Stress and Pain

[sagecountry]

I had a bad night last night.

First, I had to sit through a 5 hour meeting yesterday and developed what i think is sciatic nerve pain down my left buttock and leg. I've had this kind of pain before and don't think it's MS related.

Then, last night, I was working on an important document on my computer and lost it. Needless to say, I was very upset. It was late, so I just called it a night. As soon as I went to bed, my feet started cramping up and my hands were hurting more than they normally do. I took some Aleve, but it didn't seem to help. It took a few hours before I could finally get to sleep.

Could the increase in pain be caused by the stress I was experiencing?

I know we are supposed to reduce stress in our lives, but how do we do that? I'm newly diagnosed and I still work and attend school online. How am I supposed to reduce stress?

[Needhelp16]

I don't know how to reduce stress either, because life just simply is stress.  I agree with Alex, finding a counsellor who spealizes in chronic illness is very helpful.  And some sort of meditation, yoga, or something along those lines help too.

Stress can always aggravate sx's and pain, so it is important to find ways to help relax you.  I do massage therapy and acupuncture, and see a counsellor.  I have a major surgery scheduled for the 30th of this month, but after I've recovered I'm going to try yoga as well.

I'm a stay at home mom, so lots of times for me, I find just getting out of the house by myself helps a lot.  Everyone is different, so like with meds, it can be a lot of trial and error.

Laura