Psychology

[Griff522]

$300 for a therapy session?!

[donstore]

Faith,
PN is not always preceded by an injury. Getting numb after injections is generally considered a prime diagnostic indicator. The fact that your doctor did not pursue effective medications for you and instead prescribed counseling means only one thing - she has decided that this problem is all in your head. If the ob-gyn you mentioned will pursue medical treatments, that sounds like the best choice. It's hard to see how your current doctor will be of any further use in helping you considering her attitude.Good luck.

Don

[pianogal]

Faith, your doctor was being inconsiderate and rude and selfish.

Pudendal blocks if they numb the pain for any short amount of time prove that the nerve is the problem. You are correct.

I am a Christian and have gone to counseling and currently take Prozac. It does not hamper my relationship with God. Prozac stabilizes my mood because my chemicals truly are out of line. Do you ever get grumpy when you are hungry? And after you eat, do you ever feel more happy? That is a chemical sort of thing too, or at least not a spiritual thing, but it alters your mood. It is not a sin to eat food. And similarly, meds for moods do this for you... help lift your mood... but they don't change your belief system, and you still have to rely on God. (Cymbalta for me was bad, it made me lose 20 pounds but through constant stabbing feelings in my back. At least I lost 20 pounds! But my friend takes it and it is great for her.

I also have gone to counseling, with a wonderful Christian counselor. It was very helpful. I will say that there are some Christian counselors out there that can be very wrong... and secular ones that could be more wise...you need God to give you wisdom on this. I do not believe in meditation or that stuff... counseling is about expressing your feelings, and having someone guide you to find answers, with bits of wisdom. There are many proverbs dealing with the incredible value of wisdom, and I truly feel that counseling can provide wisdom and insight... assuming the counselor is not either heretical or just plain bad.

You made a good decision to fly to Phoenix.

Lots of love!

[HerMajesty]

$300 for a therapy session?!

If I could blow $300 in just about any other way I could think of (clothes comes to mind) that would be therapy enough

[Violet M]

Faith, here's my experience with psychologists and PN -- for what it's worth.....

I saw a psychologist, sex therapist, and psychiatrist (all Christians) before I had ever heard of PNE. My experience was that psychotherapy is psychotherapy, whether it's Christian or not. I was desperate to find someone who might have a clue as to my diagnosis. The psychologist told me to snap a rubberband against my arm to take my mind off the problem. The psychiatrist wondered to the sex therapist if I might be a nymphomanic because one of my PNE symptoms was persistent sexual arousal syndrome. The sex therapist was a very nice lady but after several visits I discovered that I was listening to her talk about her family and problems more than she was listening to me.

I found psychotherapy and sex therapy to be totally useless because the problem was not in my head. I had a damaged nerve and all the psychologists in the world could not have fixed it.

So don't second guess yourself. I think it's highly unlikely this is in your head. You sound far too sane to me.

$300 for a therapy session?!

If I could blow $300 in just about any other way I could think of (clothes comes to mind) that would be therapy enough

Totally agree with you there HM -- I am also a clothes horse.

[wendy7]

Hello,

I really have to agree with everyone here. It is your decision on whether or not to go and see a psychologist. When people go and have neurostimulation done, they have to pass a psychiatric exam in order to have the unit placed. There have been many studies showing that the more depressed you are, the less likely that you will have a good outcome with treatment. My experience is this......I was the most depressed person you could have ever imagined, when I went to see Dr. Hibner. My results...Fantastic! So, I am not a true believer that psychology helps more with treatment. I think PN causes situational depression and once that is fixed, your mental health status comes back. I hope this helps.

Take care,
Wendy

[pianogal]

Wendy, WOW, you're back!
glad to hear your great news!

[wendy7]

Hey Pianogal,

You are so sweet! Thank you for such a warm welcome!

I have the time to be on the forum and I really want to be like I used to be on the forum. I sometimes come back and then leave, but I have this feeling that I'll be back on the forum for good now.

Take care,
Wendy

[Faith]

Wendy,

I've read your story on the home page and it's good to have you back on the forum to help those of us who are still struggling so much. I was wondering if you could post here or maybe under "success stories" your current pain levels and what you can do now. Can you sit...for how long? How much does your pain affect your daily life now? Thanks for your comments as well!

[A's Mommy]

Dear Faith,

In my whole PN walk, I have also seen a slew of Christian psychologists, psychiatrists, etc. I can honestly say I gleaned the things I needed to from them, and discarded the rest. I believe this with every person I meet too. Not every person is going to be perfect or the perfect match. Our only perfect match is Christ Jesus. So, my advice to you would be to seek the Lord on your face for the answer to what you should do about this. I have no doubt in my mind that He will give you not only the answer, but perfect peace about it.

With love,

AM