Effects of stress on TN

Bens Friends Site Feedback
1

Hi, I’ve been in remission for over a year, but my TN has started to come back. This has coincided with a period of high stress (splitting from partner of 40 years and searching for a new home). This doesn’t feel like a coincidence and I wondered if anyone knew of any research or studies, or even just personal experience, of the effects of stress on TN.

I get monthly B12 injections for my TN and they’ve been managing it well up till now, so I also wondered if anyone knew anything about the effects of stress on B12 levels, or just B12 in general.

I’m going to see my doc in a few days to see if I can step up to alternate day injections instead of taking Carbamazepine again, so if anyone can throw any light on TN and stress, or B12 and stress, I’d be grateful. Thanks!

2

I have burning numbness pain,when i be in stress i feel that the pain is worst.

so,i a m sure stress is extra load on nerve,so it increases pain ,but about creating pain ,i can not tell you any thing.

however i read a documents,it was a search how to relief nerve damage by giving a complete program for nerve feeding,if you guarantee a daily amount of nutrition for nerve ,the nerve relief will be in few months…

i am trying to develop this ,if we can cooperate together,we can develop this more better.

regards

3

Hi Geo, I’d be happy to cooperate with you. Let me know how I can help.

4

Me ,too.
I know when my cat meows constantly my pain goes up and when my disabled son calls and whines my stress level goes up and so does my pain.So yes-there is a connection and I would be happy to try a nutritional approach-with the caveat that I can take my meds if I am in pain.
My basement has been flooding all spring and finally had to bite the bullet and get it fixed.Cost as much as a new small car.And I am on a fixed income with the added cost of drugs and an old cat that eats better than I do(at least her food costs much more)So my stress has been through the roof and my pain increasing .
So please let me know what needs to done to get a nutritional trial going.
Great Idea

5

Please let me know if you have any luck getting additional B12 shots.
I have to suck the B12 pills cause my doctor won’t give me a shot.

6

Hi Woman_with_the_elect

Hi ellen5,

About me,i am using daily the COMPLEXE B ,it contains (b12,b6,b1,…and some other components…

as result,i still have pain ,but at least ,it is less ,and the positive is that burning feeling is less.and more control for the area where i have pain ,less heat.

the point is that nutrition is gate to reduce pain ,and that guides me to trust the studies that say a nerve can be treated by a good nutrition .

however we can discuss that ,just please read the below:

“The good news is that nerve pain is very treatable. Many studies have shown that using nutritional support with lipoic acid 300 mg 2x day, Acetyl-L-Carnitine 2,000 mg a day, Inositol (500-1,000 mg a day), and vitamins B6 (50-100 mg a day) and B12 (500-5,000 mcg a day—both B vitamins and Inositol are in the Energy Revitalization System(link is external) vitamin powder) can actually help heal the nerves and decrease or eliminate the pain. Nerves take time to heal, so natural remedies need to be taken for 3-12 months. In the interim, holistic pharmacies can make powerful creams combining multiple medications effective against nerve pain (available by prescription from ITC Pharmacy at 303-663-4224; called the nerve pain gel). These are rubbed over the painful areas, and can be very effective after 1-2 weeks of use. Being rubbed on the skin though, the total dose to the rest of your body is very low, making it largely side effect free! Other medications can also be very effective”

check this link:

for that i prepared this table:

Daily needs: 600 mg/day
Percent Lipoic acid in mcg Food sources
100-300 mcg/100g Liver. Kidney. Spinach. broccoli
50 mcg/100g Peas. Tomatos

L- carnitine
Daily needs: 1500 mg / day
100 g of product Carnitine mg Percent
Beef steak 95
Chicken breast 3,9
Ice cream 3,7
Whole milk 3,3
White bread 0,147
Rice (cooked) 0,0449
Eggs 0,0121

Inositol ( vit B8)
Daily needs: 500 mg / day
The doses in food are very low.

Vitamine B6

Daily needs: 50 - 100 mg/ day
Foods Amounts Vit B6 (mg)
Bananas 1 medium 0,7
Potato 1 medium 0,7
Chicken 3 ounces 0,5
Green peas 1 cup 0,3
Spinach 1 cup 0,1

Vitamine B 12

Daily needs 500-5000 mcg/day

Foods 100 mg Vit B12 mcg
Beef liver 83
Beef kidneys 24
Eggs 1,4
Milk 1 cup 0,9
Chicken 100 mg 1
Sardines 28

1 Like
7

sorry i can not copy the complete table in here,and also the table contains some french words,

how ever you can take this data as preliminary data,and for any further information,i am available to explain.

sometimes i dont see email,so,i put in here my phone number:+96590904225 ,i am on viber.

i have one request please if you find on internet about good experiences in this context pleae share with me.

8

Hi Ellen. Yes, I’m going to se my doc on Wednesday and I’ll be asking for MMA & Homocysteine testing. These are elevated if you suffer from functional B12 deficiency, which I suspect I do. If I can get some concrete proof (and even f I cant!) I’m going to ask my doc for a trial month of alternate day injections. Anything is better than going back on Carbamazepine! It trashed my white blood cells, gave me hypothyroidism, damaged my red blood cells, landed me in hospital with low blood sodium and caused an allergic reaction with a big ugly rash, and that’s on top of turning me into a zombie! So yes, if I can get B12 t work its magic again I will.

9

Hi again Geo, the diet info is certainly interesting, but I suspect I actually have issues with B12, in that my body may not be able to use it efficiently. I think it’s a greatly underestimated problem with nerve pain, and TN, and that there is probably a sizeable amount of TN patients walking around with a B12 deficiency, through anaemia, stomach problems or functional B12 deficiency and they don’t even know it Neurologists don’t check for it and doctors are woefully ignorant about it.

The tragedy is it’s an easy fix but if they don’t do it soon enough, and intensively enough, the effects are irreversible.

If I am correct that my body is having a problem at the cellular level with B12 diet wouldn’t be able to cure it; it would need injections on a regular basis. But hey, a good diet never hurt anyone!

10

I forgot to ask you, Ellen, are you getting any kind of B12 treatment from your doc? If not why not? If you’ve got nerve pain you are a candidate for B12 deficiency. Have you ever been tested for it?

11

Hi
I hope your doctor goes for it and you keep us posted.
When I tried tegretol and trileptal for about 4 days each I ended up with a
couple pimples on my right leg.Stopped the pills right away.Funny thing is
2 stupid pimples are still there and I heal fast.This was back in February.
I say if you can get relief elsewhere-or what we consider relief ,then go
for it.

12

Hi
I have been tested and my B12 falls within normal range-but at the low end.
I live in Canada where doctors rule and my doctor does not think I need
it.I am having my blood tested again-got the form on Thursday and I am
hoping that it shows low enough to get a shot.

13

Good luck with the injection request! Just remember, if you have functional B12 deficiency your blood tests will show as normal/high but your body won’t be getting that B12. If you suspect you are B12 deficient but normal serum tests aren’t backing it up, ask for MMA & Homocysteine to be checked. These will show if you have Functional B12 Deficiency - a serum test won’t. All the best. X

14

Super thanks.
Will do

15

Hi.

On the stress question: this came up recently on a UK TN group I follow, and quite a few people thought stress was a trigger. One suggestion/opinion was that some people knew they clenched or ground their teeth more when stressed, and thought that might set things off. Don’t know if that applies.

On B12 - might be worth checking what the recommended levels are for you. I initially tested just below, then was told I was fine, but discovered that 'acceptable ’ in the UK is much lower than in many other countries - and I was between the two levels. The UK info also said that some people do show signs of deficiency if their levels are in that grey area (sorry this is a bit vague, but it was a long time ago, and I don’t remember the numbers). Anyway, I took that info to my GP, and he let me try B12 shots, on the grounds that there was nothing to lose and no danger - and they made a difference, so I was allowed to stay on them.

16

Great! Mr crkenn,

Your post contains key answers for questions about relation TN pain-stress.

Your post supports that stress makes TN pain worst.

Now,we can figure out that there is a cycle: stress-TN pain-stress-TN pain,it means TN pain creates stress,and stress is a trigger for TN pain.

Conclusion,a stress management, means a TN pain management.

So,learning how to manage stress,is a key in the way to improve our quality of life.

There is no better tool than sport and specifically martial arts to manage stress,and more than that, you will profit of hormones that is released during physical activities,it is such kind of pain killers.

So,what is requested from if TN patient, is to fight, sport with TN is painfull,but it is the key way to get the psychological victory.

Courage! For all of you,God give us a gift, it is the third eye, third dimension, feeling quantification,
I am sure, all of you will show to world how strong and how smart you are.

Regards

17

Sorry to hear about that!! I just come my TN back about 2 weeks ago after separating from my fiancé. I was in remission for about 5 months. It came back at the most extreme emotional point of the break. My neurologists agree the high stress likely brought it back.

I will try the b12 shots however…

18

Thanks, Crkenn, I did actually wonder if tooth-grinding might be an issue. I grind and clench mine and wear a splint for that reason, so yes, absolutely a possibility.

My B12 was in the grey zone (384) so I did use that to get my injections, although it was hard work convincing my doc! How often do you get your B12 shots now, and did you have the loading doses first?

19

Yeah, M, it doesn’t seem much of a leap, does it, that the stress sends everything haywire. Can I ask, are you still in the active phase the moment, and was your 5 month stretch your first remission?

I’m always really curious about people’s remissions and active phases, but try as I might I can’t say I’ve ever noticed a pattern yet!

1 Like
20

Yes, in active phase and seems like the pain is worse for the amount meds I’ve already built up to over the last 2 weeks (400 mg Carbatrol). Very painful to eat, brush teeth and sometimes talk. Probably need to up meds but seeing neuro today.

First remission for five months. My onset of first symptoms was just over a year ago. :neutral_face: