occur at night, which can mean interrupting sleep to attend to the need to use the bathroom. As you can imagine, this isn’t the type of symptom you want to struggle with when you have a condition that causes chronic fatigue.
In addition, many people with fibromyalgia report chronic pain in their pelvis, along with frequent urges to urinate. This is a condition known as painful bladder syndrome (PBS). PBS is actually not one condition, but several. Any condition that causes these symptoms is considered to fall under the umbrella of PBS.
When it comes to fibromyalgia, the best explanation for PBS symptoms may be neurological. Fibromyalgia seems to affect the nervous system. And we know that other neurological conditions can cause urge incontinence by triggering the nerves that control the bladder. But until we understand more about the condition, we can’t say for sure why fibromyalgia leads to bladder problems.
Luckily, there are a few things you can do to manage the condition.
Obviously, if you’re experiencing urinary incontinence, you want to see a doctor and find a way to treat it. More importantly, it can sometimes be a sign of more serious health problems, so getting it checked out by a professional is always a good idea. Your doctor may also be able to find out what’s causing your condition. Just because you have fibromyalgia doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s causing your bladder problems. You might actually have one of a wide range of other conditions.
As far as managing the condition goes, there are a few lifestyle changes you can make that will help limit the urge to urinate. There are many different foods and drinks that act to stimulate the bladder and make urges worse. Anything with caffeine, for instance, works as a diuretic and triggers your bladder. So do alcohol, artificial sweeteners, and even chocolate.
Limiting your consumption of these things can help reduce the amount of urine you produce and help manage your bladder. And maintaining a healthy weight takes the pressure off your bladder, which can also help. Finally, smoking increases the amount of bladder trouble you will have, so quitting can help.
Doctors recommend a number of treatments to help control the need to urinate. They may instruct you in some pelvic control exercises that strengthen the muscles that control the bladder. This can help you hold in your urine more effectively.
In addition, you can actually strengthen your control over your bladder by waiting a few extra minutes every time you need to use the bathroom. This trains your body to hold urine in more effectively.
Finally, “double voiding,” or using the bathroom than trying again in a few minutes, can help empty your bladder more thoroughly and prevent the need to urinate.
So much has been written about the opioid epidemic, but so little seems to be out there about what living with true chronic pain is like. My husband, the Jay, lived and died in incredible pain at the age of 58. As his wife, I lived that journey with him.
Jay is no longer here to tell his story, but I want the world to see what I saw. I want you to know how he went from working 60 hours a week doing hard physical labor until his pain grew worse and he could not even get out of a chair on his own.
I want you to know the deterioration Jay went through over the last ten years. I want you to know what a good day and a bad day are like when you live with chronic pain. I want you to know exactly what happened when the doctor decreased his pain medication. And I want you to know how my husband finally made the decision to commit suicide.
I want people to understand that when chronic pain runs your life, eventually you just want the pain to stop.
First a bit of history. I met Jay in 2005 when we both stopped drinking. Two years later, Jay began to lose feeling in his legs and started having fallen, as a result of compressed nerves in his spine. The pain was so bad Jay had to stop working and go on disability, which started his depressive episodes.
Jay had a series of lower back and neck fusion surgeries. This was when he has first prescribed painkillers, antidepressants, and anti-anxiety medications. From 2008 to 2011, Jay tried various treatments to control the pain that lingered even after third back surgery. These included steroid shots, nerve blocks, and a spinal cord stimulator. Ultimately he had a drug pump implanted that delivered morphine, in addition to the pain pills he was being prescribed.
In 2012, Jay was diagnosed with trauma-induced dementia. I believe that diagnosis was right, based on his symptoms, but not all of the doctors agreed. Some believed the confusion was due to high doses of morphine and/or his sleep apnea.
By 2016, Jay’s confusion and memory issues were increasing. He was on a steady dose of 120mg morphine daily, in addition to the medication he was receiving from his pain pump.
Jay’s depression seemed to come and go, depending on the day and his pain levels. He was weaned down on his Xanax to 2mg a day to help him sleep. He was aware of the risks of combining Xanax and morphine.
Let me tell you what a good day was like before they changed his medications. I worked a full-time job from 2 pm to 10 pm five days a week. I would get home, and Jay would have my coffee ready for me at night. We would stay up and watch TV until 2 or so. When it was time for sleep, I went to bed and he slept in his recliner.
We started sleeping apart after his first surgery in 2007. He was more comfortable sitting up in the chair, but could never sleep more than three hours at a time. He knew sleeping in bed would just keep me awake.
A good day always meant it was not cold or raining. On a good morning, he would be up first and get the coffee started. He would take our two miniature pinchers outside in the yard on their leash for potty time.
We usually had at least one appointment a week, but if not we could have a nice quiet morning. That meant coffee in front of the TV. After a couple of hours of that, he might switch over to playing his computer games, but he was never far from his chair.
A typical adventure for us would involve going to Walmart. Jay was not able to walk through the store, but he hated using the handicapped carts. I could always see a look on his face when he had to do it. After going to the store, we might have lunch or an early dinner at Steak n Shake or Cracker Barrel. It always needed to be someplace familiar and comfortable for him. More than once we sat, ordered, and then took our food home because he was in too much pain.
In the summer we might walk the dogs after dinner. Just a quick two-block walk, but a lot of times he would have to stop halfway and go back home. A couple of times I had to go get the car and pick him up because his legs just would not support him anymore.
A bad day was awful for me to watch, and absolutely horrible for Jay to live. It meant no real sleep, just catnaps in the chair whenever he could. He always made coffee for us, but on a bad day he would forget to add coffee to the coffee maker and we would just have hot water. The pain was so much he was just distracted.
On many bad days, I would look over and see tears just running down his face because he was in so much pain. It also made Jay’s depression worse. We spent many cold winter nights talking about how much pain would be too much and would make life not worth living. It is the most horrible feeling in this whole world to hear the person you love most talk about ending their life.
In January 2017 Jay’s pain clinic decided they could no longer prescribe the high doses of morphine he was on. In addition, they were not going to continue seeing him if he decided to stay on Xanax. The Xanax was prescribed by another doctor, but they did not care.
I begged the pain doctor — yes, literally begged — for some other option. The doctor said that if Jay continued the Xanax he would no longer see him. He would not give another option for medications, and at one point even said that most of his patients with pain were “making it up.”
The last thing the doctor said to us will stick with me forever. He said, “My patient’s quality of life is not worth losing my practice over.”
When we left that day, we were barely in the car and I knew what Jay was going to say to me. I will never forget how sad his voice was when he told me this was it for him. He was not going to continue to live like this.
Through the month of February, as Jay’s medication was decreased, we spent time doing things we did not normally do. We went out on Valentine’s Day, he bought me the first jewelry he had bought since my engagement ring, and we went out to a fancy restaurant for dinner. Jay tried to cram in as many good memories as he could into that last month, but I knew it was costing him.
Jay’s next doctor’s appointment was scheduled for March 2, and we knew they were going to decrease his medications again. The night before, he woke me up to tell me it was time. I knew what that meant, but I tried to be strong for his sake. We talked all night long about what it meant, and how it should be. It was the saddest, strangest, longest night of my life.
Jay knew he did not have enough pills to kill himself. He also knew that if he were to try and purchase a gun, they would not sell it to him. It would have been almost obvious what he was going to use it for.
In the end, I bought the gun that Jay used — and yes, we talked about the ramifications of that action. We went to the park where we had renewed our vows in 2015. We talked in the car for a while, and then we sat in the same place we had cut our wedding cake. I was holding his hand when he pulled the trigger.
Through the shock and horror, my immediate feeling was one of relief for Jay. To know that he was finally out of pain was a weight lifted off both of us.
Because I purchased the gun that Jay used to end his life, I was charged under our state’s assisted suicide law. This charge was later reduced to reckless endangerment, and I am currently on probation. People close to me want me to be quiet about my role in Jay’s death, and I was at first. But I cannot continue that way.
I know Jay wanted me to put his story out there. I know he wanted people to know what it was like to live with the pain he lived with daily. When the doctor took away Jay’s medications, they took away his quality of life. That was what led to his decision. Jay fought hard to live with his pain for a long time, but in the end, fighting just was not enough.
We recently asked members of the Community if, as women, they had ever felt as if their pain had not been taken seriously by doctors or medical professionals. Here are some of their stories…
When I was 17, I started having a really hard time breathing. My primary doctor told me it was just asthma. It became progressively worse, and my inhaler wasn’t really helping. One night, I woke up basically having a panic attack because it felt like I couldn’t breathe. My dad rushed me to the hospital, and after giving me an EpiPen for an allergic reaction, the doctor proceeded to tell my dad right in front of me that I was probably making it up to get out of school.
This happened several times with doctors telling me I was overreacting. After two months, I finally went to a specialist who discovered that I had a severe infection on my voice box that was inhibiting airflow into my lungs.
A few years ago I had extreme abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting, and a fever for two days. It just would not get better. I finally made it to urgent care on the third day, and the male doctor said, “It sounds like you’re just having really bad menstrual cramps.” I happened to be on my period at the time, and he advised me to take some ibuprofen and “sleep it off.” Fortunately, the (female) attending doctor who came in to do the actual exam took one look at me and sent me straight to the ER. Turns out I had an E. coli infection and I spent the night in the hospital hooked up to an IV. Some “menstrual cramps,” amirite?
I was in a skiing accident when I was 17. I immediately knew that I hurt my knee very badly as it kinda just snapped down and swelled up right away. I went to the walk-in clinic and I told the doctor what had happened. I told him what my pain level was at, and he told me it couldn’t have been that serious, that I just bruised up my knee and I’d be fine shortly. So I had no further testing and was sent on my way.
After two months, my pain hadn’t improved at all, and my knee was still swollen, so I went to see a different doctor. Turns out that I had torn my ACL, MCL, and meniscus. I needed a MAJOR surgery, and everything was worse because the first doctor didn’t listen to me and get me to an orthopedic right away. I ended up getting scheduled for surgery ASAP and they did everything they could to make my knee normal again. But because of the initial response to my pain, I have never been able to ski again, I had to stop jogging/running, and my knee will forever and always be a bit messed up. —MrsH810
In college, I got shingles and waited a while to go to the hospital because I had been misdiagnosed by my student health center. Eventually, I showed the spots to my friend, who said it looked like shingles and took me to the emergency room. I walked in and told the male nurse that I thought I had shingles, and he scoffed and said, “Where did you come up with that? The internet? You would be in a lot of pain if you had shingles.” As soon as I lifted up my shirt he said, “Oh my god you have shingles! Isn’t this painful?” Yes…it is painful. That’s why I’m here.
I was accidentally elbowed in the face during a concert and my face started swelling almost immediately, so I went to the ER. The doctor did no diagnostic testing. Before he even asked my name, he said it looked like any normal black eye. Didn’t even prescribe me ibuprofen for the pain. Months later, I still hadn’t healed. I went to a plastic surgeon and he discovered that not only had the elbow cracked my eye socket, but a piece of bone had chipped off and was floating around in my face.
I could have lost my eyesight and/or all use on that side of my face due to nerve damage. I should have had surgery within 48 hours and at the very least a CT scan. Now, unless I have my face re-broken in surgery, I will never be fully recovered. All because a doctor didn’t believe I was really in as much pain as I claimed.
I have chronic pain in my legs that sometimes limits my ability to walk when
I have severe flares. One time during a particularly bad flare, I went to the doctor for help and she offered— in all seriousness— to escort me to the psych ward.
When I was 15, I had minor knee surgery. The first day was fine, but each day I got progressively worse, to the point that I couldn’t even put weight on my leg at all. It was so swollen that it looked like my thigh went straight down my leg. My temperate reached 102. When I went to the office to get my stitches removed, my mom expressed concern about the excruciating pain and fever. The doctor laughed and said, “It’s just because she’s blonde and 15.”
A week later I came in again because the problem was still there. After unsuccessfully trying to drain my knee, he brought in his colleague. That doctor took one look at my knee and had me rushed to the hospital. Turns out I had a staph infection that had been doing work on my knee for what was at that point 18 days.
I went to the ER with severe abdominal pain. It was so bad that I was actually screaming. The doctor asked me some questions, did no tests, and sent me home with a diagnosis of gas. I went back a week later for the same reason. This doctor actually did his job and found a giant kidney stone.
When I was in high school, I was at basketball practice running sprints when I was suddenly overcome with the most excruciating abdominal pain I had ever experienced in my life. I was only 15 years old. My mom rushed me to urgent care. The doctor came in to see me and began asking me questions about what was going on at school and in my family instead of about the pain I was experiencing.
She then noticed that I had an “in memory” button on my letterman jacket. My friend had died in the previous year and as soon as she saw the button she was convinced that my severe abdominal pain was because I was sad. She actually told my mom, “This is common for teens who experience grief.” She then took the button off my jacket and made me talk to it and tell my friend “goodbye” so that I could “move on with my life.” I was so appalled and freaked out I just stared at her. Little did I know that I had actually had an ovarian cyst burst and I was suffering from severe endometriosis.
During my freshman year of college, I began experiencing seizure-like spasms and losing consciousness often. I went to the hospital near my university, where I filled out a questionnaire and included when prompted, that I was a theatre major. I was given fluids and released. A few weeks later I passed out and started spasming again. A friend took me to the hospital. As I was being wheeled on a gurney for testing, still experiencing seizure-like symptoms and extreme abdominal pain, a female nurse ran alongside my gurney to tell the other medical professionals to not take me as seriously, because I was an actress. They decided to do less testing than they originally planned to do, and when I was sent back to the bed in the ER I had been assigned to. I signed myself out of AMA (against medical advice) because I felt that I was being ignored.
Later, a different doctor told me that the spasms were due to a reaction I was having to a medication I was on due to having a kidney transplant just over a year prior to this. I was taken off the medication and the seizure-like activity ceased. Fast-forward two years, and I am still experiencing severe abdominal pain over my kidney transplant in my abdomen. I was finally diagnosed with endometriosis and pancreatitis and spent almost a week in the hospital after becoming septic. Turns out I wasn’t acting, and I was facing two serious medical issues on top of the transplant. It’s been nearly 10 years since this happened and I still think about the pain and suffering that could have been alleviated if I had been taken seriously at that time.
It took FIVE doctors before I was finally diagnosed with endometriosis. The first doctor told me that period pain was normal even though I said the pain wasn’t just during my time of the month. The second doctor said it was probably gastrointestinal issues and that I should go to a specialist. The third doctor prescribed birth control after birth control that helped in no way. The fourth doctor thought maybe it was endometriosis, maybe it was cysts, couldn’t be sure, and gave me a painkiller to help and sent me on my way. The fifth and final doctor got me scheduled for an ultrasound. She prescribed a birth control that did help but when the pain worsened she scheduled surgery for a laparoscopy in which they discovered that I did, indeed, have endometriosis.
After my rheumatoid arthritis went into remission, doctors couldn’t pinpoint why I was still living with chorionic widespread pain. The pain felt similar to my RA but not quite the same, and it became debilitating. One doctor, after seeing my blood work, literally called me a “druggie.” He accused me of looking for prescriptions even though I had specifically stated that I was in desperate need of a diagnosis and didn’t want any pain-relieving pharmaceuticals from him. I walked out of his office in tears and almost gave up. I felt like the lowest human being on earth and didn’t want to go through that humiliation again. Luckily I have a wonderful support system that encouraged me to keep trying and finally found a doctor that diagnosed me with fibromyalgia.
Basically, my entire experience with hyperemesis was a mess. I was pregnant and throwing up 10–15 times a day. It took several trips to the ER and three different doctors before I found someone who believed me and gave me anti-nausea meds. Most people don’t take it seriously because they assume it is normal morning sickness. I lost close to 30 pounds in the first two months of my pregnancy, I could not keep down water, and I was so dehydrated I was having muscle spasms. But I had a doctor tell me I wasn’t sick enough to take time off work.
I needed knee surgery due to my knees being incredibly hyper-mobile. They would constantly shift out of place and dislocate while walking. It was so incredibly painful sometimes that I legitimately could not walk. I met with a surgeon who acted like I was some weak girl simply because I wasn’t injured playing sports or during physical activity. He would only speak to my mother about maybe getting a brace or working out more to strengthen it (which I did and didn’t help) and would act like I didn’t exist or like I wasn’t even in the room.
I had abdominal surgery and the doctor took me off my pain meds two days later. That night, I experienced the most excruciating pain in my abdomen. It was very intense. The next morning, still in pain, I told my doctor. He said I was being sensitive and sent me home. I ended up back in the hospital 24 hours later with a deadly infection called peritonitis and was sufferingsepsis. My doctor almost killed me by brushing off my pain.
When I was 14 or 15, my parents took me to the ER because I was crying and vomiting from a pain in my lower stomach/pelvic area. It took four hours to get into a room and by that time I had vomited three times. A doctor finally came in and I told him everything I was experiencing. He said I was probably about to start my period. I said no, that I had just finished like a week and a half ago. He gave me fucking Tylenol while I was still crying and curled up in a ball on the bed. Two hours later a female nurse came to check on me and everything was still the same. My mom asked for a different doctor because the guy wasn’t listening to me. Somehow the nurse got a female doctor to come in. She gave me an ultrasound, and I ended up having massive cysts that were rupturing on BOTH of my ovaries.
I injured my shoulder during a swim meet and it continued to hurt beyond the time the doctor said it would. Six years later, after begging for surgery to alleviate pain, my doctor barely agreed to exploratory surgery to see if anything was wrong that he couldn’t see or detect with the other methods he tried. After surgery, he apologized to me… There was a huge tear in my labrum that required surgery to fix.
When I was in eighth grade I had extreme abdominal pain and went to my local clinic. Without doing a single test, or listening to my symptoms, he told me I had a UTI. I have rushed in again the next day and this time I had a different doctor. She immediately discovered that my appendix had burst and that I needed to get to an ER right away. I ended up being in the hospital for five days.
I had been going to my OB-GYN for nine years telling him that I was hurting horribly with my periods and cramping between periods. He told me I’d grow out of it. I got fed up and switched to a different doctor in a different town. She had me in the operating room within a month and I was diagnosed with stage 4 endometriosis that probably could have been treated or cured long before it got this bad.
I experienced back pain for months, but being only 22, healthy, and relatively active I knew something wasn’t right. My doctor told me to get a chest X-ray and take some Advil. A few months later I ended up in the ER because the pain was so severe. The ER doctor told me I probably had a kidney infection. When the test came back negative, I was told to go home and see my primary care again. My pain was so severe I refused to leave and asked for an ultrasound of my gallbladder. He rolled his eyes but finally agreed. About an hour later he told me that I have gallbladder disease and need to have it removed immediately. He couldn’t even look me in the eyes!
I had chronic stomach pain growing up and the pain was so severe that I was often curled up reeling in pain. There was no relief whatsoever. It randomly came every month or so and lasted about a week. I went to the doctor multiple times. The doctors always passed it off as overeating or gas pains. Last year I finally went to the ER because the pain was so bad I couldn’t breathe. Turns out I’ve had Crohn’s the entire time.
A couple of years ago I went to my doctor because my left underarm and arm had been extremely sore for a few days and I couldn’t really stretch my arm all the way out. When I suddenly got blue marks down the inside of my upper arm, too, I decided to get it checked out. My personal doctor thought it could be something potentially dangerous (blood clots were mentioned), and she sent me to the hospital.
The doctors at the hospital were a completely different story. They kept asking me if I had hurt it somehow/strained it by carrying something heavy(!)/other mildly insulting explanation. I told them I wouldn’t be there if I knew the reason why it hurt. They took a blood test and it came back negative for any sign of blood clots. That just made them more sure it wasn’t anything serious. But I kept insisting I KNEW there was something wrong. Very reluctantly the doctor at the hospital said that, if I wanted, I could come back in the morning for an ultrasound. I quickly said YES, PLEASE, and went home.
The next day I went in for the ultrasound and guess what: one blood clot in my arm. Yup
I have a bladder condition called interstitial cystitis, which means that the lining of my bladder (which protects it from acidic urine) doesn’t form properly, and my bladder and the surrounding muscles often spasm, causing pain and preventing me from urinating properly. When I was 23, I went to a urologist, after the third negative UTI test in a month, for further diagnosis. The first urologist I saw listened to my symptoms, and dismissively said, “What do you want me to do about it?” I was shocked but asked him to please run whatever tests he could. He agreed to do a cystoscopy, and the day of told my mother in the waiting room that he didn’t think he would find anything and I probably just drank too much alcohol, which irritated my bladder.
During the cystoscopy, they filled my bladder with water to expand it, my heart rate went up (indicating pain), and they found tiny ulcers on the lining of my bladder. The doctor sheepishly told my mother what they had found and gave me the name of a urogynecologist who specialized in my condition.
During the end of my pregnancy, I started having severe pain in my lower back and right hip that radiated down my leg into a couple of toes. After my daughter was born, the pain did not improve. I went to multiple doctors, including OB-GYNs and primary care physicians. Everyone said nothing was wrong. Three years later, I went to a new doctor for a basic yearly physical. I casually mentioned the pain to him. He ordered a slew of tests, from blood work to X-rays/MRIs/EMGs, etc., but everything came back normal. He gave me a prescription for narcotics (I did not ask for them) and told me to come back in a month. When I returned he acted shocked that I was there just before a month had passed, even after I explained why. He berated me and made me feel awful, claiming I was only there to get more pain pills. When I told him that I had hardly taken any of the pills because they did not alleviate my pain at all, he asked me if I was selling them and had me take a drug test. By the time I left his office that day I actually felt like I had done something wrong.
I decided to take a more natural approach because I could not put myself through that again and went to see a chiropractor. He took X-rays. He immediately showed me what was causing the severe pain. He sent me to an orthopedic surgeon. Unfortunately, this doctor was in the same network as the original PCP and saw the notes from my two previous visits. He took new X-rays but had me lying down for them all. He said they looked fine and once again accused me of lying to get narcotics. Once again I had not suggested in any way, shape, or form that I wanted any sort of prescription. I explained what the chiropractor had shown me on my previous X-rays. After much pleading, he agreed to take X-rays of me standing. He immediately apologized and agreed with what the chiropractor had said. He said that no amount of narcotics would have any effect on this type of pain.
I was 19 on a job in San Francisco by myself and thought my appendix was rupturing on my flight over. I went straight to a doctor when I landed, and he insisted it was cramped. The pain persisted and I ended up passing out on the job and had to be brought in to the ER. Turns out I’d been feeling and passing kidney stones for four days. Thanks, doc.
I’ve struggled with chronic stomach issues my entire life, and I started seeing this GI doctor a couple of years ago. He was literally so sexist that he would only talk to, shake hands with, and properly address my boyfriend. It was as if my boyfriend had to be the messenger for me, to explain how bad my health issues had gotten. I had two procedures done, and then that doctor ended up diagnosing me with IBS. I was crushed. I knew it was something more severe than IBS.
When I got a new GI doctor a few months later, I FINALLY learned that I have a chronic illness— an autoimmune disorder — that can’t be cured and can lead to cancer and other horrible things if it goes unchecked for a long period of time.
When I was 20 and in college, I was menstruating heavily (and painfully) for 40 days before my friend finally convinced me to go to the ER. Once there, I waited four hours in a paper gown. Finally, a male doctor examined me, deemed that my bleeding wasn’t “too heavy,” and gave me two Advil for the cramps. He told me if I was still bleeding in another month I should make an appointment to come back.
After I told my mom this, she scheduled me with her gynecologist, who immediately did an ultrasound and found I was suffering from PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) and that my small cysts were bursting, which was causing the pain and heavy bleeding. She took my pain seriously and prescribed me stronger ibuprofen for the pain and hormonal birth control to control the cysts, and also an iron supplement because of the blood loss. Had I gone another 30 days, as the ER doctor had recommended, I would have been severely anemic from blood loss.
I went to the ER a couple of weeks after I had my gallbladder removed. I was in terrible pain, completely keeled over. My husband pretty much had to carry me into the ER and talk for me because I couldn’t move. The doctor told me it was just cramped and sent me home. When the pain wouldn’t go away, I went to different urgent care. The doctor there did an MRI and found that a gallstone had actually been stuck and sealed in a bile duct. It required another surgery to remove it, and if I hadn’t gone elsewhere it would have gotten much, much worse.
I was 36 and had lived with muscle/joint pain since my early twenties. Whenever I brought it up to my general practitioners, it was pushed aside and treated as not important since the pain roamed around my body. I had my knee go out one day after taking what should have been an easy walk. I went to another GP and after an X-ray came back clear, she actually rolled her eyes at me. I insisted I be treated. She told me I probably needed to lose some weight (leftover from pregnancy). I kept insisting something was wrong. She begrudgingly said, “I guess I can refer you to a rheumatologist.” Turns out I have fibromyalgia. And I have for about 15 years now. Don’t give up! Your health is too important!
If you’re experiencing chronic pain, a doctor may recommend that you have a nerve block, a temporary or permanent procedure that disrupts specific nerve activity. It can help diagnose or treat certain types of neuropathic pain, or pain caused by nerve dysfunction or damage. Nerve blocks may be performed by injecting chemicals or anesthetics to the area or by deliberately cutting or damaging certain parts of the nerve.
Many people receive nerve blocks without even knowing it. For example, dentists commonly use nerve-blocking agents such as novocaine to numb the mouth during potentially painful procedures.
If your doctor is trying to diagnose a chronic pain condition caused by nerve dysfunction, he may use a nerve block to pinpoint the exact problem area. In addition to a nerve block, he may also perform an electromyography (EMG) and/or a nerve conduction velocity (NCV) test to narrow down the exact cause of your chronic nerve pain.
Nerve blocks can also treat chronic neuropathic pain, such as pain caused by nerve damage or compression. They are regularly used to treat back and neck pain caused by herniated discs or spinal stenosis. Nerve blocks may be used to control pain temporarily or permanently, depending on the procedure used.
A local nerve block is performed by injecting or applying local anesthetics, such as lidocaine, to a certain area.
An epidural is a local nerve block that involves injecting steroids or analgesics into the area that surrounds the spinal cord. Though common during childbirth, an epidural may be also be used to treat chronic neck or back pain caused by a compressed spinal nerve. Local nerve blocks are usually temporary, although some may be repeated over time.
A neurolytic block uses alcohol, phenol, or thermal agents, such as cryogenic freezing, to treat chronic nerve pain. These procedures actually cause damage to certain areas of the nerve pathway. This means a neurolytic block is usually appropriate only in severe chronic pain cases, such as cancer pain or complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS).
A surgical nerve block is performed by a neurosurgeon and involves surgically removing or selectively damaging certain areas of the nerve. Like a neurolytic block, a surgical nerve block is usually reserved for severe pain cases, such as cancer pain or trigeminal neuralgia. Most surgical nerve blocks are permanent.
Even a temporary nerve block such as an epidural carries a risk of permanent nerve damage. Because nerves are extremely sensitive and regenerate slowly, even a tiny error in calculation can cause devastating side effects. These include muscle paralysis, weakness, or lasting numbness. In some rare cases, nerve blocks may actually irritate the nerve further, causing an increase in pain.
Fortunately, skilled and licensed health practitioners, such as dentists, surgeons, and anesthesiologists, perform these delicate procedures.
While there is always a risk of nerve damage during these procedures, most nerve blocks successfully reduce chronic nerve pain.
You may feel temporarily numb or sore after your nerve block, and you may notice some redness or irritation to the area. This is usually not permanent and should fade with time. If you have had a surgical block, you may be asked to rest for a certain period of time after your procedure. Depending on the complexity of the surgery, you may have to spend a few days recovering in the hospital.
Some pain may persist after your nerve block, but that doesn’t mean the procedure wasn’t effective.
Additionally, some nerve blocks may cause swelling, which compresses the nerve and requires time to subside. If you find the side effects of your nerve block are lasting longer than expected, contact your doctor.
Fibromyalgia is a chronic disease that has many different characteristics such as pain in the spine, hips, shoulders, neck, and yes- even a low-grade fever. Fibromyalgia can occur in all individuals, regardless of age or gender, but does occur more often in women between the ages of 30 and 59. The exact cause of fibromyalgia is not known, which has made it very difficult to figure out a cure for it. Another thing that complicates this is the fact that some fibromyalgia symptoms are also present in other diseases/disorders.
Fibromyalgia and fever are actually related because an individual who is suffering from fibromyalgia can actually have a low-grade fever at any given time. There isn’t really any specific evidence that connects the two but there is that possibility that fibromyalgia can cause a fever.
Individuals who have fibromyalgia also have a very weak immune system and infections can be easily picked up while symptoms are flared up. These infections can actually lead to a much higher fever. Additionally, the severe muscle pain/tingling that is common in individuals with fibromyalgia can cause fever. Your skin will get very hot and you may or may not start sweating. Additionally, though you may feel hot and think you have a fever, the thermometer will read normally. So, you could feel hot- but not really have a fever.
Fever related to fibromyalgia symptoms can also cause your glands to swell up. This happens in both individuals with fibromyalgia and those who are only experiencing a fever. Additionally, joint pain could flare up if you’re experiencing a mild fever.
However, typically the fevers are very mild and are not the main reason for discomfort in individuals with fibromyalgia. In fact, most individuals don’t even realize that they do have a fever, but are more focused on the symptoms that are causing them the most extreme discomfort.
In some cases, individuals with fibromyalgia could start shivering before, during, or after experiencing a fever. There isn’t really any known medication that can curb a fever with fibromyalgia, so the individual will have to continue with their normal course of treatment, despite having a low grade (or high grade) fever.
The only way to avoid having a fever with fibromyalgia symptoms is by taking care to reduce the other symptoms of your fibromyalgia. Make sure to take part in regular physical exercise in order to reduce muscle stiffness. Additionally, make sure that you are consuming a proper diet that will give you plenty of energy. You will also want to make sure that you get adequate sleep, which will help you to be relaxed and help to reduce the symptoms of fatigue and such.
Consuming a balanced diet- as in consuming lots of fruits and vegetables especially- can help to reduce the symptoms of fibromyalgia and fever. Vegetables have lots of fiber, which is essential for increasing metabolism and fruits have vitamins and minerals that help with the repair and rebuilding of the muscles. As an individual with fibromyalgia, you should take care to avoid caffeine, processed foods, soft drinks, refined carbohydrates, and other junk food.
For those individuals who are suffering from not sleeping and high levels of stress, medications that facilitate sleep and relaxation methods can be wonderful in reducing those symptoms of fibromyalgia, which can contribute to feeling feverish.
Both not getting adequate sleep and levels of stress are related because people who are stressed out don’t get the proper amount of sleep. The less sleep you’re able to get, the more likely you are to react negatively to stress. Therefore, relaxation methods, such as massage will help you to relax, which will help you to sleep much better.
Additionally, massage can help serve to decrease pain, which helps to alleviate other symptoms. In times of extreme lack of sleep, you can use sleep medication, but be sure that you don’t become dependent upon them entirely as a way to get some sleep. Also, keep in mind that sleeping pills do come with some undesirable side effects.
In order to relieve the fever that results from the pain and other symptoms of fibromyalgia, you could consider acupuncture as an option. This will typically relieve the pain in the tender spots and may very well serve to reduce stress. Both massage and physical therapy actually regulate the neurotransmitters in the brain, which help your body to actually have a much higher pain threshold. This also leads to the individual being able to more effectively overcome stress and pain.
Individuals who have fibromyalgia are prone to experiencing both spells of fever and spells of chills on occasion. In some cases, the individuals will have a fever the entire time that they’re suffering from fibromyalgia, most will actually never once experience a fever. Physicians say that individuals who are in the more advanced stages of fibromyalgia are less affected by fever and chills, and those in the early stages are more likely to be affected.
In conclusion, fibromyalgia is a chronic disease that has many different characteristics such as pain in the spine, hips, shoulders, neck, and yes- even a low-grade fever. Fibromyalgia can occur in all individuals, regardless of age or gender, but does occur more often in women between the ages of 30 and 59. The exact cause of fibromyalgia is not known, which has made it very difficult to figure out a cure for it. Another thing that complicates this is the fact that some fibromyalgia symptoms are also present in other diseases/disorders.
Fibromyalgia and fever are actually related because an individual who is suffering from fibromyalgia can actually have a low-grade fever at any given time. There isn’t really any specific evidence that connects the two but there is that possibility that fibromyalgia can cause a fever.
The unexplained pain experienced by patients with fibromyalgia is the result of a mismatch between sensory and motor systems, new research suggests.
In a study published in the journal Rheumatology, researchers asked patients to look at a reflection of one arm whilst moving their other in a different direction which was hidden behind the mirror.
This created a mismatch between what the brain sees via sensory input and what it feels through the motor system that controls movement.
Of the 29 patients involved in the study, 26 reported feeling a transient increase in pain, temperature change, or heaviness in their hidden limb – all symptoms of a ‘flare up’ of their condition.
This suggests that a mismatch between sensory and motor neurons could be at the root of fibromyalgia – a condition affecting one in 100 people in the UK at some stage of their lives.
“The chronic pain experienced by people with fibromyalgia is hard to understand because there are no obvious clinical signs that pain should be experienced,” said Dr. Candy McCabe, one of the researchers involved in the University of Bath and Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases study.
“We have shown that by confusing the motor and sensory systems we can exacerbate the symptoms felt by people diagnosed with the condition.
“This adds to a growing body of evidence that many of the symptoms of this common disorder may be perpetuated, or even triggered, by this sensory-motor conflict.
“We have had some success to date in using a similar technique to help alleviate the symptoms of this kind of chronic pain.
“This works by helping the brain to see a limb moving freely without pain – although, in reality, it is a reflection of their pain-free limb.”
Volunteers in the study were asked to perform a series of bilateral upper and lower limb movements with a mirror in front of them at a right angle.
This meant that one limb was obscured from view behind the mirror whilst they could clearly see the other limb and its reflection.
They first carried out the same movements with both limbs, and then made different movements.
This enabled the researchers to see what effect confusing what the brain could see with what it could feel.
“Nearly all of the group reported an increase in the sensations connected with their condition in the hidden limb,” said Dr. McCabe.
“This provides strong evidence that sensory-motor conflict is at the heart of this condition. “Some clinicians do not recognize fibromyalgia as a diagnosis because of a lack of clinical reason for the pain.
“It is often considered to be a reflection of anxiety or attention-seeking behavior which, for people with the condition, can be very hard to deal with.
“Hopefully we are beginning to understand more about the condition, and taking steps towards how it might be treated in the future.”
People with fibromyalgia complain of widespread pain, multiple tender points, stiffness, sleep disturbance, and fatigue.
Around nine out of ten of those affected by fibromyalgia are women. In most cases, it develops between the ages of 30 and 60, but it can develop in people of any age, including children and the elderly.
There are around 14,700 new cases in the UK each year.
TheUniversity of Bath is one of the UK’s leading universities, with an international reputation for quality research and teaching. In 20 subject areas, the University of Bath is rated in the top ten in the country.
The RNHRD NHS Foundation Trust, also known as the Min, is a national specialist rehabilitation and rheumatology hospital based in Bath. Offering services to adults, children, and young people the trust has expertise general and complex:
Fibromyalgia, a painful condition affecting approximately 10 million people in the U.S., is not imaginary after all, as some doctors have believed. A discovery, published this month in PAIN MEDICINE (the journal of the American Academy of Pain Medicine), clearly now demonstrates that fibromyalgia may have a rational biological basis located in the skin.
Fibromyalgia is a severely debilitating affliction characterized by widespread deep tissue pain, tenderness in the hands and feet, fatigue, sleep disorders, and cognitive decline. However, routine testing has been largely unable to detect a biological basis for fibromyalgia, and standard diagnosis is based upon subjective patient pain ratings, further raising questions about the true nature of the disease.
For many years, the disorder was believed to be psychosomatic (“in the head”) and often attributed to patients’ imagination or even faking illness. Currently approved therapeutics that provide at least partial relief to some fibromyalgia patients are thought to act solely within the brain where imaging techniques have detected hyperactivity of unknown origin referred to as “central sensitization.” However, an underlying cause has not been determined, leaving many physicians still in doubt about the true origins or even the existence of the disorder.
Now, a breakthrough discovery by scientists at Integrated Tissue Dynamics LLC (Intidyn), as part of a fibromyalgia study based at Albany Medical College, has provided a biological rationale for this enigmatic disease. The small biotechnology research company, founded by neuroscientists Dr. Frank L. Rice and Dr. Phillip J. Albrecht, reports on a unique peripheral neurovascular pathology consistently present in the skin of female fibromyalgia patients which may be a driving source of the reported symptoms.
“Instead of being in the brain, the pathology consists of excessive sensory nerve fibers around specialized blood vessel structures located in the palms of the hands,” said Dr. Rice, President of Intidyn and the senior researcher on the study. “This discovery provides concrete evidence of a fibromyalgia–specific pathology which can now be used for diagnosing the disease, and as a novel starting point for developing more effective therapeutics.”
Three years ago, Intidyn scientists published the discovery of an unknown nervous system function among the blood vessels in the skin in the journal PAIN.
As Dr. Rice explained, “we analyzed the skin of a particularly interesting patient who lacked all the numerous varieties of sensory nerve endings in the skin that supposedly accounted for our highly sensitive and richly nuanced sense of touch. Interestingly, however, this patient had a surprisingly normal function in day-to-day tasks.
But, the only sensory endings we detected in his skin were those around the blood vessels”. Dr. Rice continued, “We previously thought that these nerve endings were only involved in regulating blood flow at a subconscious level, yet here we had evidence that the blood vessel endings could also contribute to our conscious sense of touch… and also pain.”
Both pharmaceutical companies have developed FDA-approved medications with similar functions (Serotonin/Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors, SNRI) that provide at least some degree of relief for many fibromyalgia patients.
“Knowing how these drugs were supposed to work on molecules in the brain,” Dr. Albrecht added, “we had evidence that similar molecules were involved in the function of nerve endings on the blood vessels. Therefore, we hypothesized that fibromyalgia might involve a pathology in that location”. As the results demonstrate, they were correct.
To analyze the nerve endings, Drs. Rice, Albrecht, and postdoctoral researcher Dr. Quanzhi Hou used their unique microscopic technology to study small skin biopsies (less than half the size of a pencil eraser) collected from the palms of fibromyalgia patients, who were being diagnosed and treated by Drs. Argoff, Wymer, and Storey.
The study was limited to women, who have over twice the occurrence of fibromyalgia than men. What the team uncovered was an enormous increase in sensory nerve fibers at specific sites within the blood vessels of the skin. These critical sites are tiny muscular valves, called arteriole-venule (AV) shunts, which form a direct connection between arterioles and venules.
As Dr. Rice describes their function, “We are all taught that oxygenated blood flows from arterioles to capillaries, which then convey the deoxygenated blood to the venules. The AV shunts in the hand are unique in that they create a bypass of the capillary bed for the major purpose of regulating body temperature.”
In humans, these types of shunts are unique to the palms of our hands and soles of our feet which work like the radiator in a car. Under warm conditions, the shunts close down to force blood into the capillaries at the surface of the skin in order to radiate heat from the body, and our hands get sweaty. Under cold conditions, the shunts open wide allowing blood to bypass the capillaries in order to conserve heat, and our hands get cold, and put on gloves.
According to Dr. Albrecht, “the excess sensory innervation may itself explain why fibromyalgia patients typically have especially tender and painful hands. But, in addition, since the sensory fibers are responsible for opening the shunts, they would become particularly active under cold conditions, which are generally very bothersome to fibromyalgia patients.”
Although they are mostly limited to the hands and feet, the shunts likely have another important function that could account for the widespread deep pain, achiness, and fatigue that occurs in fibromyalgia patients.
“In addition to involvement in temperature regulation, an enormous proportion of our blood flow normally goes to our hands and feet. Far more than is needed for their metabolism” noted Dr. Rice. “As such, the hands and the feet act as a reservoir from which blood flow can be diverted to other tissues of the body, such as muscles when we begin to exercise.
Therefore, the pathology discovered among these shunts in the hands could be interfering with blood flow to the muscles throughout the body. This mismanaged blood flow could be the source of muscular pain and achiness, and the sense of fatigue which is thought to be due to a build-up of lactic acid and low levels of inflammation in fibromyalgia patients. This, in turn, could contribute to the hyperactivity in the brain.”
Dr. Albrecht also points out that alterations of normal blood flow may underlie other fibromyalgia symptoms, such as non-restful sleep or cognitive dysfunctions. “The data do appear to fit with other published evidence demonstrating blood flow alterations to higher brain centers and the cerebral cortex of fibromyalgia patients” he stated.
This discovery of a distinct tissue pathology demonstrates that fibromyalgia is not “all in your head”, which should provide an enormous relief to fibromyalgia patients while changing the clinical opinion of the disease and guiding future approaches for successful treatments.
A new study from the U.K. shows that oscillations, or variations, in specific brain waves seem to correlate with fibromyalgia (FM) pain symptoms and fatigue in a small group of female patients.
Findings from the study, “Altered theta oscillations in resting EEG of fibromyalgia syndrome patients,” can be found in the European Journal of Pain.
Previous studies have shown that fibromyalgia as well as other chronic pain conditions can affect brain activity. However, many of the experimental studies are unable to distinguish whether altered brain activity is a result of acute pain attacks or is more reflective of an ongoing state of sensitization.
Using electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings, the researchers looked at changes in recordings between 19 female fibromyalgia patients and 18 age-matched healthy controls. The average age of the participants was 40.
Oscillations in different wavelengths were assessed. These included the delta, theta, alpha, beta, and gamma frequency, bands.
To correlate the results with fibromyalgia-associated symptoms, the team also used the Manual Tender Point Scale (MTPS) to quantify pain and tenderness and other measurement tools to assess mood, arousal, and fatigue.
As expected, fibromyalgia patients reported higher levels of pain and decreased mood, and were significantly more tired compared to healthy participants.
Concerning brain activity, the fibromyalgia patients had higher levels of theta activity relative to healthy controls in the prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex regions.
Oscillations in both the medial prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex have been shown to relate to a reduction of pain inhibition.
Importantly, in this small cohort of female fibromyalgia patients, the increased theta brain activity correlated with measures of pain, tenderness, and tiredness on the day of testing. No correlations between these measures and brain activity were seen in healthy controls.
“The findings indicate that alterations to resting-state oscillatory activity may relate to ongoing tonic pain and fatigue in [fibromyalgia], and manifest in brain regions relevant for cognitive-attentional aspects of pain processing and endogenous pain inhibition,” the researchers wrote.
As if muscle pain and tissue tenderness weren’t enough, many fibromyalgia patients must also put up with a variety of digestive problems on a daily basis. The pain and discomfort can get so bad you don’t know where to begin to find relief, and you may simply give up on a comfortable lifestyle.
Luckily, there are several steps you can take to get some relief, beginning with a better understanding of the connections and communication happening within your body.
It’s no coincidence that fibro pain and intestinal pain go hand in hand. Recent studies have used brain scans to match physiological responses in IBS patients and fibromyalgia patients.
Not only do both groups of patients show greater neurological responses to pain, but IBS and fibro patients also seem to experience a heightened awareness of pain. Since they show such similar brain activity in regard to pain stimulus, experts suspect that the two conditions share underlying causes.
Another explanation for the range of GI discomforts affecting fibro patients involves the autonomic nervous system, which regulates the function of the internal organs. This general nervous system is composed of two subsystems: the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, which rarely work simultaneously.
In fibromyalgia, the sympathetic nervous system (responsible for an increase in blood pressure, heart rate, and adrenaline) is almost constantly engaged, leaving the parasympathetic system (responsible for relaxation and digestion) sluggish or inactive.
Many people with fibromyalgia complain that certain foods irritate their stomach or exacerbate their fibro symptoms in other parts of their body. Any food could be a trigger, and while dairy and gluten are common culprits, many people have a unique set of food intolerances that can be difficult to identify without lots of time and careful attention.
The gastrointestinal system is made up of several parts: the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, and bowel. When digestion slows down, or an intolerance disrupts the natural process, a chain of events can push pain and discomfort through your entire GI tract.
Fibro patients often complain of frustrating digestive troubles, like:
Acid reflux. When gastric juices are not used in the stomach, they tend to travel back up through the esophagus, resulting in heartburn or a painful sensation in the chest.
Cramping and constipation. When the process of peristalsis (the smooth muscle contraction that moves food through the tubes of the GI tract) slows down, your irritated intestines can begin to cramp and prevent the movement of waste through the bowel.
Diarrhea. When the digestive process slows or halts, undigested food can move from the stomach and into the intestine, where it can irritate the lining of the colon and produce IBS symptoms.
Gas. The longer food stays in your stomach and intestines, the longer your natural GI bacteria has to break down the compounds, and the more methane gas is produced from bacteria metabolism.
IBS is a distinct condition caused by abnormalities in the nerves that supply the digestive tract, and physicians often use the ROME criteria to diagnosis the disorder. If your doctor isn’t convinced that your symptoms fit in with IBS, don’t throw in the towel just yet; there are several ways to address your digestive problems, regardless of whether you have overlapping conditions or fibro-triggered GI pain.
Since what you eat and drink directly affects your digestive system (and indirectly affects every other system) begin to mend your digestive breakdown with your food choices, supplements, and meal habits.
In some cases, one change can make a world of difference, and some find that a total dietary makeover relieves their discomfort for good.
By eliminating any and all suspect foods from your diet for several weeks, then reintroducing them one by one, you can find out if anyone ingredient has been causing your digestive problems. Remember to wait several days between reintroductions in order to easily isolate the culprit.
There’s no universal problem food, but watch out for caffeine, dairy, beans, citrus fruit, and cruciferous veggies, which have all been known to cause stomach cramps, and both constipation and diarrhea in susceptible people.
If your tummy troubles mainly involve gas, bloating, and constipation, you may want to try a soluble fiber supplement. In a recent study of IBS patients conducted by researchers out of New York’s Beth Israel Medical Center, about 9 percent of patients found relief with a boost in soluble fiber.
Many people are suspicious of holistic alternatives, but the same study out of New York returned surprising results on the use of peppermint oil: an astounding 40% of IBS patients found that peppermint extract relieved their discomfort.
Peppermint has been shown to improve the function of the stomach and intestinal muscles, and it has a calm numbing effect on the entire GI tract. Look for high volatile oil peppermint tea or enteric-coated peppermint oil capsules for an appropriate dose of the therapeutic herb.
A big swing in the healthy direction may seem like a good idea, but any sweeping change can shock your system. Avoid the unnecessary discomfort by making little changes over time: the first step is to eliminate processed food and additives (they contain unnatural compounds that are incredibly difficult to digest), and then consider an elimination diet, or increasing whole grains while lowering saturated fat.
Although the root causes of IBS and fibromyalgia are still not entirely understood, the fact that they’re physiologically related suggests that certain treatments could help both conditions.
While no one medication has been shown to relieve symptoms for everyone, some options include:
Nothing can be solved overnight, but rest assured that there is a lot you can do about your digestion as you treat your fibromyalgia. Consider making some dietary changes while you take your prescribed medication, but make sure you don’t start or stop any course of medication before consulting with your doctor.
Exercise is an excellent remedy for digestive problems and fibro symptoms, so be sure to stay moderately active most days, if not every day of the week. Often, a change in your diet and exercise regime can bring the quickest – and most powerful – results.
The symptoms can be frustrating, ranging from numbness to outright pain in the affected areas.
When you go to your doctor for treatment, they’re likely to prescribe pain medications, pat you on the back and tell you to continue with your day-to-day activities.
But not only are pain medications expensive – but they also come with side effects that can be even more severe than your initial sciatica.
An alternative to taking the meds is doing yoga specifically designed to treat sciatica. And while that’s certainly a viable option for those who can afford classes, not everyone can perform the most helpful posts.
Turmeric’s active ingredient, curcumin, can be used as a tonic to reduce the inflammation that occurs as a result of sciatica.
One way you can administer sciatica is by consuming it as tea. Dr. Weil’s recipe requires you to bring four cups of water to a boil, add one teaspoon of ground turmeric, simmer it for 10 minutes, strain and then add honey to taste.
If the tea is a bit too strong for your liking (turmeric does have a very distinctive taste), you can also, as per Home Remedies For Life’s instructions, sprinkle a quarter of a teaspoon of it on scrambled eggs or into soup, sauce or salad dressing. You should gradually increase the amount of turmeric you use until you make it to 1 teaspoon.
If you’re looking to skip tasting the turmeric altogether, you can also turn it into a paste that you apply on the area that is hurting.
To do this, boil half a cup of water and stir it into a quarter cup of turmeric. Reduce the heat and let it simmer for 7 minutes while you stir constantly.
The mixture will turn into a paste – once it does, take it off the heat and let it cool. If it’s too dry, add a few drops of water and leave it in your refrigerator in a tightly sealed container.
When you’re ready to use it, apply the paste to the sore areas of your skin and leave it on for 15 minutes. Then, have a shower and wash it off.
Turmeric works by lowering levels of inflammation-fueling enzymes. It’s been used as a painkiller for centuries due to its proven effectiveness. It was confirmed by Malaysian scientists in 2010 to get rid of nerve pain, but it was used all over Asia long before then.
How much turmeric is most effective? The suggested dose per adult for the purpose of reducing pain is 300mg taken 3 times a day.
