Life Without a Thalamus Article

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http://www.painonline.org/thalamus.htm

Life Without a Thalamus

In the normal person, the thalamus bears the task of filtering out the myriad of

impulses flooding into our brain at any given moment. It is the gatekeeper that

assures that messages are prioritized and regulated. The thalamus has even been

referred to as the center of our self-identity, or even called the “heart of the

soul.”

Central Pain patients have long maintained that they feel as though they have

“lost themselves” to some strange pain mechanism.” Now we are beginning to

understand that there is a physiological explanation for this sensation.

To study Central Pain, physicians must abandon all of their preconceived notions

about how pain presents itself in the human body. Normal pain is viewed as

something that is ordered and logical. In Central Pain it is as though all those

orderly messages have been filed and organized with a stick of dynamite. Nothing

about pain in the Central Pain patient makes sense according to conventional

medical wisdom.

The conscious mind of the Central Pain patient latches onto one, and then

another, unnatural aspect of the pain, even if the pain from another part, or

“chunk,” may actually be more severe. Without the benefit of the thalamus, the

patient is at the mercy of the countless messages flooding the brain, and cannot

prioritize; something that everyone else takes for granted.

Pain perception may not resemble the applied stimulus; cold may seem hot, and

hot may seem cold. It may be difficult to tell exactly where the pain is

originating, just as with the person who is experiencing a heart attack and

feels pain down their arm. The thalamus, which usually does such as fine job of

organizing the messages to our brain, is permanently out to lunch, and no longer

prioritizes according to logic or purpose.

It is important to remember that the Central Pain patient cannot control their

thoughts. Their thalamus is not working, and they do not think like other people

Diagnosis and treatment of Central Pain patients has not kept pace with advances

in other areas of brain science. It is rare for a Central Pain patient to be

diagnosed without a terrific struggle to find someone with the expertise to

recognize his or her symptoms. What goes on in medical offices, in regards to

pain science, is all too often essentially a version of “horse an buggy”

medicine. Unknowing physicians continue to lecture Central Pain victims sternly

about the “need to be tough,” or the “obligation to become a productive member

of society.” This attitude, borne of ignorance, discounts the reality of the

disease.

Too many doctors are unaware that the “hanging tough” part of the brain, the

thalamus, has been shut down in Central Pain. Forcing these patients to undergo

stress and activity to prove their worth as a human has led to the death of

some, at their own hand. We must avoid devaluing Central Pain patients to the

point that they will subject themselves to unendurable pain simply to be

validated by others as a human being. Stress undoubtedly increases the suffering

of Central Pain.

Faced with unendurable pain and relentless censure from a professional who is

supposed to be a “judge” of the patient’s ability to handle pain, some Central

Pain patients have chosen suicide. It is the responsibility of physicians and

good people everywhere to humbly ponder that which they do not know, the

suffering that is endured by victims of Central Pain who do not have the benefit

of a useable thalamus. With this attitude of humility, physicians may be

inclined to ask questions rather than deliver a censure about the patient’s

“weakness.”

We must emphasize that the vast majority of physicians who treat Central Pain

patients approach their patient with sincere compassion, and we offer grateful

tribute to these kind doctors. Such physicians minister to the needs of their

patient’s body and mind, and are a credit to their profession.