Hunger and pain.

[spot]

I wonder whether I might indulge myself in a thread. It's triggered by a strange series of posts today on weight and diet, the flow of which which I hesitate to interrupt.

A few days ago I posted a reasonably accurate description of my refusal of painkillers, in recent decades, during dental treatment, in someone else's thread entitled Novocane. That comes into my reason for this thread, too. I was assumed by several, on the strength of what I reported, to be a masochist, and I'd like to suggest that it's not an accurate description. Not defensively, just as a matter of interest.

Let me start with food. I have no recollection, at any stage in my life, of feeling hunger. Whatever typically triggers or recognises that sensation in most people, it's missing from me. I am aware of a knowledge of having an empty stomach, but there's no pain or upset or even concern associated with it, just the awareness if I focus my mind on the question. I know, at the moment, that I'm empty. What I feel now is no different to what I'd feel after two or three days of solely liquid intake. I tore a piece from a loaf of olive bread twelve hours ago, and I've had a couple of coffees since. That's the extent of my intake since yesterday. I eat for the enjoyment of eating, I usually eat in company, the right circumstances haven't come together today, they might tomorrow. I usually drink when I feel like drinking, but if I find my mouth dry then that's an indicator to me that I need to avoid dehydration, I'm passing a limit, I need something to drink. Cold, I stick to plain water. Hot, tea or coffee.

I note, and it interested me to discover this, that all but one of my children report the same sense, as far as hunger goes.

Now, the masochism. I've no idea, I've never tried it. I had an unfortunate experience with a dental injection, which resulted in a fear so intense that I refused any form of painkiller the next time I went to be drilled - anything, I decided, would be better than an injection, and I had no intention of allowing a general anaesthetic to be applied. I assumed and accepted that I would feel pain. What I discovered was that, so long as I stayed relaxed mentally and focused on the sensation, I could keep it dimmed to nothing, just the buzz of the drill grinding into the enamel and dentine. I'd assumed it would hurt, my dentist assumed it would hurt, we were both sufficiently interested in the actual experience that, once she agreed I needed nothing, that was it. No pain is mostly what I've had since. Masochists, I'm told, revel in pain. I'm far more interested in discovering that there's no level of pain that distresses me, at least as far as being drilled by a dentist goes. Even when pain suddenly sets in, it's never so strong that I can't bear it, and whatever I do that dims it out is quite quick in reasserting control. What it feels like is focusing on the pain and consciously turning down my perception of it. I've no idea what mechanism's involved, minds and bodies are far too complex for me to fathom.

[Philadelphia Eagle]

Let me say at the outset that I am no expert on the matters you describe but find them interesting.

As far as feeling hunger is concerned, I do all too regularly and need to eat at reasonably regular intervals - Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner otherwise I would gradually lose strength and feel, if not actual pain, then at least an awareness that calories needed to be taken in. I do control my intake fairly strictly in terms of calorie count and avoid all 'high fat' foods. That started as a result of my MS condition but I increasingly found that I preferred a healthier diet and felt better for it.

With regards to liquid intake I don't feel the same need to regularly drink sodas etc. but here I must be very careful. In the summer months where I live, temperatures get very hot at times and even though I don't always feel the need for a cool drink not to have one can lead to severe dehydration and quite quickly.

I live on a latitude which approximates to somewhere midway between Madrid and Gibraltar in a European context and so the heat and strength of the sun are similar to there. Not to intake liquids in quite large quantities and regularly is considered quite dangerous.

As far as feeling pain is concerned as I said in my 'Novacaine' post I have a low tolerance level. In a former life I was taught to resist pain (fairly unsuccessfully) and always envied those who could withstand physical abuse much better than I.

With your high level of pain tolerance you would have done very well.

[pink princess]

i constantly feel stomacah pains - but thats mostly due to a medical condition ive been diagnosed with...

in terms of my pain tolerance, id say i can cope pretty well with a fairly large amount of pain, i feel a lot of pain but very rarely take anything for it - mostly because i cant and secondly because im already putting enough drugs in my system and i dont want to add anymore!!



im more likely to cry out of something emotional rather than a physical pain

[abbey]

I eat by the clock, Breakfast when i awake, lunch 12pm and evening meal 6pm,

i find that if i dont eat at these times my stomach rumbles and i need to eat.

I suppose i have been conditioned for meal times by my mother,

it took years for me to break the habit of not eating supper at 10pm!



As for my pain tolerance, i have a very low threshold and reach for the painkillers at the first sign of a twinge.

[pink princess]

abbey wrote:

As for my pain tolerance, i have a very low threshold and reach for the painkillers at the first sign of a twinge.
just be careful you dont take so many you build up a resistance to them!

[minks]

pink princess wrote: just be careful you dont take so many you build up a resistance to them!


and with that resistance built up you start to take more and more and can do serious damage to your kidneys.

Hunger OMG if I do not eat at specific times I get ferocious headaches as my first warning. Good enough reason for me to eat regularly.