Chronic Pain Support Group
Physicians and professionalsdefine pain as chronic if it lasts longer than three to six months and is persistent. It's distinct from acute pain that is a direct result of injury or trauma. This support group is dedicated to those suffering from chronic pain. Discuss treatments that have worked for you, find advice for your specific experience, and find support. You're not...
Barriers to Effective Pain Management
Both patients and providers establish barriers
Provider Barriers
Health care professionals often fail to routinely assess and document pain.
Due to inadequate training, health care professionals often lack knowledge and skills to assess and manage pain effectively.
There is a lack of practical, effective treatment protocols.
Health care professionals lack sufficient knowledge to employ safe equianalgesic principles.
Health care professionals may have exaggerated concerns related to the side effects of opiods, especially about tolerance and addiction.
Health care professionals may undertreat pain because of belief in common misconceptions regarding pain:
Myth: A patient??s pain perception can accurately be correlated with vital sign changes and evidence of injury.
Myth: Patients in pain readily express their pain to health care providers.
Myth: Patients of certain cultural, ethnic, or socioeconomic backgrounds consistently underreport or over-report their pain.
Myth: Opioids are addictive and a treatment of last resort because of unmanageable side effects.
Myth: Patients experiencing chronic pain over-report pain because they are addicted to opioids.
Myth: Older patients, and cognitively impaired patients do not perceive pain as intensely as other patients.
Myth: If a patient is able to sleep, they must not be in very much pain.
Myth: The goal of chronic pain management is to keep the dose of medication as low as possible.
Myth: Patients with a history of substance abuse who require IV opioids should never be allowed to control their own dose of medication (i.e. patient controlled analgesia).
Myth: There is no physiological basis for the moderating effects of emotions on pain perception.
Patient Barriers
Patients often share similar concerns and all too often seem willing to "tough it out" rather than complain about their pain. A patient may be reluctant to report pain because of a belief in these myths:
Myth: Severe or chronic pain cannot be effectively controlled.
Myth: Opioids are always addictive and a treatment of last resort ( "I must really be dying.").
Myth: Pain is always evidence of disease progression.
Myth: It is more admirable or socially acceptable to ignore pain.
Myth: Pain is an unavoidable result of aging or disease.
Myth: Pain is a deserved punishment.
Both patients and providers establish barriers
Provider Barriers
Health care professionals often fail to routinely assess and document pain.
Due to inadequate training, health care professionals often lack knowledge and skills to assess and manage pain effectively.
There is a lack of practical, effective treatment protocols.
Health care professionals lack sufficient knowledge to employ safe equianalgesic principles.
Health care professionals may have exaggerated concerns related to the side effects of opiods, especially about tolerance and addiction.
Health care professionals may undertreat pain because of belief in common misconceptions regarding pain:
Myth: A patient??s pain perception can accurately be correlated with vital sign changes and evidence of injury.
Myth: Patients in pain readily express their pain to health care providers.
Myth: Patients of certain cultural, ethnic, or socioeconomic backgrounds consistently underreport or over-report their pain.
Myth: Opioids are addictive and a treatment of last resort because of unmanageable side effects.
Myth: Patients experiencing chronic pain over-report pain because they are addicted to opioids.
Myth: Older patients, and cognitively impaired patients do not perceive pain as intensely as other patients.
Myth: If a patient is able to sleep, they must not be in very much pain.
Myth: The goal of chronic pain management is to keep the dose of medication as low as possible.
Myth: Patients with a history of substance abuse who require IV opioids should never be allowed to control their own dose of medication (i.e. patient controlled analgesia).
Myth: There is no physiological basis for the moderating effects of emotions on pain perception.
Patient Barriers
Patients often share similar concerns and all too often seem willing to "tough it out" rather than complain about their pain. A patient may be reluctant to report pain because of a belief in these myths:
Myth: Severe or chronic pain cannot be effectively controlled.
Myth: Opioids are always addictive and a treatment of last resort ( "I must really be dying.").
Myth: Pain is always evidence of disease progression.
Myth: It is more admirable or socially acceptable to ignore pain.
Myth: Pain is an unavoidable result of aging or disease.
Myth: Pain is a deserved punishment.
another myth, just because nothing was found in the test doesnt mean that your not in pain.
Another one The pain is my head.If doctors dont think your pain some people think it's all made up.
Myth: we arent aware of the dangers of misuse of our drugs
Myth: we allow others to take our drugs
Myth: we cant be trusted to make our own decisions about what treatment is best for us
and many many more
thanks lladyfair, great info as always!
As long as the DEA regulates medicine in this country nothing will change.
I've read this piece before, did it come from the APF? Exposing the common myths born of opiophobia and opioignorance is laudable, but failing to mention the governments role in this national Public Health crisis just perpetuates the problem.
Good post, shows exactly why the problem is NOT going away. Right on LadyF.
Tami
PRN
it is naive to beleive that everyone in pain can adequately be in charge of their own drugs. A long ago drug abuse history is irrelovant yes, a recent one, should be taken into account.
Maybe I am just tainted because I see drug abuse every day and the death and distruction it causes.
I refuse the drugs as much as possible my modo don't drug me..fix me. But yes on occasion the rilvia doesn't cut it and they have to inject me just so I can move.
I DO AGREE, often they assume that all pain and it's cause fits into cookie cutter molds and that is ludicrise.
I understand your frustration, I hate even more when they try and offer us depression meds. We are not depressed we are in PAIN, it is torture to hurt day and night day and night for years on end.
I am going to the Pain Clinic at Shepard Spinal Pain Management Clinic next Wednesday and I am really looking forward to having a licensed Pain doctor look at my case and evaluate it. The doctor I am going to now is out of an Immediate Care facility and I don't trust him to know what I am going through let alone stick a needle in my neck for trigger point injections for trouble spots. I feel like I am going to a drug dealership instead of a Pain Management Center. Does that make sense for any one else?
I have kicked opiates twice now, only so I may accurately gage what degree of pain/healing my body is truly experiencing.
I have to go back on because my pain has not subsided for the last 6 months. Getting off opiates is like dying for a month. I dread the next time I will kick. There is a drug called IBOGAINE that takes away all withdrawls but it is not legal yet in North America. Look it up on the web, they even have videos. Pain is a full time job, and we all know you need the right tool for the job.
I think thats a good idea to gauge where you are with the pain when you go off for awhile...
Im sorry your pain is bad--
Hope you feel better soon.
I HAVE to tough it out for a few reason. 1.) I am currently not being adequately treated & 2.) Should I go on meds/narcotics, it may lessen my chances of returning to my job.
That being said, I WANT the meds to help me with this pain. I go to the Dr again tomorrow and am going to be strong and ASK! I'm tired of being intimidated and have to let him know I'm suffering in between injections that don't work. BUT - HUGE BUT...if I go on a medication I have to think about my job and getting behind the wheel of a car for 4-6hrs a day. If I can't do that I don't have a job.....
So again, I completely understand your view that SOME do tough it out to appear strong and non-dependent. I just wanted to point out that there are others, like me, that are being as tough as possible for other reasons than keeping up appearance. I hope you understand that too!
It varies in intensity, from merely agonising, to reducing me to sobbing wreck.
I've never been able to find an effective drug.
Those that do work at all, do so for only a short time and then I have to return to my GP, trawl through the list of previously-effective meds and try again.
Most of the time, I, 'tough it out,'but this is getting vever more difficult to do because the pain impinges upon every single aspect of my life.