1. < Chronic Pain

AARP says...

Posted by blue717 @blue717, Jun 14 11:20am

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!

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Chronic Pain Support Group.

Mentor
Sue, Volunteer Mentor | @sueinmn | Jun 17 9:49am

@christine5 and @blue717
Did you read what @misssuezq had to say in her post above?
Pain is real, it is your body's response to an injury or illness, but chronic pain (all day, all night...) is also in your brain. It is you body's learned response, and what has been learned can be altered - maybe not cured, but changed. That doesn't mean it becomes "good pain", just that you know there is not something causing more damage today, so you need to figure out how to deal with it.

The mind is a very powerful tool, and very capable of learning new things - including new ways to view and deal with pain.

For example, today it is rainy and damp - two things my body and lungs detest. So today I hurt everywhere, and drawing a deep breath takes effort. Before pain management, I would have curled up on the couch with a heating pad and felt sorry for myself. By evening, I would have been depressed because I wasted the day.
Instead, I took a hot shower to ease the pain, did stretching and PT for a bad shoulder. Soon I will rub Voltaren into my hands so they will move, turn on some music, and paint. Each hour I will get up and do a small chore or a stretch. Getting my brain engrossed in learning my new skill of watercolor keeps me from noticing every twinge.

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christine5 | @christine5 | Jun 17 10:22am

I don't seek pain mgt for every "twinge". I'm really quite taken aback. My pain is real, physical pain, joints, ligaments , spine, all documented. Not a back strain, that can be fixed w some NSAIDs and pt. I'm facing 3 more surgeries just to get out of a daily pain scale of 6. It usually goes up from there, depending upon how much I have to do that day. Thank you for your reply, I hope all continues to go well. God bless.

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christine5 | @christine5 | Jun 17 10:26am
In reply to @blue717 "So unfortunate that you have to live like that. I too, dont believe that you just..." + (show)
@blue717

So unfortunate that you have to live like that. I too, dont believe that you just have to change your inner thoughts. Mind over matter can work to an extent but I agree there is no safe or good pain. I was always taught that pain is your body letting you know that something is wrong.

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You are absolutely correct. Pain is an indication of SOMETHING, whether it be infection, over use, joint damage, orthopedically speaking that is. And as always, imo.

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hlp123 | @hlp123 | Jun 28 2:32pm

I am looking to this group, to find help for my pain. I do not have any cartaledge in my shoulders and I have severe pain in my right side and I have severe pain in my right hip. Because of my severe COPD I an not a candidate for replacement surgery or apparently any anesthetic. What is the best way to find the best pain clinic ? How can I get help without becoming addicted to medication. Thank you

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2 replies
menetski4 | @menetski4 | Jun 29 7:34am

I have been using pain reprocessing therapy to help eliminate 30+ years of chronic pain. It works! This therapy has been around for decades first introduced by Dr John Sarno. Now, most notably, being taught by Dr Howard Schubiner and many others. It doesn’t mean your pain is not real. It is just a way to markedly reduce or eliminate chronic pain with a unique way of using your brain. Here’s a good podcast to help you understand the therapy.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/our-power-is-within-heal-chronic-illness-pain/id1668678950?i=1000597134954

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jenatsky | @jenatsky | Jun 30 11:48am
In reply to @hlp123 "I am looking to this group, to find help for my pain. I do not have..." + (show)
@hlp123

I am looking to this group, to find help for my pain. I do not have any cartaledge in my shoulders and I have severe pain in my right side and I have severe pain in my right hip. Because of my severe COPD I an not a candidate for replacement surgery or apparently any anesthetic. What is the best way to find the best pain clinic ? How can I get help without becoming addicted to medication. Thank you

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@hlp123 Needing pain treatment with medication (narcotics) that you can become dependent upon does not mean you’re an addict. Addiction is the need for more and higher dose medications while with dependence you are maintained on a constant dose over time. Because of your COPD a pain doctor may be reluctant to give you a medication that might decrease your respiratory system function. But a pain doctor is a great place to start for help. Your bone to bone movement must be terrible. I have something similar in my left shoulder. Good luck.

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hlp123 | @hlp123 | 4 days ago

Thank you for your reply ! I needed to hear the information you posted. I am sorry you are going through a similar situation in your shoulder. I have been thinking that Modern Medical Science ? would come up with some way to replace the cartilage in the shoulder joint. There seems to be progress in correcting this problem in most of our other joints. Perhaps tomorrow there will be a breakthrough solution. I hope your pain is manageable. Best to you, Holly

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rashida | @rashida | 2 days ago
In reply to @sueinmn "I'm not exactly sure how to participate in this discussion. Let me begin by saying that..." + (show)
@sueinmn

I'm not exactly sure how to participate in this discussion. Let me begin by saying that in 90% of medicine there is no absolute right or wrong answer.

I am a graduate and permanent member of a pain management clinic. It did change my life.

Here are some things I learned, in no particular order.

There is acute pain like from surgery or an injury, that is appropriately treated with medication to "get through it".

There is chronic pain, from a disease process, that worsens over time. Pain meds may or may not help it.

There is chronic pain that is part physical and part mental. This is where PMR can help.
In PMR or PMT we learn to recognize the different kinds of pain and treat each one appropriately.
For example, fibromyalgia pain and spine pain are a combination of pain, sensitivity, fatigue and other factors. NO ONE medication or strategy can manage it. So imagery, exercise, PT,and some medication is combined.

Pain from metastatic cancer is a whole different thing. Controlling the primary pain becomes the first goal, but many PMR strategies may be added to reduce the amount of meds required so one remains able to participate in life.

Some time ago big pharma "sold" the theory that "all pain can be managed with enough of the right drugs".
We now know that is not true, and as usually happens, instead of alkowing doctors to make a knowledgeable case by case decision, regulators jumped off a cliff to say "all opioids are bad".
Now there needs to be a middle ground.
But PLEASE don't say all pain management clinics are bad/wrong/worthless. That is equally incorrect as saying "all pain can be managed by drugs"

Work with your providers to find that middle ground. Work with your legislators turn medical decisions back to the professionals.

And keep an open mind about alternative approaches.

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@sueinmn I agree with you, Sue!

I have fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis, etc. but over the years I have built up a high threshold to pain so often turn down pain medication prescription offers. I prefer to manage without medication because I have fatty liver disease as well and family history of liver and pancreatic cancers/diseases so am afraid of making my liver more toxic. But doctors get frustrated with me when I stop using any pain medication they prescribe and I get labelled as “difficult”.

Of course, that does not mean I am against all pain medication - or against others needing medication, especially after surgery or in the case of sudden acute pain. But for chronic pain I think one can build up tolerance - just as one can build up tolerance for medication dosage. Then again, it all boils down to sensitivity - what one person grades pain level as a 5 (often my case) another person could grade it as an 8 or higher, even over 10. 🤷🏼‍♀️

As you say, finding that middle ground is the key.

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rashida | @rashida | 2 days ago
In reply to @christine5 "I understand What you're saying but I have a problem with it. I have chronic pain..." + (show)
@christine5

I understand What you're saying but I have a problem with it. I have chronic pain from having my chest.Cracked twice in five months. I also have.
Pain from having marfan syndrome and having my ligaments be very lax, causing a lot of joint issues. I have had over twenty surgeries and I don't believe that the pain is in my head.

They have made it so if you ask for pain medicine they write you up like you're Some kind of junkie.

I'm not saying it should be handed out like candy but the people who need it, need it.

I also don't believe that the pain is in your head.
I have found over the years.That pain cannot be controlled by your head. Physical pain is physical pain.

I appreciate your input greatly, But I am in physical pain every single day. No one can tell me it's all in my head.

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@christine5 I don’t think anyone here is suggesting “it’s all in your head”! Just that some people can and do build up a tolerance to a certain level of pain - but in your case that is not true.

One thing is certain: physical pain is physical pain and you are right, about that.

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1 reply
rashida | @rashida | 2 days ago
In reply to @misssuezq "I read the aarp article and I completed an intensive residential chronic pain program. I went..." + (show)
@misssuezq

I read the aarp article and I completed an intensive residential chronic pain program. I went in thinking they were going to be able to fix me. I was in a wheelchair and could use a walker for shorter distances. On the first day they said “if you are here because you think we have a way or a magical pill that will make you better, we don’t.” Boy was I bummed I honestly thought about getting up and leaving but instead I thought I had to retire due to my pain I can hear them out. Each day I recommitted to going and keeping an open mind and I really did learn a lot. I started out in so much pain that worsened in the first week because of all the exercise we did. I approached instructors saying “i think I have done something terribly wrong to my thighs.” But by the beginning of the next week, the new pain was gone and I was learning to live a better quality of life with my chronic pain. I could workout in the gym, do pool exercise, yoga, tai chi actually enjoy myself. It is using CBT, mindfulness and other alternative metrologies but it is worth trying. When I was done with the program I continued using the exercises I started and still needed assistance in walking. Surgery on my back in January gave me back the ability to walk without assistance. I still need pain meds on occasion just not as often. It is not a one or the other mentality it is in addition to what we are already doing. Yes I still have chronic pain I have just learned how to put it in the background and focus on other things at least for part of my day.

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@misssuezq where did you attend that pain management program, and how did you find out about it?

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