Hi Steve,
Thanks for your effort in replying to my post; I know these replies take your time and true concern for others! So, many thanks! I am now 77 years old and have lived with chronic now intractable pain for my entire life. I also have been a nationally competitive professional equestrian in many disciplines including upper-level dressage, competing, teaching and judging all my life on a schedule severely moderated by my pain load. I am also a published author so have not allowed pain to stop my life. Now however, since losing the support of pain clinics since DEA's unreasonable crackdown has shackled pain doctors in treating their chronic pain patients, my activities have been greatly limited. By the way, even at 77 I can still ride and train a horse better than most on a reasonable day. I have been to specialist pain counselors, done months long brain rewiring programs, and tried just about every pain therapy out there, both mental and physical. I have learned about every trick in the book to mentally and emotionally control pain and have benefitted greatly. I am now off all opioids and on low dose naltrexone, high doses of CBD for EDS, small fiber neuropathy, central sensitivity and MCAS pain and discomfort and THC for the movement disorder. They help. But I live in rural Hawaii and could never last even one day in an all-day program much less three weeks. I can't even go to the grocery store at the moment due to severe SIBO and the long recovery (12-18 months) from a 12-day hospitalization for toxoplasmosis and bartonella that attacked my CNS and caused devasting pain for many months. I feel I have controlled all I can mentally and emotionally and would like to know if Mayo has any other ideas for pain relief other than training your own will power and making major adjustments with brain flexibility work. I have been physically active all my life and know when I am strong enough again sitting on my horses will help me find my way back as they have done many times before. Mayo has been suggested to me as well but I don't think Mayo will help via Telemedicine for folks who cannot make the trip or tolerate the rigors of the program? It sounds way too tough for people who are in such severe pain that they would seek out such a program. Can you tell me what you gained practically from the program? How much has your average pain score been lowered from their program?