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Living with Pain
| Article
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12365 |
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Section : |
LIFE
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| Issue
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1 / 1987 |
2,662 Words |
| Author
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Ronda Miller
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Their "before" and "after" stories offer a startling and compelling contrast, as if a color photo had been slapped against a stark black-and-white print.
The monochrome "before" photo captures a very grim picture: fingernails bitten down to the quick, pale faces pressing groans into clutched pillows, jobs lost, families rent apart, life savings spent. It sounds like extortion of the worst kind. It is. This is the black and white picture of a debilitating criminal: chronic pain.
The victims are more than 40 million Americans today. Their "before" stories represent life without hope, in torment...endured, rather than lived.
The real story, however, isn't about pain. It's about life. Chronic pain sufferers have no hope unless they learn to live with pain, and despite it. This is because chronic pain is just that - chronic. It doesn't go away because it can't go away. Conventional treatments don't work because they try to treat the pain rather than the person.
Even chronic pain patients may consider themselves to be the sum total of their symptoms and limitations:
"I'm in pain all the time, and I can't do anything or think straight."
"I can't get out of bed."
"I can't do things with my family, and I'm depressed."
"I'm angry. I wish I could do the things I used to do."
"I'm no use to anyone. I feel like just giving up."
This is the "before" photo facing many chronic pain sufferers right now. There is, however, innovative treatment available that addresses the person rather than the chronic pain. It has been responsible for restoring sufferers to an almost normal life, despite their chronic conditions.
The bright, color photo of this "after-life" of learning to live with pain can best be described by patients who have benefited from specialized pain treatment:
"I drove for the first time in months!"
"I just forgot to take my medicine today. I feel great!"
"The kids had a ball game, and I could finally stay to watch."
"We made love last night for the first time in weeks."
"I'm happy. I'm back at work. My golf clubs finally got a workout."
There are treatment programs geared toward chronic pain management and control, rather than pain "cure," which is an unreasonable expectation. Treatment programs are cropping up to match the increasing numbers of chronic pain
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