Kudos to Lauren Gavin for her engaging, myth-dispelling feature article. "Living with chronic pain: Taming the beast," in the April 4, 2008 edition of The Union.As her words demonstrate (below), no one need remind Lauren that ACPA's Mission statement affirms the need "to raise awareness about issues of living with chronic pain among the health care community, policy makers, and the public at large."
In "Living with Chronic Pain" Laurel presents a pointed comparison between chronic pain and a "ferocious beast" whose "claws . . . are are razor-sharp and can disrupt the sufferer's life in ways not previously recognized."
She observes that the "beast is smart, [able] to out-smart specialists in the field." But she notes that now the beast faces daily "breakthroughs, medications and treatment options [that] are becoming increasingly available, even if a 'cure' has not been found."
She informs her audience in useful terms how "fear and even panic can become a daily companion to a person who otherwise appears completely normal, even if the beast is raging mad."
But why read me quoting Laurel?
Here is Laurel herself, in her own words, words which I'm sure members of the group will agree effectively express the nature of the beast we call chronic pain.
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By Laurel Gavin
Taming the Beast
If you are gripping your shoulder, icing your knee for the fifth time today, afraid this ferocious beast has moved in forever, join the one out of three people who live with chronic pain.
Defined by the American Chronic Pain Association (ACPA), chronic pain is that which "continues longer than six months, and is not completely relieved by medication or medical treatment."
"Chronic pain should be treated as a condition of and by itself," Nevada County neurologist Dr. William Blaha said. "The effects of the pain on one's psyche cannot be ignored."
The claws of the beast are razor- sharp and can disrupt the sufferer's life in ways not previously recognized.
Depression, fear and shame can be just the tip of the iceberg. According to medical specialists (and those living with the beast), people with chronic pain often lose jobs and friends, and they can become alienated from family members who assume the complaints are exaggerated or even faked.
Companions of the sufferer may worry their loved one is becoming dependent on prescription medications, not understanding the difference between habituation and addiction.
Isolation and plummeting self-esteem feed the beast's appetite, often causing the cycle of pain to increase.
People expect the pain to go away, and it usually does, as the human body possesses amazing abilities to heal. However, when it doesn't, fear and even panic can become a daily companion to a person who otherwise appears completely normal, even if the beast is raging mad.
"Our bodies are in a constant state of repair," reports anesthesiologist Dr. Gary Glaze. But sometimes things go wrong.
"When pain continues beyond six months, it demonstrates that the body is not able to make the pain go away by itself," Dr. Glaze said.
If the natural repair job fails, or if the body continues to be re-injured, pain may become chronic. Our cells appear to have memory, as in the case of phantom limb pain. Symptoms can refer to other parts of the body, as in neck injuries, which can send pain down the arm or into the hand, causing them to tingle or become numb. Numbness may sound good, but in the case of referred pain, it can be confusing, not positive.
Even without further injury, there are "...changes observed in the brain and spinal cord of specimens studied in chronic pain models. Although we can see that these changes have occurred, there is no consensus as to how to undo them."
Sound confusing? You bet. The beast is smart. It's continued to out-smart even specialists in the field. On a positive note, Dr. Glaze adds, "We are just scratching the surface of understanding."
Daily breakthroughs, medications and treatment options are becoming increasingly available, even if a "cure" has not been found. One of the newest breakthroughs looks at the plasticity of the brain. (Yes, we all knew we were plastic, and plastic can change! We will discuss this later.)
Know, if nothing else, a patient can become a person, and learn to the live with the Beast.•
Next columns include: Treatments, new information on chronic pain and moving from patient to person.
Laurel Gavin is a writer and playwright who lives in the Grass Valley area. She has lived in the area for 22 years and has worked in the health care field.————— ◊ —————
About Laurel GavinThe article above, "Living with chronic pain," is available online at http://www.theunion.com/article/20080404/TODAYSFEATURE/50861549.
Another feature article by Laurel — this one about Dr. Galen Martin of the Miners Family Health Center, who was diagnosed and treated for rare bone cancer — appeared in The Union on Nov. 23, 2007 under the title "When the doctor becomes the patient."
Online, go to www.theunion.com/article/20071123/NEWS/111230154.
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