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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!
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@hlp a friend has sleep apnea but had knee and hip replacement surgeries (not at the same time, of course) and she was given local anaesthetic (a spinal injection). She was awake and monitored the entire time.
Perhaps you could search for a surgeon who can give you local anaesthetic too …? My friend and I live in Canada and her surgeries were done in Mount Sinai and St. Michael’s hospitals in Toronto.
You don't know me.
You cannot speak to how much pain I can handle. Please don't speculate on how someone else is experiencing life.
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