Everyday pain management ideas

I don't want to bore my fibro friends with some long boring article in this post...so I am going to get to the nitty gritty as quickly as possible.  So, here we go: A study posted in the December 2013 edition of Pain and Therapy (Okifuji & Hare) presents the results of a study that reviewed effectiveness of various strategies for managing fibromyalgia. The authors considered medications, exercise, behavioral modifications, and multimodal approaches to the condition.  In the end, they say that a lack of methodology really prevents them from statistically comparing these various strategies to each other.  That being the case, the authors did come to a very interesting conclusion--and here it is, word for word: "...Although there are some other variations, a typical trial testing a multidisciplinary approach includes education, exercise and psychological (typically cognitive behavioral) therapy. Programs aimed at acquisition of coping and pain management s

If you follow the world of pain management as I do, you are always looking for new material... For instance, recently the DEA tightened restrictions on some of the drugs already in the pain management arena.  Hydrocodone (a component of Vicodin® and the new long-acting product Zohydro®) and many other products is now a Schedule II drug.  That makes for a lot of  new restrictions/problems for those who use these products in their pain management regimen. Tramadol, which previously was  not a scheduled drug , was recently placed in Schedule IV. This means that all products that contain tramadol are more tightly regulated than they used to be. Now for some good news.. With this tightening of regulation...regarding all opioid drugs, and more recently the addition of the two above...there is research going on to find pain management applications for drugs currently in the marketplace that possess no abuse potential.  The tricyclic antidepressants and SSRI/SNRI drugs, fo

I always like what Dr. Kristiansen has to say. I would have paraphrased this for you, but I didn't think I could word it any better than he does. I found this post on his blog recently, and really like what he has to say about goal setting aspects of pain management...click the link if you'd like to read it as well! Is Pain Management on The Right Track ? | Picture of Pain Sources: dolotest blog, wikimedia

A recent article in the Buffalo News about this topic prompted the idea for this post. This is something everyone should know about pain medications before taking them.  An educated decision is the best kind to make!  Here is a synopsis of the article.  It was based on the thoughts of Dr. Richard Rosenquist, chairman of pain management at the Cleveland Clinic, and his assessment of six common myths about opioid drugs...a.k.a. "painkillers." Myth #1: The more you take, the better they work. In the short term, it is possible, that after experiencing an injury, or surgery, for instance, that two pills will work better than one at relieving pain. However, if two pills are become the usual dosage, a tolerance to the medication can develop, leading to further problems.  (Tolerance occurs when an individual experiences a decrease in effectiveness over time, leading to the need to take more drug to achieve the same effect.) Myth# 2: If you actually take

Chronic pain is a hot topic in the research world these days...great news for those who are suffering to know that one day (hopefully soon!) a new approach to treatment will appear. Here is one such research article; instead of aspirin, ibuprofen and opiates, pain treatment in the form of gene therapy that acts on the glial cells of the nervous system rather than the neurons. So far it looks promising! You can read the article by clicking  here . Sources: Colorado Arts & Sciences, wikimedia

Once again, it's time to present a post on fibromyalgia.  It seems like a good time to review some things we already know the treatment for this condition.  If you've been reading this blog for some time, you know that there are medications for fibromyalgia, but they really don't do that much good all by themselves.  The preferred approach to fibromyalgia is a combination of medication and the use of self-management techniques. As for the medication aspect of the condition, the types of medication fall into four categories: 1) Over the counter pain medications (examples are acetaminophen ibuprofen) 2)Prescription analgesics, such as tramadol 3) Anti-depressant medications--there are many.  Some examples here would be Cymbalta, which is   a newer agent that is recommended for chronic pain, and Savella, which is specifically for          fibromyalgia. 4)Some of the anti-seizure medications can be used in the treatment of fibromyalgia. These drugs modify nerve imp

I just finished reading an article written by a physician who specializes in hospice care.  I think she brings up some interesting points that relate to chronic pain and pain management in general, so that's what I am writing about in today's post. First and foremost, the author says that she originally intended to be a psychologist, but changed course and became a physician because she thought psychology had too many "grey areas" while medicine was more "black and white." She goes on to say that she could not be more wrong about medicine...that there are, in fact MANY "grey areas" in medicine.  And isn't pain management one of those?   Pain is a subjective thing.  If a patient self reports pain, that is all that is needed to justify its existence. There is no blood test or x-ray or any other test to confirm its existence.  We try to quantify pain by using methods of measurement, such as pain scales, to decide how severe it