Feel like you need psychiatric help to deal with severe pain? Here are some thoughts.
Once again, it is necessary to point out the spectrum on which Central Pain occurs. There are both degrees and flavors of Central Pain. Flavor here refers to which of the pain components are present. For example, there is a remarkable, but not exclusive, concentration of visceral (gut, bladder) pain in quadriplegics, who may experience touch CP, also known as mechanical allodynia, or dysesthetic burning, with the burning perhaps only in one portion of the body, the remainder of the body being completely denervated by complete cord injury.
Central Pain requires an intermediate injury. The sensory apparatus must retain SOME function to transmit pain signals along the nerve pathways. So a common quadriplegic CP patient may have predominately gut CP, where overfulness and nausea are agonizing, but may have the burning to touch in only one area of the body, perhaps a hand, part of the back, or wherever.
Where touch allodynia is displayed may be terribly severe, may include a phantom (such as an imaginary extra shoulder blade) and the most severe touch CP may be in that phantom.
Most quadriplegics display dysesthesia at the
February 13th, 2006 at 4:23 pm #aleck seggan
Regarding Article: Psychiatric Aspects of CP
Hi. Found this article interesting. I suffer bipolar disorder and injured my back 3 years ago by landing on coccyx from 1.2 metres. Nowadays I am a mess. Worked for 9 months in pain doing office duties but was depressed, irritable, angry, panicky, anxious, suicidal. Doctors just give drugs and I am a right old mr PAIN. PAIN defines me now. My email is b8234@ihug.com.au.What might your thoughts be?
Editors Note: Aleck, Sorry to hear of the injury. Medical practice laws do not permit any website to dispense medical advice nor diagnosis. We must therefore refer your questions to a professional in your state. A specific pain management center is often the best source of information.
Cheers