Living with Chronic Pain: The Complete Health Guide to the Causes and Treatment of Chronic Pain

to share with my loved ones; all of them. Chronic pain is so misunderstood by the general public, the patients, their families and yes even health care providers. I have chronic pain for over six years which is intractable. This means there is no cure just treatments. One of these is opioid medications for the six sources of non-cancer type pain. My experiences have launched me into becoming a Advocate for persons in pain and an Activist for getting the word out about this misunderstood treatment for pain. Society's view on opioid pain management is 30 years out of date. And in the past several years the government in the US is trying to put doctors who treat patients with opioids into prison. Some patients have been imprisoned for "Trafficking" for having 90 pills or more in their possession even though there was no indication these patients were selling their meds! For 99.9 percent of patients (Lots of research out there) do NOT become addicts or addicted to opioids! True statement. Do they become physically dependent? Probably. But when a medication allows a patient to have some semblence of happiness and a good life; physical dependence is not high on their list of concerns. Legistlation was created a few years ago in Congress calling for changes in how the government handles and views chronic pain. It also calls for national awareness of this issue. This bill is sitting in some Health Committee stagnating because not enough people have become motivated to write to their representative and senators on a state and federal level. Check out Pain Relief Network for more information about this potential legistlation and please try to get on board and help out this very worth cause.

(...) Dr Schneider is a expert in pain management medicine, and if there is one thing that the Interstitial cystitis patient understands, it's pain. Urologists are very hesitant most times to offer pain management to their IC patients, ironic when the #1 complain of IC patients is the 24-7 pain factor. Although IC is not specified in this book, there are those case studies shown in the book that are by IC patients. All of the book can be incorporated as all IC patients live with chronic pain and illness. There are over 50 million Americans that suffer from chronic pain, spending hundreds of millions of dollars on their care. Tragically, these chronic pain suffers not only attempt suicide more than the average healthy population, they are 2-3 times more successful in the attempt. Living with Chronic Pain is a guide to pain medications, alternative therapies, and a discussion of the myths of pain. It is a fabulous book that relates one's own personality type to the ability to cope with pain. Once you have identified "you" it is simple to see how you are dealing with the pain and what you can do to alter how pain affects you. It has chapters on the causes of pain, how to decide on the doctor that is right for you, opiods, and pain coping techniques. I find that this book is wonderful for anyone with auto immune disorders, as we are attacked at random and suffer "invisible" symptoms. The book itself is 352 pages and priced at a lower than average $15.95. For anyone freshly diagnosed with IC I'd highly recommend it. It has several coping strategies and it will explain to each patient how their pain will affect them. The book personalizes itself to the individual reading it. This book should really be the second book you buy in your IC arsenal, after the Survival Guide. While the survival guide will help you understand your condition better, this book will help you understand how it will be to manage the everyday pain of living with the noncurable condition of chronic illness. I give this book 5 stars on the incredible techniques that can be applied to anyone. Ms Schneider truly is a professional that has gone out of her way (she's authored 7 books on the subject) to make sure that patients can find comfort and peace in their illness. The All Info About Interstitial Cystitis website (AIA:IC) http://cystitis.allinfoabout.com highly recommends this book for its readers.

I picked up a copy of Dr. Scheinder's book, Living with Chronic Pain, for my sister who has been having trouble coping with the aftermath of two automobile accidents. I stopped off to see my mother-in-law, who has severe arthritis, who saw the book and began glancing through it - by the time I left she was in the middle of chapter 2 and later told me she stayed up all night to finish it off! She said that she finally understood what some of her medications were for and had already begun to find helpful the suggestions in Schneider's book on pain management. So I went and bought another book for my sister and planned to leave it for her to pick up at my parents house. My father then started glancing through it and before I knew it book number two was gone and I had to go buy a third copy for my sister. So be warned - one book is not enough and you may as well order a dozen - and include one for your doctor! What is great about this book is that it is an easy read with clear sub-titles so you can jump to the section you want to read, be it the medication you or a family member is taking or type of doctor you are seeing or the kind of chronic pain you are most interested in. Techniques for coping with, and overcoming, chronic pain are throughout the book. Dr. Schenider encourages a holistic approach to dealing with the life changes that severe illness, injury and pain inevitably bring. I have to admit it is disheartening to read how under-treated and misunderstood pain management has been in modern medicine but one is encouraged that we have come a long way from the days of no anesthesia or the belief that children did not have a complete nervous system and thus felt little or no pain compared to adults. I highly recommend this book not only for those currently experiencing or living with someone with chronic pain but also for those about to have surgery or have experienced some sudden trauma like an accident or fall.

Wow - finally the book I've been looking for! For several years I've been disabled because of pain due to a work-related injury, and I only got my life back when my doctor put me on strong pain medications. It's been hard for me to explain to my friends that these medications are helpful and safe, and that I am not an addict. There are many books available on chronic pain, but this is the only one that really explains the appropriate role of opioids in the treatment of chronic pain. The book also talks about various other treatments, including surgery, alternative medicine, and behavioral approaches, but it especially shines in its clear explanations of the benefits and risks of strong pain meds and the difference between addiction to a drug and simply being physically dependent on it. I highly recommend the book! I think that doctors could learn a lot from it too.

If you have pain, you need to buy this book. If you have a family member in pain, you need to buy this book. The compassionate Dr. Schneider explains clearly the causes of pain, the latest information on medications, how personality might play a part in how we respond to pain, how acupuncture and other non-drug treatments can help, and how to work in partnership with your doctor to gain control over pain. As Dr. Schneider explains, pain is usually undertreated. In reality, no one should have to continue suffering. This book gives you the information and vocabulary to talk with your doctor about your needs, and helps you understand exactly how complex pain control can be. But even the most difficult pain can be tamed. I have had chronic pain that is now controlled, after my doctor and I used the same strategies recommended here. For the first time in years, I can make weekend plans without worrying that I'll have to cancel because of migraine pain. There is hope on these pages--hope that you can actually break the binds of pain to reclaim your life. Highly, highly recommended.