skygirl
10-10-2006, 09:01 AM
I am being sent to a Pain Mangement Center for Chronic Pain of 6 years.
What can I expect when I go there?
What can I expect when I go there?
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Shoreline
10-11-2006, 03:58 PM
Hi Sky, I've been through a program after ever surgery, 3 in all. They were 8 hours a day, 5 days a week where you went to PT twice a day, morning and afternoon, Met with a nutritionist, Pharmacologist, PM doc who did procedures like trigger point injection, trigger point release, acupuncture, acupressure,Chiropractic type adjustments and medication management. Everyone saw a psychologist and learned bio-feedback, self hypnosis and guided imagery, we learned yoga relaxation techniques. Went to art therapy, Occupational therapy, aquatic therapy, etc etc. etc..
You basically have to retrain your way of thinking about pain, that with chronic pain, pain is no longer a signal that something is terribly wrong and you need to get to the ER. You learn to cope with what meds can't relieve. We had one on one counseling, group counseling, psych testing . We were always allowed to lay down if needed or change positions but the main idea is to show you that you can get through an 8 hour day without crawling into bed, taking med or calling your doc every time you have BT pain or a flair up.. You’re there to find as many tools as you can that help you manage and cope with pain.
You will learn every stretch and exercise that may possibly benefit and then it’s up to you to use what works for you. Don't worry about what doesn't help, just remember the things that do. You can't slam a square peg through a round hole. What works for one person may not for another. The same is true with pain meds. Just take away what's useful and works for you and forget about the rest. If you still don’t have the tools you need to function at the end of the program, and can’t manage your pain and cope with what meds simply can’t, then you consult another PM doc and see what they have to offer.
The first 2 clinics I went through were prior to the invention of OxyC so opiates weren't used except for post op, acute pain or the terminally ill.. The last clinic I went to used them selectively when other methods and surgery had failed. Who got opiates and who didn't, had little to do with the level of pain they were in but their prognosis and possibility of getting better or learning to live or find a way to cope if opiates could be avoided. Use of Opiates do have a hefty price and if it's the only tool you have to manage pain, the only thing that's certain is your tolerance will grow and you will need more and more as the years pass. Where if you have other tools to help get through bad days you don't have to reach for pain meds every time you feel something uncomfortable.
Even if the place you go to doesn't use opiates, you will learn something. Be open to to anything that might help you manage your pain or cope with the pain that can’t be relieved surgically or with medication. If down the road you find long acting meds are your only option, there will always be a PM doc out there willing to prescribe for whatever reason. If you don't try other methods first it's pretty hard to go back and start from square one once you know instant relief can be found in a pill and there is a pill for everything. If you Hurt you have pain meds, if they make you sleepy take amphetamines, can't sleep because of amphetamines, you have sleeping pills, You get anxious when you pain spikes or from the speed, they have meds for that too.
It's your choice to use natural ways to manage the pain and learn to cope with pain that can’t be completely relieved even by opiates, or embrace every pharmaceutical that could possibly make you more comfortable, sleep better, have more energy, be less anxious, treat the nausea from all the other meds and then treat the side effects from the anti nausea meds..
You can always shop until you find a pm doc willing to prescribe pain meds. I've yet to see where the invention of all these pain meds have decreased the suicide rate, increased the return to work rate or done anything more than make millions of people dependant on opiates that might have been able to find another way to manage pain had they tried.
Good luck, Dave
You basically have to retrain your way of thinking about pain, that with chronic pain, pain is no longer a signal that something is terribly wrong and you need to get to the ER. You learn to cope with what meds can't relieve. We had one on one counseling, group counseling, psych testing . We were always allowed to lay down if needed or change positions but the main idea is to show you that you can get through an 8 hour day without crawling into bed, taking med or calling your doc every time you have BT pain or a flair up.. You’re there to find as many tools as you can that help you manage and cope with pain.
You will learn every stretch and exercise that may possibly benefit and then it’s up to you to use what works for you. Don't worry about what doesn't help, just remember the things that do. You can't slam a square peg through a round hole. What works for one person may not for another. The same is true with pain meds. Just take away what's useful and works for you and forget about the rest. If you still don’t have the tools you need to function at the end of the program, and can’t manage your pain and cope with what meds simply can’t, then you consult another PM doc and see what they have to offer.
The first 2 clinics I went through were prior to the invention of OxyC so opiates weren't used except for post op, acute pain or the terminally ill.. The last clinic I went to used them selectively when other methods and surgery had failed. Who got opiates and who didn't, had little to do with the level of pain they were in but their prognosis and possibility of getting better or learning to live or find a way to cope if opiates could be avoided. Use of Opiates do have a hefty price and if it's the only tool you have to manage pain, the only thing that's certain is your tolerance will grow and you will need more and more as the years pass. Where if you have other tools to help get through bad days you don't have to reach for pain meds every time you feel something uncomfortable.
Even if the place you go to doesn't use opiates, you will learn something. Be open to to anything that might help you manage your pain or cope with the pain that can’t be relieved surgically or with medication. If down the road you find long acting meds are your only option, there will always be a PM doc out there willing to prescribe for whatever reason. If you don't try other methods first it's pretty hard to go back and start from square one once you know instant relief can be found in a pill and there is a pill for everything. If you Hurt you have pain meds, if they make you sleepy take amphetamines, can't sleep because of amphetamines, you have sleeping pills, You get anxious when you pain spikes or from the speed, they have meds for that too.
It's your choice to use natural ways to manage the pain and learn to cope with pain that can’t be completely relieved even by opiates, or embrace every pharmaceutical that could possibly make you more comfortable, sleep better, have more energy, be less anxious, treat the nausea from all the other meds and then treat the side effects from the anti nausea meds..
You can always shop until you find a pm doc willing to prescribe pain meds. I've yet to see where the invention of all these pain meds have decreased the suicide rate, increased the return to work rate or done anything more than make millions of people dependant on opiates that might have been able to find another way to manage pain had they tried.
Good luck, Dave