In pain: Millions across the country cope with chronic aches
She embraces each day, but doesn’t always like to wake up.
That’s because every morning as Cathy Cartwright of Vallejo stirs and ventures out of bed, a throbbing, aching pain radiates from her knees, lower back, arms and neck.
Cartwright, 54, of Vallejo, is among millions coping with chronic pain, a major public health problem and the primary reason people seek medical care. Chronic pain can rob people of their livelihoods, their hobbies, and drastically change relationships with loved ones and friends.
“My life has changed 360 degrees. Everything has changed - my relationships with my family and friends. You have to be able to tell people ‘no,’ ” Cartwright said. “It’s like a grieving process. You have to work through to
Kathy Wilde of Vallejo at a pain management group. (J.L. Sousa/Times-Herald)
acceptance.”
Chronic pain impacts every aspect of a person’s life, said Dr. Scott Fishman, UC Medical Center pain medicine specialist and author of the book “The War on Pain.” He said, people “say they hurt, but the real problem is that they can’t function” in their lives.
Getting the right help is often the biggest pain for those who suffer. Chronic pain treatment demands complex, multi-disciplinary care that doctors are often unprepared for, and insurance companies are unwilling to cover,
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Fishman said.
“When someone is in pain, the mind and body are inextricably linked,” Fishman said. “It’s a mind/body phenomenon and doctors are not well-prepared to deal with that complexity.”
A new bill in Congress aims to improve treatment and increase awareness of the affliction among physicians and the public. Most agree the long-held belief one should “grin and bear it” is wrong.
The National Pain Care Policy Act of 2007 would convene a medical conference on pain care, promote pain
Velia ‘Vee’ Young of Vallejo attends a pain management group. (J.L. Sousa/Times-Herald)
research and training, and try to eliminate treatment disparities based on gender, age and race.
Pain over the long haul
“The old concept of pain was hush, hush,” said Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Vallejo pain specialist Dr. Kevin Cheng. “They discouraged people to voice anything about their pain.” He said things are slowly changing. “They are taking pain more seriously,” he added.
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Chronic pain is defined as pain lasting for weeks, months or
Laura Woolverton of Vallejo attends a pain management group. (J.L. Sousa/Times-Herald)
years, according to the American Pain Society and other organizations. Nearly half of all Americans seek care for it.
Difficult though it is, pain plays a vital role in health care, doctors say. Often called the fifth vital sign, pain highlights injuries and other problems, particularly when people first seek care in an emergency room or doctor’s office.
But chronic pain becomes a problem when it never subsides. “It’s like having a home alarm system blaring all the time. It’s hard to focus and people start to get depressed, their lives start to crumble,” Fishman said.
Unrelenting pain often accompanies cancer, diabetes, arthritis and is, sometimes, more feared than death itself, said Daniel Smith of the American Cancer Society, in an announcement about the pain bill.
Its cost to the economy is estimated in the billions while it also causes untold suffering among those desperate for relief. But, despite its prevalence, pain remains somewhat shrouded in mystery perhaps because of its very nature - unseen.
“Some people say it’s all in your head,” said Penney Cowan, American Chronic Pain Foundation founder and executive director. “You can’t see pain. You can’t measure your pain. It’s invisible. People may look good, but they are full of pain.”
Pain may be invisible, but it is a strong part of Wright’s life. She was injured at work in 1998, and then got carpal tunnel syndrome, and fibromyalgia, a painful muscle condition that is often a byproduct of back injuries and other traumas. On a scale of 1 to 10, her pain, most days, is at a 7 or 8, she said.
In her pre-pain life, Cartwright was a full-time counselor, loved to dance and was about to travel to Europe. Now, she has to plan days ahead just to go to the store or to walk down a flight of steps to do laundry. When it’s cold, she stays mostly bed.
Neurontin and ultram make the pain tolerable and she, sometimes, uses a lidoderm patch to numb her back, but she has resisted surgeries because some people have not benefited from them, she said. It’s when she stopped expecting a cure that Cartwright said she got the upper hand. From that point on, her goal became to manage her pain and, so, be in better control of her life