untonuggan: a hand drawn/colored happy cane (disability cane happy)
[personal profile] untonuggan
So it's looking like I'm SOL regarding pain medication. I'm on Lyrica already; I can't take any kind of anything that messes with serotonin; NSAIDs are out with my gut the way it is; don't want opiates because All The Reasons.

My doctor wants me to go to a pain clinic; I'm not sure what they'll do other than offer me strong opiates or something and give me physical therapy, but I'm supposed to be getting PT for my dizziness so yes that would be out for insurance reasons alone, let alone me going bananas. Anyone have experiences to offer on pain clinics?

In the meantime, my side effect journey of daisies and rainbows and leprechauns has made me leery of adding more chemicals to my internal chemistry project. Like, I've *always* hated being on this many meds and just kind of grinned and born it. But seriously? This is frelling ridiculous. And so, yes. I'm looking for non-medication ways to keep this under control, at least until a neurokinin-1 antagonists maybe comes on the market approved for pain management. *crosses fingers* But that could be awhile.

So yes, I'm soliciting suggestions in this post for pain management. I will do my best not to immediately rule them out because, say, I've tried acupuncture and it didn't work. Nothing is too woo for this post. I just want a working list to, er, work off of so I can fucking knit and spin regularly again. (I have knit TWO ROWS this week and spun nothing and it's making me cranky, who knows what I would have done without video games.)

Thank you, dear circle, for all your support!

PS fewer seizures yesterday! woo!

PPS Yes standard disclaimer regarding I know you're not medical professionals blah blah won't sue you blah blah check with my doctor blah blah.

Date: 2013-08-10 04:38 pm (UTC)
staranise: A star anise floating in a cup of mint tea (Default)
From: [personal profile] staranise
Many pain clinics offer meditation, CBT, or other psychological approaches to help with dealing with pain. These things really do help you change your relationship with how you perceive pain; they both make the pain you're in more bearable and reduce the actual amount of pain you feel. However, most people I know with chronic pain, myself included, find the way it's taught and talked about to be blaming and triggery. I've found one or two practitioners who live with chronic pain themselves and are delightful to listen to; but the majority I've met don't know the landmines they're stepping on when it comes to talking to people who have often been blamed for their own pain. So it might be worth either getting a psych you know and trust right now to walk you through those techniques, investigating them yourself in a format you can handle (audiobook, podcast, actual book, whatever) or very cautiously attending one-to-one therapy or group information sessions.

For example, the "body scan" is a common mindfulness body technique. I hate most of them, because they believe that a person can easily become aware of their body and then feel relaxation and wellbeing. To which I say HAHAHA LOL NO. However, the body scan in the CD that accompanies The Mindful Way Through Depression is very open to different bodies--it explicitly addresses people who can feel positive things, who feel overwhelming pain, or who have no sensation in some areas (or don't have that area to feel sensation in, like amputees). So it felt much more useful and like I didn't have to grit my teeth through it.
Edited Date: 2013-08-10 04:43 pm (UTC)

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