Coping With Pain

[Greedyfly]

Having been an answerbanker for some time I know a lot of you suffer with pain problems.

I have a long term pain issue that we continually treat with surgery and I never get any relief so I am at a point where you have to give up with that option. Painkillers are a no go generally and I've tried many things like Accupuncture etc...

How do you cope with pain on a daily basis? Any hints or tips that I can try?

It's hard to accept the pain is likely with me for life and I struggle with it on a regular basis as I am sure most people do.

Thanks all

GF

[ladyalex]

Have you been to a Pain Clinic?
Most areas have them. You probably will need a referral from your hospital consultant rather than your GP.

Try to figure out when your pain is worst and when it is a little less troublesome and try to organise your life around this such that you do important things when the pain is less and are able to rest when the pain is worst.

It can feel as though you are at the same level of pain all the time, so it really is worth noting down how bad things are on an hourly basis, the reviewing it at the end of each day.
It might be that you find out that some things you do consistently make things worse, others have little effect. Once you have an understanding of this, you can modify your behaviour accordingly.

Remember that there are no medals for putting up with pain, so give yourself lots of breaks for rests, don't 'go through the pain barrier' it will only exhaust you .

I do feel for you and hope something will help.

[jeffa]

Quick question: have you tried hypnosis?

[ladyalex]

You might also want to look here, if you haven't already seen it:

www.britishpainsociety.org

then look for Publications designed for patients that you can download.

[whirlyhurly]

Have you tried Solpadol tablets, they were of great help with my gout.

[SpikeyBush]

What sort of pain is it and where is it? Since having a spinal injury and the subsequent attempt at a repair by surgeons I find gentle but regular exercise eases the discomfort. Walking and cycling keeps everything mobile but I still have the odd bad day when putting my shoes on is a challenge.

[mrs_overall]

I agree with ladyalex re the pain clinic. Ask for an urgent referral

[Greedyfly]

Pain clinic was of no help. Essentially all they could do was prescribe more drugs (which my GP) can do and most drugs I can't take due to bad reactions or my acid reflux. We tried a few things like a tens machine etc and pain blocking injections but long term these didn't work or were not feasible due to funding.

I've considered hypnotherapy as I have had this before and it worked for a different complaint but the expense is something I can't afford.

Unfortunately my ankle pain (previous fracture requiring surgery) is pretty much a constant regardless of doing anything so u just carry on as usual. This something I've had now for over five years and evey medical professional I've seen has not been able to diagnose why it still hurts after all this time.

It is unlucky that I have varying other medical issues also so it's hard to stay focused and hard not to get stuck in the pain rut.

Thanks for all your suggestions, I will look into hypnotherapy again and I will ask my GP if there is any help available with that (very unlikely I would imagine).

Thanks again

GF

[ladyalex]

Please do not take this badly, as I truly mean well, but a Psychologist might help you.
I do NOT think you have a mental illness, but Psychologists can help with coping skills.
I'm surprised the Pain Clinic did not have one attached.
If it did, you could get back to them and ask for a referral, if not you could ask your GP to refer to your local psychology department.
You could also ring your local,Psychology department to check on the length of the waiting list and perhaps get some literature fromthem to tide you voer until you get an appointment.
I do hope you can find something which can help soon.

[Greedyfly]

Ladyalex - no offence taken, I am grateful for any suggestions. The pain clinic do have a psychologist on staff but the waiting time was over a year for an appointment as they only have one and our pain clinic is massively over populated with patients.

Something to consider though. Thank you.