Dr. John Clark is not only a member of our Advisory Panel, he is medical director for the Calgary Health Region Chronic Pain Centre, and an international expert on chronic pain. He was kind enough to take some time out of his busy schedule to give us a "web interview". Hope you find it as interesting as I did.
You started out as an anesthetist. Can you tell us what led you into the field of pain medicine from there?
Exposed as a resident in anesthesiology to chronic pain, had previously worked as family doctor and it was what was available as a job when I wanted to return to Halifax.
How has the practice of treating pain changed from when you first started out to the present day?
Originally very focused on physician only care, no resources available to provide care, pain was just ignored. This is still an issue to some degree but it is now recognised that working as a team with a person with chronic pain and their family is a much better way to help - interdisiplinary teams.
Resources and wait-times are still a major issue.
Can you define chronic pain, for anyone who might not really understand the term?
Any pain that lasts longer than it should based on why pain initially occurred
What frustrates you most about the field of pain medicine or treating pain?
The lack of education provided to all health care professional about pain during their eduaction. Less than 1% of education is directed to pain management but pain is the most common reason we see a physician!
Do you have any words of advice for people out there who are suffering chronic pain?
Become advocates, join consumer groups like the Chronic Pain Association of Canada to advocate for more resources and better care and better education
How did you get involved in the Pain Diaries Advisory Committee?
This is a unique way to bring the issue of pain and how to help those with pain to a much broader audience, to raise awareness and to advocate for better care and more timely access to care. Empowerment.
What sort of impact do you feel a play like this could have? Can art and science help each other out, or will they always just be opposite sides of the brain?
We need innovative ways to highlight and focus on pain as a disease - this is one way
What do you hope that people involved with and/or viewing this play and documentary will get from the experience?
Better understanding about what those with pain and their families go through and the impact it has on so many peoples lives.
A desire to donate to the Calgary Health Trust to further research into how best to treat pain and set up a Trust to establish a Research Chair in Chronic Pain at the University of Calgary. The Calgary Health Region's clinical program is a world leader in the management of chronic pain, lets make Calgary a world leader in research in this area as well!
Thank you.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Long Time No See
So, there is something I've figured out as I've been working really hard to lose weight. Life keeps getting in the way. You can use it as an excuse and never accomplish your goals, or you can plow through the hard times and come out the other end. I'm trying really hard to plow through. Really. And I feel sort of successful, after all, I have almost three quarters of the play finished. And that is GREAT! And I'm really happy with the content overall, though it will require rigorous editing - but then what writing project doesn't!
And do you know what else I've discovered? You can't do it all alone!
So here's what happened since last we've talked - I've got two books out at two different publishers and am getting positive feedback, but still waiting for that magic word "contract" and have been doing some editing on those.
I've had a great opportunity arise to work on a children's story that is probably going to turn into a young people's symphony concert.
I've written three quarters of the Pain Diaries.
I've been overcome by another great idea that came to me as I drove the coast of Oregon two summers ago.
Plus I've worked a full time job and managed full time family issues.
Did you hear the one about my mother who was trying to move back to Canada from Mexico with her husband? They got stopped for about two months in California with some heart problems. Then, they got medical clearance to travel and three hours on the road they had a blow out which led to a devastating car accident. They had to be cut out of their car, mom was unconscious and it turns out she has about six fractures in her neck and is now trussed up for the next three months or so. I have to say, stuff like this really distracts me from writing - with the emotional toll it takes.
On top of that, I try really hard to maintain some balance and have a bit of a life. I'm still hoping to find lots of travel and friends and fun before I go, and maybe even love...
So I can't do it alone. I can't write a play, manage the project, raise the funds, run the workshops and man the blog. So I'm asking for help.
I'd like to find someone (or many someones) to help with the blog. We really want this to become in interactive forum for pain patients and caregivers, but we need a blog-master/mistress. I can't run this and maintain everything else...as I've already proven.
I would love to put together a fund-raising committee. We need to raise about $20,000 to run a successful workshop performance to polish the play. We probably need another $100,000 after that to stage a big opening gala and week or so run of the show. The great thing is that this would potentially raise about $200,000 in donations, which would go into pain programs/research. And the Calgary Health Trust will write tax deductible receipts for us for the project.
And if I can't get a team, then I'll still get it done, but a little slower and one task at a time.
So if you're out there and you think this is something you could help with, send a comment, which will magically arrive in me email box and let me know.
Otherwise, thank you all for being patient and don't give up - I haven't!
Deb
And do you know what else I've discovered? You can't do it all alone!
So here's what happened since last we've talked - I've got two books out at two different publishers and am getting positive feedback, but still waiting for that magic word "contract" and have been doing some editing on those.
I've had a great opportunity arise to work on a children's story that is probably going to turn into a young people's symphony concert.
I've written three quarters of the Pain Diaries.
I've been overcome by another great idea that came to me as I drove the coast of Oregon two summers ago.
Plus I've worked a full time job and managed full time family issues.
Did you hear the one about my mother who was trying to move back to Canada from Mexico with her husband? They got stopped for about two months in California with some heart problems. Then, they got medical clearance to travel and three hours on the road they had a blow out which led to a devastating car accident. They had to be cut out of their car, mom was unconscious and it turns out she has about six fractures in her neck and is now trussed up for the next three months or so. I have to say, stuff like this really distracts me from writing - with the emotional toll it takes.
On top of that, I try really hard to maintain some balance and have a bit of a life. I'm still hoping to find lots of travel and friends and fun before I go, and maybe even love...
So I can't do it alone. I can't write a play, manage the project, raise the funds, run the workshops and man the blog. So I'm asking for help.
I'd like to find someone (or many someones) to help with the blog. We really want this to become in interactive forum for pain patients and caregivers, but we need a blog-master/mistress. I can't run this and maintain everything else...as I've already proven.
I would love to put together a fund-raising committee. We need to raise about $20,000 to run a successful workshop performance to polish the play. We probably need another $100,000 after that to stage a big opening gala and week or so run of the show. The great thing is that this would potentially raise about $200,000 in donations, which would go into pain programs/research. And the Calgary Health Trust will write tax deductible receipts for us for the project.
And if I can't get a team, then I'll still get it done, but a little slower and one task at a time.
So if you're out there and you think this is something you could help with, send a comment, which will magically arrive in me email box and let me know.
Otherwise, thank you all for being patient and don't give up - I haven't!
Deb
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Happy New Year!
Wow, can you believe it's 2008? Wasn't it just 2000 and we were worried about world-wide computer failures? Or maybe it was 1986 and I was shopping for a bow for my hair like Fergie wore? Or maybe it was 1976 and I was planning for my first trip to Europe? Yes time flies.
So to celebrate the passage of time as we tick towards the work=shopping of our play - lets start with some mini-interviews of some people very involved in chronic pain.
First, let's start with Dr. Chris Spanswick. Dr. Spanswick is with the Calgary Health Region and practices as a pain physician at the Chronic Pain Centre. He is also the Medical Lead for the Regional Pain Program. Dr. Spanswick, and his associated Dr. Chris Main, actually wrote the text book "Pain". You can see Dr. Spanswick's picture on the right hand column, as he is on our advisory committee. Here is what he has to say.
Dr. Chris Spanswick
Q: You started out as an anesthetist. Can you tell us what led you into the field of pain medicine from there?
Chris Spanswick: Having a boss who was a pain in the but, I was looking for a cure! My first boss in anaesthesia was interested in chronic pain. It was down hill from then on.
Q: How has the practice of treating pain changed from when you first started out to the present day?
CS: People get better! Doctors don't carry the burden on their own anymore. Slowly people actually believe chronic pain exists! Needles are used more judiciously.
Q: Can you define chronic pain, for anyone who might not really understand the term?
CS: Living with a fire alarm going off all the time.
Q: What frustrates you most about the field of pain medicine or treating pain?
CS: Lack of appreciation by non-pain colleagues. Unrealistic expectations given to patients by others. The promise of cures by those who are only good at wallet-ectomies. More money...................for research and treatment resources. Having said that we have more than anyone else I know.
Q: Do you have any words of advice for people out there who are suffering chronic pain?
CS: Trust me I'm a doctor! Take each day as it comes. Keep active if not physically (and that's important) keep active mentally and socially. You are what you do. So make sure you don't do nothing but you do something.
Don't trust people who say they can cure you especially if they make a lot of money from you!
Q: How did you get involved in the Pain Diaries Advisory Committee?
CS: I was told to and I always do as I am told! Nobody argues with Deb (and lives!)
Q: Okay, so when I get an idea I must admit that I'm like a dog with a bone and I won't let go! What sort of impact do you feel a play like this could have? Can art and science help each other out, or will they always just be opposite sides of the brain?
CS: It will get pain talked about. It's real and wrecks people lives. They don't imagine this stuff. Perhaps then politicians will listen and take it seriously too. Nobody does until it either happens to them or someone they love.
Q: What do you hope that people involved with and/or viewing this play and documentary will get from the experience?
CS: I hope they laugh and remember the next time they meet someone who has chronic pain. I hope they bug their MLA.
Q: Thank you. Tune in weekly for more interviews. If you have questions or comments, please send them in. We do not guarantee to answer them all on line but will read your correspondence. Please remember that you should get all your medical advice from a trusted primary care physician and NOT the Internet!
So to celebrate the passage of time as we tick towards the work=shopping of our play - lets start with some mini-interviews of some people very involved in chronic pain.
First, let's start with Dr. Chris Spanswick. Dr. Spanswick is with the Calgary Health Region and practices as a pain physician at the Chronic Pain Centre. He is also the Medical Lead for the Regional Pain Program. Dr. Spanswick, and his associated Dr. Chris Main, actually wrote the text book "Pain". You can see Dr. Spanswick's picture on the right hand column, as he is on our advisory committee. Here is what he has to say.
Dr. Chris Spanswick
Q: You started out as an anesthetist. Can you tell us what led you into the field of pain medicine from there?
Chris Spanswick: Having a boss who was a pain in the but, I was looking for a cure! My first boss in anaesthesia was interested in chronic pain. It was down hill from then on.
Q: How has the practice of treating pain changed from when you first started out to the present day?
CS: People get better! Doctors don't carry the burden on their own anymore. Slowly people actually believe chronic pain exists! Needles are used more judiciously.
Q: Can you define chronic pain, for anyone who might not really understand the term?
CS: Living with a fire alarm going off all the time.
Q: What frustrates you most about the field of pain medicine or treating pain?
CS: Lack of appreciation by non-pain colleagues. Unrealistic expectations given to patients by others. The promise of cures by those who are only good at wallet-ectomies. More money...................for research and treatment resources. Having said that we have more than anyone else I know.
Q: Do you have any words of advice for people out there who are suffering chronic pain?
CS: Trust me I'm a doctor! Take each day as it comes. Keep active if not physically (and that's important) keep active mentally and socially. You are what you do. So make sure you don't do nothing but you do something.
Don't trust people who say they can cure you especially if they make a lot of money from you!
Q: How did you get involved in the Pain Diaries Advisory Committee?
CS: I was told to and I always do as I am told! Nobody argues with Deb (and lives!)
Q: Okay, so when I get an idea I must admit that I'm like a dog with a bone and I won't let go! What sort of impact do you feel a play like this could have? Can art and science help each other out, or will they always just be opposite sides of the brain?
CS: It will get pain talked about. It's real and wrecks people lives. They don't imagine this stuff. Perhaps then politicians will listen and take it seriously too. Nobody does until it either happens to them or someone they love.
Q: What do you hope that people involved with and/or viewing this play and documentary will get from the experience?
CS: I hope they laugh and remember the next time they meet someone who has chronic pain. I hope they bug their MLA.
Q: Thank you. Tune in weekly for more interviews. If you have questions or comments, please send them in. We do not guarantee to answer them all on line but will read your correspondence. Please remember that you should get all your medical advice from a trusted primary care physician and NOT the Internet!
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Raindrops on Roses and Timelines for Plays...
Yes, the holiday season is upon us. Where has the year gone?
Well, for me, here's where it's gone. I work a full time job and write at night and on weekends. I squeeze in visits with friends and family. This year also included two moves (am I crazy or what) but now I have landed permanently - barring flood. And I shouldn't joke about floods, because the year also included finding our offices at the Chronic Pain Centre under about 3 inches of water. And can you believe it - here it is December and the flood was June 20 - and we are still undergoing some renovations from that event. We've had some turnover at the Centre, so I've been working alone for a good part of the year, and getting very far behind, hence my absence from this site. But now we're put back together, I have a co-worker again and we're caught up, I'm almost finished the interview process, I've written another book and I'm working on finishing the play. Now I see where the time went.
But this year will forever be etched in my memory. It is the year I met some incredible people and learned so much about pain. To hear someone tell me how they wouldn't change their pain experience because they came out the other end understanding what was more important in life than they did before - how can that not affect you. Or even to hear someone still struggling with the journey, still trying to find some meaning and purpose in their lives. I have had sleepless nights, I have cried when listening to interviews, and I have written some scenes which I think have captured a bit of this journey.
I have also learned a lot about grant proposals and fundraising (our goal is $100,000 to $150,000 thousand - so if you know anyone with lots of money to give....)
But for now, I want to wish you all a wonderful and happy holiday season and let you know what our new timeline is for the next year, so you can keep track of our progress.
And don't forget - if you have anything to say - you can leave your comments here!
TIMELINE
Blog:
January, February and March - interviews with the advisory committee and pain experts from around the world.
April - Summer - notes on workshops, auditions, fundraising and everything else involved in mounting a production!
The Play
January - June: complete interviews and writing the play. Work with Advisory committee on draft of play. Re-write and re-write and re-write some more!
July/August: Workshop the play. Details to be announced.
Fall 2008: The opening of The Pain Diaries - Details to be announced.
The Documentary
Filming will take place at various events throughout the year. Again, if you have any comments or ideas, please post them here and we will be in touch.
Thanks to you all for your support!
Well, for me, here's where it's gone. I work a full time job and write at night and on weekends. I squeeze in visits with friends and family. This year also included two moves (am I crazy or what) but now I have landed permanently - barring flood. And I shouldn't joke about floods, because the year also included finding our offices at the Chronic Pain Centre under about 3 inches of water. And can you believe it - here it is December and the flood was June 20 - and we are still undergoing some renovations from that event. We've had some turnover at the Centre, so I've been working alone for a good part of the year, and getting very far behind, hence my absence from this site. But now we're put back together, I have a co-worker again and we're caught up, I'm almost finished the interview process, I've written another book and I'm working on finishing the play. Now I see where the time went.
But this year will forever be etched in my memory. It is the year I met some incredible people and learned so much about pain. To hear someone tell me how they wouldn't change their pain experience because they came out the other end understanding what was more important in life than they did before - how can that not affect you. Or even to hear someone still struggling with the journey, still trying to find some meaning and purpose in their lives. I have had sleepless nights, I have cried when listening to interviews, and I have written some scenes which I think have captured a bit of this journey.
I have also learned a lot about grant proposals and fundraising (our goal is $100,000 to $150,000 thousand - so if you know anyone with lots of money to give....)
But for now, I want to wish you all a wonderful and happy holiday season and let you know what our new timeline is for the next year, so you can keep track of our progress.
And don't forget - if you have anything to say - you can leave your comments here!
TIMELINE
Blog:
January, February and March - interviews with the advisory committee and pain experts from around the world.
April - Summer - notes on workshops, auditions, fundraising and everything else involved in mounting a production!
The Play
January - June: complete interviews and writing the play. Work with Advisory committee on draft of play. Re-write and re-write and re-write some more!
July/August: Workshop the play. Details to be announced.
Fall 2008: The opening of The Pain Diaries - Details to be announced.
The Documentary
Filming will take place at various events throughout the year. Again, if you have any comments or ideas, please post them here and we will be in touch.
Thanks to you all for your support!
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
MIA writer returns
Who knew that a working sabbatical could turn into so much work? 8 shows a week, rehearsals, certain responsibilities on Vancouver Island & back in Calgary.
We've also been delighted by visits from many welcome guests - friends & family - and have made it a priority to explore as much as we can of this part of Canada while we're here.
All this means that Deb has been holding down the creative and organizational fort on this project for months now, as I regularly attempt to wrap my head around the interviews that have been conducted and the master plan of what it is we're trying to do.
The funny thing is that the issue of chronic pain keeps intruding unbidden. From colleagues working onstage with long term injuries that don't heal to guests/relatives who have to deal with the daily trials of advancing age ... I'm presented with more faces of chronic pain.
I was asked - seriously - what I thought of euthanasia. Of course, during the course of a dinner party, one tries not to delve too deeply into serious matters, but the thought keeps bouncing around in my head, occasionally rising to the surface: when does it become too much?
- when you're 90 years old, untreatable medical conditions and the morphine patch no longer even seems to take the edge off?
- when you're a young mother, wheelchair bound and facing surgery that still may not provide relief?
- when you're in the prime of life and an injury suddenly renders you partially disabled and you can't remember a time without pain?
AS collection and compilation of research for this project continues, I find myself worrying about how we're going to craft it all into one story. But that will be for another day ...
Hal
We've also been delighted by visits from many welcome guests - friends & family - and have made it a priority to explore as much as we can of this part of Canada while we're here.
All this means that Deb has been holding down the creative and organizational fort on this project for months now, as I regularly attempt to wrap my head around the interviews that have been conducted and the master plan of what it is we're trying to do.
The funny thing is that the issue of chronic pain keeps intruding unbidden. From colleagues working onstage with long term injuries that don't heal to guests/relatives who have to deal with the daily trials of advancing age ... I'm presented with more faces of chronic pain.
I was asked - seriously - what I thought of euthanasia. Of course, during the course of a dinner party, one tries not to delve too deeply into serious matters, but the thought keeps bouncing around in my head, occasionally rising to the surface: when does it become too much?
- when you're 90 years old, untreatable medical conditions and the morphine patch no longer even seems to take the edge off?
- when you're a young mother, wheelchair bound and facing surgery that still may not provide relief?
- when you're in the prime of life and an injury suddenly renders you partially disabled and you can't remember a time without pain?
AS collection and compilation of research for this project continues, I find myself worrying about how we're going to craft it all into one story. But that will be for another day ...
Hal
Monday, July 9, 2007
Life Goes On...
A little rain has to fall...
Did you hear the one about the pain clinic that flooded? Oh yeah, that one - it wasn't very funny but it was true. Yes, we came to work one day a couple of weeks ago only to find our office was now a wading pool. And we'll be out of it for at least a month. But thanks to the kind hearts of other tennants in our building, we have managed to find clinics to see patients and desks to put staff at. But I'm using this as my excuse to be massively disorganized right now. Yes, half my pain diaries stuff is locked in my file cabinet at work - which is in the middle of my office probably with my desk and chair on top of it. Luckily, all my interview and research stuff is wtih me all the time, so I can keep writing and working on that part of it.
But it kind of speaks to the fortitude of our staff again. There are certain specialties in medicine that people are called to, and chronic pain seems to be one of those specialties. They are doubling and tripling up desks and stepping over each other's feet, but patient care always comes first.
One thing I have learned so far while doing interviews is that a lot of patients have been frustrated by their medical care in relation to their chronic pain. It takes years to get to see the right kind of specialist and lots of other tried and failed medications and treatments. But it's not because doctors don't care. Quite the opposite really. It's amazing how much doctors do care. What one of the big problems seems to be is training. And because pain has not been well understood, doctors don't get a lot of training in how to deal with it. Some get none. So not only do the patients get frustrated, but the doctors get frustrated.
That is why projects like this are so important. This is a great opportunity for outreach into the community, not only for our friends and families to gain some understanding, but maybe for the medical professionals to get a new perspective on pain too. You see, these people I work with that have this calling also want to be evangelists. They want to get the word out there. And the more people that know and understand pain, the quicker treatmetn can e provided, the better off everything will be, right?
Did you hear the one about the pain clinic that flooded? Oh yeah, that one - it wasn't very funny but it was true. Yes, we came to work one day a couple of weeks ago only to find our office was now a wading pool. And we'll be out of it for at least a month. But thanks to the kind hearts of other tennants in our building, we have managed to find clinics to see patients and desks to put staff at. But I'm using this as my excuse to be massively disorganized right now. Yes, half my pain diaries stuff is locked in my file cabinet at work - which is in the middle of my office probably with my desk and chair on top of it. Luckily, all my interview and research stuff is wtih me all the time, so I can keep writing and working on that part of it.
But it kind of speaks to the fortitude of our staff again. There are certain specialties in medicine that people are called to, and chronic pain seems to be one of those specialties. They are doubling and tripling up desks and stepping over each other's feet, but patient care always comes first.
One thing I have learned so far while doing interviews is that a lot of patients have been frustrated by their medical care in relation to their chronic pain. It takes years to get to see the right kind of specialist and lots of other tried and failed medications and treatments. But it's not because doctors don't care. Quite the opposite really. It's amazing how much doctors do care. What one of the big problems seems to be is training. And because pain has not been well understood, doctors don't get a lot of training in how to deal with it. Some get none. So not only do the patients get frustrated, but the doctors get frustrated.
That is why projects like this are so important. This is a great opportunity for outreach into the community, not only for our friends and families to gain some understanding, but maybe for the medical professionals to get a new perspective on pain too. You see, these people I work with that have this calling also want to be evangelists. They want to get the word out there. And the more people that know and understand pain, the quicker treatmetn can e provided, the better off everything will be, right?
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Chronic Pain and Memory Loss
From the Calgary Herald – Monday, May 21, 2007
Chronic Pain May Lead to Memory Loss
Study reveals shorter attention span in sufferers
JODIE SINNEMA EDMONTON JOURNAL, EDMONTON
When Deana Adams sliced her left hand on a sharp piece of steel at work more than three years ago, a doctor gave her four simple stitches, unaware that the nerve between her thumb and index finger had been severed.
The pain since then — zinging like a shock from an electric fence and running up her arm to her shoulder, neck and head — has been at times so severe it has affected her marriage, interrupted her sleep and stolen the good memory she prided herself in.
“I forget things really easily,” says Adams, 41, who works as a surgical processor at the University of Alberta hospital, sterilizing, decontaminating and organizing hospital equipment. “The pain takes over. It sort of just swarms in and says, ‘ Here I am, listen to me,’ and you want to do anything to relieve it.”
Adams’s memory problems are common among people with chronic pain, says new research from the University of Alberta.
Bruce Dick, a clinical psychologist at the Multidisciplinary Pain Centre at the U of A hospital, discovered two-thirds of people with chronic pain had some measure of cognitive impairment that shortened their attention span and made it difficult to remember things. Half of those people had significant memory issues, especially when multi-tasking.
“Chronic pain is something that is disruptive,” said Dick, whose research paper appears in this month’s edition of the journal Anesthesia and Analgesia. “Part of the rationale for doing this study is we have some fairly good medical treatments aimed at helping relieve pain. What’s more difficult sometimes is affecting the bigger picture of people’s lives, so trying to lesson the disability or helping improve people’s quality of life.”
Knowing that chronic-pain sufferers may have difficulty remembering certain details during their day, pain therapists may be able to develop new strategies to help patients overcome the gaps.
Adams works through her memory lapses with cue cards that list the intricacies of putting together full surgical sets at work. If she’s called away from a task, these notes keep her on track.
At home, Adams’s attention has also suffered. She used to plow through paperbacks in hours, but now picks up a half-read book and can’t remember the plot line. She forgets conversations and birthday cards she’s sent.
“Emotionally, when it first happened, I got depressed really bad,” she said. “When you’re in pain, you don’t want anyone to touch you. You don’t sleep. You don’t eat. You’re constantly on guard.”
Since then, she has cut back on her medication, but still takes 27 different pills throughout the day.
Dick hopes his study will provide “some validation for the people who suffer with these complex pain problems. It can be easy for a patient to jump to a conclusion that ‘I’m crazy.’ ”
Chronic Pain May Lead to Memory Loss
Study reveals shorter attention span in sufferers
JODIE SINNEMA EDMONTON JOURNAL, EDMONTON
When Deana Adams sliced her left hand on a sharp piece of steel at work more than three years ago, a doctor gave her four simple stitches, unaware that the nerve between her thumb and index finger had been severed.
The pain since then — zinging like a shock from an electric fence and running up her arm to her shoulder, neck and head — has been at times so severe it has affected her marriage, interrupted her sleep and stolen the good memory she prided herself in.
“I forget things really easily,” says Adams, 41, who works as a surgical processor at the University of Alberta hospital, sterilizing, decontaminating and organizing hospital equipment. “The pain takes over. It sort of just swarms in and says, ‘ Here I am, listen to me,’ and you want to do anything to relieve it.”
Adams’s memory problems are common among people with chronic pain, says new research from the University of Alberta.
Bruce Dick, a clinical psychologist at the Multidisciplinary Pain Centre at the U of A hospital, discovered two-thirds of people with chronic pain had some measure of cognitive impairment that shortened their attention span and made it difficult to remember things. Half of those people had significant memory issues, especially when multi-tasking.
“Chronic pain is something that is disruptive,” said Dick, whose research paper appears in this month’s edition of the journal Anesthesia and Analgesia. “Part of the rationale for doing this study is we have some fairly good medical treatments aimed at helping relieve pain. What’s more difficult sometimes is affecting the bigger picture of people’s lives, so trying to lesson the disability or helping improve people’s quality of life.”
Knowing that chronic-pain sufferers may have difficulty remembering certain details during their day, pain therapists may be able to develop new strategies to help patients overcome the gaps.
Adams works through her memory lapses with cue cards that list the intricacies of putting together full surgical sets at work. If she’s called away from a task, these notes keep her on track.
At home, Adams’s attention has also suffered. She used to plow through paperbacks in hours, but now picks up a half-read book and can’t remember the plot line. She forgets conversations and birthday cards she’s sent.
“Emotionally, when it first happened, I got depressed really bad,” she said. “When you’re in pain, you don’t want anyone to touch you. You don’t sleep. You don’t eat. You’re constantly on guard.”
Since then, she has cut back on her medication, but still takes 27 different pills throughout the day.
Dick hopes his study will provide “some validation for the people who suffer with these complex pain problems. It can be easy for a patient to jump to a conclusion that ‘I’m crazy.’ ”
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