Latest news with #chronicpain
ABC News
12 hours ago
- Health
- ABC News
Woman feels abandoned by WA health system amid year-long chronic pain battle
Jayde Guest spends most evenings in extreme pain. For almost a year, the mother of two from Esperance, 700 kilometres south-east of Perth, has barely been able to work or socialise. She feels as though her life has been stripped of all its best parts. "I'm at the end of my tether right now. "Day-to-day life is a real challenge." While she has turned to Western Australia's health system numerous times for help, she said the process had only compounded her suffering. The pain, which "feels like her chest wall is caving in", arrived out of the blue on a normal winter's morning. It has returned each day since, intensifying the more active she is and often becoming unbearable by night. Her doctor's first suspicion was cancer, as she had been in remission from an aggressive form called osteosarcoma for about 20 years. But the medical system was at a loss when tests ruled out cancer. She made the journey to Perth, seeing five different specialists on separate occasions, none of whom could produce the answers she sought. Ms Guest said she was then twice rejected from the WA Health Department's central referral service — designed to triage and allocate cases — and the hospital stopped calling her back. "I [was] in the too-hard basket," she said. Ms Guest said she turned to support groups on social media and sought out experts in London, America, Melbourne and Sydney. Finally, she found someone who might have an answer to her pain. During her previous bone cancer battle, she had five ribs removed and replaced with a Gore-Tex mesh. A doctor in Sydney believes the 20-year-old mesh is now shrinking and pulling against her chest wall. The doctor, who specialises in mesh removal, told Ms Guest they were confident of being able to remove hers but is still working out how to rebuild her chest wall. Ms Guest is relieved to have a way forward, but the wait continues as they work on a solution. She said the uncertainty of her experience felt harder than the 16 rounds of chemotherapy she endured in her 20s. "The lack of communication from the medical system has been really disappointing," she said. "And I think that's what makes people feel really alone. Clare Mullen, executive director at WA's Health Consumers Council, said experiences like Ms Guest's happened "too often". But Ms Mullen said cases involving regional patients and chronic pain could be particularly difficult. She said this was due to the disconnect between country GPs and metropolitan health professionals and the scepticism that could follow chronic pain. "Unfortunately, it's one of the areas where we see a lot of people having to convince the clinicians … that their pain is real." Ms Mullen said anyone feeling like their case was not progressing or who had been rejected from the service should contact the GP who made their first referral. "It's not ideal, particularly in a case like this [where] someone is living with chronic pain," she said. "It's a time-consuming process." Ms Mullen said if they still had no luck, they should contact the Health Consumers Council. Monika Boogs, chief executive of Pain Australia, said the number of Australians suffering chronic pain was about 3.7 million and growing. But Ms Boogs said there were only about 200 pain specialists in the country, with access proving particularly difficult for regional residents. She said a national action plan for pain management was done six years ago, but many programs were still unfunded. "Pain is like mental health was 20 years ago. It's something that's growing. It's impacting so many people," she said. WA Health Minister Meredith Hammat said the health system aimed to provide world-class care to all West Australians. "We will never stop working to advance the care our health system provides," she said. A WA Health spokesperson said initiatives were in progress to improve access to public specialist outpatient services. To help others, Ms Guest started blogging about her experience. She said she was a big believer in documenting experiences and helping others to advocate within the medical system. "By me sharing it, I've had people open up to me and hopefully I've helped them to see that they're not alone. "And Facebook groups, as much as they can be a little bit negative sometimes, I've found some great people and great friends going through similar things to me. "And that's definitely helped." Ms Guest said it also kept her sane, as the wait for a cure continued. "I think it's hard for people to understand because I look kind of normal, I don't walk around going, 'Oh, my gosh, I'm in so much pain.' "I just have to carry on."
The Sun
2 days ago
- Health
- The Sun
Adults living with chronic pain cite long NHS waiting times among reasons for not getting treated
FOUR in five people living with chronic pain are hiding their condition – held back by stigma, ineffective treatments, and long NHS waiting times, it's been found. Research of 4,000 adults found 54 per cent of those not seeking support blamed long waits for treatment via the health service. 3 Nearly half (45 per cent) are suffering in silence due to scepticism from friends, family, and colleagues. Meanwhile, 40 per cent worry about appearing "weak", and 33 per cent simply don't want to be a burden. Among those who have sought help, 17 per cent reported that traditional treatments aren't working, leaving 41 per cent desperate for alternative pain management options. The research was commissioned for Curaleaf Clinic's Pain Unmasked campaign, which aims to expose the hidden realities of living with chronic pain. Dr Simon Erridge, research director at the medical cannabis clinic, said: 'With traditional treatments failing many, chronic pain patients are left suffering in silence. 'Evidence for medical cannabis is growing, and demand is rising - we have seen a 34 per cent increase in chronic pain patients in the last year - yet many still don't know how to access it. 'Greater awareness and support are needed to ensure patients get the treatment they deserve." It is estimated that close to 28 million people in the UK suffer from chronic pain conditions, and the emotional toll is severe. Everyday activities like sleeping (44 per cent), exercising (40 per cent), socialising (28 per cent), and maintaining relationships (15 per cent) are significantly impacted. And one in five (20 per cent) experience isolation due to their pain. Millions of women live life according to their menstrual cycle, study shows To highlight these hidden struggles, Curaleaf Clinic's campaign brings chronic pain sufferers' experiences to life through art. Collaborating with artist Hayley Wall and three pain sufferers – influencer Mesha Moinirad (CORR), and patients Fran Taylor and Ryan Swanepoel (CORR) – the campaign transforms real pain into physical masks, revealing the emotional burden of masking their condition. Ryan Swanepoel, who has limb girdle muscular dystrophy, a condition which causes weakness and wasting of the muscles around the hips and shoulders, said: "For years, I kept the full extent of my pain hidden - it felt like no one truly understood or knew how to manage it. 'I tried traditional treatments, but they changed who I was and carried risks that made long-term use impossible. 'It wasn't until I discovered medical cannabis that I finally found some form of relief. It's transformed my life, and more people deserve to know this option is out there.' Fran Taylor, who is living with endometriosis, added: 'Endometriosis has controlled my life for 12 years, leaving me waiting endlessly for effective treatment. 3 3 'I was dismissed and misunderstood for so long, feeling completely isolated. Pain shouldn't be suffered in silence - we need to speak up, advocate for ourselves, and get the support we deserve.' Opioids have been one of the most commonly prescribed medications for chronic pain, but only 39 per cent of patients find prescription painkillers such as these most effective. Nearly as many (33 per cent) are now finding alternative therapies like acupuncture, creative therapies (e.g. painting, sculpture) and medical cannabis provide the most relief. However, despite the legalisation of medical cannabis in 2018, awareness and access remain major barriers - with 16 per cent of sufferers unaware it is legal and 18 per cent unsure how to access it. Nearly a third of pain patients (30 per cent) would like to speak to their GP about medical cannabis as a treatment option and 26 per cent would be open to trying it if available on the NHS. Dr Simon Erridge added: 'We provide evidence-backed insights to campaign for greater availability. 'Government support is critical to expanding access for current and future patients. 'Without funding for research and the political will to help medical cannabis patients, progress towards NHS access has stalled. 'No one should be left struggling when potential solutions exist." Ways to reduce pain - approved by the NHS THESE tried-and-tested self-help steps could bring you relief... Get some gently exercise Everyday activities like walking, swimming, gardening and dancing can ease some of the pain directly by blocking pain signals to the brain. Activity can also help lessen pain by stretching stiff and tense muscles, ligaments and joints. Breathe right Concentrating on your breathing when you're in pain can help. When pain is intense, rather than taking shallow, rapid breaths, breathe slowly and deeply. The Pain Toolkit is a booklet packed with simple practical advice on how to live better with long-term pain. The British Pain Society's website also has a number of booklets and patient information leaflets about managing pain. Talking therapies Some people find it useful to get help from a psychologist or hypnotherapist to discover how to deal with their emotions in relation to their pain. Distract yourself Shift your attention on to something else so the pain is not the only thing on your mind. This could involve getting stuck into an activity that you enjoy or find stimulating. Cure sleep problems Many people with long-term pain find it difficult to sleep at night, and sleep deprivation can make pain worse. Go to bed at the same time each evening, and get up at a regular time in the morning. Avoid taking naps in the day, and if sleep problems persist, see a GP. Relax
RNZ News
3 days ago
- Health
- RNZ News
Gisborne pensioner dealt with depression, chronic pain in year-long wait for surgery
It comes amid ongoing doctor shortages at Gisborne Hospital. (File photo) Photo: Liam Clayton / Gisborne Herald A Gisborne pensioner dealt with chronic pain and depression during a year-long wait for surgery for severe sinus inflammation. It came amidst ongoing doctor shortages at Gisborne Hospital. As of April, about 40 percent of senior doctor positions at the hospital were vacant. RNZ understands that Gisborne Hospital currently has just one ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist who works part time. The patient, who asked not to be named, said he had to put his life on hold as he lived for over a year with lingering pain - which he described as the feeling of after being hit in the face - as well as mucus and breath that smelt like "strong cheese and chives" due to his infection. The man said he had issues with his sinuses for 20 years, but a dental surgery that punctured his sinuses early last year left him with a severe sinus infection that did not go away. "My cheek, and up the left side of my nose and right up to - there's a small sinus above your eye as well above the left eye - that was all infected and just packed full of pus," he said. He said most nights he was not able to sleep until midnight, and sometimes would sleep in a sitting position to make breathing easier. The man's GP confirmed a first referral letter was sent last May, but it was not until October - after two follow up letters from his GP - that he got to see an ENT specialist. While initially told it would be four months wait for surgery, the man said he was later told that there was no staffing for his surgery to go ahead when he followed up with Health New Zealand (HNZ). The man said he was told in February, there were people who had been waiting for surgery much longer than him - including a patient at the top of the waiting list who had been waiting for about 700 days. He said during his long wait, his reliance on anti-inflammatories and about eight courses of antibiotics were taking a toll on his body. He said he also developed depression. "People have said to me, what was it like? And I said, well if I had a gun, I would have used it on myself, literally. That's how bad it was, the depression that came with it," he said. The man said his operation was eventually outsourced to a private hospital in Hastings in late April, with travel and accommodation costs covered by HNZ. He said while he was delighted to finally get his operation done, the process made him feel "abandoned" by the health system, and he worried about the impact on others who had similar experiences. The man's GP, who also did not want to be named, said he should have been treated in a month, given his condition. She said she had noticed an increasing number of referrals being declined or taking up to a year for the patients to be seen. She estimated about 40 percent of her ENT referrals were either getting rejected or "getting nowhere". The doctor said this further strained already limited resources for GPs, who were left holding the patients' hands for much longer during their waits. "It's really difficult as a GP, because I feel like it sometimes doubles or triples our job, because we have these patients coming back to us desperate to be seen. "Sometimes I'll write more than one referral, maybe three referrals, pleading with the department to expedite this person's appointment," she said. She said the waits were particularly pronounced in ENT and orthopaedics. She said it appeared that all patients other than "priority 1" (top priority patients) were having to wait for over four months or longer for appointments. HNZ has been approached for comment. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Telegraph
3 days ago
- Health
- Telegraph
The solution to chronic back pain could lie in your brain
A million people in Britain are presently unable to work owing to neck or back issues. 'Back pain' is a term that neatly hides the havoc wreaked by a herniated disc or trapped nerve. It's a simple phrase for a torturous problem, one that can often be disabling. It may surprise you, then, to hear that a solution to back pain could lie not in our spines but in our heads. A recent clinical trial has shown that an eight-week course of either mindfulness or cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) can reduce back pain significantly in people who currently take opioid painkillers, and who haven't responded to other forms of treatment. Such improvements can last for up to a year, the study found. The links between what happens in our brains and bodies when it comes to pain are mysterious to most. But after working to treat chronic pain using these therapies for more than 25 years, Mabel Martinelli, a psychologist from the Cambridge Centre for Cognitive and Behavioural Therapy, knows that our thoughts – when harnessed – can relieve pain just as effectively as any drug. 'We find that with long-term back pain, there are always beliefs tied to it, about how the pain might limit our lives or get worse in the future,' Martinelli explains. 'The role of CBT is to interrupt this relationship between pain, thoughts and feelings. When we change our beliefs about the pain we feel, the pain changes too.' Courses of CBT and mindfulness-based therapy are now offered on the NHS as standard care for those suffering from back pain. Here are five tips from Martinelli's practice that can help you to manage your symptoms. 1. Keep a pain diary The thoughts that trigger or increase back pain vary by person, as do the emotions they provoke. Research suggests that ruminating on your back pain – thinking about it over and over again – can make it feel both more intense and more life-limiting. Writing them down can help process that and put an end to rumination.'Try jotting down the negative thoughts you have and getting into a conversation with them, about what you can do to better look after yourself in the future.' 2. Work on accepting that back pain is part of your life for now One of the worst elements of back pain is its continuous presence in our lives, no matter what we do. It's normal to feel anxious, down or angry because of it. Depression and anxiety can both cause a predisposition to and worsen back pain. 'Research shows that in men, anger is closely related to back pain. Struggling to manage anger can both cause and worsen pain because it leads to increased muscle tension, but of course, the pain makes many men angrier too,' says Martinelli. In order to reduce the pain you suffer, it's important to accept the position you're in, says Martinelli, however bad it may be. 'Notice the struggle and name it,' says Martinelli. 'When you feel yourself fighting the pain, say 'this is me struggling'. That small act of awareness can shift how you respond.' It can also be helpful to use metaphors to change the relationship that you have with the pain (see the three specific suggestions from Martinelli below). Things may well change for the better in the future, 'but in the moment, it's important to accept how you feel and not try to change it or run away from it. This only makes the pain worse.' 3. Getting outside can be a powerful distraction 'Don't underestimate the power of connecting with nature,' says Martinelli. It might sound woo-woo but there's science to support the proposition that the great outdoors can boost wellbeing and bring you into the present, distracting you from worries about the future and reducing pain. Multiple studies have demonstrated that exposure to green space reduces pain and improves quality of life in people suffering with chronic pain conditions, including back pain. Even watching nature scenes on a screen can relieve pain, research suggests. A recent neuroimaging study from the University of Vienna and the University of Exeter, showed that nature helps because 'the brain is reacting less to information about where the pain is coming from and how intense it feels', said Max Steininger, who led the study. 'So try to make five minutes to get out for a quick walk around the park when you can,' says Martinelli. 'Over time, doing this regularly will help to reduce the pain you feel in your everyday life.' 4. Pay attention to when you're worrying about the pain – and stretch When pain arises, we often respond by turning on a mental 'struggle switch' – resisting, fighting or trying to push the pain away. This response tends to make things worse by layering frustration, fear and tension on top of the pain. When we learn to notice this instinct and gently turn the switch off, the pain might still be present, but we're no longer adding emotional suffering to it. This shift makes space for calm, choice and greater self-compassion. Back pain is 'a signal from the body that something has gone wrong in how we're treating it', says Martinelli. Those of us who work at desks are used to hearing that we should get up and stretch every half an hour, and go for a quick walk every hour or so, but few of us actually do. Part of the work of mindfulness and CBT is to show patients how important it is to take a minute for this kind of self-care. This is best practised when you have negative thoughts about your pain and the future, Martinelli says. Instead of becoming distracted by them, 'take that time to stretch, as when you're having negative thoughts, your body tenses up, and having a quick stretch will relieve that and get your mind back into the present moment'. 5. Schedule deep breathing into your day It's easier than you might think to practice mindfulness and feel the benefits: just five minutes of deep breathing, practised three times a day, can be enough to relieve pain. Combining this with having your morning coffee or tea can be a great way to build the habit, says Martinelli. 'Start your day with a hot drink and pay attention to all the things you like about it and how calm you feel before your day starts up,' Martinelli recommends. 'This sets a positive intention for the day and gives you space from negative thoughts that might be aggravating your pain.' How to use CBT to break out of negative thought patterns and relieve pain Mabel Martinelli People living with chronic back pain often develop certain beliefs or thought patterns about their pain – for instance, that it will inevitably get worse and continue to limit what they can do. These thoughts can become automatic and powerful, increasing distress and making the pain feel worse. That's where CBT comes in: it helps people to notice these thoughts, challenge unhelpful patterns, and develop more flexible ways of thinking. There are three metaphors I use often to help people relate to their pain in a new way: Think about pain as quicksand: the more we struggle against it, the more stuck we feel. But when we stop fighting, we can find ways to float. Imagine the ocean and the surfer: pain is like the waves – we can't stop them, but we can learn to surf. See pain as a heavy backpack: pain is a burden, but carrying it while still walking toward what matters is possible.
BBC News
3 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
Gloucestershire chronic pain sufferers making new connections
A club which supports people living chronic conditions has created a community network in partnership with a therapy Connect meets several times a month in Gloucestershire to help people who have conditions such as pain is pain that persists or keeps coming back for longer than three French, one of the members of the group, said: "When you talk to somebody and you get the same look back - they get it, which is hugely important." Shannon Dunkley was born with scoliosis, which is curvature of the spine, and also suffers from fibromyalgia."It means a lot to us to help others as well, just to let them they're not on their own - we understand," she said. She added some people think she "looks fine" so would find it hard to understand her pain."They can sympathise but they could never understand," she club, which meets in Lydney, Cinderford and Coleford, was set up to connect people who can understand each other's conditions. Former primary school teacher Emma Richards, from Gloucester, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) 20 years she was at university she went blind in one eye, and four years later she began to feel tingling sensations and suffer the pain which led to her diagnosis and a premature retirement from added she has been able to volunteer, including singing with babies at her local library and tutoring for friends."I'm just trying to give back just so it keeps my hand in, it was tough to give up [my] identity," she said. 'Source of strength' Ms Richards said having oxygen therapy at Charcot Therapy Centre in Gloucester has helped her symptoms."I've been going about nine months now, I really enjoy going to the centre. It's not just therapy - it's a community," she centre, named after neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot for his discovery of MS, was set up 40 years ago by a group of Rachael Evans said: "It became an acorn of hope which has grown over the years into a lifeline which is a source of strength and a true community."She said the people that go to therapy "become family".Jade Barnes, Charcot Therapy Centre manager, said the oxygen therapy can help with "brain fog, mobility and fatigue".
