Regular Post

9 Dec

The Use of Pain Scrambler for Chemotherapy-Induced Pain in Cancer Patients

Cancer is one of the most challenging diseases. It can completely change your life and the treatments can be brutal at times. While Chemotherapy helps fight cancer and bring healing to patients, it also has many side effects, including fatigue, vomiting, diarrhea, infections, hair loss, and peripheral neuropathy pain.

Over time, as chemotherapy increases, these side effects also tend to increase. So what can you do to counter these side effects and ease the pain? Calmare “Pain Scrambler” Therapy can ease the pain caused by chemotherapy and other cancer treatments.

How Does It Work

One of the most painful side effects of Chemotherapy is peripheral neuropathy pain, which comes in different forms including tingling, burning sensation, and pain in hands and feet.

Patients who use the Pain Scrambler to combat side effects of chemotherapy have found relief, especially from the pain of peripheral neuropathy pain.

How Long Does It Take to Find Relief

While Carolina Pain Scrambler can begin to deliver pain relief in just one treatment, the best results have shown from cumulative treatments over 10-12 sessions.

Each session lasts about 45 minutes, and the pain-free interval can last up to several months, depending on the severity and cause of initial pain.

Are There Side Effects?

Many cancer patients have found pain relief with Pain Scrambler therapy, with no apparent side effects. What’s more, the Pain Scrambler has reduced the need for many patients to continue taking opioids and other pain medications, further lessening the side effects of those medications. It’s worth noting that reduced pain caused by chemotherapy can even help patients endure their consistent chemotherapy treatments over time.

Final Thoughts

Our goal is to create a better quality of life for patients experiencing nerve pain, including cancer patients! The Pain Scrambler uses electrodes placed on the skin, and reduces pain signals sent to the brain. Continued treatment helps reduce overall pain for chemotherapy patients, and there is no other treatment as effective or safe for peripheral neuropathy pain.

If you or someone you know would like to experience immediate relief from chronic pain, please contact us today.

Regular Post

21 Oct

What Is Pain Scrambler Therapy?

The unfortunate reality is that many of us have either experienced debilitating & chronic neuropathic pain or know someone who has. It’s not easy to live with and it can greatly affect your overall quality of life.

For those dealing with chronic pain, it can be hard to complete even the most simple day-to-day tasks or even find joy in playing with the grandchildren.

How do you deal with it? Traditional prescription pain management can often consist of replacing the pain with all kinds of potential side effects like diarrhea, dizziness, fatigue, heart issues, nausea, rash, constipation, headache, insomnia. These are just a few of the milder side effects of prescription pills.

Instead of swapping pain for pain, there are alternative paths to neuropathic and oncologic pain relief to consider.

Alternatives to Prescription Pain Management

Since chronic pain varies, there are several treatment options available as alternatives to prescription pain management. It’s important to consider many factors when making this decision, including the cause of pain, location of the pain, and duration of the pain. They are much safer approaches to pain than prescription drugs that also have longer lasting effects overall. Well-known modern alternative treatments include acupuncture, chiropractic care, massage therapy, yoga, and aromatherapy, to name a few.

Acupuncture is known to relieve neck and lower back pain, osteoarthritis, and migraines. While
Chiropractic care can help relieve neck and back pain, headaches, and muscle pain.

These types of treatments and therapies have been proven successful in providing pain relief for certain types of pain, but what about chronic neuropathy?

For neuropathic pain relief, the best choice is Calmare Pain Scrambler Therapy, which is becoming much more well-known throughout the United States and Europe because of its amazing results in treating chronic neuropathic pain.

What Is Pain Scrambler Therapy?

The Calmare Scrambler Therapy device, commonly known as a Pain Scrambler, treats nerve pain as an alternative to prescription pain management. The device uses a biophysical approach rather than a more common biochemical approach, treating the root of the pain and providing rapid pain relief.

The Pain Scrambler creates and sends a no-pain signal through multiple surface electrodes placed on the skin. This signal becomes the dominant signal received by the brain, overriding the pain signal and providing extended relief of pain.

Patients experiencing chronic neck and back pain or pain from cancer and chemotherapy, as well as chronic conditions such as diabetic peripheral neuropathy, sciatica, CRPS, and more have been successfully treated with Scrambler Therapy treatments.

Pain Scrambler Therapy is safe and highly effective. Over 80% of patients treated have had extremely reduced pain. Some patients are even permanently pain-free after just 10-12 sessions!

Is This Treatment Safe?

This type of therapy offers pain relief and control without the potentially dangerous side effects of prescription drugs. While the therapy is relatively new and cutting edge, The Calmare Therapy device has successfully treated over 7,000 patients and has become known for its success in treating neuropathic and oncologic pain.

In fact, Scrambler Therapy has been cleared by the FDA in the United States and Europe in 2009, and awareness of this highly effective treatment is growing rapidly. This has been found to be the safest and most effective treatment for neuropathic pain.

What Does The Treatment Plan Consist Of?

The best results of Calmare Scrambler Therapy are often achieved over multiple treatment sessions. While the Carolina Pain Scrambler Center can begin to deliver pain relief in just one treatment, the best results have shown from cumulative treatments over 10-12 sessions.

Each session lasts about 45 minutes, and the pain-free interval can last up to several months, depending on the severity and cause of initial pain.

In between sessions, if the severity of pain was fairly high, periodic booster treatments may be needed. This is especially true for anyone experiencing the recurrence of pain. Over time, after a series of treatments with Calmare Scrambler Therapy, patients typically experience a gradual decrease in overall pain.

Conclusion

If you are tired of living with pain day in and day out, or if you’re ready to say goodbye to ongoing use of prescription medication, and you are looking for a safe and effective way to rid yourself of your chronic nerve pain for good, we believe you would be a great candidate for our therapy.

Calmare Pain Scrambler Therapy has helped many patients be able to get back to truly living.

Wouldn’t it be nice to be living pain-free once again?

We would love to answer any questions you may have about The Pain Scrambler. Contact us today if you’re ready to improve your health and experience a pain-free life!

image Post

10 Aug

The Lowdown on Living with Neuropathy

May 7 to 13 is National Neuropathy Awareness Week. The week highlights the national effort to educate the public on neuropathy’s causes, treatments, and prevention strategies. If you or someone you care for is living with neuropathy, the week presents an excellent opportunity to learn more about this condition and help others.

What Is Neuropathy?

Approximately 20 million Americans are living with peripheral neuropathy. While the term “neuropathy” simply means “nerve damage,” peripheral neuropathy is the impairment of the nerves in the body’s outer extremities — such as the hands and feet. While the explanation for an individual’s neuropathy is sometimes unknown, a wide range of factors can cause it. Here are some causes of this chronic neurological disease.

Trauma from injury and repetitive stress is the most common cause, and medical treatments, like certain types of chemotherapy and surgeries, can damage nerves.
Nearly 70 percent of people with diabetes live with some level of neuropathy.
Inflammation from autoimmune diseases like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis can destroy nerve fibers.
The majority of people on dialysis for kidney disease develop neuropathy because excess toxic chemicals accumulate and damage nerves.
Infections, both bacterial and viral, are a major cause of neuropathy.
Heavy drinking can cause irreversible nerve damage.

Diagnosing Neuropathy

Symptoms of neuropathy depend on the type of nerve damaged. Associated with muscle weakness, motor nerve damage symptoms include decreased reflexes, twitching, and cramping. Sensory nerve damage leads to loss of sensation and is a leading cause of falls among older adults. It also causes difficult-to-treat neuropathic pain. Common symptoms of neuropathy include:

Tingling, burning, or numb sensations
Hypersensitive to touch
Stabbing or shooting pains
Muscle cramps and loss of muscle mass
Dizziness and balance issues
Weakness

To diagnose neuropathy, health care professionals begin with a physical and neurological exam, and gather your medical history. They may order any number of tests and screenings to expand their search or confirm suspicions. Tests might include skin and nerve biopsies and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. Nerve conduction velocity tests — used to determine damage to large nerve fibers — and those that measure muscles’ electrical activity help pinpoint neuropathy’s physical effects.

Treating Neuropathy

The good news for those living with neuropathy is that it is sometimes reversible. Peripheral nerves do regenerate. Simply by addressing contributing causes such as underlying infections, exposure to toxins, or vitamin and hormonal deficiencies, neuropathy symptoms frequently resolve themselves.

In most cases, however, neuropathy is not curable, and the focus for treatment is managing symptoms. Assistive devices, pain management, and physical therapy make a tremendous difference for those living with neuropathy. Technologies — from specialized footwear to electrical nerve stimulation devices — offer hope for the future.

Preventing Neuropathy

Whether you have to quit smoking, control blood sugar levels, avoid alcohol, or implement aggressive self-care, you can likely manage symptoms and stall neuropathy’s progression. Some people even make changes to their routine to greatly reduce their risk of ever acquiring it. Eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly, and avoiding bad habits are major steps in that direction.

Help make National Neuropathy Awareness Week a success by becoming a part of the effort. Learn what you can and share your experiences. If you’re living with neuropathy or caring for someone who is, know that your voice matters.

Article Provided By: dignityhealth

Carolina Pain Scrambler Logo, Chronic Pain, Greenville, SC If you would like to discuss what Carolina Pain Scrambler do to help relieve your chronic pain symptoms or receive more information on our treatment process, please do not hesitate to call us at 864-520-5011 or you can email us at info@carolinapainscrambler.com

image Post

4 Aug

Neuropathy and COVID-19, What You Should Know

COVID-19 has been dominating the news and has been a constant worry for people with preexisting conditions. If you’re one of these people and are living with neuropathy, the best thing you can do is to arm yourself with the best information available.

At US Neuropathy Centers, our team of experienced doctors is dedicated not only to treating your neuropathy but helping you safely manage and navigate your way through the COVID-19 crisis.

Neuropathy basics

To understand COVID-19’s effect on neuropathy, you need to understand the condition itself. Here’s some information we put together on the basics of neuropathy.

Your body is made up of many complex systems including your central nervous system. The nervous system consists of your brain, your spine, and a network of nerves called peripheral nerves.

These nerves extend into the other areas of your body, controlling movement and carrying information between your brain and muscles.

Neuropathy, often known as peripheral neuropathy because it affects the peripheral nerves outside your spine and brain, refers to weakened or damaged nerves. There are many reasons you may be experiencing peripheral neuropathy.

For example, chemotherapy treatment, diseases like HIV and shingles, some autoimmune diseases, and exposure to certain toxins can result in loss of sensation. But the most common cause of neuropathy is diabetes.

The nerve damage leaves you with numbness or tingling in your affected extremities. You may even completely lose sensation and reflexes. Managing these symptoms and monitoring your condition is especially important in the middle of the pandemic.

Neuropathy and COVID-19

While there’s no direct link between neuropathy and COVID-19, there are certain circumstances that put you at risk for contracting the virus and experiencing worsened symptoms. Here are a few things you should know about living with neuropathy during this pandemic:

Be aware of your condition

Neuropathy typically indicates the presence of an underlying condition. Diabetes, autoimmune diseases, cancer, and other infections are all causes of neuropathy and all reasons to be extra vigilant with COVID-19 spreading.

Because your immune system is compromised, you’re at a much higher risk of contracting the virus. We recommend that you observe social distancing guidelines and possibly quarantine yourself to prevent the risk of infection.

Know the risk

Because your extremities have lost most or all of their sensation, you might not be aware that you’ve injured yourself and developed an infection.

For example, if you have diabetic neuropathy, it’s now even more important that you control your blood sugar and constantly monitor your feet for signs of ulcers and infections.

If you suffer from neuropathy caused by an autoimmune disease and need regular blood infusions, be aware that most blood donors have not been tested for COVID-19 antibodies. If you’re aware of the risks related to your neuropathy, you can adjust and protect yourself.

Contracting COVID-19

If you do become infected with the virus, you’re not likely to experience any new damage to your cells, but you may have flare-ups of your neuropathic symptoms.

The flu-like effects of COVID-19 may exacerbate the tingling and numbness you normally feel. While this may be uncomfortable, it’s no need to panic. Follow your doctor’s care orders closely until the infection runs its course.

Article Provided By: usneuropathycenters
Carolina Pain Scrambler Logo, Chronic Pain, Greenville, SC If you would like to discuss what Carolina Pain Scrambler do to help relieve your chronic pain symptoms or receive more information on our treatment process, please do not hesitate to call us at 864-520-5011 or you can email us at info@carolinapainscrambler.com

image Post

26 Jul

How do I Exercise with Neuropathy?

Water aerobics is an exercise performed in a pool.

To exercise with neuropathy, or nerve damage, you should aim for a moderate workout schedule rather than overdoing it. It’s important to have regular exercise sessions though, because it may lessen the extent or intensity of neuropathy over time. In general, exercises that don’t put a lot of pressure on the skeleton, especially the feet, are good for people with neuropathy.

Exercising in the water puts little stress on the joints and bones, and may be recommended for those with neuropathy.

Running, jogging, hiking, walking and step aerobics may be too much when exercising with nerve damage. If you have moderate to severe neuropathy in the feet or legs, overdoing or even moderately doing these activities may cause foot ulcers or joint damage. If the feet or legs aren’t swollen, sore or have a “pins and needles” feeling, then a limited amount of these types of exercises may be able to be done.

Running, jogging, hiking, and walking may be too much when exercising with nerve damage.

Aqua aerobics in the shallow end of a swimming pool may be fine in moderation, as the water helps cushion the feet and joints. However, as there is still contact with the feet on the pool floor, deep water aerobics can offer even more cushioning exercises. Swimming is often an excellent physical activity for those who exercise with neuropathy. Since it involves whole body movement, swimming can provide overall toning as well as cardiovascular benefits when done at a brisk pace.

While regular exercise is especially important for diabetics with neuropathy, as it can help lower blood sugar, proper fitting shoes and checks of the feet after workouts is important. Yoga can be an extremely beneficial exercise with neuropathy, as it’s gentle on the body, but if it’s done in bare feet, diabetics must be sure to take caution in not getting any scrapes or even a tiny pebble on either foot. Something as minor as a scratch on the foot may go unnoticed by those with neuropathy, as their feet are typically numb. If untreated, a foot infection may become so severe that amputation is necessary.

Individuals suffering from neuropathy may not notice scratches on their feet.

If you begin the type of exercise that best suits your degree of neuropathy, you should aim for about 30 minutes three to five times a week, depending on your fitness level and physician’s recommendations. In addition to water exercises, cycling may be another activity that you find you can do with neuropathy. It’s important to begin any type of exercise with neuropathy slowly and build up your time spent on it gradually.

Article Provided By: thehealthboard

Olympic Photo by Alex Smith on Unsplash

If you would like to discuss what Carolina Pain Scrambler do to help relieve your chronic pain symptoms or receive more information on our treatment process, please do not hesitate to call us at 864-520-5011 or you can email us at info@carolinapainscrambler.com

image Post

20 Jul

Responding to Weather Changes When Caring for Neuropathy Patients

by Ezekiel Lim | September 11, 2019

Patients with familial amyloid polyneuropathy may find that changes in seasons increase discomfort. Colder temperatures require layers of clothing that may bother someone with peripheral neuropathy symptoms. A change to hotter temperatures may cause increased discomfort to someone already experiencing burning sensations due to nerve damage.

Caregivers can take steps to help manage the impact of weather changes on neuropathy patients.

Cold weather and neuropathy

Patients with peripheral neuropathy symptoms experience a slowing of blood flow to nerve endings, causing numbness and tingling. Colder temperatures may make it difficult for patients to measure their bodies’ response to the climate.

My family lives in an area known for weather extremes. When spending time with my mother-in-law during the winter months, it is important for us not only to make sure she has adequate layers of clothing, but also to know when the bundled clothing is causing her discomfort.

Following are some tips for caregivers who are managing the daily care of a loved one during a change to colder weather:

Make sure the patient is wearing warm, comfortable clothing that isn’t too heavy.
Protect the patient’s hands and feet with warm gloves and neuropathy socks.
Massage areas where circulation may be lacking.
Limit the time spent outside in the cold.
Limit caffeine and alcohol intake as they may respectively narrow blood cells and cause vitamin deficiency.

Managing symptoms in heat

Hotter temperatures may exacerbate the tingling and burning sensations that neuropathy patients experience. During a transition from cold winters to mild or hot months, caregivers must gauge their loved one’s peripheral symptoms. Just as in winter months, patients may have difficulty measuring their bodily responses to temperature.

For caregivers managing responses to hotter temperatures, following are some tips for ensuring patient comfort:

Keep time spent outside to a minimum and, if needed, stay indoors all day.
Make sure air conditioning is adjusted to a comfortable level to avoid interacting with symptoms of numbness.
Make sure your loved one is adequately fed and hydrated.
Understand the patient’s comfort level and make sure they are wearing lighter layers of clothing.
Try using topical treatments and cooling products when the patient begins to feel too hot.

The pain caused by humidity and summer heat may cause increased discomfort in those suffering from peripheral neuropathy symptoms. By ensuring the patient has a comfortable indoor environment, the change in temperature will not exacerbate chronic pain.

Article Provided By: fapnewstoday
Carolina Pain Scrambler Logo, Chronic Pain, Greenville, SC If you would like to discuss what Carolina Pain Scrambler do to help relieve your chronic pain symptoms or receive more information on our treatment process, please do not hesitate to call us at 864-520-5011 or you can email us at info@carolinapainscrambler.com

image Post

7 Jul

What Is Nerve Pain (and How Does It Differ From Other Kinds of Pain?)

“Can you describe your pain?” This will likely be one of the first questions your doctor asks if you complain of chronic pain. Unless there’s an obvious reason for pain, your doctor needs a lot of information to identify the underlying cause. This includes the location, type, intensity and frequency of pain. The doctor is partly trying to determine whether the pain is nociceptive or neuropathic (also called nerve pain), or possibly both.

“This can be tricky because all pain is experienced through the nerves,” says sports medicine specialist Dominic King, DO. Damage to bodily tissues, such as muscles, tendons, ligaments or the capsules around joints, causes nociceptive pain. Nerve receptors adjacent to the damaged tissue, called nociceptors, transmit a pain signal to the brain. This type of pain tends to feel sharp, achy, dull or throbbing.

Understanding ‘electric pain’

If you’re experiencing something that feels more like burning, stabbing, or shooting pain ― especially if there also is numbness or tingling ― it’s likely to be neuropathic pain. This means there is direct damage or irritation to a nerve. “It can cause a lightning strike type of electric pain,” says Dr. King.

Nerve pain can arise from a variety of causes, including diabetes, infections (such as shingles), multiple sclerosis, the effects of chemotherapy or trauma. When it comes to orthopeadic issues, nerve pain often stems from a nerve being pinched by nearby bones, ligaments and other structures.

For example, a herniated disk in the spine or a narrowing of the spinal canal (stenosis) can press on a nerve as it leaves the spinal canal. This can cause pain along the path of the nerve. When nerves that originate in the lower spine are affected, symptoms might be felt in the buttocks or down a leg. If the compressed nerve is in the upper spine, the pain and other symptoms can shoot down the arm. Numbness or tingling may also occur because the brain is not receiving a consistent signal due to the compression.

Another common cause of nerve pain is carpal tunnel syndrome. A nerve and several tendons travel through a passageway in the wrist (the carpal tunnel) to the hand. Inflammation in the tunnel can press on the nerve, causing numbness and tingling in the thumb and fingers.

How is the cause of nerve pain found?

“There are so many orthopaedic conditions that overlap between pain stemming from problems with tendons, muscles, joints and nerves that you need a very discerning physician to do a good physical exam to figure out the cause,” says Dr. King. “I make my determination based on when the patient experiences pain, where the pain is located and what the pain feels like.”

Pain related to joints, such as from arthritis, will feel more like stiffness when going from sitting to standing. With tendon pain, it will feel sore when you push on the affected area. “Nerve pain is more of a burning, fiery pain,” says Dr. King. And it tends to come and go.

“Nerve pain typically gets worse with more and more use and can be associated with numbness,” says Dr. King.

Ultimately, getting the right treatment depends on getting the right diagnosis. For many bone and joint conditions, nondrug treatment will be tried first. Sometimes pain medication is needed. However, neuropathic pain does not respond to drugs commonly used for nociceptive pain, such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

This article originally appeared in Cleveland Clinic Arthritis Advisor.

Article Provided By: clevelandclinic

Carolina Pain Scrambler Logo, Chronic Pain, Greenville, SC

image Post

14 Jun

Managing & Coping with Neuropathy

What predicts depression and anxiety among people with PN? Not necessarily the severity of the PN symptoms! The predictors are the psychological variables (i.e.: How do you feel? Hopeless, optimistic, anxious, etc.); social variables (i.e.: Are you active? Do you have support?) All of these variables can be changed!

Dwelling on what might have been if you were not diagnosed, self-pitying, ruminating about better times, and think of yourself primarily as a “PN patient” does not provide the escape from stress of the illness. These coping strategies are ineffective and can make your neuropathy symptoms worse.

Below are effective Self-Care and Coping Skills:

Managing Peripheral Neuropathy

The following suggestions can help you manage peripheral neuropathy:

Take care of your feet, especially if you have diabetes. Check your feet daily for signs of blisters, cuts or calluses. Tight shoes and socks can worsen pain and tingling and may lead to sores that won’t heal. Wear soft, loose cotton socks and padded shoes. You can use a semicircular hoop, which is available in medical supply stores, to keep bed covers off hot or sensitive feet.

Quit smoking. Cigarette smoking can affect circulation, increasing the risk of foot problems and possibly amputation.

Eat healthy meals. If you’re at high risk of neuropathy or have a chronic medical condition, healthy eating is especially important. Emphasize low-fat meats and dairy products and include lots of fruits, vegetables and whole grains in your diet. Drink alcohol in moderation.

Massage. Massage your hands and feet, or have someone massage them for you. Massage helps improve circulation, stimulates nerves and may temporarily relieve pain.

Avoid prolonged pressure. Don’t keep your knees crossed or lean on your elbows for long periods of time. Doing so may cause new nerve damage.

Skills for Coping With Peripheral Neuropathy

Living with chronic pain or disability presents daily challenges. Some of these suggestions may make it easier for you to cope:

Set priorities. Decide which tasks you need to do on a given day, such as paying bills or shopping for groceries, and which can wait until another time. Stay active, but don’t overdo.

Acceptance & Acknowledgement. Accept and acknowledge the negative aspects of the illness, but then move forward to become more positive to find what works best for you.

Find the positive aspects of the disorder. Of course you are thinking there is nothing positive about PN. Perhaps your outlook can help increase empathy, encourage you to maintain a balanced schedule or maintaining a healthier lifestyle.

Get out of the house. When you have severe pain, it’s natural to want to be alone. But this only makes it easier to focus on your pain. Instead, visit a friend, go to a movie or take a walk.

Get moving. Develop an exercise program that works for you to maintain your optimum fitness. It gives you something you can control, and provides so many benefits to your physical and emotional well-being.

Seek and accept support. It isn’t a sign of weakness to ask for or accept help when you need it. In addition to support from family and friends, consider joining a chronic pain support group. Although support groups aren’t for everyone, they can be good places to hear about coping techniques or treatments that have worked for others. You’ll also meet people who understand what you’re going through. To find a support group in your community, check with your doctor, a nurse or the county health department.

Prepare for challenging situations. If something especially stressful is coming up in your life, such as a move or a new job, knowing what you have to do ahead of time can help you cope.

Talk to a counselor or therapist. Insomnia, depression and impotence are possible complications of peripheral neuropathy. If you experience any of these, you may find it helpful to talk to a counselor or therapist in addition to your primary care doctor. There are treatments that can help.

How to Sleep With Neuropathy

Sleep is an essential part of living—sleep helps us avoid major health problems and it is essential to our mental and physical performance. It affects our mood and stress and anxiety levels. Unfortunately, sleep disturbance or insomnia is often a side effect of neuropathy pain. It is a common complaint among people with living with chronic pain.

It’s no surprise that about 70 percent of pain patients, including those suffering from PN, back pain, headaches, arthritis and fibromyalgia, report they have trouble sleeping according to the Journal of Pain Medicine.

Pain can interfere with sleep due to a combination of issues. The list includes discomfort, reduced activity levels, anxiety, worry, depression and use of medications such as codeine that relieve pain but disturb sleep.

Most experts recommend a range of seven to nine hours of sleep per night for adults, regardless of age or gender. This may seem impossible to people with chronic pain, but there are steps you can take to improve your sleep, which may lead to less pain and lower levels of depression and anxiety. First, talk with your doctor to see if there are medications that may lessen your sleep disturbance. You should also check with your doctor to make sure your current medications aren’t causing some of your sleep disturbance.

Beyond medication, there are several things you can do yourself to improve your sleep. Here are some methods to try and help you fall asleep more quickly, help you sleep more deeply, help you stay asleep, and ultimately help keep you healthy.

Following are tips for improving your sleep:

Reduce your caffeine intake, especially in the afternoons
Quit smoking
Limit and/or omit alcohol consumption
Limit naps to less than one hour, preferably less
Don’t stay in bed too long—spending time in bed without sleeping leads to more shallow sleep
Adhere to a regular daily schedule including going to bed and getting up at the same time
Maintain a regular exercise program. Be sure to complete exercise several hours before bedtime
Make sure your bed is comfortable. You should have enough room to stretch and turn comfortably. Experiment with different levels of mattress firmness, foam or egg crate toppers, and pillows that provide more support
Keep your room cool. The temperature of your bedroom also affects sleep. Most people sleep best in a slightly cool room (around 65° F or 18° C) with adequate ventilation. A bedroom that is too hot or too cold can interfere with quality sleep.
Turn off your TV and Computer, many people use the television to fall asleep or relax at the end of the day. Not only does the light suppress melatonin production, but television can actually stimulate the mind, rather than relaxing it.
Don’t watch the clock – turn your alarm clock around so that it is not facing you
Keep a note pad and pencil by your bed to write down any thoughts that may wake you up at night so you can put them to rest
Refrain from taking a hot bath or shower right before bed; the body needs to cool a degree before getting into deep sleep
Try listening to relaxing soft music or audio books instead, or practicing relaxation exercises.

Visualizing a peaceful, restful place. Close your eyes and imagine a place or activity that is calming and peaceful for you. Concentrate on how relaxed this place or activity makes you feel.

Some patients find comfort from a pillow between their legs that keeps their knees from touching. And there’s an added benefit: A pillow between your legs at night will prevent your upper leg from pulling your spine out of alignment and reduces stress on your hips and lower back.

It may take three to four weeks of trying these techniques before you begin to see an improvement in your sleep. During the first two weeks, your sleep may actually worsen before it improves, but improved sleep may lead to less pain intensity and improved mood.

Article Provided By: foundationforPN

image Post

26 May

Hyperalgesia: What you need to know

Hyperalgesia is a condition where a person develops an increased sensitivity to pain. What may not hurt most people can cause significant pain in an individual with hyperalgesia.

Although there are many potential causes associated with hyperalgesia, the condition is thought to be the result of changes to nerve pathways, which cause a person’s nerves to have an overactive response to pain.

Medications are available to prevent a person’s symptoms from worsening.

Fast facts on hyperalgesia:

Hyperalgesia can be very difficult for a doctor to diagnose.
Different types of hyperalgesia exist, and doctors have a variety of theories regarding why people experience hyperalgesia.
Researchers are also studying a potential genetic link to hyperalgesia
The condition closely resembles both drug tolerance and drug withdrawals.

Causes

Hyperalgesia is an extreme reaction to painful stimuli.

There are several nerve or “pain” pathways in the body where signals can start to miscommunicate with each other, resulting in hyperalgesia.

Some scientists think that hyperalgesia occurs when chemicals known to reduce pain are disrupted.

Others propose that hyperalgesia happens when “crossed wires” in the nervous system prevent pain signals from transmitting accurately.

Nociceptive and neuropathic pain

Nociceptive and neuropathic are two different types of pain. Nociceptive pain is acute and it usually has a specific cause, such as an injury.

Neuropathic pain results from damage to the nervous system. It can happen even when there is no injury or outside stimulus.

Hyperalgesia is considered a form of neuropathic pain.

Types

Doctors usually divide hyperalgesia into primary and secondary categories. Both of these conditions are due to initial tissue trauma and inflammation.

Primary hyperalgesia

This type of hyperalgesia is when the increased pain occurs in the tissue where the injury took place. An example would be when a person has surgery on their elbow, and the pain starts to worsen over time instead of improving.

Secondary hyperalgesia

This type occurs when the pain seems to spread to non-injured tissue or tissues.

Other types of hyperalgesia

Another kind of hyperalgesia is opioid-induced hyperalgesia (OIH). OIH occurs when a person experiences worsening or new pain as a result of taking opioids, such as morphine, hydrocodone, or fentanyl for pain relief.

Symptoms

The chief symptom of hyperalgesia is an increasingly extreme reaction to painful stimuli without any new injuries or worsening of a medical condition. An example would be a surgical incision that becomes more painful over time, yet the wound is not infected, and a person has not experienced any further injury.

Hyperalgesia is different from tolerance to medications although the two processes are similar.

If a person develops a tolerance to a particular drug, it usually means that their body has become accustomed to the presence of the drug at the current dosage, and the drug is no longer working properly. When a person has developed a tolerance to a drug, increasing the dosage will usually decrease a person’s pain.

Drug tolerance is different from hyperalgesia, where increasing pain medication will not reduce the amount of pain a person feels. Sometimes, increasing the pain medication makes the person’s pain worse.

Another similar medical condition is allodynia. This condition is where a person develops a significant pain response to non-painful stimuli. Even brushing against a person’s skin can cause pain.

In hyperalgesia, a person has experienced a painful stimulus, such as cancer pain or pain following surgery, but their response to the pain is greater than the expected level of pain.

How do doctors diagnose hyperalgesia?

doctor checking notes on a tablet — Diagnosing hyperalgesia may be difficult for a doctor.

Hyperalgesia can present difficulties for a doctor to treat because a person may have developed OIH.

To make a diagnosis, a doctor will take a medical history and review a person’s medication.

They may also ask them questions about the nature of their pain.

Some of the signs that could indicate hyperalgesia include:

Pain extends beyond the area where a person experienced an initial injury or previously felt pain. Examples could include headaches, neck pain, leg pain, or back pain.
Some people describe the pain as “diffuse” or spreading. Some may report all-over body pain and aches.
The quality or experience of the pain is different than it used to be. The pain may become sharp, aching, or stabbing where previously the person felt the pain differently.

Currently, there are no definitive diagnostic tests for hyperalgesia.

Article Provided By: medicalnewstoday

image Post

18 May

Does Neuropathy from Chemo Go Away?

What is peripheral neuropathy?

Peripheral neuropathy is a blanket term for pain and discomfort and other symptoms that result from damage to peripheral nerves, which are the nerves that extend away from the brain and spinal cord.

The peripheral nervous system carries signals from the brain and spinal cord to the rest of your body, and then returns nerve signals from the periphery to be received by the spinal cord and brain. Any problems along the way can affect the skin, muscles, and joints of your hands, feet, and other parts of the body.

Many things can cause neuropathy, including certain chemotherapy drugs. Damage to peripheral nerves by these drugs is called chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, abbreviated as CIPN.

CIPN isn’t uncommon. Of people with cancer who are treated with chemotherapy, about 30 to 40 percent develop CIPN. It’s one of the reasons that some stop cancer treatment early.

What are the symptoms of CIPN?

CIPN generally affects both sides of your body the same way. Symptoms are likely to begin in your toes but can move to your feet, legs, hands, and arms. Symptoms range from mild to severe. Some of the more common symptoms are:

tingling or pins-and-needles sensation
sharp, stabbing pain
burning or shock-like sensations
loss of sensation or complete numbness
trouble with small motor skills such as writing, texting, and buttoning
gripping problems (dropping things)
clumsiness
weakness

You might also experience:

oversensitivity to touch
balance and coordination problems, which can lead to stumbling or falling when walking
differences in your sensitivity to temperature, making it harder to gauge heat and cold
reduced reflexes
swallowing difficulties
jaw pain
hearing loss
constipation
trouble urinating

Severe peripheral neuropathy can lead to serious health problems such as:

changes to blood pressure
changes to heart rate
breathing difficulties
injury due to falling
paralysis
organ failure

What causes CIPN?

Chemotherapy drugs are systemic treatments — that is, they affect your entire body. These powerful medications can take a toll, and some can damage your peripheral nervous system.

It’s hard to say exactly what causes CIPN since each chemotherapy drug is different, as is each person who receives treatment.

Some of the chemotherapy drugs associated with CIPN are:

nanoparticle albumin bound-paclitaxel (Abraxane)
bortezomib (Velcade)
cabazitaxel (Jevtana)
carboplatin (Paraplatin)
carfilzomib (Kyprolis)
cisplatin (Platinol)
docetaxel (Taxotere)
eribulin (Halaven)
etoposide (VP-16)
ixabepilone (Ixempra)
lenalidomide (Revlimid)
oxaliplatin (Eloxatin)
paclitaxel (Taxol)
pomalidomide (Pomalyst)
thalidomide (Thalomid)
vinblastine (Velban)
vincristine (Oncovin, Vincasar PFS)
vinorelbine (Navelbine)

Besides chemotherapy, peripheral neuropathy can be due to the cancer itself, such as when a tumor presses on a peripheral nerve.

Other cancer treatments such as surgery and radiation therapy can also lead to peripheral neuropathy. Even if you’re receiving chemotherapy, the neuropathy can be caused or aggravated by other conditions such as:

alcohol use disorder
autoimmune disorders
diabetes mellitus
HIV
infections that lead to nerve damage
poor peripheral blood circulation
shingles
spinal cord injury
vitamin B deficiency

How long does it last?

Symptoms can appear as soon as chemotherapy begins. Symptoms tend to get worse as the chemotherapy regimen progresses.

It’s a temporary problem for some, lasting only a few days or weeks.

For others, it can last for months or years and can even become a lifelong problem. This may be more likely if you have other medical conditions that cause neuropathy or take other prescription drugs that cause it.

How is CIPN treated?

Once your oncologist (a doctor who specializes in cancer treatment) determines that your peripheral neuropathy is caused by chemotherapy, they will monitor your treatment to see if symptoms are worsening. In the meantime, symptoms can be treated with:

steroids to reduce inflammation
topical numbing medicines
antiseizure medications, which can help relieve nerve pain
prescription-strength pain relievers such as narcotics (opioids)
antidepressants
electrical nerve stimulation
occupational and physical therapy

If symptoms continue, your doctor may decide to:

lower the dose of your chemotherapy drug
switch to a different chemotherapy drug
delay chemotherapy until symptoms improve
stop chemotherapy

Managing symptoms

It’s very important to work with your doctor to prevent neuropathy from getting worse. In addition, there are a few other things you can do, such as:

relaxation therapy, guided imagery, or breathing exercises
massage therapy
acupuncture
biofeedback

Pain, numbness, or strange sensations can make it difficult to work with your hands, so you should be extra careful with sharp objects. Wear gloves for yardwork or when working with tools.

If symptoms involve your feet or legs, walk slowly and carefully. Use handrails and grab bars when available and put no-slip mats in your shower or tub. Remove loose area rugs, electrical cords, and other tripping hazards in your home.

Wear shoes indoors and out to protect your feet. And if you have severe numbness in your feet, be sure to inspect them every day for cuts, injuries, and infection that you can’t feel.

Temperature sensitivity can also be a problem.

Make sure your water heater is set to a safe level, and check the temperature of the water before getting in the shower or bath.

Check the air temperature before going outside in winter. Even though you might not feel the cold, gloves and warm socks can help protect your feet and hands from frostbite.

If you find it helps to relieve your peripheral neuropathy symptoms, you can apply an ice pack on your hands or feet, but only for less than 10 minutes at a time with at least 10 minutes of breaktime between each repeat application.

Here are a few additional tips:

Don’t wear tight clothes or shoes that interfere with circulation.
Avoid alcoholic beverages.
Take all your medications as directed.
Get plenty of rest while in treatment.
Follow your doctor’s recommendations for diet and exercise.
Keep your oncologist informed about new or worsening symptoms.

Currently, there’s no scientifically proven way to prevent neuropathy caused by chemotherapy. And there’s no way to know in advance who’ll develop it and who won’t.

Some research, such as this 2015 studyTrusted Source and this 2017 studyTrusted Source, suggests that taking glutathione, calcium, magnesium, or certain antidepressant or antiseizure drugs might help mitigate the risk for certain people. However, the research is limited, weak, or shows mixed results at best.

Before starting chemotherapy, tell your oncologist about other health conditions, such as diabetes mellitus, that could lead to peripheral neuropathy. This can help them choose the best chemotherapy drug for you.

Your oncologist may try to lessen the risk by prescribing lower doses of chemotherapy drugs over a longer period of time. If symptoms start, it may be appropriate to stop chemotherapy and restart when symptoms improve. It’s something that must be decided on a case-by-case basis.

While mild symptoms may resolve within a short time frame, more severe cases can linger for months or years. It can even become permanent. That’s why it’s so important to keep your oncologist informed about all your symptoms and side effects.

Addressing CIPN early may help ease symptoms and prevent it from getting worse.

Last medically reviewed on January 24, 2019

Article Provided By: healthline
Carolina Pain Scrambler Logo, Chronic Pain, Greenville, SC If you would like to discuss what Carolina Pain Scrambler do to help relieve your chronic pain symptoms or receive more information on our treatment process, please do not hesitate to call us at 864-520-5011 or you can email us at info@carolinapainscrambler.com

1 2 3 … 6