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Typically when a
patient of mine is not progressing as they should the problem usually
relates to them not sleeping because of their
chronic pain. Chronic pain can induce adrenaline and
cortisol to
be secreted which can keep people up at night. Often in these scenarios I
prescribe Xyrem, which is the sodium salt of gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB).
What surprises a lot of people is that GHB is a natural substance. GHB is a
naturally occuring molecule that is produced in the brain and has specific
receptors throughout the nervous system. Personally I think it is the main
'sleep-inducing neurotransmitter' in the body.
Xyrem is GHB. GHB is
the possibly the substance that allows a person to sleep. It may be that
people with chronic pain have a GHB deficiency because of their pain.
Listen to these stories...
J was wracked with
fibromyalgia pain. She received numerous
Prolotherapy
visits and this was helpful but still I couldn't get her energy up. When
talking with her further she was doing the whole natural medicine program I
prescribed but definitely had poor sleep. She was placed on Xyrem. She
came back in six weeks and looked great. I have seen it turn quite a few fibromyalgia patients around.
S had terrible
osteoarthritic pain that was being helped by Prolotherapy. But I couldn't
get him over the hump. He seemed to plateau at 50% better. He was started
on Xyrem because of years of poor sleep. It took us a couple of months to
get the best dose down for him. With the combination of his previous Prolo
and the good sleep his diffuse body
osteoarthritis pain was relieved.
If you or a loved one
are having a terrible time sleeping, come in to get an evaluation for Xyrem.
The
Importance of Sleep in Chronic Pain
Upon falling asleep, a person
enters stage one and stage two sleep, which is a very light sleep. After
approximately 90 minutes, the person will enter stage four, or deep sleep. It is
during deep sleep that hormones,
like
Growth Hormone,
are secreted.
Growth Hormone is one of the anabolic hormones that the body needs
to repair itself. If a person does not enter the deep stages of sleep, the
ability to repair injured tissue is hampered. More than 50 percent of body
weight is muscle tissue. It is imperative that the body is able to repair this
muscle tissue from its daily use. The body does its repair during the deep
stages of sleep. If this is not accomplished, the end result is muscle
aching. Do you see the cycle? A person has a localized pain, such as
neck pain,
that does not resolve. Eventually, the
chronic pain
causes chronic insomnia. The chronic insomnia causes a decrease in the body's
ability to repair itself. This causes pain to move to other parts of the body,
causing more insomnia. A vicious cycle continues.
In a 1976 study, Harvey Moldofsky,
M.D., solicited healthy volunteers and allowed them to sleep only in stages one
and two. Dr. Moldofsky put electrodes on their heads and gave them a little zap,
not enough to wake them but enough to keep them from achieving stage four sleep,
the deep stage of sleep. Guess how long it took before the previously healthy
volunteers had diffuse body aches and tender points? Seven days!
Chronic insomnia is the number one reason people have diffuse body aching.
To cure diffuse body aching, the cause of the
chronic insomnia must be found. If the chronic insomnia began because of a pain
complaint at a particular part of the body, then there is an excellent
chance that
Prolotherapy can cure the problem.
If the chronic insomnia is due to a marital problem, job stress, or other
psychological issues, then this is the area that needs to be addressed. Everyone
should find a way to reduce their stress level. Let's face it, we all experience
stress in our lives. Everyone should find some outlet to relieve stress in their
lives - whether reading alone in front of a fire, bashing a racquetball against
the wall, running until you can run no more, meditation, prayer, or whatever you
feel you need. What about depression? Many people with chronic pain are diagnosed with clinical depression as the cause of their chronic pain. We say the following to this: Follow the person who made that diagnosis and punch him in the back every five minutes. How long do you think it would be before he or she, too, is depressed? It would probably be similar to the study done by Dr. Moldofsky. After seven days of pain, a previously healthy person can show signs of clinical depression. If a previously healthy person develops chronic pain and is diagnosed with depression, it is logical that chronic pain relief will alleviate the depression. This is exactly what occurs. When Prolotherapy is given to the painful area, the chronic pain dissipates and the smile returns to the patient's face. There have been many sour-faced individuals upon first arrival to our Oak Park office who later began to enjoy life again. It is amazing what pain relief can do to a person's countenance. |
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Getprolo.com cannot guarantee the accuracy of any resources or information from or about the physicians listed on this website. The opinions and statements in this website DO NOT necessarily reflect the opinions of the physician members of the getprolo.com referral network and are those of the article author only. A medical testimonial is intended to represent that everyone will obtain the same favorable results from a given therapy. Getprolo.com disclaims any such intention.
Prolotherapy is a medical
technique. As with any medical technique, results will vary among
individuals.
Prolotherapy may not work for you and as with all medical
procedures there are risks involved. These risks should be discussed with a qualified
health care professional prior to any treatment.
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