I am sorry to hear about your father. I understand what it is to suffer with chronic pain. There is such a dramatic difference between the biology, and psychology of acute and chronic pain. Opioid therapy has not shown great long term results in the treatment of chronic pain. Most long-term users end up experiencing hyperalgesia, which is an increased sensitivity to pain and an overall increase in pain levels. Mindfulness based practice has shown far more efficacy in the long-term management of chronic pain with various modalities mixed in. There is such an emotional and trauma based component to pain.
Imagine what it would be like to be operated on and rebuilt into something completely different? Often it creates a psychological state very similar to what vets and first responders suffer: PTSD. Has your dad had access to any forms of therapy to deal with the emotional pain caused by enduring a very serious medical event?
There are two very powerful effects in the human brain, one of which most people have heard of. Placebo effect is the positive therapeutic effect that the brain will create under a circumstance of suggestion and belief. If I give 100 people a pill and tell them that it will make them feel feelings of euphoria 25% of the recipients on average will experience euphoria. Powerful!
Nocebo effect is the negative effect that the brain will create under a circumstance of suggestion and belief. If I give 100 people a pill and then tell them that it will cause horrific stomach cramping a whopping 90% of the recipients will experience varying degrees of negative effects. The Nocebo effect is incredibly powerful. Unfortunately, doctors consistently break their patients by telling them, "You will be like this the rest of your life," or, "you will be on this medication the rest of your life." It takes a great deal of positive reinforcement and often therapy to untangle the nocebo effect.
Know this, all pain is real, but only a certain degree of it is biologically related. That is why therapies are moving toward more bio/psycho/social modeling. If your father is open to improving his quality of life, perhaps seek a therapist. Buprenorphine given in small doses orally (<2mg) or transdermally (<20mcg) has shown superior pain relief without the same degree of psychological effects. A carefully managed switch to Buprenorphine combined with, mindfulness practice, chi kung (if able), massage (if able), and other various holistic modalities may work wonders.
**edited for clarity
Under no circumstance should buprenorphine therapy be induced without a trained medical professional guiding you. I figured I better add that in since I played my own doctor for decades and many on this forum still do, justifying it away by clinging to the "brokenness" that someone else put on them.
Imagine what it would be like to be operated on and rebuilt into something completely different? Often it creates a psychological state very similar to what vets and first responders suffer: PTSD. Has your dad had access to any forms of therapy to deal with the emotional pain caused by enduring a very serious medical event?
There are two very powerful effects in the human brain, one of which most people have heard of. Placebo effect is the positive therapeutic effect that the brain will create under a circumstance of suggestion and belief. If I give 100 people a pill and tell them that it will make them feel feelings of euphoria 25% of the recipients on average will experience euphoria. Powerful!
Nocebo effect is the negative effect that the brain will create under a circumstance of suggestion and belief. If I give 100 people a pill and then tell them that it will cause horrific stomach cramping a whopping 90% of the recipients will experience varying degrees of negative effects. The Nocebo effect is incredibly powerful. Unfortunately, doctors consistently break their patients by telling them, "You will be like this the rest of your life," or, "you will be on this medication the rest of your life." It takes a great deal of positive reinforcement and often therapy to untangle the nocebo effect.
Know this, all pain is real, but only a certain degree of it is biologically related. That is why therapies are moving toward more bio/psycho/social modeling. If your father is open to improving his quality of life, perhaps seek a therapist. Buprenorphine given in small doses orally (<2mg) or transdermally (<20mcg) has shown superior pain relief without the same degree of psychological effects. A carefully managed switch to Buprenorphine combined with, mindfulness practice, chi kung (if able), massage (if able), and other various holistic modalities may work wonders.
**edited for clarity
Under no circumstance should buprenorphine therapy be induced without a trained medical professional guiding you. I figured I better add that in since I played my own doctor for decades and many on this forum still do, justifying it away by clinging to the "brokenness" that someone else put on them.
Last edited:
that is such an important point about the significance of working with properly trained professionals one gets along well with. 
