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In the mid-1990s, model and actress Karen Duffy had a contract with Revlona spot on People the magazine’s list of the most beautiful people in the world and a date with actor George Clooney at the Emmy Awards. She also had a persistent, piercing headache that prompted her to see her doctor.
Duffy was diagnosed with central nervous system sarcoidosis, an inflammatory disease in which the immune system creates damage. Since then, Duffy has suffered the formation of these lesions on his brain, central nervous system and lungs. In his book on coping with chronic pain (CP), she shares how she initially hoped the treatment would return her body and life to normal. The pain, however, was endless and something she constantly had to deal with.
Unfortunately, many CP patients do not feel able to live with their continued agony. According to a 2009 study in the journal pain medicationpatients with CP have a higher suicide rate than people with short-term pain or those without pain. Clinicians struggle to classify CP; some scientists say Pain management has been neglected for too long.
Examples of Chronic Pain
experts generally consider CP is pain that lasts more than three months or has exceeded the expected healing time. There are two types: primary or secondary pain. Primary is when pain is the primary or only concern. Examples include migraines, lower back pain, and irritable bowel syndrome.
Secondary is when the pain is the result of a disease or condition. CP can be post-surgical, cancer-related, or due to conditions such as temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders. Many people with CP does not fit perfectly into a single category, which can make processing more difficult.
As much as 1 out of 5 Americans live with CP. Back, hip, knee and foot pain are the most common sources of CP. Worldwide, up to 30 percent of people have CP, with back And neck pain being the most frequently cited sources of pain.
Some people with CP turn to massage or physical therapy for relief. But for many people, the pain is unmanageable and affects their quality of life.
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Living with chronic pain
Researchers are learning more about what it means to live with CP. A literature of 2015 exam in The British Journal of Clinical Psychology found that CP is associated with depression, anxiety, and anger. CP patients also feared pain which was specifically related to their condition.
In their daily lives, people with CP are more likely to miss work. Others struggle to sleep and then have to fight to make a success of their working day. The constant pain and exhaustion make it difficult for some people to perform simple daily tasks like carrying a laundry basket up a flight of stairs or sweeping the kitchen floor.
In this study 2022PC patients described themselves how to live a life they no longer recognize each other. Their lives feel fragmented between who they were before and who they were after the pain set in. Once dynamic people find themselves tired after work and desperate to go to bed. Others describe how they can no longer work and feel depressed by their empty days. Many mourn their lost joys, such as the physical activities they used to do.
“So everything – my whole life changed to being able to walk and cycle for a little while. That’s about it. So all my other sports and activities went out the window,” one said. of study participants.
CP also disrupts the social life of patients. Pain or fatigue causes people to cancel plans or decline invitations. As a result, many patients with CP have smaller social networks and face social isolation.
Many CP patients admit that because of their struggles, they have considered suicide as a way to end their suffering.
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Chronic pain and suicidal thoughts
Patients with CP are about to five times more likely that people without pain or sharp pain to have suicidal ideation (SI) – a want to die. Some studies found that between 15 and 23% of patients with CP have attempted suicide.
Although researchers are still trying to understand SI and CP, there seems to be a trend in the type and intensity of pain. Back pain, for example, is more associated with an increased risk of suicide than other CP-type neuropathic pain.
Understanding risk factors
Researchers want to better understand risk factors so they can develop targeted interventions. Two major risk factors imply if the patient is depressed and tends to catastrophize (meaning that he considers his situation as serious and irremediable).
A growing concern among clinicians is whether restrictions on opioid prescriptions will harm chronic pain patients who rely on pharmaceuticals for relief. A 2017 study In General Hospital Psychiatry found that abruptly stopping opioid prescriptions increased the risk of SI.
At the end of 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new guidelines who recognized that many pain patients could safely take opioids. The Food and Drug Administration also warned doctors that cutting a patient off their prescription can cause severe withdrawal symptoms.
While some advocates argue that the safe use of opioids must be protected, others say pain management needs to be better studied so that clinicians are better able to identify sources of pain and offer treatment options that provide patients with both relief and hope.
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