horseshadowrider
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Depression and Pain
I wrote this a while back for the Wishes and Rainbows newsletter and just found it while going through old files. Thought someone might get something out of it:
Why is depression so common in those with Chiari (and related disorders)...
and how best to deal with this issue?
Depression and mood disorders occur frequently in patients with chronic illness and pain. There are many valid reasons for this, including prescription drug side-effects; loss of lifestyle; weight gain and loss of healthy self image; genetics; hormonal changes; and/or lack of understanding from family and friends, to name a few.
However, depression and pain also work in a vicious cycle where pain impacts mood and mood enhances pain, each feeding off the other. In fact, it is known that pain and depression follow the same nerve pathways (neurotransmitters) within the pre-frontal cortex of the brain. Pain seems to enervate areas in the brain where emotions are processed, which translates into sadness, anxiety and irritability.
Depression is the fourth leading health problem in the world and the 11th leading cause of death in the US. Because depression manifests itself, in part, with many physical symptoms (such as neck pain, tingling, headaches, numbness, heart palpitations etc), it is often difficult for doctors to differentiate between a chronic biological condition and a mood disorder. In other words, which came first, the depression or the pain?
It is of utmost importance for those suffering depression due to a chronic illness such as Arnold Chiari Malformation (or related disorders) to seek professional treatment. It is absolutely necessary to find a specialist who understands the severity of both the medical condition and the depression. Talk-therapy with a compassionate practitioner is invaluable and if you visit a therapist and feel there is no understanding or connection, you should interview another until you find the right one for the job.
Prescription drug therapy can also be an important tool in the arsenal against depression. Such medications have been in use for decades and for most patients, there are few side effects and the benefits are substantial. These medications also often alleviate pain and some of the newer ones also assist in lessening the neuropathy experienced by ACM sufferers.
An excellent program online from which to receive sound medical knowledge is found at The Discovery Health Channel website. There, you can watch a 60-minute program recently aired on television where medical professionals discuss the link between depression and pain. This video can be found at http://discoveryhealthcme.discovery.com/depressionpain/depressionpain.html
Bottom line: do not ignore the symptoms of depression (sadness that lasts for days, hopelessness, the feeling that "no one loves you and why would they?"), whether they be in yourself or in a loved one. Since pain follows the same pathways as depression, it can be expected that pain and depression are like the old-time song: "you can't have one without the other."
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Virginia
4 plc fracture of the C1, Tethered Cord, (acquired chiari and elongated brainstem resolved by Tethered Cord surgery); atlanto occipital dislocation and cranial settling all due to equestrian accident,
2004. CC Fusion upcoming.
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5/27/2008, 4:55 pm
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Joleen711
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Re: Depression and Pain
Virginia,
Sweetie..thank you so much for this information. It makes me feel better that this is something that is to be expected after surgery. I have beat myself up so bad on this topic for thelast 6 months. Nobody understands and I have found myself sobbing for hours on end on the floor curled up in a blanket. Feeling like I have let God down and everyone else.
Thank you. You do not know how much that helped me. Hugs, love, Joleen
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6/5/2008, 11:31 am
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horseshadowrider
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Re: Depression and Pain
Thanks, Joleen, that is good to hear, that you got something out of it. Understanding why we feel what we feel, acknowledging that this is something normal and reasonable to go through, should go far to helping us handle the sadness or anxiety. It's not probably enough, but it helps, I believe. Thus, we should look at depression as we would any other physical condition which needs our attention.
1) prayer
2) talk therapy
3) understanding and education
4) perhaps pharmaceuticals
and I would add, "Helping others with depression" will also go far to moving us through it to the other side.
God bless you and you are in my prayers.
Virginia
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Virginia
4 plc fracture of the C1, Tethered Cord, (acquired chiari and elongated brainstem resolved by Tethered Cord surgery); atlanto occipital dislocation and cranial settling all due to equestrian accident,
2004. CC Fusion upcoming.
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6/5/2008, 12:20 pm
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