Mayo Clinic Pain Rehab Center (PRC) - What’s Your Experience?

@rwinney, I found out last week that I got into the PRC program!! They decided to change their mind on their initial decision. I will be going to the Rochester, MN location and will begin the program on November 29th. (This Texan has gotten get ready for some major cold!! brrr) Would you mind sharing your best advice with me? I'm excited and also a little scared but trying really hard not to let fear get the best of me. But I do want to mentally prepare myself. What should I expect going into it and what will help me going through it? I know you talked about going into it with an open mind and also what you get from it will be what you put into it. Anything else that will be helpful?

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Hi, Michelle!
So sorry for my delayed response. I'm not sure how I missed your post.

I am ECSTATIC that you have been accepted to PRC and they reversed their initial decision on the delay. Wooo hooooo, girl!! This news just made my day. Good for you!

I believe you have everything it takes to accomplish your goal, you just don't know or necessarily feel it yet. Taking a leap of faith is not always easy. I was scared and excited too, but mostly scared. As I've mentioned before, I almost backed out. Everything overwhelmed me about going - my physical inability, my emotional state of mind and my behavioral patterns, but one thing I knew was that I did not feel like I had any other choice, option or plan for living the rest of my life the way I was. I had done and tried everything and nothing got the job done for me the way PRC did. It changed my life and the way I respond to pain. It was like a rebirth for me as a person, pain aside. Just a remarkable experience.

What should you expect going in and what will help you prepare? Great questions. Going in you should expect your first day to be exhausting, but all about you and your needs. You'll meet with your assigned nurse and go through an intake process. You'll be evaluated and asked to complete a self assessment. You'll be assigned a locker and be shown the facilities. The next day you'll begin the program.

The best preparation, in my opinion, is to have an open mind, believe in yourself, and know that change is good and necessary in this case. Find that one person who is strong for you, will encourage and support you. For me it was my husband who had to fly back to NY 2 days after dropping me off, but he remained a phone call away.

Remember that you are stronger than you think. I told myself that this experience was literally not going to kill me. I would focus on children and their strengths in fighting cancer or being disabled, or paralyzed and used that as inspiration for a more positive mindset, telling myself that I can do this. Sometimes you have to dig down deep. Also, my family, I did not want them to have to deal with me the way I was anymore. Mostly though, I did it for myself because I was worth the investment.

You will be in such good hands with the PRC program and their staff. You will be supported by your peers and not be alone in this journey, trust me. You are worth this investment.

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Thank you, @rwinney! This is really helpful! ❤️

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@rwinney, one of the things that I'm most worried about is the medication weaning. I know you mentioned that you were weaned off of some of your medications, including an opioid. I also am on an opioid and there are three other medications they said I would also need to agree to be weaned off of or have reduced. Do they wean you off of one medication at a time? I'm really hoping they don't try to wean me off of multiple medications at once. I think that could be too much for me.

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@rwinney, one of the things that I'm most worried about is the medication weaning. I know you mentioned that you were weaned off of some of your medications, including an opioid. I also am on an opioid and there are three other medications they said I would also need to agree to be weaned off of or have reduced. Do they wean you off of one medication at a time? I'm really hoping they don't try to wean me off of multiple medications at once. I think that could be too much for me.

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Hi, Michelle!
So sorry for my delayed response. I'm not sure how I missed your post.

I am ECSTATIC that you have been accepted to PRC and they reversed their initial decision on the delay. Wooo hooooo, girl!! This news just made my day. Good for you!

I believe you have everything it takes to accomplish your goal, you just don't know or necessarily feel it yet. Taking a leap of faith is not always easy. I was scared and excited too, but mostly scared. As I've mentioned before, I almost backed out. Everything overwhelmed me about going - my physical inability, my emotional state of mind and my behavioral patterns, but one thing I knew was that I did not feel like I had any other choice, option or plan for living the rest of my life the way I was. I had done and tried everything and nothing got the job done for me the way PRC did. It changed my life and the way I respond to pain. It was like a rebirth for me as a person, pain aside. Just a remarkable experience.

What should you expect going in and what will help you prepare? Great questions. Going in you should expect your first day to be exhausting, but all about you and your needs. You'll meet with your assigned nurse and go through an intake process. You'll be evaluated and asked to complete a self assessment. You'll be assigned a locker and be shown the facilities. The next day you'll begin the program.

The best preparation, in my opinion, is to have an open mind, believe in yourself, and know that change is good and necessary in this case. Find that one person who is strong for you, will encourage and support you. For me it was my husband who had to fly back to NY 2 days after dropping me off, but he remained a phone call away.

Remember that you are stronger than you think. I told myself that this experience was literally not going to kill me. I would focus on children and their strengths in fighting cancer or being disabled, or paralyzed and used that as inspiration for a more positive mindset, telling myself that I can do this. Sometimes you have to dig down deep. Also, my family, I did not want them to have to deal with me the way I was anymore. Mostly though, I did it for myself because I was worth the investment.

You will be in such good hands with the PRC program and their staff. You will be supported by your peers and not be alone in this journey, trust me. You are worth this investment.

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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 !

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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 !

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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!

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