Many of us suffer from chronic pain. Will there ever be a cure?

Mug-cradler thread.

Interesting. I don’t disagree.

There are more than a few people in my life who seem to be wedded to pain.

the cure is to move to a country like mexico or others where opiates are easy to get a script for. god dam paranoia in this cuntry have fuked it up fer folks for whom only opiods work...u had bak pain for 35 yrs? ude do anything....

A badly written promo piece for the biopsychosocial model. Ho-hum.

That's not to say that stress, etc., do not play a role and exacerbate pain and illness, but psychiatrists are bringing political clout behind them to muscle in on the area of chronic illness, with the aim of displacing scientific research and treatment. Once the biopsychosocial model is the accepted treatment, if patients don't improve on it, they don't [italic]want[/italic] to get better and are dismissed, their insurance stops covering them, etc.

[quote]Patients regularly choose not to take drugs that might help them; sometimes, they seem not to want to get better.

Or maybe, just maybe their reluctance stems from the fact that, as the article acknowledges, the drugs commonly given to treat chronic pain have the potential of long-term side-effects.

[quote]they don't want to get better

That is, the official verdict is that they don't want to get better.

eventually, if you take enough

It’s a good discussion. Just read Dreamland about the opioid crisis and how it started in Ohio, Kentucky. Clearly those pills were used like alcohol used to be - but they were more addictive and problematic than alcohol. Then cheap heroin flooded in.

Personally, the whole psychological diagnosis and drug restriction mania drives me crazy. I’ve had two experiences of herniated disks - which should have clearly been treated short term with an opioid or major painkiller. But because they have been essentially banned in NYC, no doctor would give them. I was awake for days in a row because I could not sleep from the pain. Which of course just made the pain - physical and psychological - worse. If I could have gotten a good nights sleep without pain, it would ave helped.

I finally got a doctor in another state to give me a prescription - 90 days with no problem. Which is crazy. In NYC I can’t get one. In PA, I got 90 days. Anyway, I used about 5 to get me through a few days and then the pain became manageable - after I finally got some sleep. I kept the other 80+ for the next time. It’s bullshit that I can’t get them when needed.

I hear you, I have 4 herniated back discs and one in neck. Nothing helps but opioids. ive tried ev thing for a decade, fortunately ive a dr who gives me a few. but not enuf…

but I can see why so many move to countrys where theyr easy to get, quality of life is whats important....specially if ur old.

the poor fuks dying are often the ones who cant get a script anymore and go on the street and....die from bad shit.

Lastly, if ur over 65 for gods sake give folks what they need so they can die with dignity and out of pain!!!! if u aint had chronic pain for yrs, uve no idea ….how shitty it is..

R8, I’ve been spared chronic pain - so far. I do agree that older people should just get whatever the fuck drugs they want at the end of their lives. (Although I always worry that their caretakers will steal it from them and leave the poor olds in pain. My cunt cousin was a nurse and she lost her license for that.)

Opiods are not really designed for long term use. They lead to tolerance, dependence, and then addiction. It sucks that there isn’t much they can really do for chronic pain, that won’t boomerang back on you.

I have severe and disabling spinal stenosis that because my spine is pushing against nerves all over the place causes terrible back and leg pain and even worse numbness to where if I don't sit right down I will fall down. I go nowhere without a kind of walker called a rollator that has a seat. I've seen 4 neurosurgeons and they all say it's inoperable. If they tried I'd end up paralyzed.

I saw 3 different pain doctors and the last one offered me a script for Oxy since I've tried every OTC medication there is. I thought about it. The thing is the pain isn't going away. If anything it's going to get worse. The Oxy gives at best a few hours slight pain relief. So if I take it daily or 2 or 3 times a day without any doubt in my mind I will become an addict quickly. I also hate any change in my consciousness. Being high was never for me, not even as a teen. So I said no.

I have accepted or more like I'm trying to accept that I will be in pain, a lot of pain, for the rest of my life. I will be disabled and very limited in what I can do for the rest of my life and it will get worse and worse. Sometimes trying to accept these things is all you can do.

I can’t imagine R11. You are stronger than me. I would take the Oxy at least to sleep. I suffered for a few weeks and it made me consider suicide until I got some Vicodin. You must be a pretty strong person.

They've been injecting people with migraines successfully with Botox. Can't it help other kinds of pain?

No, R12. I'm not strong at all. That's why I won't take the Oxy. I would be one of those addicted for sure. I'm terrified of that. If my pain was temporary sure I would take Oxy for a few days, but my pain isn't going anywhere ever. I've told by every doctor I see that it will get worse until I might not be able to walk at all. The last thing I need in addition to the other miseries of my life is an addiction. A truly strong person would know that if they started to get addicted they would be able to conquer it. I fear I'm way too weak to ever be able to do that once I'm hooked. If I was truly brave I would take my chance with surgery and hope they wrong and I won't wake up paralyzed.

Thank you very much for what you said, but really, I'm very far from strong or brave.

R11 You've probably tried everything...but I have to ask: have you tried epidural steroid injections?

I had one a few weeks ago for a herniated disc. I was suffering from severe pain in my leg, a numb foot and great difficulty walking, but the injection has given me a lot of relief.