So, my pain docs have told me repeatedly that while pain objectively varies in intensity, it is always just pain, but we interpret it as stabbing, cutting, burning, stinging, etc. subjectively, but it's really just pain & how we experience it is subject to our pain history, cultural experience, and so on.

This fascinates me because I experience neuropathy pain in so many different ways. Sometimes even differently in the same spot. But mostly it's how my fingers tingle like they are numb, I have this long ache in my forearm, and some poking pain in my upper arm. The skin on the bottom of my feet feel like plastic (from the inside) not how they feel to touch.

I get burning pain on the top of my feet, really stabbing pain in my shins, and then the skin on my thighs feel like it's sunburned. It's not. It just feels that way. Absolutely hurts to touch. Now I don't experience all of these varied pains at once, or at least I am not aware. Pain drives out pain.

My pain doc suggested causing an intense, but harmless pain by hitting the counter with my hand. It will hurt enough that I won't perceive the other pain. Right now, the sunburn(!) on my thighs and plastic feet are bad enough I don't have any pain in my hands, arms, or shins at all. I never can feel them all at once. Thankfully!

But anyway, the point is that it fascinates me that the same pain (nerve damage) feels so differently from place to place. The plastic feet thing is too common, it freaks me out. While it's fine on the outside, from the inside it feels like rubbermaid liners.

Wait. You have plastic feet?

That’s really interesting. I mean, it doesn’t stop either of us from hurting but it’s fascinating to know

So from the outside my feet feel perfectly normal. but I have this interior sensation of the bottom of my feet. being hard plastic but bendable like you know Rubbermaid

I feel like if I try to cause a pain in a different part of my body intentionally it would just add to the pain parade instead of decreasing other pains. I'm glad it works for others! I'm too chicken to try it.