From what we know, is pain not a signal that something might be wrong in our body? This answer is obvious - of course it is! It's our body's way of telling us to pay attention - something needs to be fixed! and pain should never be ignored until it is fully established what might be causing the pain.
In most cases, the treatment of the underlying condition will reduce or eliminate the pain. But - what if the circuitry in our body is somehow confused? Is the body giving a symptom of something that might lead to a more severe condition? Or does the body's report of a painful condition not mean there is a need for repair (e.g. chronic migraine headaches)?
In many cases of chronic pain, the causes are not fully known, easily understood or (in some cases) fully treatable. This leaves some afflicted with a painful condition and somehow finding a path of coping with the pain with very little hope that there is an easy fix for the problem. Those living with a chronic pain condition often share incredible personal stories of how difficult it is can be to get their pain under control. The alternative can be the person afflicted with such pain must succumb to existing in a dark room, taking heavy pain medications and constantly sleeping! Or - complaining to others about how bad things are, or refusing to participate in any activity because it is too painful! Thinking that others don't care about them, or that they refuse to interact with them because they're not "normal". What kind of existence can that be?
Anyone that struggles with chronic pain should appreciate that creating a plan that eliminates or reduces the pain to a tolerable level should allow them to function in a quasi-normal way - even if they cannot fully eliminate the pain. How does that person get past the pain to create a sense of normalcy? How does one cope with a high level of pain - and at the same time, live to want to be a part of their community?
Several things that will help to deal with chronic pain:
Find and Develop good partnerships with medical professionals that are able to treat the painful condition or focus on reducing the pain.
Persons that live with chronic pain often know too well that if they present themselves in an emergency room showing only symptoms of pain with no apparent underlying cause, medical professionals will most often treat the condition conservatively. How terrible is that - when a person in severe pain is looking to hospital staff to make the pain go away, the treating professionals are very likely looking at non-narcotic alternatives or only low doses of narcotic medications to treat the pain!
But - if you're a medical professional that absolutely makes sense. The pain cannot be accurately quantified, it's only a subjective report given to them by the patient. The medical professional presented with the symptons have only small, short glimpse of this issue and really has nothing more to rely upon other than what a patient in apparent severe pain is reporting.
It is best to treat any condition as conservatively as possible unless there is completely a compelling reason to do otherwise. And each persons pain threshold is completely different than anyone else! As tough as it is for someone in severe pain - pain cannot be the only motivator to force a medical professional to do otherwise! It is rare (and extremely risky) for a medical professional to look to completely sedate someone that is suffering pain. Dong so could very well create a larger, more dangerous situation (e.g. the person stops breathing).
A person visiting an emergency room to treat chronic pain must be prepared that doing so might not result in what it is they need most - relief from their chronic pain! Think about alternatives - develop a plan that only has a last result of visiting an emergency room.
- Since a visit to an emergency room will likely be when you're most affected by pain, understand in advance that emergency room medical staff are are likely to be very unfamiliar with the chronic pain condition you're suffering
- Only visit an emergency room if the primary treating medical professionals suggests is is appropriate to do so.
- Only visit an emergency room if the primary treating medical professionals are in conversations with the emergency room personnel or be prepared to carry medical records to the emergency room that will help the emergency room staff to better evaluate your condition.
- And - most importantly - set a reasonable expectation around how the emergency room staff may be prepared to treat the chronic pain. It will alleviate much of the anxiety and frustration if they're not meeting your needs.
What is the best way to deal with chronic pain? Any treatment plan must consider the end state and how it might be affected by any risks in the treatment plan. It is far better, for example, to seek ways of treating chronic pain without resorting to putting the person suffering the pain on long term narcotic pain medications. Choosing narcotic pain medications as a means of treating the painful condition exposes the person being treated to very high levels of risk. Medical professionals should truly only be considering a treatment course of narcotic pain medications as a last ditch attempt to resolve the pain!
Long term use of narcotic pain medications will mean they will become less and less effective at controlling the pain - leaving the person taking the medication to continually increase the dosage. And - EVERY narcotic pain medication is addictive.
Narcotic pain medications are effective at doing what they do because they're mind altering. That's why they work! What does that mean to someone taking long term pain medications? Bottom line - there is a very high likelihood these types of medications will affect moods, personal interactions with others, processing information, etc. In other words, this kind of treatment has a potential for severe impact on living a normal life! The higher the dose - the more profound potential affect the narcotic pain medication will have on right thinking. Anyone taking these medications should be evaluating what affect the medication is having on their personality - they're processing of information - their interactions with others.
Persons taking long term narcotic pain medications to control the pain must create a plan to ensure they are extremely careful about their use of the medications! The alternative is often disasterous - not only do they have a chronic painful condition, but now they also face consequences for the use of the pain medications they need to treat their condition!
It is absolutely imperative that anyone on long term pain medications take responsibility for the care of their condition. The responsibility includes carefully following their medical professionals guidance on the dose and frequency of taking the medication. They must not mix one pain medication with another pain medication or other drugs - there could be harmful interactions. And (most imporantely) THEY MUST NEVER use alcohol with any long term pain medication. Doing so is EXTREMELY dangerous!
It is also imperative that any potential side effects of these types of medications on the person taking them be fully evaluated. Persons taking these medications need to realize and understand that if they're receiving feedback from others around them that their behavior is unusual or inappropriate - there is an immediate need to communicate that information to their medical professional before the situation worsens!
Bottom line - persons taking long term narcotic pain medications will often be their own best advocate, as long as they advocate responsibly!
Finally. Don't give up! Always maintain a POSITIVE MENTAL ATTITUDE. Family, friends and others will find it much easier to support the journey of trying to maintain a normal lifestyle if the chronic pain condition does not otherwise severely impact their relationship!
I would love to have others reading this blog share their stories of overcoming their pain or lessening the affect on their life. These kinds of insightful, inspiring stories could bring less suffering for others. Please feel free to comment and share!
I hope everyone reading this has a pain free day!
