Managing Pain Before It Manages You, Revised Edition

I have had chronic pain for years and I work with people who have chronic pain. If you are looking for self-help with chronic pain, I do not think you will be disappointed with this book. It is one of three I provide to patients to help introduce basic chronic pain coping resources. The others are the "The Pain Survival Guide," by Dennis Turk, PhD and "Hypnotize Yourself Out of Pain Now!" By Bruce Eimer, PhD. I suggest owning all three. The effectively cover a range of knowledge of what works in helping chronic pain patients help themselves. In "Managing Your Pain . . ." Dr. Caudill describes up-to-date and proven means of controlling pain. The book is systematically structured as an effective self-help tool. Caudill explores how mind and body interact to manage pain. The book effectivly provides many well-formed exercises to effectively encourage adoption of pain management skills. I encourage patients to use it as part of their outpatient pain treatment process and routinely suggest it to patients who prefer to work on their own. In either case, many patients effectively apply it with little or no assistance. The book also offers suggestions of additional readings. I also recommend this book to healthcare professionals who regularly, or occasionally, treat individuals with chronic pain, as an effective summary of current clinical wisdom on chronic pain. It is important to add that, for many with chronic pain, gaining the motivation to help self is the biggest challenge. Often a first issue is determining if the cost of addressing, managing and taking responsibility to manage you pain appears worth the benefit. Caudill treats both issues with understanding and empathy.

I purchased this book as a requirement for a pain management program that I attended. The book has been incredibly helpful in my efforts to improve my overall quality of life and manage my fibromyalgia better. The information provided would help anyone with any type of pain problem. I recommend it to everyone I know who has a back problem, or any type of pain. My functioning is so much better, and my day to day life is just easier. I also have a much better mental outlook on life, as a result of taking better care of myself. My family and friends all see a huge difference in my functioning level and happiness. Having the tools to cope better has given me so much hope for the future. I no longer feel like a victim of this illness. Also, I have read just about every book on pain that I can get my hands on. This has to rank up there with the best of them. The trick is that you have to implement the suggestions and really change some things about your life if you want it to work. Do not hesitate one second to buy this book!

I'm glad to have alternative ideas because I have more than one autoimmune disease and the ideas in this book give me a sense of getting real control over this pain - control that will continue.

Our Pain Committee reviewed several resources before settling on this workbook for our community Living With Chronic Pain Program. It has not disappointed us as we are in our 5th program cycle. Participants find it a valuable resource, the summaries are like 'cliff notes' at the end of chapters so they can keep up with the reading, and I have been very pleased with the information. It is current, helpful, and up to date.

This book was recommended to me by my Dr. in a chronic pain clinic. I have since personally recommended it to everyone I know who suffers chronic pain. It discusses mind-body approaches,therapeutic exercises and diet as well as pain medications. It offers a program to help us help ourselves. The book is user friendly for those not participating in a formally structured program.