Pain management clinics

Starrystarrynight

Hello all

I've had arthritis and osteochondritis for years & years, have had several operations and I have trouble walking now. My GP surgery is trying to help me get the pain under control with various different medications. The last doctor I saw suggested a referral to a pain management clinic.

I wanted to ask if anyone has any experience of pain management clinics? I'd love to find out a bit about what goes on.

Thanks in advance!

mouseymousey99

Hello, I went on a course last year, if you are offered a place I would urge you to grab it with both hands. You won't get 'cured' but I think you understand that, it is all to do with management. I would also say its hard work if you put the time and effort into it too. (If you don't not a lot of point doing it).
I've read a lot of negative reports on here, (so I'm glad I found you early) so I can only tell you how it went for me.
I learned a lot, and I thought I knew about my condition. I am still using a lot of the things I was taught. For me the best 'trick' was distraction therapy. I also lost 4 stone, but that's not part of the course that came with more self awareness.
I am now able to ask for a lot of things I couldn't before and having been on the course gives you an authority that physios and others you come across in the healthcare area recognise.
I think you need to work with your GP and the more you learn about your own body and how it works (or doesn't) the better. Good Luck and give it a go.

blueallan

Hi there, Grab it with both hands!!!. I've been attending a Pain Management Clinic for 9 years, they can't cure you but with their help and advise you learn to cope much better. They can help to open doors that you my never have thought of. You'll find that they help you to see the signs of over doing it or pushing you luck a lot earlier, so you can stop getting so low that you struggle to get back on top of it.
Mine has been great. So go with an open mind and they'll help, not just you, but also those closes to you.
Best of luck.

kaya

i went to a pain management clinic in watford, a complete waste of time, the doctor was so arrogant and only interested in forcing her own opinions on me, horrible woman, too see things from her point of view i would have to have got my head up her a*r*s*e too, i also went on a similar 3 week course called the "active back programme" , useless for my purposes but i can see how it was very helpfull for others on it, she spent 20 mins telling me that epidurals were safe and better than a placebo, then pointed me towards a website that completely disagreed with everything she said! I suppose it depends where you are at with regards to your pain issues, however im sure i had the exception to the rule with my clinician as many people on here seem to benefit greatly from the clinics, i hope you get a decent doctor and wish you all the best !

veryunsure

Hello
my experience of a clinic in Macclesfield was very good.

My meds were rationalised and lots of weaker pills replaces with far fewer more effective ones.

The 12 week course was good and covered lots of ways of coping with pain. It was nice to meet other people insimilar situations.

I didn't think I'd get anything from it but I was so wrong.

kurgon

Which hospital are you going to be referred to - may help with opinions as I think it depends on the area. Salford Royal ws terrible but the doc I saw there has just left, so hoping the next one has a little more empathy or is able to actually provide an opinion.....

Rochelle

Hi think there seems to be some confusion here, there is a difference between a pain clinic and a pain management course/programme. The pain clinic is where you get referred to when you have long term chronic pain and your doctor has exhausted all avenues of pain relief so you get referred to your local hospital which have a pain clinic and you will see a specialist who specialises in people with long term pain.Then you have pain management course/programme or sometimes called something slightly different and there you will be given advise on finding other ways to control your chronic pain, this can be with physio,cognitive behaviour therapy and relaxation therapy's, they also help you reduce your meds.Through the pain clinic i have now been referred to a fab pain management clinic in St Thoma`s hospital in London, there programme is different to most in the way that they have a four week intense in house programme,where we stay in an annex in the hospital in a flat from mon/fri and go home at the weekends, this has such a fab reputation and i just got the application form and dvd, so will sit down tonight and have a read.
Either way which ever you have been referred to like everyone says "grab it with both hands" as its a fab chance to help you manage your pain and live a better life.

[Deleted User]

having seen their ideas for mrs woodbine i`d say that they are a total waste of time

erdd2

I have been 4 times now and so far positive, helpful and wish I had been ""sent" sooner...don't knock it til you have tried, what have you to lose. Good luck!

erdd2

woodbine wrote: »

having seen their ideas for mrs woodbine i`d say that they are a total waste of time

Should have mentioned in my previous post that my first experience of pain management was carp and was reluctant to attend a different one, but soooooooooooooooooo glad I did.

Starrystarrynight

Hi, guys, and thank you so much. It's very kind of you to take the time to tell me about your experiences, both good and not so good. Sorry to hear you ended up with a doctor you didn't get on with, Kaya!
As you say, Mousey, after nearly 30 years of pain, I know it's with me for life, I just need to learn ways to cope and, if I can find ways to express how I'm feeling so other people are better informed, then so much the better. I love the sound of what blue says, in spotting earlier that I'm pushing myself too hard. My OH tells me off for trying to do too much, but he's very sympathetic and helpful still when I end up parked on the settee, unable to move! Veryunsure, I'm interested to hear about possibly being able to reduce the number of different medications, hopefully it may be an option one day. I get quite confused with what I'm taking and sometimes as the GP is trying me on various different ones, and I'll be so worried about repeating a dose too early if I'm not sure what I already took, that I'll just not take it.
I shall take the plunge and ring the Choose & Book line. There are a couple of hospitals near me that have clinics. With the advice I've read here, I definitely need to give it a good try, eh.
Thanks again! Your replies are very much appreciated :-)