Am I going crazy?

I am married to an acupuncturist, and it is possible that the pain centers can be overwhelmed, and not able to process all the pain that the body is feeling.

No, you are not nuts.....

Vic

Hello Linnea

The answer to your question is yes. Google "pain gate theory" and you will get the long version. The short version is that the human response to pain is not a simple uncontrollable reflex.

The mind can filter out pain, and also the "gate" to pain can be closed by various methods. The analgesic creams and TENs machines are examples of "pain gate" closers. The placebo effect of using saline for morphine in war injuries may be examples of the brain closing the "pain gate"

You may benefit from learning about this pain theory, since you have a complicated pain control problem.

Yes it is possible. Have you ever had a dentist pinch your lip to distract you from the pain of the needle he uses to inject numbing medicine before he/she does some work. It's the same principle: greater pain in one area can make you so unaware of other pain that it doesn't bother you. My suggestion: don't think about it and spare yourself at least that much pain.

hey, look at my previous answers on buddhism (see my profile)

also, you can look into the religion Taiosm (of China). It talks about yin-yang, chi (chi is something like inner energy?).

also martial arts for stretching and toning muscles and tendons, if you could possibly do it. That's IF you could do it. Don't want you to permanently injure yourself

You could also learn buddhist breathing (following your breath) sitting meditation (lotus, half-lotus, crosslegged (the one I can do; can't do lotus), japanese kneeling are the ones I heard of). Sitting meditation on a chair is also possible. You can find a buddhist monk to teach you, or maybe in a public library book they can show you. (I had a buddhist monk show me following the breathing meditation (while sitting on a chair, I think it was) years ago.)