Hi Everyone, hope we are all enjoying a beautiful evening in the sun!
Has anyone been to a pain clinic offered by their MS team? I have had an appointment through today to attend this clinic in Walton hospital Liverpool (it is 40 miles away from me), & i’m wondering what they do/advise in them? I believe I have been very lucky to have been given an appointment, but I just wondered what to expect. I had a bad meeting with my MS consultant last month, in the fact I was a bit confused about the information he was giving me so I didn’t really ask enough questions. I have been having terrible pains in my legs & arms & unfortunately, none of the meds given (except Lamotrigine) have helped, I am presuming I have exhausted any of the other treatments they can prescribe? Just like a bit of info if anyone has any, thanks in advance Tracey x
I’ve tried a tens machine and acupuncture through my Pain Clinic, neither of which made any difference I’m afraid. The next thing is a 6 week pain management course but I haven’t got a date for that and I’m not sure exactly what that entails.
My only experience of pain clinics was not for me, but for my late father, who had end stage cancer.
His were very good.
I think it’s a mistake to assume they cannot/will not prescribe, because everything’s already been tried. They reviewed all of Dad’s medication, and changed some of it, and I think he was better, following their suggestions. My only regret was that he didn’t have continuing access to them - it was just a one-off - so as his illness progressed, he didn’t have the benefit of someone specialising in pain control continuing to monitor and adjust things. So for him, I think the benefit was temporary, but they did help at the time.
They do offer more holistic approaches to pain management, too, such as mindfulness, but Dad was very dismissive of all that - which I thought was a shame, as it might have helped. But he was quite scientific, and I think he found it all a bit too “New Agey”. I think, unless you’re open-minded about something, there’s probably no point in doing it. I would have liked him to try, but you can’t change the habits of a lifetime - I accept it was not really his thing, and there’s no point trying force someone into something they think is a load of claptrap. But it’s there if you want to explore it - at least, it was for Dad - I can’t say what they’ve got at Walton, because we were nowhere near there.
I do think it might be worth a try, but the distance is offputting. I don’t drive, so if I got a referral to anything 40 miles away, I’d probably have to regretfully decline, even if it sounded like the bee’s knees.
I had an appointment with a Walton Pain Clinic two years ago.The top dog in the 30 minute consultation was an anet, aethie,aneith,the bloke who puts you to sleep before an operation.He reviewed what the Walton consultant was doing with regards helping me with the Neuropathetic pain and told me to continue doing what I was doing with the various drugs at my disposal.They discharged me from the clinic in the letter produced which included 13 typos and grammatical errors. Picky me!
So they '‘might’ review what’s happening and come up with suggestions,and apart from that I haven’t got much to offer.I hope your journey will be worthwhile.
Thanks for all your replies everyone. I’ll give it a try & see what they might suggest. WB, your input has put me off a tad, only because you attended the same institution!! I’m really hoping they can help, seem to have been in pain for so long, I’ve forgotten what it would be like without any!!! Guess I might be expecting too much from them, I’ll see what develops, thank you all Tracey x
That’s the way Tracey,roll up and see what is on offer.There’s no magic wand,but have your questions ready and make sure they hear what you say and not what they think they’ll hear.If you make a statement and they don’t say you’re wrong then you must be right.
I’m waiting for an appointment with a Pain Clinic I’ve never heard of as the pain is almost 11 some times and opiates don’t do much anymore
