Pain clinic

[Dunkdl]

Got my first appointment at tge pain clinic, just hoping they will be able to come up with a treatment plan including better pain killers, hopefully reduce my pain a little.

Can anyone tell me what to expect at my initial assessment. 

[Bananas5]

Well done.

You may meet the consultant but more likely the pain Nurse. Very experienced and extremely knowledgable.

She will go through your symptoms, what if any meds or therapies you have had or are having now. How they have or not helped.

You should be offered a pain management course although these days there are far more people needed them and long waiting lists. Do ask.

The whole point of the pain clinic and management team is teaching YOU how to manage your own pain. They have huge swathes of pain meds at their disposal which can be used in a variety of combinations. Much of it can take a while to get that cocktail right for you.

Please go with an open mind and be prepared for all suggestions.

Sorry if you have heard any of this before but once I'm off I can't stop!!

There are no meds in the world that will stop your pain altogether. As i said it is about YOU learning with their help. It could be with physio, acupuncture, psychiatrists and much more. You have to learn to pace yourself - not expect to go back to your past life. As they say - that is past leave it there. Learn your limitations and you will have plenty.

If you have a relative or close friend take them They will hear things you might miss and maybe prompt you on questions you may have. If no one make a list.

They will recommend drugs etc but they have to be prescribed by your own GP>

I don't know what conditions you have so this is a general re[;y.

Hope this helps and gives you some idea. Good Luck!!

x

[Dunkdl in reply to Bananas5]

Thank you that was very helpful. I have inguinal neuropathy, Fibromyalgia, chronic back problems and chronic fatigue along with pancreas issues. I'm trying to get my head round the whole idea of pacing! I know that I have to accept my limitations more readily and learn a new pace of life.

[Sazntef in reply to Dunkdl]

Pat had provided a fantastic description of the pain clinic help.  She is completely correct in the clinic being there to help you understand your pain and limitations.  Learning how to approach your daily tasks in a different way that won't hurt as much.  Reducing how much you do at one time,  stopping you pushing into the pain all the time,  then slowly increasing within your comfort zone. 

Look up the spoon analogy,  I think this is a great description of our limitations.  You start the day with a certain number of spoons.  With each thing you do in the day,  you use a spoon. At some point in the day you run out of spoons.  That's the point where you feel that the day has taken its toll and you can't push any further. 

Also teaches you that you may be able to do a little more than you think as the fear of the pain counts greatly into what you get.  One you know those limits stick to the mantra of ' do what you plan, not what you feel '. 

Good luck and I hope it helps you too.

Sarah 

Xx

[earthwitch]

It depends a bit on whether you have been referred for pain management or to a pain specialist.   Pain management is about learning coping strategies and often involves a series of group sessions.   It may sound a bit useless, but my experience is that psychological methods can actually reduce your pain a bit, and if it drops it even just by one point on the pain scale, that can sometimes mean the difference between coping and not coping.

A Pain specialist on the other hand is usually an anaesthetist with a special interest in pain management, and will be the one who will review all your medication, and what you ahve had in the past, and will look at medical ways of controlling your pain.  This may include medications, not just oral (patches, etc) but may also include local injections, acupuncture, TENS, or any other pain control method.

Sometimes you get a combination of both of the above in a Pain Clinic appointment.   

To prepare yourself, make some notes about what medications you have tried and what the results were.   Also what you are currently taking, and whether regular or as needed.   Also make some notes about what non-medication methods you are finding useful to help control your pain.  You may want to keep a pain diary over four or five days to show what kind of levels of pain you have, when in the day its worse, and what time of the day you are taking meds to deal with it.

[RAYJAYC in reply to earthwitch]

The 'pain management' part may be on a one-to-one basis too. Either with the Nurse Specialist or Psychologist; I suppose it depends on your service & its resources!

RAYJAYC

[Bananas5 in reply to RAYJAYC]

Gosh you were unlucky to have 3 physios.

Didn't you say earlier you were taking pain meds as you needed them? It is so much easier to keep pain on an even keel rather than peaks and troughs.

We do have to meet those helping us half way rather than expecting a magic cure.

But yes write lots of things down and take someone with you if you can

x

[heathermc]

 I didn't find them that helpful. Say a physio who was fine but after assessment told me to carry on doing more.  Contrary to what 2 others had told me

So I took his advice.  Hurt my ankle and 4 months after seeing him. I am still the same.  They said to change medication. Dr said there is no difference.  So nearly a year on I'm the same. No worse just in pain. No more appts at any clinic. Good luck .. ask questions. Lots of them . 

[Hidden]

Hi im new to group how did you get on at pain clinic im struggling too at minute waiting to see a specialist to get a proper diagnosis as was told 14 years ago I had fibromyalgia none of meds have helped not even morphine so my new doc wants a proper diagnosis but cant walk far need a chair xxx