For almost three years I have lived with daily chronic pain and headaches, or Amplified Musculoskeletal Pain Syndrome (AMPS). Hugs hurt when they really shouldn’t. The lightest touch on my back would cause a painful burning sensation, which meant that no one, including my mom and sister, could hug me.
For those of us who live with AMPS our pain signals are mixed-up and over time we develop --allodynia--the experience of pain from a non-painful stimulation, such as a light touch. But there are worse things than no hugs,as there are various forms of AMPS. For some patients with AMPS, they lose the ability to walk and function normally, as their bodies are ravaged with intense pain. Many suffer with the daily chronic pain for many years. Many go undiagnosed. They go from doctor to doctor, hoping for a treatment, a cure, a reprieve from the pain. But they receive none. Their tests come back …show more content…
Their brains perceive signals differently: instead of acknowledging, for instance, the gentle stroke of an arm, AMPS patients would feel as though a blowtorch is stroking their arm.
AMPS primarily affects adolescents and teenagers of all races, and in all countries. It disturbs our lives and our families, and causes intense suffering and disability. Many are forced to surrender their childhood to the pain. Instead of going to school, some stay at home in pain. Instead of hanging out with friends, they hang out with doctors and nurses.
But there is hope: The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). CHOP’s slogan is “Hope lives here” and that couldn’t be more true. Dr. Sherry is the head of the AMPS treatment program, an intensive therapeutic program whose goal is to help kids cope with the pain as well as eventually get rid of the pain over time. Most children finally get relief, and those that have not fully resolved their pain, have regained full function through the treatment
For those of us who live with AMPS our pain signals are mixed-up and over time we develop --allodynia--the experience of pain from a non-painful stimulation, such as a light touch. But there are worse things than no hugs,as there are various forms of AMPS. For some patients with AMPS, they lose the ability to walk and function normally, as their bodies are ravaged with intense pain. Many suffer with the daily chronic pain for many years. Many go undiagnosed. They go from doctor to doctor, hoping for a treatment, a cure, a reprieve from the pain. But they receive none. Their tests come back …show more content…
Their brains perceive signals differently: instead of acknowledging, for instance, the gentle stroke of an arm, AMPS patients would feel as though a blowtorch is stroking their arm.
AMPS primarily affects adolescents and teenagers of all races, and in all countries. It disturbs our lives and our families, and causes intense suffering and disability. Many are forced to surrender their childhood to the pain. Instead of going to school, some stay at home in pain. Instead of hanging out with friends, they hang out with doctors and nurses.
But there is hope: The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). CHOP’s slogan is “Hope lives here” and that couldn’t be more true. Dr. Sherry is the head of the AMPS treatment program, an intensive therapeutic program whose goal is to help kids cope with the pain as well as eventually get rid of the pain over time. Most children finally get relief, and those that have not fully resolved their pain, have regained full function through the treatment