VA Studying Laughing Gas as Treatment for Veterans With PTSD

By Pat Anson, PNN Editor

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is sponsoring a small study to see if nitrous oxide – commonly known as laughing gas – could be used as a treatment for veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), pain and depression.

The placebo-controlled Phase 2 study will be held at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System in California this fall. Investigators plan to recruit 104 veterans with PTSD to participate. Half would inhale a gaseous mix of nitrous oxide and oxygen, while the other half would be given a placebo.

Although PTSD is the primary focus of the study, researchers also hope to learn if nitrous oxide could be used to treat pain and other symptoms.

“Specifically, the investigators will first assess whether nitrous oxide treatment improves PTSD symptoms within 1 week. In parallel, the investigators will explore whether the treatment improves co-existing depression and pain,” researchers said. “In addition, the investigators will explore nitrous oxide's effects on a PTSD-associated impairment that is often overlooked - disruption in cognitive control, a core neurobiological process critical for regulating thoughts and for successful daily functioning.”

Military veterans suffering from PTSD often experience pain, anxiety, anger and depression. About one in five veterans who served in the Iraq or Afghanistan wars developed PTSD within a year of coming home.

In a small pilot study funded by the VA, three veterans with PTSD inhaled a single one-hour dose of nitrous oxide through a face mask. Within hours, two of the patients reported a marked improvement in their symptoms. The improvement lasted one week for one patient, while the second patient's symptoms gradually returned over the week. The third patient reported an improvement two hours after his treatment, but his symptoms returned the next day.

"While small in scale, this study shows the early promise of using nitrous oxide to quickly relieve symptoms of PTSD," said anesthesiologist Peter Nagele, MD, chair of the Department of Anesthesia & Critical Care at University of Chicago Medicine and co-author of a study recently published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

Nitrous oxide is a colorless and odorless gas that is commonly used by dentists to manage pain and anxiety in patients. It was once widely used in American hospitals to relieve labor pain, but fell out of favor as more Caesarean sections were performed and women opted for epidural injections and spinal blocks.

Some hospitals are now reintroducing nitrous oxide as a safer and less invasive option. The gas makes patients less aware of their pain, but does not completely eliminate it.  Recent studies have shown that about 70% of women who receive nitrous oxide during labor wind up using another analgesic due to inadequate pain relief.

"Like many other treatments, nitrous oxide appears to be effective for some patients but not for others," explained Nagele. "Often drugs work only on a subset of patients, while others do not respond. It's our role to determine who may benefit from this treatment, and who won't."

If findings from the VA’s pilot study are replicated in further research, it may be feasible to use nitrous oxide for rapid relief from PTSD, while longer-term treatments like psychotherapy and pharmaceutical drugs are also implemented.

You Can Get PTSD From Poor Healthcare

By Barby Ingle, PNN Columnist

I thought I would be a cheerleader and coach my whole life... and I will, just not physically.

I had to adapt the mental aspects of cheerleading to living with Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD), so I found a way to keep cheering despite my physical disabilities. I also had to deal with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) caused by poor treatment from medical providers.

Most people think of PTSD as something people develop during service in the military or in other stressful jobs. But PTSD can come from other traumatic situations, including chronic illness.

According to McMaster University, up to 60% of patients discharged from an ICU will suffer from PTSD. Symptoms can appear months after being hospitalized and may include anxiety, trouble concentrating, recurring flashbacks and nightmares.

My long-term providers have been great, but if I didn’t learn to get my emotions under control (mostly sadness from what I had lost due to RSD), I would not have gotten the care that I needed. I had to have a plan, stay organized, and on-topic when I went to the doctor.

Those are some of the lessons I’ve learned that help me cope with PTSD. I also get psychological help when I need it, rather than avoid the emotional stress, anger, fear and anxiety. I am not perfect at this. but I do recognize that I have PTSD and knowing it is half the battle.

It is important when setting your expectations as a patient to know if your provider is willing to add new treatments and procedures to their practice, so they can grow with your needs. Many providers will only suggest a single treatment because they make a living on that one option.

If they don’t like an alternative treatment, you may hear them say things like, “There is not enough evidence for that” or “You’ll have to do this before we can do that.”

Don’t get mad if your provider doesn’t offer a specific treatment that you want. Find one who does. Creating a supportive medical care team takes time, respect and trust in all of your providers. It is up to the patient to make their team, be involved with their care, and find the right providers.

The healthcare system in the United States is primarily set up for acute care, so navigating your way through it can be a challenge when living with a chronic or rare condition. Americans are taught as children to trust and believe in the white coats. You break a bone, get a strep throat or need stitches, you go to the doctor, get treated and leave.

I had to learn that's not always true when it comes to chronic conditions. Some ER providers don’t know how to help a chronically ill person in an acute care situation. They’re taught to take care of mental health concerns first, then physical ones.

When I changed how I talked with providers and stayed on track for the reasons I was there, I got better treatment. It took me almost three years to figure that out, but it is always possible to learn the tools and grow.

Here are four tips about going to the ER if you have PTSD from poor medical treatment.

1. Set good expectations for yourself and have a flexible plan in place. If they don’t provide the treatment you need, go to another hospital without a fight or confrontation.

2. Become aware of what they're saying and doing around you. Make a video or audio recording if that is allowed in your state. You can use it for documentation and to review later.

3. Improve your sense of self by knowing as much as you can about your chronic condition. Providers will notice if you are knowledgeable.

4. Keep it simple when dealing with the provider. Just like at a business meeting, if you put too many action items on the agenda, people will tune out or be overwhelmed.

Another tool is to learn about PTSD, how to avoid it, and about being gaslighted for having a chronic illness. Gaslighting is when someone tries to manipulate you and make you doubt yourself in order to do something that they want. I have been successful at skipping the gaslighting over the years. I think others can too, if they have the right tools.

As a patient, you can take control. I approach my healthcare with the attitude that providers are tools for me and that I am responsible for my own care. Being in control can help prevent PTSD and a host of other problems.

Don’t get mad. Go to another provider until you find the care you need. Especially when you feel wronged or not heard.

Barby Ingle lives with reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD), migralepsy and endometriosis. Barby is a chronic pain educator, patient advocate, and president of the International Pain Foundation. She is also a motivational speaker and best-selling author on pain topics. More information about Barby can be found at her website. 

Can We Forget About Chronic Pain?

By Ann Marie Gaudon, PNN Columnist

I recently came across a clinical report which describe two patients with a lengthy history of chronic pain severe enough to warrant opiate therapy. Both patients experienced sudden memory loss and forgot about their pain – literally.

Central sensitization is a process known to occur in the spinal cord and brain where if short-term acute pain is allowed to persist, then changes occur within the central nervous system which can lead to chronic or intractable pain.

That’s what happened to me. I have a diagnosis of a visceral pain syndrome, as opposed to a progressive pain condition. I experienced one vicious organ assault and after more than 30 years of it being healed, I remain in pain.

Other patients who have experienced painful trauma may relive painful episodes that evoke recurring memories -- they experience their pain over and over again. That is a classic symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Think of a war veteran or survivor of sexual violence.

Either way, neurophysiologic changes which relate to learning, memory and pain can result in a maladaptive learning process which leaves one in chronic pain. These intricacies happen outside of conscious awareness. We are not aware of or in control of this dysfunctional process while it is occurring within our brain and spinal cord circuits.

Here is an overview of the two patients discussed in the report:

Patient #1

The first patient is a 47-year old female with complicated health problems. She had undergone multiple surgeries and treatment modalities for gastric ulcers, endometriosis, thyroid cancer, hypothyroidism, seizure disorder, malnutrition and chronic abdominal pain over 10 years.

Her pain was managed with high doses of opiate medications in various forms, including intravenous, transdermal and oral. During a complex 12-month hospital stay, she had at least five seizures and suffered memory loss so severe she could not remember her entire stay in the hospital.

She did eventually become fully alert and oriented to the present, but she no longer complained of her pain symptoms and no longer demonstrated a need for consistent pain medication.

Six months after discharge, the patient was living at home in stable condition and only occasionally using tramadol. She reported her symptoms as minimal and 1-2 on the pain scale. She still has no memory of many aspects of her long hospitalization.

Patient #2

A 57-year old male was described as a “highly functioning architect” with a 10-year history of low back and right extremity pain. He had undergone many unsuccessful treatments for pain, including surgery, and was being admitted to hospital to have an intrathecal pump surgically implanted for pain control. He was taking no less than nine medications for pain including high doses of opiate therapy.

Initially after the pump was placed, he reported having a partial reduction of pain in his leg. However, in the next six months he was requesting higher doses of intrathecal as well as oral opiates.

One month after this, the patient was in a minor motor vehicle accident where he did not lose consciousness, but inexplicably had partial memory loss. His physicians felt the accident was not the cause, as the memory loss symptoms occurred long afterward. The cause of the amnesia was unknown and tests including a brain MRI showed as normal.

The patient could not remember the names of his doctors, where he lived, what type of work he did, or why he had a pain pump implanted. He was weaned off opiates without any complaint of increased pain and subsequently had the pump removed at his request.

Eight months later, this patient was found minimally responsive in his home. It is not known what occurred, but there was a suspicion that he had fallen and incurred a head injury. The patient experienced profound memory loss, with no memory of who he was, his family members or his back pain.

His pain medications were discontinued with no complaint of pain, but he required placement in a long-term care home due to severe amnesia. Over the next two years, this patient regained partial memory, along with some back and leg pain. He has not requested or required opiate therapy.

Emotions, Pain and Memory

We know pain perception can be caused by nociceptive stimuli, yet we also know that emotional and psychological factors can increase our perception of pain. A complex play of nerve fibers which transmit messages to the brain and spinal cord suggest there is a relationship between emotions, pain and memory. The best evidence that memory plays a role in pain is that of phantom limb pain.

The two cases presented here suggest that memory may influence the perception of pain, and that amnesia can be accompanied by a loss of or significant reduction of pain in the absence of any physical factors.

Treatments that reduce “pain memories” in the brain and spinal cord, along with a focus on preventing pain to reduce or eliminate these memories, may someday have a more widespread role in the management of chronic pain. To have a treatment or ability to effectively erase a maladaptive pain memory leaves me with just three words:

Count me in.

Ann Marie Gaudon is a registered social worker and psychotherapist in the Waterloo region of Ontario, Canada with a specialty in chronic pain management. 

Ann Marie has been a chronic pain patient for over 30 years and works part-time as her health allows. For more information about her counseling services, visit her website.

This column is for informational purposes only and represents the author’s opinions alone. It does not inherently express or reflect the views, opinions and/or positions of Pain News Network.

Honoring Our Veterans on Memorial Day

By Dr. Lynn Webster, PNN Columnist

On Memorial Day, we honor those who lost their lives while serving in the United States military. It is a time when we should also acknowledge the sacrifices all veterans have made, and continue to make, for our country.

Physical and mental trauma are some of the most devastating consequences veterans suffer as a result of their sacrifices. Opioid drug use in military populations is nearly triple that of civilian populations.

A 2014 JAMA study reported that more than 44 percent of active-duty U.S. infantry soldiers suffered from chronic pain. Other reports state that combat injuries cause most of the chronic pain.  

That doesn't surprise me. I've received many emails from veterans who describe their struggles to find treatment for the pain they acquired during their military service.

Here are three typical stories from veterans:

A Persian Gulf veteran, John, is being forced to slowly taper from a combination of opioids that he claims worked for him. His dose of medication is being tapered because his physician feels pressured to comply with recommendations of the CDC Opioid Prescribing Guideline.  

John is afraid that the new limit will be inadequate to treat his pain.  

"I am VERY upset with my government, as their draconian 'solutions' to the perceived 'drug problem' will only exacerbate pain issues with legitimate chronic pain patients. I don't think their efforts will have ANY effect on the illegal drug problems that plague the U.S.," John wrote me.  

He may be more fortunate than others. At the time John contacted me, he had a pain specialist who was still able and willing to support his need for treatment. 

Others have not been as lucky. Mark is a 100% disabled veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), severe lower back pain and severe knee problems. After surgery, Mark was only able to get a two week supply of pain medicine. For two and a half months, he suffered without any medication until he was able to go outside the VA system to obtain oxycodone.  

Then there is Jason. He is a young American hero who used opioids to self-medicate his PTSD and chronic pain. His story may help people understand why there are approximately 20 suicides each day by America's veterans.  

Although firearms are a common method of suicide with veterans, the use of prescription medication has also been implicated. Having access to opioids gives veterans a less violent way to end their lives. 

Unfortunately, the number of veteran suicides may even be underreported. As many as 45 percent of drug overdoses -- including those of military members -- might be related to suicide, according to a former past president of the American Psychiatric Association. 

Veterans' suicides make up 18% of all suicides in the U.S. The suicide rate among members of the military is nearly 3 times that of civilians.  In 2012, for the first time in a generation, the number of active duty soldiers who killed themselves exceeded the number of soldiers who were killed in battles.

Approximately 20% of recent war veterans suffer from PTSD, in addition to chronic pain. PTSD was the most common mental health condition for almost 1 million soldiers who served between 2001 and 2014. Nearly one in four of those who served during those years developed PTSD within a year of coming back home. 

Much of the general public and many mental health professionals have doubted that PTSD was a true disorder until recently. Even now, soldiers with symptoms of PTSD face rejection by their military peers and are often feared by society as potentially dangerous. Movies ranging from "American Sniper" to "Thank You for Your Service" frequently depict characters with PTSD struggling to fit into society.  

In real life, those with PTSD symptoms are often labeled as “weak” and removed from combat zones, and sometimes they are involuntarily discharged from military service. 

These disturbing trends are difficult to read anytime, but they seem especially troubling as we commemorate Memorial Day. This is the time for us to acknowledge that those who have served our country deserve the best medical care available.  

Five years ago, retired Gens. Wayne Jonas, MD, and Eric Schoomaker, MD, wrote a commentary in JAMA titled “Pain and Opioids in the Military: We Must Do Better.” Recognizing that veterans often misuse opioids to self-medicate mental health disorders, they proposed teaching members of the military a greater degree of self-management skills such as problem-solving and goal setting.   

Of course, self-management would be preferable to using opioids if it were sufficient to afford veterans a quality of life they deserve. However, teaching self-management skills is often insufficient. That is clear in the cases of John, Mark and Jason. 

On Memorial Day, I hope we can take a moment to think about the men and women who have fought -- and sometimes died -- for a country they believed in.  

I also hope we honor the living by showing them that they deserve treatment for their chronic pain, PTSD, addiction and any other health care issues they may have. We owe it to them. 

Lynn R. Webster, MD, is a vice president of scientific affairs for PRA Health Sciences and consults with the pharmaceutical industry. He is a former president of the American Academy of Pain Medicine and is author of the award-winning book “The Painful Truth” and co-producer of the documentary “It Hurts Until You Die.”

You can find him on Twitter: @LynnRWebsterMD.

The information in this column should not be considered as professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. It is for informational purposes only and represents the author’s opinions alone. It does not inherently express or reflect the views, opinions and/or positions of Pain News Network.

Menopause Linked to Chronic Pain

By Pat Anson, PNN Editor

It’s no secret that middle-aged women are far more likely than men to have chronic pain and to feel its effects more severely. A large new study tells us some of the reasons why.

VA researchers analyzed the health data of over 200,000 female veterans between the ages of 45 and 64 and found that women with menopause symptoms were nearly twice as likely to have chronic pain and multiple chronic pain diagnoses.

"Changing levels of hormones around menopause have complex interactions with pain modulation and pain sensitivity, which may be associated with vulnerability to either the development or exacerbation of pain conditions," says JoAnn Pinkerton, MD, Executive Director of the North American Menopause Society (NAMS). "This study suggests that menopause symptom burden may also be related to chronic pain experience."

Hormonal change alone wasn’t the only thing many of the women had in common. Those who were overweight, obese or had a mental health diagnosis were also more likely to have chronic pain. Eighteen percent of the female veterans had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), 13 percent suffered from depression and 15 percent had anxiety.

Common changes related to menopause and aging include weight gain, decreased physical activity, impaired sleep and negative mood, which can contribute to chronic pain and are also known to affect pain sensitivity and tolerance.

“Both chronic pain and menopause symptoms are strongly and consistently associated with psychosocial factors and health risk behaviors prevalent in and after the menopause transition,” said lead author Carolyn Gibson, PhD, San Francisco VA Health Care System. “Consideration should be given to integrated approaches to comprehensive care for midlife and older women with chronic pain, such as targeted cognitive behavioral therapy coordinated with interdisciplinary care providers.”    

The study findings are published in the journal Menopause.

A large 2018 study also found a strong association between menopause and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center found that post-menopausal women with RA had a significant increase in functional physical decline. Menopause was also associated with worsening progression of the disease.  

Study Finds Vagus Nerve Stimulation Delays Pain Signals

By Pat Anson, PNN Editor

Neuromodulation devices that stimulate a key nerve in the neck – the vagus nerve --- have shown potential in treating a variety of chronic pain conditions, including migraines and autoimmune diseases. A new study helps us understand how the devices work.

Researchers studying post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) found that vagus nerve stimulation appears to dampen and delay how the brain responds to pain signals.

"It's thought that people with certain differences in how their bodies -- their autonomic and sympathetic nervous systems -- process pain may be more susceptible to PTSD," said Imanuel Lerman, MD, a pain management specialist and associate professor at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine. “And so we wanted to know if we might be able to re-write this 'misfiring' as a means to manage pain, especially for people with PTSD."

UC SAN DIEGO HEALTH

Lerman and his colleagues at Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to get a look at the brains of 30 healthy volunteers after a painful heat stimulus was applied to their legs.

Half were treated with vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) for two minutes -- via electrodes placed on the neck – before the heat stimulus. The other half received a mock stimulation.

Researchers found that VNS delayed the response to heat stimulus in several areas of the brain known to be important for sensory and emotional pain processing. These pain-related brain regions were activated ten seconds later than participants who received sham stimulation. Volunteers who received VNS also sweated less in response to the heat.

“Not everyone is the same -- some people may need more vagus nerve stimulation than others to achieve the same outcomes and the necessary frequencies might change over time -- so we'll need to personalize this approach," said Lerman, who reported his findings in the journal PLOS ONE.  "But we are hopeful and looking forward to the next steps in moving this approach toward the clinic."

The next step for researchers is to conduct a clinical study of VNS on military veterans in the San Diego area. They want to determine if at-home vagus nerve stimulation can reduce emotional pain and neural inflammation associated with PTSD. People with PTSD often have intrusive memories, negative thoughts, anxiety and chronic pain. It is usually treated with psychotherapy, anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medications.

The Food and Drug Administration has approved VNS for the treatment of pain caused by cluster headache and migraine. A handheld device – called gammaCore –  is currently available by prescription for $600 to treat those conditions. 

The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research recently reported that VNS significantly reduced pain and fatigue associated with lupus, an autoimmune disease that damages joints, skin and internal organs. In a small pilot study, lupus patients who were treated with VNS for five minutes daily had a significant decrease in pain and fatigue after just five days.

An implanted vagus nerve stimulator is also being tested for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

Wear, Tear & Care: The Curable App

By Jennifer Kilgore, PNN Columnist

Nobody wants to be told that pain is in their head. If you’ve been in an accident like I have or suffer from a debilitating condition, that translates to: “This pain is your fault. You’re just lazy. If you tried harder, you wouldn’t be in pain.”

Pain is in your head. Pain is a signal that says your body is in danger, and for many people that switch never turns off. It becomes chronic, endless, crippling and traumatizing. This leads to a sort of fossilization in which we are scared to move, because movement hurts. Our lives become smaller, but the pain becomes larger until it consumes the entire world.

When my pain therapist suggested I try EMDR therapy (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) for post-traumatic stress disorder, I resisted for two years. Why should I have to make a concerted effort to get rid of my pain and work through memories of crumpled metal and squealing tires? Why was it my responsibility to fix things when somebody else’s negligence was the cause of my injuries?

As always, it’s more complicated than that. My pain signals have coalesced over the past 15 years into a body-wide tangle of energy that never stops hurting. It spreads from my back up to my neck, down into my arms and legs, wrapping around my ribs. Pills are thrown into the void. Devices are worn. The pain remains.

I can’t even remember how I stumbled across the Curable app. I think it came up on a Facebook ad, though I do get many Google Alerts for this type of product. Either way, I now have it downloaded and pay for the annual subscription ($6.39 per month).

CLARA

The Curable app is like having a virtual therapist -- her name is Clara -- on my phone designed specifically for chronic pain. I can work through these memories in the comfort of my own home, on my own time.

As described in their FAQ: “Curable is an online pain psychology program. Modern research tells us that recurring pain is caused by multiple complex and interconnected factors. Treatments like drugs or chiropractic try to target some of the chemical or structural issues, but these issues are only part of the equation when it comes to recurring pain.”

Pain researchers have discovered that the way we act and think play a significant role in pain reduction. I’m not saying that people don’t have valid injuries -- I broke my back in four places and have two fusions in my neck -- but I know, deep down, that my level of pain does not make sense. There were structural abnormalities. Most of them were fixed.

What’s left?

The rest remains in my head, and I am quite curious to see what is actually pain and what part is catastrophizing, fear, anger and stress. Curable says that this cycle of pain can be “deprogrammed,” and the app trains patients to tease apart what is real pain and what is not.

The program is easy enough to use. It can be done entirely on a computer, tablet or phone, and it’s compatible with almost every device.

Clara, the virtual pain coach, interacts with you by a stream of text messages, and it honestly feels like I’m talking to a friend who just gets me. She sends information and leads you from one activity to another, offering resources, exercises and funny gifs to help you “reverse the cycle of pain going on in your brain.”

Each session is between five and 20 minutes, and lectures run about the same length. Some of them are difficult -- for instance, I’m resisting the “Identifying Your Stressors” exercise in which I have to free-write, simply because I don’t want to face that part of my brain. It’s hard. I don’t particularly like waging battle against a part of myself, no matter how unwelcome that part is.

Clara even noted that many users find the writing exercises difficult and avoid them in favor of the other activities, because who wants to commit to such a level of self-reflection?

The makers of the app know this, and they get how hard it is because all three of the founders suffered from chronic pain. That level of understanding makes all the difference.

Curable is designed for three weekly sessions, though any pace can be set. A survey of users showed that some reported a reduction to zero pain within three weeks of trying the app. Everyone’s pain experience is unique, however, and they acknowledge that “there is no correlation between the total number of exercises you complete… and when you will begin to experience relief.”

As they also note, “Racing through the program ‘to feel better faster’ will not work.” I’ve found that racing through is pretty much impossible, because facing all of these thoughts and memories is exhausting.

I’m very excited about this app. I think it will be a great complement to my EMDR therapy and can keep me on track when my therapist can’t. Clara even speaks to me in a way that only other pain patients do. She understands our language, and the relief from that is staggering.

You can try the Curable app for free here.

Jennifer Kain Kilgore is an attorney editor for both Enjuris.com and the Association of International Law Firm Networks. She has chronic back and neck pain after two car accidents.

You can read more about Jennifer on her blog, Wear, Tear, & Care.  

The information in this column should not be considered as professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. It is for informational purposes only and represents the author’s opinions alone. It does not inherently express or reflect the views, opinions and/or positions of Pain News Network.

The Link Between Trauma and Chronic Pain

Ann Marie Gaudon, Columnist

It has long been accepted in my field that chronic pain is a frequent outcome of trauma. There is extensive evidence to suggest that people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) report chronic pain with striking frequency regardless of the nature of the traumatic experience. You don’t need to have been diagnosed with PTSD to be negatively and chronically affected by trauma.

One strong and commonly referred to theoretical model explaining the connection between trauma and chronic pain is known as the Mutual Maintenance Model. A person may respond to reminders of trauma through stress response, which may include avoidant coping (trying to avoid your distress by zoning out with video games or drinking to numb yourself), fatigue and lethargy associated with depression, pain perception elevated by anxiety, and intrusive memories of the trauma itself.

These considerable mental demands limit one’s capacity to control or decrease their physical pain and have the opposite effect of exacerbating and maintaining pain. To put it simply, experiencing pain prompts memories of the trauma, and memories of the trauma prompt experiences of pain.

The end result is that a person is trapped in a vicious cycle whereby the symptoms of trauma and chronic pain interact to produce self-perpetuating psychological distress and physical pain.

A second model, called the Shared Vulnerability Model, suggests that the interaction of trauma, psychological vulnerability (anxiety, loss of control over thoughts and feelings), and a lowered physiological threshold for alarm reactions all influence negative emotional responses, resulting in the development of PTSD and the co-occurrence of chronic pain.

This chronic arousal of the nervous system may be responsible for the symptoms of both PTSD and chronic pain. There is research which suggests that chronic pain and PTSD are not necessarily distinct from each other, but rather connected and overlapping. The fact that sympathetic activity (the gas pedal to your distress) is increased, and parasympathetic activity (the brake pedal to your distress) is decreased, both in general and in response to trauma-related stimuli, is one of the most robust findings within the PTSD literature.

Disastrous events can strike any of us, at any time in life, and no one is immune. Some events are relational such as a school shooting or a rape, while others are natural disasters like earthquakes or floods. After any distressing or life-threatening event, psychological trauma may set in. One may go on to develop extreme anxiety, depression, anger, or PTSD and may have ongoing problems with sleep, physical pain and even relationships.

Healthy ways of coping include getting support, avoiding alcohol and drugs, seeing loved ones, exercising, enhancing sleep habits, and other methods of self-care. Certainly not everyone with chronic pain has experienced trauma and vice versa. However, there is extensive research to show that PTSD and chronic pain are intimately connected.

Seek an experienced trauma therapist if you feel you are not coping well. Trauma therapy is highly specialized, takes place in healing stages at your pace, and works to re-wire what’s become maladaptive in your brain by laying down new and healthier neural pathways. Click here to see a YouTube video that explains that process.

The work will be hard and challenging, but the good news is that many people heal from trauma and go on to live rich and rewarding lives. Some offer inspiration to others who have also endured life-altering negative experiences.

People become sick and pained, and people also heal. Suffering can skyrocket, and suffering can also take a nosedive. You do the work as if your life depended on it, because experience tells us it often does.

Ann Marie Gaudon is a registered social worker and psychotherapist in the Waterloo region of Ontario, Canada with a specialty in chronic pain management.  She has been a chronic pain patient for 33 years and works part-time as her health allows. For more information about Ann Marie's counseling services, visit her website.

The information in this column should not be considered as professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. It is for informational purposes only and represents the author’s opinions alone. It does not inherently express or reflect the views, opinions and/or positions of Pain News Network.

VA Studies Find Little Evidence for Medical Cannabis

By Pat Anson, Editor

There is not enough evidence to support the effectiveness and safety of cannabis and cannabinoid products in treating chronic pain or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to a pair of new studies published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs reviewed 27 clinical studies on the benefits and harms of cannabis in treating chronic pain, and found most of the studies were small, many had methodological flaws, and the long-term effects of cannabis were unclear because there was little follow-up in most of the studies.

None of the studies directly compared cannabis with opioid pain medication and there was no good-quality data on how cannabis affects opioid use, according to researchers.

“Although cannabis is increasingly available for medical and recreational use, little methodologically rigorous evidence examines its effects in patients with chronic pain. Limited evidence suggests that it may alleviate neuropathic pain, but evidence in other pain populations is insufficient,” wrote lead author Shannon Nugent, PhD, VA Portland Health Care System.

“Even though we did not find strong, consistent evidence of benefit, clinicians will still need to engage in evidence-based discussions with patients managing chronic pain who are using or requesting to use cannabis.”

Medical marijuana is legal in 28 states and the District of Columbia, and many patients are using it for pain relief. Up to 80 percent of people who seek medical cannabis do so for pain management and nearly 40 percent of those on long-term opioid therapy for pain also use cannabis. Veterans Affairs policy currently doesn’t allow for cannabis use in the huge VA healthcare system, even in states where it is legal.

According to a 2014 Inspector General’s study, more than half of the veterans being treated at the VA have chronic pain, as well as other conditions that contribute to it, such as PTSD.

‘Very Scant Evidence’ on Cannabis for PTSD

More than a third of the patients who use cannabis in states where it is legal list PTSD as their primary reason. But, as with chronic pain, VA researchers found “very scant evidence” to support the use of cannabis to treat PTSD.

“Despite the limited research on benefits and harms, many states allow medicinal use of cannabis for PTSD. The popular press has reported many stories about individuals who had improvement in their PTSD symptoms with cannabis use, and cross-sectional studies have been done in which patients with more severe PTSD reported cannabis use as a coping strategy,” wrote lead author Maya O’Neil, PhD, VA Portland Health Care System.

“However, it is impossible to determine from these reports whether cannabis use is a marker for more severe symptoms or is effective at reducing symptoms, or whether the perceived beneficial effects are the result of the cannabis, placebo effects, or the natural course of symptoms.” 

Clinical evidence may be lacking, but supporters of medical marijuana say they’ve seen plenty of anecdotal evidence that cannabis works for both pain and PTSD.

“They claim no benefits are shown but with the number of people we have met with PTSD that have been able to function and improve with the use of cannabis, I would say the ‘proof is in the pudding.’ Seeing their lives improve tremendously says a lot about success,” said Ellen Lenox Smith, a PNN columnist who is co-director of cannabis advocacy for the U.S. Pain Foundation and a caregiver under Rhode Island’s medical marijuana program. 

“We have not met a person yet that has not been enjoying the improved quality of their life using cannabis for PTSD. We fought a long hard battle to have it included as a qualifying condition and it was worth the battle. Patients are finding peace and calm they were not experiencing before using cannabis. Sleep has improved and without a good night rest, anyone's next day is a terrible struggle.”

Like it or not, the “horse is out of the barn” when it comes to cannabis use, according to an editorial also published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

“Even if future studies reveal a clear lack of substantial benefit of cannabis for pain or PTSD, legislation is unlikely to remove these conditions from the lists of indications for medical cannabis,” wrote Sachin Patel, MD, Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital.

“It will be up to front-line practicing physicians to learn about the harms and benefits of cannabis, educate their patients on these topics, and make evidence-based recommendations about using cannabis and related products for various health conditions. In parallel, the research community must pursue high-quality studies and disseminate the results to clinicians and the public.”