Everyday pain management ideas

What is compassion?  According to Dictionary.com ,  compassion is defined as : " a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering." When people have compassion for you, they are expressing their care and concern for you and your situation.  If you are a person who suffers from chronic pain and you sense this coming from others, it is certainly appreciated.  But that's not all... Even though you suffer from chronic pain...and maybe have some disabilities related to your health...you can give the gift of compassion as well!  There are benefits to this that you may never even thought of! 1) Being compassionate toward others does not require any physical exertion whatsoever.  You can give oodles of care and concern to other people without ever lifting a finger!  You may even notice that the more compassion you have for others, the more you will receive in return. 2)If y

In recent days, it has come to mind that there are some folks out there who think that addiction to dangerous drugs (such as opioids) only pertains to people who use drugs recreationally. They believe that using medication for legitimate medical purposes does not lead to addiction.  Sadly,  this is not the case.  In reality, the human body does not know the difference between a legitimate use or illegitimate use, and in the end, the consequences are the same if a certain line is crossed.Many people have been prescribed pain medications for legitimate pain issues only to end up addicted in the end.  Here are some examples of well-known who fell into this trap: Rush Limbaugh    This talk radio icon began using pain medications for a back problem. Dependency on the medications gravitated to doctor-shopping and legal charges against Limbaugh.  Eventually, he checked himself into a rehab program. Carrie Fisher      This celebrity, known for her role in the "Star Wars" sa

  A t the 2014 American Academy of Pain Management meeting, the Mayo Clinic shared some very positive findings during a poster session.  This is interesting..maybe someday it will lead to a new way to treat degenerative disc disease, a common and painful condition that is all too common.   The poster explained a study that was conducted using stem cell transplants to treat degenerative disc disease in animals.  Over the study period, the discs in the spines of the animals treated with stem cells actually showed signs of regeneration! Current treatment of degenerative disc disease via medication: acetaminophen and NSAID drugs are commonly employed for this purpose.  We all know long term or excessive use of these medications is unwise; it is good to know that new ways of addressing this problem may be on the horizon. What's more exciting is that a stem cell infusion is a lot easier to endure than some other forms of treatment, such as surgery.   Let's hope th

Here's a natural remedy for those of you who suffer from osteoarthritis...  A fairly large scale study out of Brigham and Women's hospital concludes that drinking milk may actually slow the progression of arthritis. According to the study, 2,148 persons with osteoarthritis were studied; the researchers looked at health, diet and behavioral details of those in the study group. Additionally, each person in the study group had x-ray studies done every year over a four-year period. The researchers found that subjects who drank milk had the slowest disease progression. Interestingly, this phenomenon occurred in men who drank seven or more glasses of milk per week, while in women it seemed to happen to those who drank milk in general.  Those who consumed other dairy products in place of milk--cheese, ice cream, yogurt--did not reap the same benefits as the milk drinkers. As a word of caution-the researchers noted that their findings were strictly observational. They were

Dr. Gary Jay, a pain management specialist based in Raleigh, NC area is discussing post-cancer pain management in the video you can find at this link. What he is saying is certainly food for thought; people who have been successfully treated for cancer can have lingering pain even though they are cancer free.  This may be due to damage caused by the cancer itself, or complications resulting from its treatment: post surgical pain, radiation damage, or chemotherapy-induced problems, such as neuropathy. Once cancer free, the patient is released from treatment by their oncology treatment team. But what about the after-effects of these dreadful diseases?  The best treatments are multi-modal in nature. They may include prescription drugs, but by incorporating healthy lifestyle habits into everyday life can do much to maximize pain relief. It's a good idea to slowly incorporate these changes into one's lifestyle; start with one thing, such as weight loss, healthier eating

Everyone has a "to do list"; seems perpetual sometimes, doesn't it? Today, I am paraphrasing an article I read about the "don't" list for people with fibromyalgia and/or chronic fatigue syndrome.  It all seems like good advice to me for most anyone, so I am passing it along! You can read the article in entirety here. 1) Don't overdo it. 2) Don't blame yourself. 3) Don't be self critical. 4) Don't have unrealistic positive expectations. 5) Don't have unrealistic negative expectations 6) Don't believe others' negative opinions. 7) Don't give up too soon. 8) Don't put yourself last. 9) Don't ask why this happened to you. 10) Don't let stress overwhelm your life. Sources: About.com; wikimedia

In the first study of its kind, researchers have found something that sets people with fibromyalgia apart from others.  The study leads its authors to believe that  circulating micro RNAs are abnormal in those with fibromyalgia.. What is RNA? RNA is an abbreviation for ribonucleic acid, a substance that is present in all living cells in the body. It serves as a messenger--carrying signals from DNA (genetic material) to the protein making portions of a living cell.   micro RNA is a fragment of RNA that serves to target specific portions of the RNA molecule, impairing their function.  This impairment can cause deficiencies or abnormalities in protein production micro RNA and Fibromyalgia The study mentioned about looked at 374 micro RNAs in women with fibromyalgia and healthy subjects.  Eight microRNAs were different in the fibromyalgia group.  It is believed that this abnormality may be responsible for some aspects of this condition, specifically: Pain Pain threshold