Living with pain - some thoughts which could make a difference

I had pain in my hip after having a couple of sessions with an osteopath so I didn’t go again. Although I think it was caused by the way I lower myself into the bath.

Thank you. I was referred to Escape Pain in June and am told I will get a place in November. I have had two hip replacements and am desperately trying to avoid a knee replacement but if all else fails, it may come to that as I can’t cope with the daily pain. The ironic thing is that the pain started after a physio’s exercises for my hip! I will be sure to look at your links.

Weddingbelle I do hope something will help you and that you can get a referral to a pain clinic from your GP, even if you have to wait a while actually to get an appointment. And I hope Gin gets help from the pain clinic now they have made contact - even though it was to ask if you are still interested! They might help - I hope so.

I live with pain daily and have forgotten how it feels to be pain free. I welcome anything that might help my situation. Thank you

Because of other conditions I can only take paracetamol for pain relief. I have arthritis is my spine, knees and hands but all the help offered is a referral to a pain clinic. This was in Sept 24. They just wrote to me for the first time to ask if I was still interested!

I sometimes try to keep a record of how I’m feeling. I know I had sciatica a few years ago and thought there would be no end to it. And I’ve often talked on here about my arthritic knee and what I’m doing to improve it because it’s interesting to look back and see that things did improve after eg exercises. Unfortunately nothing seems to be helping now. When you are in pain but that pain goes I think the brain immediately blocks out the memory of it. A classic example of that being childbirth or no one would have more than one child!

Nothing offensive or wrong about your post just giving people information on how to access information. I think it's fine

I have something to ask anyone who has ongoing pain and goes ahead to follow one or more of the ideas offered in links in the original post, or added later. Or anything similar you may have found to help you.
Please would you send us a message sometime in December to let us know how you are? Everyone in this thread is hoping for some alleviation of your pain and for the best possible outcomes for you.

Thanks Applegran. My knee pain is nothing like the chronic pain that so many people seem to be suffering. I did have sciatica years ago for a while and can’t imagine what it must be like to suffer constant pain like that . I do deep breathing with my relaxation tapes; I’m a shallow breather and often realise that I’m almost forgetting to breathe!

Mindfulness - just being present - is very powerful whether you have pain or not. MayBee70 I hope one , or many, of the ways you are trying do help you.

I think it’s worth trying everything. Mindfulness, relaxation tapes ( I listen to a lot of those). Acupuncture, Ayurvedic medicine. I’ve just ordered a tens machine along with using kinesiology tape. Even though I’m very wary of it and warn everybody about possible side effects I’m even going to take a low dose ibuprofen for a few days ( with lots of food).

Carole I do hope one or more of those links will help you - and that you also get help from the Pain Clinic soon.

I think your post is fine. You are not trying to sell anything. I have been in constant pain for years due to SLE and arthritis. I've found most pain killing drugs to be either not very effective or totally ineffective and often to have terrible side effects. Believe me I've tried many of them.
The Saga article made interesting reading. Accessing NHS resources has now become very difficult - I have had to wait 18 weeks to see someone at the Pain Clinic. Any information even if you later disregard it is welcome

Agreed - that it can only be a good idea to try and help with any useful advice that can be given re chronic pain.

1. It must be terrible to be in that position.

2. Some people would not accept being in chronic pain (I know because I'm one of them and my own personal decision for me would be that I wouldnt accept it - I would try and deal with it and, if I couldnt cure it - I know what my own personal decision would be as to what to do about it). My own take on pain is "If it's more than 1 out of 10 level of pain and/or would last = I wouldnt accept that personally". Most people do try to cure it or, failing that, would "live with it"....but that would not be for some of us....

So - yep....one gives any advice that might be helpful imo...

BeneaththehowlingStars - it sounds truly awful to have such pain so constantly. I cannot say strongly enough how much I hope one or more of those links helps and that you feel able to persist with what they show has helped so many people. I realise persistence when you are in pain is a lot to ask, but it could bring you relief and I think everyone on this thread will wish that for you. Maybe in weeks to come you will send us all a message and it will be about alleviation of what you have been suffering. I hope so.

I cannot see anything wrong. I am always grateful to see links and hope that I learn something new. My mother lived till she was 104 in pain. I cared for her for 19 years and it was incredibly hard.Thank you Applegran

henetha - and everybody who is in the same position - I am so sorry to hear of the chronic pain you are having to bear - it must be awful. We can only hope that ongoing research will be able to find a solution to somehow by-pass the proceesses in the brain that register pain. I believe there are experiments being undertaken to this effect.

MayBee70

The knee has been arthritic for many years, which is why I hadn’t noticed how much it had deteriorated. I thought the x ray would tell me exactly what was going on inside my knee but it didn’t. Mild/moderate arthritis was all it showed. I did have a very soft patella strap that really helped, but it broke and I’ve never found one like it.The kiniesiology tape helps. I think the physio would have picked up on it being something other than arthritis but I do sometimes wonder with it being in one specific spot. Although the knee is swollen and my right knee is a different shape to my left, it’s an inch bigger.

A torn meniscus won't show up on an X-ray. It was an orthopaedic surgeon who diagnosed mine and said he wouldn't operate because 'they'll fix it when they do your knee operation'. That was over three years ago.

Thank you for sharing this. I suffer with fibromyalgia and the pain is mostly totally unbearable. I am willing to try anything to get at least a small relief.

My GP surgery offers an 'escape pain' course, 10 sessions at the local sports centre. Geared towards those with knee/hip pain, to teach how to safely strengthen your troublesome joints.

hentha I am so sorry to hear of your on going pain and greatly wish that there was a way for those alternatives to pain killers to help you. I share with you the wish for others to alleviate their pain - and with an open mind and commitment they may indeed benefit. I hope so.

I've now clicked on the above links and read it all carefully.
The problem is that I don't have any faith in being able to control my pain by adapting my mind/thinking is some way.
I bought a book a couple of years ago by an American, the founder of a pain psychology centre, and although I have studied it deeply and tried very hard to work at the system described, it has not helped, and the pain has not been relieved in any way whatsoever. I've read this book three times and it simply doesn't work for me. So I am a bit cynical about all this.
But I am grateful to Applegran for being kind enough to try and help those of us in chronic pain.

The knee has been arthritic for many years, which is why I hadn’t noticed how much it had deteriorated. I thought the x ray would tell me exactly what was going on inside my knee but it didn’t. Mild/moderate arthritis was all it showed. I did have a very soft patella strap that really helped, but it broke and I’ve never found one like it.The kiniesiology tape helps. I think the physio would have picked up on it being something other than arthritis but I do sometimes wonder with it being in one specific spot. Although the knee is swollen and my right knee is a different shape to my left, it’s an inch bigger.

MayBee70

Allira

MayBee70

My knee doesn’t hurt when I’m resting, only when I walk. I wonder is there’s anything I could listen to ( not that, as a technophobe, I know how to access anything like that when I’m walking) that would distract me from the pain when I walk? I do sometimes think that the pain I feel is partly in my mind ( something that does worry me) because sometimes I’ll find myself walking and forgetting about it.

My friend recommended a knee strap for support, rather than a full knee support.
I had an operation before I had chance to try one.

Knee straps make it worse. I have a patella strap and a full knee support but they just make the inside of my knee hurt even more ( it’s like a stabbing pain, especially if I take a wrong step).

I'm glad I didn't buy one although i was thinking of buying one for the other knee. Don't much like full knee supports either.

Could you have a torn meniscus? I managed to do that without really trying!

I am glad to read that some people will look carefully at what the links offer - there really does seem to be good evidence for these approaches to pain relief which do not rely on pain killers. And it is important to know that it is not 'all in the mind' - it is real pain and to do with the brain, so these ideas, as I understand it, are about changing what the brain does. It used to be thought that our brains were more or less fixed by the time we were adults, but now we know that our brains are changing all the time - or another way of saying this is that they are very plastic. So we can make changes if we practice doing the things that evidence shows do help. I feel for the people who have told us they are in chronic pain and hope so much that you can find relief.