Is the Pain Rehabilitation Center right for you?

Thought I'd chime in here with my own personal experience. The PRC was right for me, but I wasn't too sure of that for some time when chronic symptoms (anything lasting longer than 6 months) were amplifying and I was entrusting myself to mainly doctors and medications. It wasn’t until treatments were no longer working and I had had enough with the quality of my life diminishing and me feeling deconditioned both physically and mentally. I can attest that the PRC was a life-changing experience.

Are you someone who lives with chronic symptoms that dictate your life and you feel stuck? Are you possibly reading about the pain rehab center but feeling intimidated or fearful of committing to such a program? If so, I understand. It sounds like a tall order and it is, but 3 comprehensive weeks spent treating the whole person by a care team approach and providing tools for life is an investment that pays dividends back.

Have you ever considered Mayo Clinic's Pain Rehabilitation Center for helping to improve the quality of your life?

I attended the PRC. It changed my life!

@rwinney , I have two concerns with this program. The first is my Mayo pain mgr says Medicare picks up the expense of the program but you must pick up room and board, and transportation. And, two, and most importantly, I understand the program is 8 to 5 daily. At 76 , I can no longer manage a 9 hour day.
Can you address those two concerns?
Thank you,
Holly

Hello Holly @samiam1949. I totally understand your concerns and had them myself. Correct, Mayo does accept Medicare . My PRC visit was 100% covered through Medicare but being from New York, I did need out of network coverage, which cost a little extra. The kicker is affording travel, meals, and housing accommodations. I was blessed, and my father donated to my cause. Understandably, not all can be so lucky. It can be a chunk of change. I stayed right across the street from Mayo in FL at a hotel that provided transportation to and from each day. There are different options for housing from hotels to airbnbs that may be more affordable.

Yes, the program begins at 8:00 a.m. and typically runs until 4:30 Monday through Friday for 3 weeks. They are long days but are strategically structured to balance rest and activity and keep you occupied with very engaging lectures and support from peers and staff. If you're interested in attending the program, I recommend you pose any questions or concerns to the PRC location you may be interested in. Would you like me to provide you with contact information?

Thank you @rwinney . I appreciate the information. My situation is a little more complicated. I have neck pain from degenerating disc's due to a double fusion done at Mayo and pain in my lung a nerve wrapped in scar tissue from lung surgery due to cancer in 2025, also done at Mayo. I have a knee that has needed replacing for 4 yrs.Lastly, I had long covid in2022 which left me with asthma and long covid. I am extremely productive in the morning and fade as the day passes. I also cannot exercise or walk for more than 15 minutes. 2 busy days in a row leave me in bed the following day, feeling like I was hit by a truck! I do chair yoga,self hypnosis, music therapy, baby walks,spend time in nature among other things. My pain is specific not general and has physical causes rather than general as the articles suggest . I am not convinced this program will be helpful. Additionally, the expense of 3 weeks in a hotel seems prohibitive as well as travel,etc. Thank you.
Holly

@rwinney Hello!
I am considering it, but having tried SO MANY things in the last 30+ years of pain, I’d really like to get a better understanding of what the program actually does with you for 40 hours a week/3 weeks? Can anyone, that’s been through it, give me an idea of what all goes on during this time? I can see it’s going to be a good chunk of change if I go, and I’ve already wasted 10’s, if not 100’s of dollars over those years, so I’d prefer to have a bit more knowledge going in to be sure it’s not just a repeat of 6 other program’s I’ve already done!
I’d greatly appreciate any input from folks with personal experience with this program!
Thanks and cheers!

Melanie

@2boymom I had to laugh at my own mistake here…the “…spent 10’s if not 100’s of dollars…”! That would have been nice, but it was supposed to read “thousands, if not 10’s of thousands of dollars”!
Just wanted to clarify! 😂

@2boymom Hi Melanie! My apologies for a delayed response. I appreciate your willingness to still be open to a new possibility of rehabilitation despite having been through, as you say, "so many things" over the years. Understandably, the cost is a big chunk of someone's decision.

Here is an overview from Mayo PRC which gives good insight to daily happenings:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/departments-centers/pain-rehabilitation-center/sections/overview/ovc-20481691
Also, you may wish to connect with graduates of the PRC like @tallyteresa, @connie2023 and others here who share their experience in the following discussion:

Anyone Had a Successful Experience With Mayo Pain Rehabilitation?
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/has-anyone-successful-experience-with-mayo-pain-rehabilitation-center/
Specifically here is comment with helpful insurance info:
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/comment/852600/
I agree that doing your research and knowing what you're up against is very important in making a decision, and each person's experience is their own. I hope this information helps you do some research and decide if the PRC looks to be a right fit for you.

May I ask, what would you hope to get out of the PRC experience that you haven't received from prior experiences with rehabilitation?

@rwinney I so seldom check in so my apologies. There is a reason for it however. In PRC, we do not talk symptoms, diagnoses, or prognoses because we trick our brain to think we are healthier than we are - and for me, I feel healthier than I did in my forties at 70. I went into PRC with a walker and around the clock oxygen. I also had been given a death sentence diagnosis just before I was to start the 15 day program which may have been a first for them. I was so deconditioned, I could barely get myself from bed to bathroom. Almost 3 years after graduating, I am without oxygen, my "death sentence" issue has stayed stable instead of progressing, I am 40 lbs lighter, and on no prescription meds except for brief, acute periods such as surgery which btw, we recover faster from and with less meds. I call PRC Mayo Clinic School to learn to be your healthiest - and HAPPIEST self because beyond the physical tools, we learn so much more about other things that impact our well being - stress/time/anger management plus forgiveness to name a few. At 67 years of age, I learned that self care is not selfish and that not every relationship has to end in kumbaya. I wish every single person on the planet could attend this program, especially young people maybe in middle school. I am not sure they would ever need a Mayo Clinic if taught about all the ways our health is impacted. My life is so much better though different than when I got here. (I actually stayed in JAX after graduation instead of returning to Tallahassee.) Yes, PRC is a commitment, but there are ways to make it work $ and otherwise. If I can help someone explore options, I am glad to if in a position to do so at the time. Life and health matters still need attention after PRC, but the difference is as a grad, you come away with tools to handle it. And to keep it working, you gotta' work it everyday going forward. I never want to go back to where I was so I tap into the lifelong support available from the PRC team when needed and do my best to follow the program each day. That includes walking 5 days per week for me which I now LOVE as I do volunteer ushering at the historic FL Theatre in downtown JAX. (Photo from the Usher Awards dinner from a couple of weeks ago. I am seated to the right.)

@tallyteresa and @rwinney, so glad to see you’re both still doing amazing after graduating the PRC program. PRC is an amazing life saving program that helps us live our best lives by using the tools PRC teaches and following their very moderation guided, stable and flexible planned out program.