Hi, I have had back pain for 8 years and coped, no reason found for it. Just before christmas something snapped in my head and I started getting heart palpitations, racing heart for hours, nervous, buzzing etc. I am on amitrip but have to go slow as I am sensitive to drugs, am on 20mg at the moment and have to get to 50mg. My question is can anxiety make back pain far worse than before as now I just cant cope with it, it has gone downhill over this year far more than in the 8 years i have had pain. My doc thinks I have fibromyalgia. Thanks
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43- mother of 13yr- mild depression-longterm back pain-anxiety disorder 2 yrs-very happily married
Have you ever heard of TMS? Otherwise known as Tension Myositis Syndrome? This could be why you are getting the endless pain. My back and neck flare up too as stress levels rise. I now actively work on stopping it through the what I've learned in Sarno's book. I think it is worth a lokk for you.
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Emotionally induced pain disorders are epidemic in the United States and only a handful of physicians are aware of the nature of these disorders and are capable of diagnosing and treating them.
Tension Myositis Syndrome--describes a very common problem --back and neck pain--and redefines it as physical pain with roots in emotional tension. This syndrome was first theorized by Dr. John Sarno at NYU's Rusk Institute. In the late 1970's and early 1980's he described in detail a theory, involving the connections between emotions, the brain, the limbic system, and the autonomic nervous system that generates this process. The end products is painful tissue that causes local pain (trigger points, areas of spasm) and sometimes distant pain (sciatica,etc.). The cure is educational and psychological and highly effective in most patients.
mmmnn interesting, my pain sure has become worse since getting the anxiety, but I did get the anxiety due to worrying about my sore back although I could cope with it then, I cant now. I wonder if because my seratonin is low that this causes more pain? Thanks so much
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43- mother of 13yr- mild depression-longterm back pain-anxiety disorder 2 yrs-very happily married
Hi, I was on amitrip for 7 years, it worked wonders for me with few side effects. I have a hard time with most meds also. I have a lot of probs with the side effects. The only problem was after 7 years, it quit working. It's also good for pain, as they do prescribe it now for fibro patients & a friend of mine has been prescribed it for back & leg pain.
You shouldn't have too many probs with it, it was the one drug I could tolerate.
anxiety often does make pain more noticable and therefore more severe
your med is an antidepressant but you are a long way below the antidepressant dose so its probably for the pain
antidepresssant quite often reduce stress and anxiety if taken at a high enough dose and would probably help with the pain as well
