Nov. 17-December 10th 2014 I attended the PRC ( Pain Rehab Clinic).
Four years ago, and aproximately just one year after my eye surgery, my eye doctor suggested maybe I should go to the Pain rehab clinic.... I was no where near ready then.
I thought it was a last resort kind of a thing. I thought we had to exhaust ALL other possible solutions. I felt if I went there it meant I 'gave up' on finding a cure.
Last August (2014) in my neurologist office I finally came to that point. I had done it all, I have looked under every rock conceivable and was only surviving by the grace of Indomethician also called Indocin.
Indocin is no panacea either I guess. After using it for long you run into more and more complications worst of which is stomach and kidney issues. And I seem to reach a threshold where it no longer works.
I have done every conservative medical attempt. More medications and combinations of medications than you can shake a stick at. 9 Steroid injections to the orbit. Blood tests etc. I stop at further surgeries to try to remedy the situation. I learned at the PRC, 41% of surgeries result in a chronic pain condition. I've had many a surgery. Nine to be exact, 5 on my eyes, its no wonder I ended up with a chronic pain condition. I suppose it was bound to happen.
I have done every sort of natural remedy. And I still include some in my repertoire. I frequently use acupuncture, massage and chiropractic. Essential oils and Cranial sacral techniques.
I have tried some pretty 'far out there' methods.
I have learned from each modality. However, nothing lasted. Everything is just chasing symptoms. Everything was reactive to the pain.
Before submitting to the PRC, I was a nervous wreck! After I got into the program, about 4 days in, I wondered what all the anxiety was about. Its nothing scary.
The pain, I was scared of the pain increasing I guess . It is a commonly known fact they will pull all your crutches, that included Indocin. Muscle relaxers, and especially narcotics. You know no other way then what you were doing. So there is a level of anxiety that only those facing the PRC understand. My thought was I have seen every specialist on the matter. Each gave their very best attempt and they couldnt solve it, why should I believe these bunch of 'specialist?'
But, I made the decision to go and once I make a decision I usually go full force into it. It was all or nothing when it came to the Pain Rehab program. I was determined to give it my all. It was my last hope. The statistics show it works for a lot of people I wanted to be one of the winners. If the program didnt work for me I didn't want it to be because I didnt try hard enough. If you ask them, I didnt just roll over and accept every morsel the "tribunal" of doctors were telling me. But I did weigh heavily what they all said and applied what we had all come to agree on. Anyone doctor who's had me knows I'm one to raise questions or voice my strong concerns. The team at the PRC met every concern I had and then some.
They asked me to ween off slowly from my indocin. So I wasnt in pain the first week. Which was good. And the Second week I still was allowed one indocin a day. ( I usually took two a day)
I got off the indocin about 8 days earlier than they asked over the long holiday weekend at home. I wanted to test out life with their new suggestions in place of my old coping mechanisms.
I liked to report back to my friends and family that my 'captors were kind'
I bonded with my captors. :) Much like Stokholm Syndrome. But all kidding aside, They are all very nice and really do want to help you cope.
Before atteneding I searched the web for personal experiences about the PRC only to find a lot of negative talk. It scared me. I kept reasoning, 'surely, it can't be THAT bad, Its Mayo after all! They're brilliant at everything else! Why wouldnt they do this right!"
Sure enough. it does help!
I'm Glad I went through it. Now, I am allowed 2 days a week of NSAIDS or pain meds to treat Migraine and eye pain. The rest of the days I do pretty good with out any pain meds and use the techniques taught at the clinic on a daily basis, not just when in dire pain.
Its not always easy to follow the guidelines they set out for you but it gives you focus on what to aim for. I finally feel I can stop searching under ever rock for a solution. I am the solution. I have it in me. And the few times that I may feel the situation is getting out of control? well, I have quality people I can count on.
Is it revolutionary what they are proposing? No. But when you put it all together... it is kinda of revolutionary. For me the breathing exercises do help alot. Its just hard for me to sit still and do them. They finally have me exercising almost every day. Some how yet I have to learn to moderate my work load and keep stress under raps. Each day I schedule myself so that I fit all the important things in, including meals and relaxation.
I thoroughly loved the education. In order for me to really change my evil ways I need to understand why I SHOULD change. I enjoyed learning how the path to addiction works. I loved learning what all these meds, drugs and alcohol do in the brain and how they affect the body. I learned why I couldnt handle anymore stress. The pain load alone brought me high up on my personal anxiety threshold, then any little upset in my work load or family life threw me over the top and I wasnt able to handle any stress. Knowledge it turns out, really is power.
Why does the program have to be 3.5 weeks or longer? It takes that long to see the results of deep breathing and regular exercise. It runs from 8am - 4:45p each day to prove that a person can do a full work day and live to tell about it.
In the group I was in, almost everyone was on disability. Some relied on canes and left the program, walking with out them. I saw people in wheel chairs move to walkers. I dont know, I was impressed at the power of sleep, exercise and oxygen. Who knew?!
I am not on disability. My way of coping with chronic pain was to do more and more and more to try to drown out the pain. Guess what? That doesnt work either. So now I'm working on moderation. Balance. I'm happy to say, I hired an office assistant 6 weeks before I left. This may be the best thing I've ever done for my pain.
It can be frustrating and a challenge to scale back. Its a work in progress.
Let it be known ; The PRC is good. Run by good people. If you have been asked to go, go. About 600 people go a year out of hundreds of thousands of chronic pain sufferers in the USA. You should count yourself as lucky to get in. Apply yourself whole heartily. What do you have to loose?
The pain.
Four years ago, and aproximately just one year after my eye surgery, my eye doctor suggested maybe I should go to the Pain rehab clinic.... I was no where near ready then.
I thought it was a last resort kind of a thing. I thought we had to exhaust ALL other possible solutions. I felt if I went there it meant I 'gave up' on finding a cure.
Last August (2014) in my neurologist office I finally came to that point. I had done it all, I have looked under every rock conceivable and was only surviving by the grace of Indomethician also called Indocin.
Indocin is no panacea either I guess. After using it for long you run into more and more complications worst of which is stomach and kidney issues. And I seem to reach a threshold where it no longer works.
I have done every conservative medical attempt. More medications and combinations of medications than you can shake a stick at. 9 Steroid injections to the orbit. Blood tests etc. I stop at further surgeries to try to remedy the situation. I learned at the PRC, 41% of surgeries result in a chronic pain condition. I've had many a surgery. Nine to be exact, 5 on my eyes, its no wonder I ended up with a chronic pain condition. I suppose it was bound to happen.
I have done every sort of natural remedy. And I still include some in my repertoire. I frequently use acupuncture, massage and chiropractic. Essential oils and Cranial sacral techniques.
I have tried some pretty 'far out there' methods.
I have learned from each modality. However, nothing lasted. Everything is just chasing symptoms. Everything was reactive to the pain.
Before submitting to the PRC, I was a nervous wreck! After I got into the program, about 4 days in, I wondered what all the anxiety was about. Its nothing scary.
The pain, I was scared of the pain increasing I guess . It is a commonly known fact they will pull all your crutches, that included Indocin. Muscle relaxers, and especially narcotics. You know no other way then what you were doing. So there is a level of anxiety that only those facing the PRC understand. My thought was I have seen every specialist on the matter. Each gave their very best attempt and they couldnt solve it, why should I believe these bunch of 'specialist?'
But, I made the decision to go and once I make a decision I usually go full force into it. It was all or nothing when it came to the Pain Rehab program. I was determined to give it my all. It was my last hope. The statistics show it works for a lot of people I wanted to be one of the winners. If the program didnt work for me I didn't want it to be because I didnt try hard enough. If you ask them, I didnt just roll over and accept every morsel the "tribunal" of doctors were telling me. But I did weigh heavily what they all said and applied what we had all come to agree on. Anyone doctor who's had me knows I'm one to raise questions or voice my strong concerns. The team at the PRC met every concern I had and then some.
They asked me to ween off slowly from my indocin. So I wasnt in pain the first week. Which was good. And the Second week I still was allowed one indocin a day. ( I usually took two a day)
I got off the indocin about 8 days earlier than they asked over the long holiday weekend at home. I wanted to test out life with their new suggestions in place of my old coping mechanisms.
I liked to report back to my friends and family that my 'captors were kind'
I bonded with my captors. :) Much like Stokholm Syndrome. But all kidding aside, They are all very nice and really do want to help you cope.
Before atteneding I searched the web for personal experiences about the PRC only to find a lot of negative talk. It scared me. I kept reasoning, 'surely, it can't be THAT bad, Its Mayo after all! They're brilliant at everything else! Why wouldnt they do this right!"
Sure enough. it does help!
I'm Glad I went through it. Now, I am allowed 2 days a week of NSAIDS or pain meds to treat Migraine and eye pain. The rest of the days I do pretty good with out any pain meds and use the techniques taught at the clinic on a daily basis, not just when in dire pain.
Its not always easy to follow the guidelines they set out for you but it gives you focus on what to aim for. I finally feel I can stop searching under ever rock for a solution. I am the solution. I have it in me. And the few times that I may feel the situation is getting out of control? well, I have quality people I can count on.
Is it revolutionary what they are proposing? No. But when you put it all together... it is kinda of revolutionary. For me the breathing exercises do help alot. Its just hard for me to sit still and do them. They finally have me exercising almost every day. Some how yet I have to learn to moderate my work load and keep stress under raps. Each day I schedule myself so that I fit all the important things in, including meals and relaxation.
I thoroughly loved the education. In order for me to really change my evil ways I need to understand why I SHOULD change. I enjoyed learning how the path to addiction works. I loved learning what all these meds, drugs and alcohol do in the brain and how they affect the body. I learned why I couldnt handle anymore stress. The pain load alone brought me high up on my personal anxiety threshold, then any little upset in my work load or family life threw me over the top and I wasnt able to handle any stress. Knowledge it turns out, really is power.
Why does the program have to be 3.5 weeks or longer? It takes that long to see the results of deep breathing and regular exercise. It runs from 8am - 4:45p each day to prove that a person can do a full work day and live to tell about it.
In the group I was in, almost everyone was on disability. Some relied on canes and left the program, walking with out them. I saw people in wheel chairs move to walkers. I dont know, I was impressed at the power of sleep, exercise and oxygen. Who knew?!
I am not on disability. My way of coping with chronic pain was to do more and more and more to try to drown out the pain. Guess what? That doesnt work either. So now I'm working on moderation. Balance. I'm happy to say, I hired an office assistant 6 weeks before I left. This may be the best thing I've ever done for my pain.
It can be frustrating and a challenge to scale back. Its a work in progress.
Let it be known ; The PRC is good. Run by good people. If you have been asked to go, go. About 600 people go a year out of hundreds of thousands of chronic pain sufferers in the USA. You should count yourself as lucky to get in. Apply yourself whole heartily. What do you have to loose?
The pain.
