A guide to pain self-management: Helping you take control

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I cannot accept that there is nothing more that can be done to help the millions of people living with chronic pain conditions. I was diagnosed with chronic pain in 2010 following a neck injury and have since been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. I do not want to accept that my life will be one full of pain. I want to reduce my pain symptoms and be able to try a range of different approaches so that I can find the ones which work best for me at that time. A medical professional may give you their opinion, which doesn’t mean that it is the only opinion – right or wrong. You can be given a different opinion from another specialist in the same field because they have had different experiences, results and preferences. A consultant may be an expert in one area and favour that over a different approach. There may be issues with funding which could dictate the services you are offered and that the consultant has access to. Treatments and therapies with higher success rates or those which are cheaper may be favoured. You may have been told that there is no cure for your pain symptoms and that Doctor’s don’t have all the answers. This is very unhelpful and can leave you in a state of shock, not knowing where to go or what you can do – this can make your pain worse as you cannot see an end to it.I believe you need to know what is available in order to access it. Some of the different treatments and therapies may work for you once, for a while or not at all. They may work in combination with others. For you to take control of your own pain management, you must have a greater understanding of what can be done and what you can try. In my experience any pain relief is better than none and those which are low cost, easy to access and quick are the most successful. This book gives an overview of the different therapies, treatments and suggests ideas for things you can do to reduce your pain symptoms. It will also arm you with questions and knowledge so that you can get yourself in the right position to manage your own pain with greater success. I am not a Doctor, I am someone who has experienced severe, long-term pain and understand what you’re going through. I want you to be aware of what is available to you so that you can become your own pain specialist and follow your own self-management pain plan. The information I have gathered is concisely presented to create this guide, a practical toolkit for anyone living with pain. It provides an overview of the various pain management options available as well as a template for building your own self-management pain plan.Although aimed primarily at people suffering with chronic pain conditions, the information, strategies and guidance can be useful for anyone living with a debilitating condition. Don’t put up with pain. Take control and learn to manage it.