I would like to take one of those. I have a very high tolerance for pain. It's not always a blessing. I went to the doctor 4 years ago with a slight discomfort in my abdomen. It was more of a feeling something wasnt right. The next morning I was in the operating table getting a hernia fixed. This was the day before July 4th. The doctor had already made plans but cancelled them.

They filmed it for training because it was the worst they had ever seen.

I worry about this sometimes.

 

My uncle was like you, and ended up crawling from the barn while milking cows one morning, and had an exciting ambulance ride to boot.

 

Interesting. I sometimes wonder how much pain I am in (if I am in pain) but, if one feels pain and the test says it is not so bad, how much painkiller is allocated? I cannot explain myself. I mean even a "crybaby" feels real pain. I can take a lot of pain from a tooth or a broken bone but rheumatics because of a change in the weather? hand over the aspiriins.

 

I think they can already genetically test you to see what types of medication you are more likely to tolerate/respond to. This would pair up nicely with that, to prove whether there is pain or not - although I can't help but be skeptical

 

Got a link? I'm wondering what "biomarkers" they are going to test.

 

Got a link? I'm wondering what "biomarkers" they are going to test.

http://sciencemission.com/site/index.php?page=news&type=view&id=health-science/blood-test-for-pain

The authors were successful in identifying blood gene expression biomarkers that were predictive of pain state, and of future emergency department (ED) visits for pain, more so when personalized by gender and diagnosis. MFAP3, which had no prior evidence in the literature for involvement in pain, had the most robust empirical evidence and was a strong predictor for pain in the independent cohorts, particularly in females and males with PTSD. Other biomarkers with best overall convergent functional evidence for involvement in pain were GNG7, CNTN1, LY9, CCDC144B, and GBP1. Some of the individual biomarkers identified are targets of existing drugs.

 

I would probably sign up for this test too. I don't want to be on opioids at all and am very skeptical about taking Gabapentin and cannot currently afford steroid shots (and am very leery of them). Tylenol sucks and I was on naproxen longer than was good for anyone.

 

Everyone should be leery of Neurotin (Gabapentin) and Lyrica (pregabalin).

The limited scope of corticosteroid injection is much better on the body (bones in particular) than systemic oral steroid use.

I was on steroids for years, and then off for nearly 20, and the last year was on a fairly high dose until being able to taper a couple months ago. Yesterday's bone density indicated mild osteopenia, probably the result of steroids. I have to supplement with calcium now.

 

Everyone should be leery of Neurotin (Gabapentin) and Lyrica (pregabalin).

The limited scope of corticosteroid injection is much better on the body (bones in particular) than systemic oral steroid use.

I was on steroids for years, and then off for nearly 20, and the last year was on a fairly high dose until being able to taper a couple months ago. Yesterday's bone density indicated mild osteopenia, probably the result of steroids. I have to supplement with calcium now.

I was wondering how your test turned out but didn't want to be nosy, I'm sorry to hear that. Hopefully the supplements will keep things under control?

My daughter has Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, and steroids are suspected to cause a worsening of the symptoms/disease (long story about the mechanics behind it). EDS tends to be a cascading disease, and we believe most of her major "cascade" symptoms were kicked off by a corticosteroid injection they gave her for hand pain when her pain symptoms first appeared, before she was properly diagnosed.

Neurontin was ok but no pain relief at all (weirdly it gave her Restless Legs lol), Lyrica made her super anxious and depressed, also no pain relief. We're paranoid about every medication now. Some of the "safest" have done the biggest doozies on her.

It's all so scary, especially when you're already desperate for help/relief. I feel for everyone dealing with chronic pain and the medication maze

 

I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia several years ago, and have to deal with people telling me there's no such thing and that I'm just whining for attention or painkillers. This test, IF accurate, could be a Godsend. I would finally have proof that yes, it DOES hurt that much!

 

Since it's mild osteopenia, supplementation and continuing exercise (I walk on the treadmill at least 45 minutes a day x 5/6 days a week) should keep it in check. Another complicating factor is that I have Lupus and sun sensitivity, so I've been supplementing vitamin D3 for years. It could have been worse.

How is your daughter now? The medical mj helps her? I'm going to get a referral to a pain clinic for it next month.

 

I'm glad to hear that you are able to do proactive things to keep it under control, and you make me feel like a lazy slug with your exercise regimen. I didn't know you had Lupus, that is not an easy disease to deal with, I'm sorry (I know you probably don't want "I'm sorry" but, maybe empathy then).

A lot like Lupus, my daughter has good days and bad days, just depending on the universe or whether she maybe moved the wrong way in her sleep (not even kidding, some of her worst injuries occur in her sleep, ugh). MMJ is the only "drug" we've found that does anything to alleviate her pain. Although she describes it as minor/mild pain relief and being a little high so the pain becomes less of a nail being driven into (insert body part) constantly. She says MMJ saved her life because she couldn't continue the way she was before it. It does limit what she's able to do...she doesn't vape if she needs to drive somewhere or when she's in class, so that means being in pain the entire time, and prior to. Lots of trade-offs with responsible use that you don't really have with other medications, so that's kind of a negative.

I hope you have a good result with your consultation. Does your state allow pain management doctors to prescribe or suggest strains? I forget which states do what, but having suggestions starting out would be wonderful because it is a lot of trial and error otherwise. Pain management out here is pretty much opioids or trigger point injections, while the doctors seem to appreciate MMJ, the system doesn't really recognize it as "real" medication (and often won't treat with other meds if you're using MMJ as well) So my daughter went through a lot of trial and error on her own. But, yeah, it's been totally, totally worth it for her. And for me, seeing her finally getting some relief. I hope you can find something that helps too

 

I can handle a pretty fair amount of pain, when I had my last kidney stone, and going to the ER the next morning, I waited about 9hrs before going, walked my house till I was sure I wore a path from my bedroom to the living room, around the island with our sink, through the dining room and back to the bedroom. The only way I got any semblance of sleep was to sit upright in a chair with arms, lean against an ice pack on the side with the pain, and doze about 30 to 45 minutes before the pain would become unbearable, then getting up and pacing again till I was exhausted.

 

So if the doctor says "rate your pain between 1 and 10" and I say 10, but the test comes back at 5, what then?

 

That's exactly what my daughter said when I told her about this. That is scary.

 

I am worried about the opposite. Say my pain is a 2 but the doctor sees it as a 6. Whatever method they use needs more real life testing IMO.

 

I think the difference is that you can refuse treatment/meds if you don't feel you need it. If you feel you need it and the doctor doesn't, that's a whole nasty can of worms.

 

Really? Do you have a white paper on this ? Anything? Sound ... interesting...hmm

 

I don't need a blood test to know when I'm in pain.

 

I figure a 10 is getting close to smashing your thumb with a twenty ounce framing hammer on Tuesday, after smashing it with a two pound ball peen on the anvil the previous Sunday.

 

What if you do both on the same day?

 

"Four and two thirds"...….always gets a funny look.

geo

 

I get some strange looks myself when I reply to "how tall are you?" With 5' 16". These are supposedly highly educated people that are simply lost when it comes to simple arithmetic!

 

I've always said that the doctors need a pain meter to aim at someone claiming it's a "10" when it's actually a "4". I realize that pain is all in the eye of the beholder, and is relative to the worst they have ever felt, but mots people complain about, and medicate every discomfort they have.

After getting slammed by a stop sign running, drunk driver who hit may car in the side at 60 mph (I was doing 60 also), I had a shattered pelvis, ribs, sternum, and foot (17 bones broken), and a lacerated liver that almost earned me a helicopter ride. I was cracking jokes in the ER with my wife, and ER friend, and thE doctor pulled her aside to ask if I needed anything for pain.....she said that I have an incredible tolerance for pain, and will tell him if I need something.

After I was home in my living room hospital bed recovering, I took some oxycotin hat almost made e throw up from the nausea...I vowed right then that I wouldn't take anything else, and haven't in the past 6 years (even through the learning to walk, and rehab stages).

 

I'd really like one of my nephews try this out. He feels very little pain at all. He came in the house one day says ''wrecked the four wheeler arms broke'' The bones were sticking out and he had no pain. He woke up during oral surgery and they finished it while he was awake. Someone has to make sure his food isn't too hot...

 

Neither have I. But it was a great experience for me. A "game changer" as they say.

 

I don't think this test will do me much good but for others it may be extremely helpful and important. I have a very high pain tolerance. Fortunately as I have a very poor tolerance for any pain meds whether off the shelf or the really big guns. When I was diagnosed I was told to try to limit pain meds as the end stage of my cancer is very painful and not to build up a tolerance. I have experienced extreme pain in several situations in my life, not including the cancer, but not sure how bad it will be that they are warning me against. At that point they can load me up with everything and the side effects will be immaterial. A medically assisted death is definitely something I will want.

 

My wife thanks you Doc.

 

There is no one test for lupus either. I was undiagnosed and mostly untreated for years because my ANA and antidsDNA are not always positive. I had repeated high results on both tests but both would pop up normal periodically, apparently that can't happen and you still have Lupus. Granted, this was back in the mid to late 80s but I had had symptoms when I was a teenager. I was finally diagnosed with both Lupus and Fibromyalgia in mid 90s and started treatment for the Lupus with plaquenil (I had eye changes and had to be taken off it 10 years later), briefly on methotrexate (which did put me in remission for awhile), prednisone, anti depressants, sleep meds, and opioids. I've been off the low dose opioids for 5 years because of side effects, and the anti depressants since the sleep meds work better.

I was told my symptoms were psychosomatic, I was just lazy, I needed to "buck up", and I was just nuts. Nope. I was sick. I wish I could go back and kick a few doctors (all male) in the jewels for what they said to me.

 

Don’t apologize for stating the bald truth, Mish.

Thank you for a great post.

 

Don’t apologize for stating the bald truth

Good advice.

 

@Mish
YES.
as another one, not with EDS, but with Late Stage Lyme, fibromyalgia, and ME/CFS...just YES.
we are not crazy. it is NOT all in our heads. and I have been through the med merry go round over the years, with devastating reactions, so I basically live with all of it.

(not looking for sympathy, either, I'm totally ok with my process, but I dislike the disparity pieces that go with the "zebra" diseases...)

 

What is the pain level when you get the blood draw for pain?

geo