Hi Mcr. I know that at least one of our members is currently attending a pain management course, hopefully she’ll see your question. Would you like to re-post this in the discussion section? It gets a lot more traffic than the blog section does and you’re likely to get more responses that way.
I’m new to site and posted this on blog …thanks for advice to post here…
Mcr, I read your blog. I'm not in a pain mgmt. course and never have been. But, I guess the times I went to a physical therapist for my back and neck, they would tell me how to exercise and move and position myself to relieve and prevent pain.
Also, applying ice packs and heating pads to painful areas has helped me a lot, and it's so much safer than pain pills.
I'm not sure, but I think a pain mgmt. specialist would likely suggest doing some physical things to manage pain as well as teach you how to train your mind to ignore the pain signals. I think we all have our own ways of doing that, some of us are probably naturally better at it than others and I think it all depends, too, on the degree of pain--whether it's mild or severe. I.e., I feel like I "put up" with mild to moderate pain very well. But, severe pain, like at the 9 to 10 level, forget it--it's hard to imagine pain mgmt. being able to help much.
I agree…I hope to get back to yoga as it helps a lot. Just need to see PT to be sure what is safe and what’s not…I think listening to body is key. I find heat helps the most. I just read some where someone took a course and am wanting alternatives to pain medication as I need to function at my job. Thank you for sharing your wisdom. It gives me so much hope that I will get into a routine, feel better, and be able to focus on living life versus focusing on doctors, infusions, labs, etc.
The sum total of what I know about pain management courses is that they can make a big difference. Like you I've read a few endorsements of such things, on this site in fact, and I think someone with first hand experience will find this post sooner or later! If I had moderate to severe pain a lot of the time I would want to be armed to the teeth with strategies.
The biologics, whilst they may not be designed specifically to combat pain, do often seem to minimise it which makes sense I guess. So there is the hope that Remicade will help you more as time goes on. If not, a change of biologic might perhaps be on the cards. Some of us here are trying turmeric tablets as an alternative or add-on to NSAIDs as there has been some encouraging research about them. But I don't think anyone's expecting full-on pain relief from turmeric.
Have you asked your primary care doctor or, even better your rheumy, for a referral to a pain clinic?
No. I’ve been hoping to avoid it with other treatments as adding another doctor seems daunting … I’m going to give in another few months…waiting for my insurance to authorize hydrotherapy as I hear that can be great and will help me sleep… I know the lack of sleep contributed to my perception of pain and I know I need to expect that I will have some pain intermittently long term. It’s been tough to accept that there is no magic cure but that life will return to normal if I’m patient enough. Thank you for your reply…and for all of the info everyone shares. It helps a lot to not feel alone…I think it’s hard for others to understand how bad some days can be and that it’s depressing at times.