My mother (56) has experienced “9 out of 10” pain for 3 years now in her right foot and has been unable to live a normal, productive life since. She has progressed her way up the pain medication ladder, starting with your standard pill and is now on a Fentanyl patch. Her specialist, who works at Vanderbilt Pain Management, diagnosed her with peripheral neuropathy. To my knowledge, medication is the only approach they have taken to addressing her pain, and according to my mother (I was not present so I can’t verify this), her specialist and primary physician have both said, “Physical therapy will not work in this case and the pain you are experiencing will likely never go away”. Ok, fair. But am I wrong in thinking that this was a reductive, harmful way to approach a patient with chronic pain? I’ve tried to explain this to my father, and occasionally to my mother, but I’m met with a look that says, “What the hell do you know?” I know the emotional and psychological ties to her pain are very deep, and I wish someone (other than me, preferably a professional) would suggest a different approach to her pain. I’m tired of seeing my mother on meds all the time, and I’m scared of what this fatalistic approach will do to our family. Please help.
I’m sorry to hear about this. I am sure it is a very complex situation, and this is not something that can be adequately addressed through a forum thread.
We have shared a number of resources before on this topic too get patients started (e.g., http://tamethebeast.org and other associated work, as well as our own content), but this is something that likely requires consultation and ongoing guidance with a trusted clinician (and our clinicians may be able to help here). It sounds like that physician set some very negative expectations on the matter, and we know this sort of thing can do a lot of harm.
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Thank you Austin, I really appreciate the reply.