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Mayo Clinic Pain Rehab Center (PRC) - What’s Your Experience?
Chronic Pain | Last Active: Aug 11, 2023 | Replies (113)Comment receiving replies
Yes , congrats Michelle. I think Rachel’s comments are exactly how I will feel if I get accepted . You’ve seen my posts about my trepidations about the physical demands.
Re, the med weaning. If they were aggressive about weaning all your meds at once , you’re right, you’d be a basket case not able to participate in the program. As you know , I’m waiting for my second appointment assessment ( I was too sore and couldn’t function for it last week!)
What I’ve done with my Dr is already have weaning plans in place before I go. I’ve already weaned off an antidepressant, have made big changes in my opioid meds to make it easier to wean when im at the PRC. Actually , I will start weaning my opioids before I go.
I tried weaning one med very slowly and it set off a severe flare , so I’m glad I did it now and not while at the PRC. One med I’m concerned about is lorazepam. I’ve been on it for many years , pre pain syndrome . I’m sure it will be one of the meds they will want to wean. Benzodiazepines are extremely difficult to wean off and I’m hoping I can concentrate on weaning my opioids and other meds . I don’t want this PRC experience to become all about med weaning as there are so many other aspects to participate in . There are places you can go purely for med weaning at a fraction of the cost , so I’m trusting the staff know how to get you weaning without it dominating your experience .
Good luck !
Replies to "Yes , congrats Michelle. I think Rachel’s comments are exactly how I will feel if I..."
Hi there @alh123. I just want to pop in and say how proud I am to read about your progress in early weaning and determination. What you are doing and saying is has so much positive benefit to your willingness. What I take from your posts are that yes, you are scared and somewhat doubtful, but recognize that you have room to grow and take more control of your health circumstances after all these years. I mean really, what else is there to do? You're not happy as is.
The facts are that we have what we have. Chronic situations are not going anywhere, however stepping up to your own plate provides you to take better control and open your mind to learn about a system that helps thousands of people like you, or worse than you. Granted some can't hang and do leave, some return again and MANY get through and come out better on the other side. You know my spiel by now.
Congrats on persevering up to this point! I continue to follow and support your journey and believe you can do this. When is your 2nd appointment scheduled for?
Will need to be careful going off from Benzodiazepines which can cause Seizures and worse.
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@alh123, that is such a smart thing to do - to start the weaning process ahead of time. I'm sure that will make the process a lot easier. And congratulations on what you've been able to accomplish so far! That is no small feat! I wish I had had more time to do that. I found out I was accepted with only a couple weeks before I start the program. I leave this coming Monday. My suspicion for getting in so quickly to the PRC in Minnesota is that no one wants to go there in the dead of winter! lol 🙂 I can relate with the benzodiazepines. I've been on one of them too for many years and have been told by my psychiatrist that he employs a method that takes about 20 weeks to fully wean off the drug. So, I'm hoping as well that the PRC focuses on the other drugs and not that one. I also, like you, don't want the med weaning to overtake the other aspects of the program.
I hope that you will feel great on the day of your next scheduled interview. Let us know how it goes!