Chronic Pain and low blood pressure

Blood pressure - low
Definition:
Low blood pressure is an abnormal condition where a person's blood pressure (the pressure of the blood against the walls of the blood vessels during and after each beat of the heart) is much lower than usual, which can cause symptoms such as dizziness or lightheadedness.
Alternative Names:
Hypotension; Low blood pressure
Considerations:
When the blood pressure is too low, there is inadequate blood flow to the heart, brain, and other vital organs.
A blood pressure level that is borderline low for one person may be normal for another. The most important factor is how the blood pressure changes from the normal condition. Most normal blood pressures fall in the range of 90/60 mm Hg to 130/80 mm Hg, but a significant change, even as little as 20 mm Hg, can cause problems for some people.
Common Causes:
Low blood pressure is commonly caused by drugs such as the following
Medications used for surgery
Anti-anxiety agents
Treatment for high blood pressure
Diuretics
Heart medicines
Some antidepressants
Narcotic analgesics
Alcohol
Other causes of low blood pressure include the following:
Dehydration
Heart failure
Heart attack
Changes in heart rhythm (arrhythmias)
Fainting
Anaphylaxis (a life-threatening allergic response)
Shock (from severe infection, stroke, anaphylaxis, major trauma, or heart attack)
Advanced diabetes
Another common cause type of low blood pressure is orthostatic hypotension, which results from a sudden change in body position, usually from lying down to an upright position.

Treatment
Treatment for chronic pain depends on the cause and on the individual needs of the patient. Complete pain relief is not always possible; it is important for patients and physicians to work together to find the best treatment plan.
Proper exercise can strengthen muscles throughout the body, improve bone strength, reduce the risk for injuries, and enhance feelings of well being. It is important to speak with a doctor before starting an exercise regimen.
Physical therapy and massage therapy can reduce pain, improve function, and prevent recurrences. Other types of treatment that can be used to manage chronic pain include relaxation and behavior modification therapy, meditation, hypnosis, and biofeedback. Spinal manipulation (adjustment) can be used to relieve chronic pain caused by musculoskeletal conditions (e.g., osteoarthritis).
Acupuncture, which involves inserting and manipulating fine needles under the skin at selected points in the body, may be used to relieve chronic pain.
As many as 35% of patients may respond favorably to treatment with a placebo (e.g., sugar pill, saltwater injection). Precisely how a placebo works is unknown. Pain relief may result from the power of suggestion, distraction, or optimism, or from a neurochemical reaction in the brain.
http://www.neurologychannel.com/chronicpain/treatment.shtml


Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and low blood pressure
June 2001
WHAT IS CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME AND ITS SYMPTOMS?\ Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), also sometimes called immune dysfunction syndrome or myalgic encephalomyelitis (in Europe), is not a new disorder. In the 19th century the term neurasthenia, or nervous exhaustion, was applied to symptoms resembling CFS. In the 1930s through the 1950s outbreaks of disease marked by prolonged fatigue were reported in the United States and many other countries. Beginning in the early to mid-1980s interest in chronic fatigue syndrome was revived by reports in America and other countries of various outbreaks of long-term debilitating fatigue
http://www.reutershealth.com/wellconnected/doc07.html
Treating Chronic Pain Seriously
A growing move to treat chronic pain seriously
For Carol Kratky of Prescott, Ariz., the aftermath of a severe arm injury from a fall in a grocery store was constant pain.
"I just wanted to rip my arm off," says Kratky, 66. "I often thought about having it amputated because I couldn't stand the pain. Sometimes it was sharp, other times a gnawing ache. It was burning and tingling constantly. That never stopped."
At least not until Phoenix pain specialist Douglas Merrill implanted a pump into her abdomen that directs carefully controlled amounts of medication, in this case morphine, to the appropriate nerves.
http://members.tripod.com/~Catnip100/cpNEW.html

CHRONIC PAIN AND INSOMNIA are frequently associated with stress, please read the following article
Chronic pain and insomnia afflict millions of Americans. Despite the acknowledged importance of psychosocial and behavioral factors in these disorders, treatment strategies have tended to focus on biomedical interventions such as drugs and surgery. The purpose of this conference was to examine the usefulness of integrating behavioral and relaxation approaches with biomedical interventions in clinical and research settings to improve the care of patients with chronic pain and insomnia.
Assessments of more consistent and effective integration of these approaches required the development of precise definitions of the most frequently used techniques, which include relaxation, meditation, hypnosis, biofeedback (BF), and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). It was also necessary to examine how these approaches have been previously used with medical therapies in the treatment of chronic pain and insomnia and to evaluate the efficacy of such integration to date.
http://www.siteceu.com/chronicpain.html

THE SYMPTOMS OF LOW BLOOD PRESSURE
Individuals with low blood pressure may sometimes develop non- specific symptoms of tiredness, sleep disturbances, giddiness, black-outs, fainting, anxiety/depression, or sweating, and may become more conscious of their heartbeats.
http://www.nanay.com/MEDICAL%20NEWS/English%20Edition/Nov%202000/Low%20Blood%20Pressure.htm