About
The WHY.
I’ve been an on again/off again (chronic/persistent) pain patient for almost 20 years and I’m still confused and fed up with trying to navigate pain management. It’s like Ross and Rachel in Friends without the trendy NYC apartment or happy ending. At this point my most valuable contribution to society, or pain patients at least, would be to simply share my list of:
"What NOT to do”
Why? Because this is the main way I have learnt. While in pain or recovering from pain, I’ve tried it all.
My hope is that you as a reader, might not have to stumble as much as I have, wasting time and Tramadol, trying to create a better pain management cocktail for yourself.
And, if you are making the same mistakes you can take comfort in the fact that...
YOU are not alone!
As one of my favourite activist, humanitarian chicks says:
“The paradox of pain is that it is only universal in retrospect. In the present, it is fiercely personal.”
- Glennon Doyles
Just to make things fun, I’m also a behavioural scientist (sometimes called health or research psychologist) who specialises in pain. Yup, I not only do pain, I study it, research it and lecture about it too.
This site has been made to offer the best of the best in pain information for patients but not from the perspective of a clinician.
I offer this to you as a peer expert aka the "bad patient".
Despite having loads of talented and supportive friends who work as physiotherapists, osteopaths, psychologists, GPs, yoga therapists, etc… , I still have bad days where I think maybe I'll just watch Netflix until they figure out how to do nervous system replacement surgery.
Below is a list of treatments I have flirted with or have completely committed to in an attempt to manage my pain. Please note, this list is not exhaustive and yes, for the record I’ve been told having more sex would also help my lower back pain. WTF.
Myofascial tissue release
Physiotherapy
Meditation (sitting, moving, silent, gong….)
Gyrotonics
Osteopathy
Mindfulness
NATUROPATHY
REIKI
ACUPUNCTURE
Yoga
Alexander Technique
chiropathy
Body Psychotherapy
And let’s not forget denial, anger, blame, numbing and outrage, I’ve tried these too.
At the time, I responded to treatment advice such as the sex prescription like a church mouse and sat there. Later, I became more in the mindset of the big green man... HULK SMASH. If only I could have lifted my arms above my head at that point.
I won’t go into the natural, nutritional, pharmaceutical and psychological stuff that I have tried. I think it’s a given that if crystal therapy would have made my pain stop, I would have trained as a geologist (no need really, got a rock licker in the family already).
So, this is not a blog,
but simply resources and unsolicited advice to use at your own risk.
Have fun and try to not to break anything. If you feel the need to offer feedback in relation to any evidence-based information that you feel is inaccurate or needs to be updated, go for it. My opinion will most likely only update when I’m having a good day, feeling generous or am a bottle deep into the rosé.
Then, anything is possible.