Self Trigger Point Release work (Manick's Case)

[webslave]

Your signature says you are 24 and the condition started at 24. That does not jive with what you are saying now.

Anyway, mention ketamine to your psychiatrist and see if he'll allow you to try it.

Ketamine Relieves Depression Symptoms Within Hours

But watch out for potential bladder damage
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=6007

[webslave]

I have been going through every anti-depressant and anti-anxiety medication known to man with my psychiatrist for almost three years now, and yet nothing seems to really work for me ....

I always manage to break out of cases of extreme depression fairly easily.

Wow, what a contradiction! I wish members would leave off self-diagnosis.

[Manick]

Well I've been diagnosed as having a depressive personality by both my psychiatrist and another psychologist. It's not self diagnosed. I don't really see it as a contradiction though because I am talking about the severity of depression. I always feel like I am significantly less depressed in the morning, for example. A good night sleep is sometimes all I need to feel better both mentally and physically, and get over a highly depressive episode.

As for my signature, I am now almost 28 years old and I just never updated it.

[webslave]

Have you tried high dose SSRIs for anxiety?

[Manick]

I don't know if I was on necessarily ever put on a particularly high dosage of any of the SSRI's that I've tried, but some of them my doctor did say also had a secondary effect of helping with anxiety. Many of them have definitely helped me with my sexual anxiety though, by lowering my libido.

[webslave]

Yes, they do lower libido, which is unfortunate for most people. But you have to take a high dose for the SSRI to have an anti-anxiety effect.

[Manick]

Can taking a really high dosage of amphetamines, specifically 120mg of Vyvanse, worsen my pain? I've usually never gone any higher than 80mg, but recently felt like it was necessary to go even higher than that lately because it's barely helping with my ADD anymore.

[webslave]

High doses of amphetamines can cause severe chest pains and abdominal pain mimicking appendicitis.

I see you are reporting your pain as abdominal pain here on an ADD forum today. So which is it, abdominal pain or pelvic pain?

[Manick]

It's actually both, but right now most of the pain is abdominal pain. I was recently was seeing Pelvic Floor Therapists who identified that I had a very tight pelvic floor. They used a device that they anally inserted into me which was used to measure the amount of pressure (or whatever) from my pelvic floor. They gave me various exercises to do, and I actually did feel like my LOWER abdominal pain wasn't as bad as it used to be. And my PT also said that my pelvic floor wasn't as tight anymore from my last session and was releasing much easier. My MID to UPPER abdominal pain however did not improve, and perhaps got even worse and was not helped by any of their exercises.


Just to give some additional information, they advised me to go back and see a Urologist and chronic prostatitis / chronic pelvic pain syndrome specialist named Christopher P. Smith of the Houston Baylor Clinic, who was the one that referred me to them in the first place. I actually found out about him through this forum and first saw him about three years ago, and he suspected I might have IC at first. Recently though, he discovered that my bladder was in an extreme amount of pain after a rectal exam, which was new to everyone. They also told me to go see a GI doctor, to see if my mid to upper abdominal pain was being caused by any sort of bowel function disorder, and I had a colonoscopy done that didn't reveal anything, but he wants me to call him back for a followup meeting which I haven't done yet. And that is where I am at now.

[webslave]

You've got a lot of issues going on.

[Manick]

That's somewhat discouraging to hear. I've read before that it's not unusual for people to have referred pain from one source of pain, especially in regards to pain that is caused by the nerves or muscles. All of my doctors have told me before that my whatever my primary source of pain is may be causing me pain in other organs. I also read that IBS and IC is not uncommon in patients that have CPPS. Is that not true?

[webslave]

Yes, that's true.

But as I said above, high doses of amphetamines are associated with pain in the lower abdomen, which is what you have:

High-dose effects. ... These toxic effects may be similar to those described earlier for lower doses, but appear in amplified form. Some symptoms commonly reported at this stage are: confused and disorganized patterns of thought and behaviour, compulsive repetition of meaningless acts, irritability, self-consciousness, suspiciousness, fear, and hallucinations and delusions which may take on the characteristics of a paranoid psychosis. Aggressive and anti-social behaviour may occur at this time. Severe chest pains, abdominal pain mimicking appendicitis and fainting have also been reported.

From THE NON-MEDICAL USE OF DRUGS, Interim Report of the Canadian Government Commission of Inquiry

Start there, by cutting way down on these drugs.

Also look at the IBS. Often it's because there is an offending dietary component, which can be tricky to find (get the Brostoff book from my Amazon store). IBS gooses the same nerves that cause pelvic pain, so you have to try to control that too.

[Manick]

Your signature says you are 24 and the condition started at 24. That does not jive with what you are saying now.

Anyway, mention ketamine to your psychiatrist and see if he'll allow you to try it.

Ketamine Relieves Depression Symptoms Within Hours

But watch out for potential bladder damage
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=6007

I've finally remembered to ask my doctor about this drug. However, he said it was an illegal drug (at least here) and that he wouldn't be able to prescribe it to me. Are there any drugs like that which are a legal alternative?

Also, I just got a second CTscan done on my abdomen that was ordered by my urologist, and am waiting on the results. I kind of doubt they'll find anything different from 4 years ago though, which is the last time I had a CTscan.. How hard is it for a CTscan to reveal any potential abdominal spasms or bowel contractions I might be having? And could it potentially reveal anything more than a colonoscopy, which I've also already had done and gave no results? I asked my urologist if it was possible that the only reason they might not have found anything wrong with my bowels from the colonoscopy, is because I am sedated during the test. And when I'm sedated, my pain usually goes away, which may mean that my spasms stop and my bowels are relaxing during the test. He didn't sound certain but he did say it might be possible.

Also, thank you very much for your help so far webslave. I finally remembered to keep my questions in this one thread for once.

[webslave]

Are there any drugs like that which are a legal alternative?

No. It should be legal for off-label use. It's used in anesthesia and veterinary medicine in the US. You may need to find a more adventurous doctor (which can be difficult). I wouldn't risk buying it on the black market because you could be getting anything, at an unknown dose.

I just got a second CTscan done on my abdomen that was ordered by my urologist

Not something I would keep doing, if I were you. There are usually no results, and the radiation dose is significant, and cumulative.

How hard is it for a CTscan to reveal any potential abdominal spasms or bowel contractions

It won't do that. MRIs and X-rays cannot "see" muscle spasms. Bowel contractions can be seen if the bowel contains a contrast material.

And could it potentially reveal anything more than a colonoscopy?

Usually, in our patient group, the results of all forms of imaging are negative.

[Manick]

So I just had a nerve block done today, and I felt almost completely pain free the entire day. No major hunger pains, no bloating/gas, no pain after bowel movements, it was great. I hope it lasts for as long as the doctor says it will last for, which he claimed (if it worked) would be 6-8 weeks. I made a post in one of the other sections asking about it, but it doesn't seem like its talked about much as a treatment for CPPS. Although, the doctor I was seeing (Christoper P. Smith) who was a specialist for CPPS/prostatitis was the one that referred me for it. I'm just wondering what I should do now though while it's active. Any stretching, walking, healthy eating, and other mental/physical exercises that I tried to do to improve my condition did absolutely nothing for me last time. But if this nerve block keeps my pain away for awhile like it's supposed to, I'll be willing and able to be more active.