VAlerie/ pain article

[Guest guest]

HI :

I also found some of the findings and conclusion drawn - odd to say the least.

When one considers how much some of us lose, then the main thing to turn our

lives around to where they were is for the pain or its cause to be mostly or

thoroughly eliminated/ controlled. I can't ever ski again unless my back pain

and its cause (Excessive movement, instability and severe pain from EDS) are

significantly improved. When people worked and led active lives and no longer

can, it seems common sense that in an ideal world, this is what would be needed.

You never know how the questions were asked. It could even have been " what would

need to happen for you to return to pre-pain activity levels " . Not surprisingly

many would answer for their pain to be vastly improved or gone.

" Patients who live with severe chronic pain believe a cure is necessary to give

them back their lives and return them to their pre-pain activity level,

according to research from University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

These expectations are not founded on medical evidence, however, and physicians

must address them to help their patients function despite their chronic illness,

the study's authors said during a presentation... "

<HUH????> I could see " optimally funciton within their limitations " . This may

well have been taken out of context

What " medical evidence " ? I would think people could " get back their lifes "

to some extent but I would really like to see this medical evidence and

supporting info (and the questions themselves) that shows people with chronic

pain can " return to pre-pain activity levels " . As with anything there may be the

rare exception but I can't see how this is possible without this so called

" cure " they speak of.

- I think this is further proof of the UNREALISTIC EXPECTATIONS OF SOME DOCTORS,

not patients. If most of your bones are sliding around, every time you move you

get hurt and are in constant pain and hardly ever sleep, other than a cure or

major improvement in the cause or the pain, how could I (or anyone) return to

working fulltime and overtime, going to grad school, and doing at least 10 hours

of a week of high intensity physical activity unless a major change takes place.

How could " addressing my funciton " get me or anyone back to their previous

lifestyle when one's body is completely incapable of that level of funcitoning.

Unless the previous lifestyle was Couch Potato, of course, then the goal of

returning to pre-actiity funciotning would be realistic since the person was

using minimal physical effort to live life. Helping someone function to get the

most basic things done (which is where I am now) within current physical

limitations and returning to my previous very active lifestyle are vastly

different.

ANother one of those things from the world of psychiatry that is likely to have

a negative impact on people with very real, chronic pain instead of adding to

understanding of the realities of daily life with chronic pain

Joyce