I bang on all the time about the need for a routine if you are going to manage your chronic pain well. But for a lot of people it is difficult to get into a routine. I know from clients who come to me for psychological techniques for pain management, that it is very easy to start off well and then something intervenes and you lose track. It can be a family situation, or work pressures, or you can have a bad day when your pain gets worse and you just give up. I decided to produce something which is do-able, easy to use and feels like a help rather than another mountain to climb. My answer is a simple diary which you can keep…
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What I have been reading lately …
As a pain specialist, I am always on the lookout for the latest news . . . our understanding of pain and how to control it. There is a lot out there, and I can’t cover it all, but these three things caught my eye over the past couple of months and I would like to share them with you. Surgical pain has a psychological element Dr Charles Dinerstein, a Senior Medical Fellow at the American Council on Science and Health and a retired vascular surgeon has written a very interesting article on how surgical pain could be better managed. One point he makes is that following an operation, people often have to wait for pain medication, asking for medication as their pain worsens, and…
Pain: It’s a Family Affair – Part Five: How to enjoy social events
I know from my clients that one of the real low points, if you suffer from chronic pain, is when you have to cancel or miss out on a family event. This may be familiar to you. The anxiety rises as an event approaches and you feel tense which then worsens your pain, you worry more … and it’s a vicious circle. Over my many years of helping clients, I have worked out some tips and tricks which may help you. At the heart of these is planning and not being afraid to say you have a problem with pain and ask for some help and support. I would advise you share these tips with your family and all discuss together how you can best…
Pain: It’s a Family Affair – Part Four: When your child is in chronic pain
There is nothing worse for a parent than seeing their child in pain. I am going to set out here a simple technique you can use with your child to reduce and manage their pain. If you have a child who suffers chronic pain you may find this pain reduction technique helpful. It is not that different from a tried and trusted technique which I recommend to adults, and often I find that children pick it up even quicker. The reason for this is they have very active imaginations and are used to playing games. Make this technique playful and use it as a game and you will get excellent results. Storytelling pain away Storytelling forms an important part of hypnosis for chronic pain. You…
Pain: It’s a Family Affair – Part Three: Talking to teenagers about your chronic pain
This can be both easier and harder than talking to younger children. It is easier because they will have more understanding of the physical causes and your experiences. It is harder because teenagers often have so many changes going on themselves it can be difficult for them to step back and realise that you sometimes have to put your needs first. Here are my ‘Dr Sue pain expert’s 5 top tips for talking to teenagers’ Give them space. As they negotiate the world around them they will be trying out their independence so make a deliberate effort to allow them to have their own time and time with friends which is away from your pain. Remember they are going through the quite normal process of…
Opiate medication for chronic pain – the crisis of our time
Those of us who work in the field of pain management may have noticed that recently there is a growing move by medical practitioners to try to get their patients off of opiate medication. There are several reasons for this: the addictive qualities of these drugs the impact on the life of patients the cost and hassle to GP practices of prescribing a controlled drug. The move has also been fuelled by a growing realisation of where over-prescribing can lead. The situation in the US has been described as an ‘epidemic’ and now much stricter controls on the prescribing of opioids is in place as we discussed in a previous blog post. And it is certainly the case that prescriptions for opioids were on a…
Pain: it’s a family affair – Part Two: Communication
I often see how family tensions can compound the problems when I discuss how to manage pain with clients and their families in my pain psychology clinics in Milton Keynes and Bedford. Communication, or lack of it can be a big issue here. Often when someone is in pain they can become withdrawn and silent. This can make family members feel that they have done something wrong, or that they are powerless to help. If you are finding family communications difficult, here are some of the things which I advise. For both of you: Make a regular time to talk. Even if it is just five minutes, set aside time. Think about how to put this: ‘let’s just have a catch up,’ ‘let’s have a…
Pain: it’s a family affair – Part One: Relaxing together
I am always aware that when a client walks into my hypnosis for pain clinic in Milton Keynes or Bedford that they bring their family with them. I don’t mean that their family is literally there, although it can sometimes be useful if they are. I mean that the effects of chronic pain spread way beyond the individual patient to the whole of family life. So, I decided to do a short series of blog posts on family relationships and pain and this is the first. Often people who live with someone suffering with chronic pain can feel as if they are walking on eggshells. A US study found that people who are living with someone who has chronic pain are four times as likely…
What’s the deal about opiate contracts?
As you might know, abuse of opiate prescription drugs is a serious global problem, and it is a major problem in the US. It is now estimated that over 2 million people in the US have a serious opiate abuse problem and the numbers of unintentional deaths from opiate overdoses has quadrupled in 1999. Prolonged use of opiates at a high level, even when these drugs have been prescribed under clinical supervision, can have serious effects. Tolerance increases so the brain demands ever higher levels of the drug, withdrawal symptoms are common, addiction can set in and there is a risk of an overdose, which could even be fatal. Given this, it is not surprising to see the US government has made attempts to…
Let’s talk about pain
If you think you are isolated and alone then let me assure you there is help out there. A good start is if we all acknowledge how common chronic pain is. Hi and welcome to my blog – I hope by reading this you can become part of the growing movement to get pain taken seriously and learn that no-one needs to suffer in silence. I will be posting here every month on the 1st of the month and the blog is going to be called A Pain in the Mind – because as I am going to be showing that is where pain lies and that is where we can begin got deal with it. Helping people in chronic pain So, onto more serious…