SixBuckets
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Jan 21, 2015
- Messages
- 1,222
I'm not sure if cross-posting is allowed, but here's the post I just made to the pain management thread in AusDD:
My induction into the pain management clinic was yesterday.
It was basically a full day of presentations by different staff on the pain management team. There was some really good stuff (such as information about how chronic pain works and what happens in your body when you experience it) some sobering but useful stuff (such as a really honest and realistic Q&A about what we can expect from their pharmacotherapy team) some stuff about chronic disease self management and pacing and realistic expectations of life with pain (this was all really basic for me, as I've lived with other chronic illness for a long time, but useful to other people in the group) and some kinda hippie woo stuff about talk therapy and mindfulness and guided meditation (which I didn't think was useful to me at all). Generally a positive experience and I'm glad I went. I feel like I now have more knowledge to approach supporting therapies like appropriately managed exercise and physio and massage and stuff like that.
It was really good to have confirmed that the 'boom and bust' approach is a common and normal thing - I've been overdoing it on my 'good days' and ending up in bed for three days. They gave us some strategies to avoid this and manage our lives without unnecessary flare ups.
Now I have to wait until the end of the month until my first 1 to 1 with an actual clinician.
My induction into the pain management clinic was yesterday.
It was basically a full day of presentations by different staff on the pain management team. There was some really good stuff (such as information about how chronic pain works and what happens in your body when you experience it) some sobering but useful stuff (such as a really honest and realistic Q&A about what we can expect from their pharmacotherapy team) some stuff about chronic disease self management and pacing and realistic expectations of life with pain (this was all really basic for me, as I've lived with other chronic illness for a long time, but useful to other people in the group) and some kinda hippie woo stuff about talk therapy and mindfulness and guided meditation (which I didn't think was useful to me at all). Generally a positive experience and I'm glad I went. I feel like I now have more knowledge to approach supporting therapies like appropriately managed exercise and physio and massage and stuff like that.
It was really good to have confirmed that the 'boom and bust' approach is a common and normal thing - I've been overdoing it on my 'good days' and ending up in bed for three days. They gave us some strategies to avoid this and manage our lives without unnecessary flare ups.
Now I have to wait until the end of the month until my first 1 to 1 with an actual clinician.