Chronic pain article in Daily Telegraph yesterday --FM got a mention!

[phlebo123]

Hi All -- there was an article in the paper yesterday about Chronic Pain. An interesting read but the "important" info I thought were the following :-

The Expert Patients Programme (EPP), which is an NHS-training course for chronic conditions (expertpatients.co.uk) -- available only in some areas of the country (sadly not mine!)

And "The Pain Toolkit" (an NHS-endorsed booklet with simple advice on how to live better with long-term pain) To get a copy you can Tel ; 0300 123 100 (and quote ; 403298/Pain Toolkit) or you can download from the website paintoolkit.org (which I did and found that it made a lot of sense to me and the way that I am coping with my FM)

Hope that this may be useful to you! xx

[Hidden]

Hi there - thanks for posting this. I'd be interested in reading the article. Do you have a link to the online version?

Thanks,

Lora

[phlebo123 in reply to Hidden]

Hi - you will find the article at telegraph.co.uk/health/9499... sorry my computer knowledge is minimal so hope this works out ok!!

[kilts]

Hi there

Had a look this is really helpful

Thanks for showing us it

I find it hard to deal with all the things fibro throws at us it's too much to remember and concentrate on , monitor and try and help ease things.

Thanks take care

[julieevh]

Interesting article, if Pain was to be considered the 5th vital sign we might actually get some where with a decent, reliable treatment for Fibro. Fingers crossed - assuming that doesn't hurt too much

Julie xx

[Widgetiser]

Hi. You mention the EPP courses run by NHS. There is an identical course run by Arthritis Care, called Challenging Your Condition, which is for anybody suffering from a chronic condition not just arthritis. It is once a week for a couple of hours over 6 weeks and is free. Courses are held all over the country, so it is worth trying out their website and seeing the 'what's on in your area' section. I have fibromyalgia and my knowledge of the course is first hand as, like others, I was first diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and pumped full of horrible meds. It was at this time that I signed up for a course and it was really helpful. It doesn't get rid of the pain but it gives you skills to deal with it. I hope this helps. Good luck.