| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| armchairlinguist |
Posted - 06/26/2008 : 17:04:02
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/06/30/080630fa_fact_gawande?currentPage=all
"The Itch"
I was reading this and wondering if maybe it was related to TMS. The first case sounds more like it (the person had a ton of stress in her life!), but the second case doesn't sound much like it at all (and is a good example of why you are supposed to get imaging studies done because a tumor was involved).
Then they start talking about all the TMS-like conditions (back pain, RSI, fibro) etc and wondering if it is the same mechanism. Similar thing has already been proposed for fibro, and I posted a while back about focal dystonia (http://tmshelp.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=4305) which is related in that it's seen as an issue with representation of the body in the brain.
Interesting, possibly food for some discussion.
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It's not 100% belief that's required, but 100% commitment. |
| 4 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| stefan |
Posted - 08/11/2008 : 23:17:27
I particularly appreciated a comment (amongst many in the article) Gawande made to Mr. H on p. 64 he said: "But I told him about the increasing evidence that our sensory experiences are not sent to the brain but originate in it."
Ars Longa Vita Brevis |
| Littlebird |
Posted - 07/05/2008 : 23:10:51
Here's an update to this intriguing article, for anyone who wondered how a person could scratch through their skull. Hopefully the doctor is looking into the info sent by Stanfr.
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/04/dr-gawande-answers-questions-about-the-itch/?em&ex=1215489600&en=713d64495175ff3f&ei=5087%0A |
| armchairlinguist |
Posted - 06/27/2008 : 20:34:38
Oh, good idea, stanfr.
Atul Gawande (the author) wrote a really good book about medicine that I like, part of which is also devoted to chronic pain (and chronic blushing) as medical 'mysteries'. He is physically-oriented (as a doctor would be) but still comes off at the end open to the idea that medicine is not solving these problems properly...so maybe he will learn something!
--
It's not 100% belief that's required, but 100% commitment. |
| stanfr |
Posted - 06/27/2008 : 18:42:32
Fascinating article, thanks for the link, ACL! Makes my psoriasis problems seem miniscule in comparison 
I think the shingles hypothesis offered in the article is quite plausible. That, broadly speaking, is a 'mind-body' phenomena, but i would argue that mind-body is a much broader subject than 'TMS' is.
It would be nice to see more of an emphasis on the psyche though, rather than constantly tackling the problem from a physical angle (which nerve runs where). She certainly had a decent amount of baggage to supress/repress! I particularly found the last section interesting, since it alludes to the true divided mind concept, in which perception might be determined independently in one hemisphere of the brain. I can relate to theis idea since all my AOS/TMS symptoms gravitate to the right side of my body. Good read.
EDIT: the author has a website, so i sent him a mail giving info on TMS. |
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