@mom29907, Good evening. It is with some reflective joy that I see Connect members jumping in to help you and your Mom. We are not medical experts who diagnose and prescribe. I am an enthusiastic advocate of shared decision making. This means you and your Mom and her PCP or other clinician need to sit down and have a chat about the most appropriate and beneficial treatments for her, given her age, past addictions, and current state of wellness. All of us have lived the life of a patient or as in your case, also a caregiver.
At this point in my life with SFN (small fiber neuropathy), I have chosen to use only medical cannabis for pain management. There is no threat of addiction. There is no need for tapering on and off medications. There are few side effects.....and lots of product choices. The dispensary staff can often help with product selection and appropriate dosages. Many of our members have found sleep to be easier and pain to be milder. I don't think there is anything that will take away the pain from this affliction 100%.
CBT or cognitive behavioral therapy has been known to provide emotional support. I have not experienced CBT and yet have seen it work with friends and family members.
Of amazing help is restorative yoga, to keep the muscles stretched in a healthy way, and mindful meditation, that lets us learn how to train ourselves to stay in the present. The past is gone, the future hasn't happened. Mindfully, we can learn to live for now and practice self-compassion.
What kinds of activities does your mother enjoy? Would she be a candidate for a pain management course like the one at Mayo Rochester?
https://www.mayoclinic.org/departments-centers/pain-rehabilitation-center/overview
What else would you like to know about? What else would it be important to know about your mother? Be safe. Chris
When your in terrible pain and coming off opiates it would be very difficult to have the concentration to be mindful and to do yoga, the only pain meds that have ever worked for me and my Mum were/ are opiates, it's awful that doctors treat us like drug addicts if we ask for more meds, some off the Dr's haven't got a clue and maybe until they are in the same situation will be when they understand. I'm so sorry for your Mum having to go through withdrawal s and the mental addiction and dependence, when all she wants is to receive her pain, its a scary world we live in when we have Dr's behaving like that.