[Lucydog]

I was thinking of asking to be referred to a pain management course. I was offered one some time back but at the time I couldnt attend. I take minimal pain meds as I find a lot of things dont really work and Ive known several people become addicted to pain killers and I dont want that to happen no matter what.

However I find that even though I do think Im fairly good at dealing with pain, I guess I have a big threshold having had 4 kids with no pain relief, to be honest it drives me bonkers at times, makes my soul threadbare and just grinds me down. I also become a real ratbag, I know Im horrible but cant help it!!

So I was wondering if anyone has any experience of these types of courses and if you found it helpful at all?

thanks a lot
L

[ClaraTaylor]

Have you already googled about pain management? Learnt that pain is "not all in your head" and that by pacing yourself you can prevent a flare up / rise in pain levels?

I was on the waiting list for two years to do the course. Unfortunately after two years you get used to dealing with the pain and come the course... well they openly admit the course is for people who use their pain as an excuse not to do anything. Not to exercise, work, do things around the house... They also hinted that the course was mainly intended for those with "invisible illnesses" the misc back pain or tender shoulder, CFS, etc. I think I was the only one there who actually had a diagnosis. It might be worth asking when they interview you (to see if they think you suitable for the course) just what assistance it can be for a SCI.

The relaxation exercises were quite good
The exercise classes were SHOCKING but this may be due to the lack of gym and hydrotherapy pool that they normally use but the 15 minutes of stretching exercises in the mornings were good - although you may have a handicap on this one..
The being constantly reminded that the "pain is not all in your head" and "it's okay to smile even when you're in pain" physiology started to grind with all of us on the course (the first group they had it seems filled with people who were active, already taking measures to reduce their pain. We have one chap who for the entire first session sat there doing the "I can't do that I'm in pain, I'm in pain, does no one realise how much I'm in pain?" until I bluntly pointed out that everyone in the room is in pain now suck it up and deal with it. I did get a little told off about that (and congratulated later)).

I am guessing that with four children you are already more proactive than most of the people the course was designed for.

Perhaps I just had a bad experience?

[spot]

ClaraTaylor, on Dec 13 2009, 11:44 PM, said:

Have you already googled about pain management? Learnt that pain is "not all in your head" and that by pacing yourself you can prevent a flare up / rise in pain levels?

I was on the waiting list for two years to do the course. Unfortunately after two years you get used to dealing with the pain and come the course... well they openly admit the course is for people who use their pain as an excuse not to do anything. Not to exercise, work, do things around the house... They also hinted that the course was mainly intended for those with "invisible illnesses" the misc back pain or tender shoulder, CFS, etc. I think I was the only one there who actually had a diagnosis. It might be worth asking when they interview you (to see if they think you suitable for the course) just what assistance it can be for a SCI.

The relaxation exercises were quite good
The exercise classes were SHOCKING but this may be due to the lack of gym and hydrotherapy pool that they normally use but the 15 minutes of stretching exercises in the mornings were good - although you may have a handicap on this one..
The being constantly reminded that the "pain is not all in your head" and "it's okay to smile even when you're in pain" physiology started to grind with all of us on the course (the first group they had it seems filled with people who were active, already taking measures to reduce their pain. We have one chap who for the entire first session sat there doing the "I can't do that I'm in pain, I'm in pain, does no one realise how much I'm in pain?" until I bluntly pointed out that everyone in the room is in pain now suck it up and deal with it. I did get a little told off about that (and congratulated later)).

I am guessing that with four children you are already more proactive than most of the people the course was designed for.

Perhaps I just had a bad experience?

I don't know how much these courses differ between the UK and the US. My insurance company decided that I should take one. I just started it this week. The first section was a relaxation drill: "Focus on your feet, feel your feet on the floor". About that moment I decided this really wasn't for me. Feel my feet on the floor? Are you kidding? Maybe I'm just not the psycho-babble type. Maybe I am too sensitive. I decided to focus on something else. Like taking a nap. The course is a group therapy thing. Not very interesting. Rather silly, actually. O.K., maybe I'm a bit quick to judge. There are 5 more sessions. I must keep an open mind. It's always good for a bit of a nap, at the least.

[wheeliebear75]

I took one offered through Kaiser & there were some things that I had not known before. I got better at using other methods of pain control (not to say it always works.....but I'm pretty sure if I didn't I would me taking a LOT more meds) including meditation & other things like how the pain signal works AND that doing something about pain when it's just starting is a lot easier than after you've been dealing with it for a while as it often takes more meds to take care of later than sooner. If you have the chance to go I would say it may not help or it help a lot but you will come out of it with a better understanding about how it all works. Also it depends on the teachers......some teach from a view of no chemicals just use "natural solutions" & there are those who will talk more about mental health than anything.......just depends. ;) But if it's free GO FOR IT......if it's not too much money then I'd still say go for it......so long as it isn't overly expensive. Mine was 2x a week for 8wks.