Posts Tagged ‘the painful truth’
Suicide and Chronic Pain
Suicide and Chronic Pain Of all the consequences that accompany chronic pain, none other is as heartbreaking as suicide. While the physical impacts of pain are recognized and can often be improved, the stress associated with chronic pain, social stigma, and feelings of hopelessness can be overwhelming, sometimes leading a person to feel that life…
Read MoreWhy I Wrote “The Painful Truth”
Why I Wrote “The Painful Truth” People in pain have never been heard as legitimate patients. With more than 30 years of listening to heart wrenching stories of how people in pain are ignored and denigrated, I wanted to give them a voice. The scarcity of the public and medical understanding about pain has translated…
Read MoreHowever You Count It, Chronic Pain Is a Huge Issue
According to a recent story in the Washington Post, more than 25 million American adults — one in ten — reported having continual pain every day during the previous three months, while more than 126 million – over half of all U.S. adults — reported having some sort of pain during the same period. Another…
Read MoreEmpathetic Healing
When chronic pain enters the picture, everyone is affected. Few places is this more true than with the role of a caretaker. A caretaker can feel someone else’s pain on an emotional level in ways equal to similar to the physical pain. But a caretaker also has at his or her disposal the amazing healing…
Read MorePrescription-Free Healing Pleasures of Summertime
Prescription-Free Healing Pleasures of Summertime By Dr. Lynn R. Webster Now that the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) has heightened its warning that taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can increase the risk of heart attack or stroke, it’s a good idea to find alternatives that come with no side effects. Fortunately, summertime can be the perfect…
Read MoreGrowing Spiritually Through Pain
Walter Anderson was energized by the work he did and the people he surrounded himself with. Active in his church, family and business, dedication and persistence ruled his life and were at the core of everything he pursued. When Walter started suffering from intense chronic pain after a routine knee surgery, he tried to attack…
Read MoreShades of Grey: a Pro-Patient Approach to Chronic Pain
Opioids have garnered a great deal of media attention lately – much of it I’ve written about and been deeply interested in. As a doctor who has worked with people who suffer from the most severe forms of chronic pain throughout my medical career, I have witnessed both sides of the opioid issue. Many of…
Read MorePatient Story: Carolyn Tuft and the moment that changed everything
I met Carolyn Tuft while on vacation in Provence, France with my wife, Holly. At the hotel one morning, we found ourselves sitting across from Carolyn one morning, who sat stiffly in her chair – a fragile woman. Before I knew it, Carolyn was telling her story of pain and suffering – both physical and…
Read MoreResignation or Resilience: Choosing How to Face your Pain
Marsha Miller, my former patient and a forty-one-year old secretary, was bending down to fix a copy machine when she felt her back pop. She assumed that the pain she felt then was temporary and would go away with time. It didn’t. Weeks followed and Marsha attempted to resume her life until finally, her leg…
Read MorePatient Story: Jessy Klain on growing up with pain
Jessy was a sweet-tempered, soft-voiced Navajo girl of twelve from Page, Arizona who started to experience pain in her pelvic area about the time she was going through puberty. She found it hard to sit for hours on the hard seats of her junior high school, and friends had to carry her schoolbooks and open…
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