Flare Again (includes allergies)

[neue01]

Well I did it to myself again. I'm in another flare after being better for a week or so. I released my muscle flare last week with PT and had another great week being symptom free. The problem is that the area started to congest and tighten again and I tried doing some basic maintenance PT to keep the area in good condition. The problem now like all other times is I end up tightening a slightly different area up with PT sending me into a massive flare all over again. It is beyond frustrating and makes me want to break down. So given the state I'm in I'm wondering if you guys have any ideas here. I guess my question is why won't the muscles just release themselves naturally if I leave them alone now? It seems like they stay in this tightened place unless I can finally release them again through PT. This is if I can... I end up feeling very catastrophic right now feeling I will not be able to release them and this condition will last forever. It sucks so bad to go from the top of the world to the depths of hell all with in a few days. This condition is the worst. I also wonder if this is a long standing TP that is aggravating the area or if I'm creating new TP's by accidentally tightening muscles near by?

[snoopy]

Neue01,

I have to say you should be grateful for the time that you do feel fine and are able create changes in your state and symptoms. I am in a painful state all the time and would be happy for even one pain free day. Needless to say I haven't had one in many months. I am sorry for your distress and seemingly not being able to get yourself feeling better all the time, but you should be thankful that you can get yourself feeling better at all. You have ID'd the problem, just keep up the good work! I only wish PT would help me in this way:(. If you have to do the PT all the time isn't it worth it to feel better? I hope you get to feeling better soon.

Snoop

[carld]

I understand your frustration, we all go through it...I have days I feel normal and days I don't...With that being said...

At this moment of feeling the discomfort, try to remember that you also have days you feel great...and that's very good news because you will get back to that for sure...The key is how do you stay there...well, you have to keep treating those muscles and so forth...The relaxation part of that is key here...

[Hacksquat]

Yes, it sucks, tell me about it. I was symptom free for almost a year (only two short minor flares of about two weeks each during that time). The return of this has been even tougher to deal with than the first year.

Keep the faith and you know it will get better.

[webslave]

Neue01, your signature indicates an element of atopy. Perhaps you have undiscovered dietary issues? For instance, when I was symptomatic, I found that milk products tended to bring on symptoms. Dietary triggers can only be discovered if one is constantly comparing symptoms to food intake. Keeping a food diary may help.

[neue01]

Yeah, I've been pursuing diet in a major way. Sticking strongly to a flour free diet has helped drastically. I have big reactions to processed flour, wheat, and slightly to oats and rice. The only grain I can handle with no issues right now seems to be corn. So my diet is largely vegetables, protein, meat, fish, beans, fruit and corn. This has been a HUGE help for me. The rest of it now is about getting the kinks out of my muscles and relaxing them in between PT to get them from tightening up again. I'd say I've gotten rid of 80% or my TP's and muscle tightness but I am still dealing with what seems to be the TP that might have started the whole chain of events. I obviously can't totally be sure of this though.

[webslave]

To give you some idea of how many problems I have with my intake, here's my list of forbidden foods:

Wheat (depression, fatigue, diarrhoea, itchy elbows, etc), bread, corn (raw throat, headache, itchy elbows), rye, barley, milk prods, many nuts, some nightshades (dried tomato, eggplant), malted foods, cranberry, plum, mushrooms, most berries, raspberry jam, vinegar in any form, cruciferous vegetables and mustard greens (diarrhoea), swede, mustard, green bananas (stomach pain), apples, apple cider (stomach pain), oranges and limes (stomach pain), onions (stomach pain), mango drink (stomach pain), arrowroot, celery (stomach pain), cabbage, lentils (diarrhoea), honey (diarrhoea), tapioca, shellfish, xanthan gum (bad diarrhoea), soy sauce (headache), alcohol (numerous symptoms), artichoke (difficulty breathing), allspice (stomach pain), chili (headache), wild rice (sick, headache), yeasty foods (malaise, feel ill), Sunset Yellow aka Orange Yellow S aka FD&C Yellow 6 aka 110 (diarrhea), Red Kidney Beans (urgent diarrhoea), chilli (red rash on face)

And yet I survive quite well on chicken, rice, potato, beans, etc. Not too bad.

[calman]

Neue01, are you taking hot baths or jacuzzis or using heating pads after your self trigger point work? I find that helps.

You use a tool, don't you? I found that my PT's fingers weren't long enough to work TPs in the piriformis and I think those helped perpetuate pain.

Lastly, have you checked yourself for Morton's Foot? Clair Davies covers it in his trigger point therapy manual and I think there is a web page with his information on what to do about it.

[neue01]

Hey calman. Yeah I take a hot steam shower after PT usually and sometimes do stretching as well. Yes, I do have Morton's foot. What does this mean for CPPS?

[neue01]

Finally came out of the flare the other night by finally releasing the congested area that was in spasm. It seems to take the area 3 or 4 days once it's been aggravated for me to be able to locate it again and have it be in a state where it is willing to be released. It's a very annoying experience that freaks me out each time.

[neue01]

So I have had another 3 days or so of being in a symptom free state. I released the area that has been giving me trouble until it started to act up again after eating some corn flakes (which I am not intolerant too). So I thought I'd give the area a maintenance massage and make sure it stays loosened up and does not constrict. Once again I reached the area and applied a slight amount of pressure--as I normally do--and the area jumped and went back into spasm. I tried to release it this morning and it will not budge again. It seems I have to suffer through these flares for a week or so until the muscle calms down enough that it is willing to be released. When it seems to have had enough time it releases fairly well and will stay released for another 4 or 5 days. It seems to be a battle back and forth now between these two states. When it's flared it's at 40% normal functionality and when it's unflared it's a 90% normal functionality. You'd think I'd be adjusted to this state of affairs but the flare ups still really upset me and cause me to spiral a bit mentally. I really wish this area would just release and stop causing me issues. Has anybody else run into this sort of an issue with a trigger point?

[neue01]

I'm still in a flare and it's painful and frustrating as hell. I keep jumping the gun and trying to release the area before it's ready to be released and it seems to perpetuate the problem further. It's my obsessive nature thinking I can release it before it's in a state that it will actually release. Every time I'm in this state I tell myself I will never touch the area again if it will release and I can get it back to it's normal state. The problem is once I've released it from the flare and gotten it into a normal state It will wax and wane a little bit. At this point I always feel I'm one step away from curing myself if I can release the last remaining bit of tension. I will attempt to massage the area out reaching a pin pointed little ache which I know to be the manifestation of a trigger point ready to release. I try to release this last little TP and without fail it seems to spasm up again and put me in a nasty flare. This ping pong effect between the two states is so frustrating. I can be mentally at the top of the world feeling I'm one final step away from getting over this and then I feel like I've taken 5 steps backward. I just wish I could release this last TP alleviating the muscle. It's the muscle running up the right side wall and I believe it's called the levator ani. It seems to have large effect on functionality of both urine flow and orgasmic contraction. When it's flaring like it is now I have trouble with both functions. The TP seems to be further up this muscle at about 6 inches or so into the rectum. Releasing it proves cumbersome because it's an unnatural position being that I'm right handed. Has anybody had success releasing this muscle?

[calman]

Regarding Morton's Foot, see this web-site:

http://www.triggerpointbook.com/mortons.htm

It is described as trying to walk on ice skates, which can cause instability in the hips. They don't say it directly, but obviously that could lead to trigger points in the pelvic area. They explain how to put pads under the first metatarsal to give you more of a "tripod" to walk on so that you have more stability. There's a chance that you eliminate your trigger points only to have your Morton's foot re-create them.

My only other thought is that maybe you need to work a little more gently on your problem trigger point and go for a slower release. Maybe it is too much pressure that is causing it to backfire.

[neue01]

Yeah, I've been keeping a calendar of my flares and releases and this month has literally been 3 days on 3 days off. I'll release the flare and be great for 3 days then I'll massage the area and go into a flare for 3 days releasing it again on the 4th day or so. Each time I'm in a flare I get catastrophic and I freak myself out a lot. Thoughts like this is never going to get better or I've really done it this time play on my mind a lot. If I can release it once more in a couple of days I'm not going to mess with it for a while and see how it goes. I've told myself this a bunch of times during flares and I hope I stick to it this time, if I can get it to release again. I might be pushing my body to hard in hopes of getting over this in record time. either way It's not worth the agony of a flare. It's bad both physically and mentally.

[neue01]

So for anybody following these last few posts I've managed to release this recent flare over the weekend. Beyond that I also managed to release the area even further opening up subtle sensation I have not felt for years. It also managed to almost entirely get rid of my post urinary retention and the awkward sensation associated with it. I'm sure I'll flare the area back up soon enough but I thought this was interesting in that it showcases the muscle condition involved here. I really can't express how valuable it is to use a tool to go deeper then what your physical therapist is able to do with his fingers. There is a lot going on with the muscles deeper in the area. I still have PT to do on these muscles and am not through the woods completely but I thought I'd share some overall thoughts.