AARP says...
Has anyone seen the article in AARP on chronic pain? I quote, It states that the goal of treatment is to reduce not necessarily cure completely, your pain as much as possible. What we know is that chronic pain can not be cured with medication, especially opioids. Experts no longer look at them as a panacea and we know they can cause a lot of harm. These drugs aren't just addictive, they actually ratchet up your nervous system responses, so pain threshold decreases while pain sensitivity increases. Here are the primary nonsurgical approaches to pain management. 1 Treat Depression and Anxiety. People with pain are 5 times more common to have anxiety and depression than in those without. 2. Seek out a Sleep Specialist, This includes diagnosing and treating Sleep Apnea. 3. UNLEARN your pain, Pain Reprocessing Therapy, PRT for short, is a new type of cognitive behavior specifically geared towards rewiring your brains experience with pain. "PRT" involves being aware of pain in your body and reminding yourself that your brain may be sending out a false signal. You can develop a understanding of pain, so you can say, "Actually this pain is safe pain and I can explore and test it". 4. Master Mindfulness, Emotional reactions turn the volume up on pain and make it more intense. When we learn how to use mindfulness to see our pain as pure sensation rather than emotional anguish, it can be easier to cope and manage. Sometimes the brain becomes overprotective and amplifies and prolongs pain when tissue damage is healed. 5. Change You Inner Monologue, Instead of saying, "This still hurts", Say "It hurts but that means I'm alive". Instead of, "theres something wrong with my body", say, Pain is an alarm that protects me, but sometimes my body is too sensitive". End Quote. I promise I didn't make any of this up!
Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Chronic Pain Support Group.
@christine5 and @blue717
Did you read what @misssuezq had to say in her post above?
Pain is real, it is your body's response to an injury or illness, but chronic pain (all day, all night...) is also in your brain. It is you body's learned response, and what has been learned can be altered - maybe not cured, but changed. That doesn't mean it becomes "good pain", just that you know there is not something causing more damage today, so you need to figure out how to deal with it.
The mind is a very powerful tool, and very capable of learning new things - including new ways to view and deal with pain.
For example, today it is rainy and damp - two things my body and lungs detest. So today I hurt everywhere, and drawing a deep breath takes effort. Before pain management, I would have curled up on the couch with a heating pad and felt sorry for myself. By evening, I would have been depressed because I wasted the day.
Instead, I took a hot shower to ease the pain, did stretching and PT for a bad shoulder. Soon I will rub Voltaren into my hands so they will move, turn on some music, and paint. Each hour I will get up and do a small chore or a stretch. Getting my brain engrossed in learning my new skill of watercolor keeps me from noticing every twinge.
I don't seek pain mgt for every "twinge". I'm really quite taken aback. My pain is real, physical pain, joints, ligaments , spine, all documented. Not a back strain, that can be fixed w some NSAIDs and pt. I'm facing 3 more surgeries just to get out of a daily pain scale of 6. It usually goes up from there, depending upon how much I have to do that day. Thank you for your reply, I hope all continues to go well. God bless.
You are absolutely correct. Pain is an indication of SOMETHING, whether it be infection, over use, joint damage, orthopedically speaking that is. And as always, imo.
I am looking to this group, to find help for my pain. I do not have any cartaledge in my shoulders and I have severe pain in my right side and I have severe pain in my right hip. Because of my severe COPD I an not a candidate for replacement surgery or apparently any anesthetic. What is the best way to find the best pain clinic ? How can I get help without becoming addicted to medication. Thank you
I have been using pain reprocessing therapy to help eliminate 30+ years of chronic pain. It works! This therapy has been around for decades first introduced by Dr John Sarno. Now, most notably, being taught by Dr Howard Schubiner and many others. It doesn’t mean your pain is not real. It is just a way to markedly reduce or eliminate chronic pain with a unique way of using your brain. Here’s a good podcast to help you understand the therapy.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/our-power-is-within-heal-chronic-illness-pain/id1668678950?i=1000597134954
@hlp123 Needing pain treatment with medication (narcotics) that you can become dependent upon does not mean you’re an addict. Addiction is the need for more and higher dose medications while with dependence you are maintained on a constant dose over time. Because of your COPD a pain doctor may be reluctant to give you a medication that might decrease your respiratory system function. But a pain doctor is a great place to start for help. Your bone to bone movement must be terrible. I have something similar in my left shoulder. Good luck.
Thank you for your reply ! I needed to hear the information you posted. I am sorry you are going through a similar situation in your shoulder. I have been thinking that Modern Medical Science ? would come up with some way to replace the cartilage in the shoulder joint. There seems to be progress in correcting this problem in most of our other joints. Perhaps tomorrow there will be a breakthrough solution. I hope your pain is manageable. Best to you, Holly
@sueinmn I agree with you, Sue!
I have fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis, etc. but over the years I have built up a high threshold to pain so often turn down pain medication prescription offers. I prefer to manage without medication because I have fatty liver disease as well and family history of liver and pancreatic cancers/diseases so am afraid of making my liver more toxic. But doctors get frustrated with me when I stop using any pain medication they prescribe and I get labelled as “difficult”.
Of course, that does not mean I am against all pain medication - or against others needing medication, especially after surgery or in the case of sudden acute pain. But for chronic pain I think one can build up tolerance - just as one can build up tolerance for medication dosage. Then again, it all boils down to sensitivity - what one person grades pain level as a 5 (often my case) another person could grade it as an 8 or higher, even over 10. 🤷🏼♀️
As you say, finding that middle ground is the key.
@christine5 I don’t think anyone here is suggesting “it’s all in your head”! Just that some people can and do build up a tolerance to a certain level of pain - but in your case that is not true.
One thing is certain: physical pain is physical pain and you are right, about that.
@misssuezq where did you attend that pain management program, and how did you find out about it?