Chronic Pain Relief: New Treatments

[*Bergie*]

This article is quite long, but offers insight into the many treatments new and old for chronic pain.

Bergie

http://www.webmd.com/pain-management/guide/chronic-pain-relief-new-treatments?ecd=wnl_art_121010

[GuaymasJim]

Bergie, this is a great article. I ran across it also. It is my firm belief, and one shared by the Joint Commission and many others, that chronic pain is the most under treated condition in the US and globally. For 40 years I have suffered from chronic cluster headaches (early case of TBI) at a rate of from 2-8 every day, so opiates aren't the medication highest on my list. They mostly reduce the rebound headaches produced by other medications and just the constant build up to a cluster headache. I have found a number of ways to deal with pain that do not involve narcotic medications. If you are at all interested in discussing these methods, shoot me a PM with an email address or I will just give you mine.

In 1973, a VA doctor, of Indian ethnicity with extremely poor English, at VAMC Cheyenne, WY and signed an Agent Orange Registry exam report saying that chronic cluster headaches do not exist--"they are not in the literature." Three sentences before he stated "Veteran reported for the Agent Orange exam with literature about his chronic cluster headache condition. Based on that statement, the Cheyenne RO cued the Juneau, AK RO which and inferred the TDIU claim and awarded it. There is not a pain condition known to be more painful that a cluster headache. They are so painful that not treating it immediately can be, and is, malpractice. Even research protocols are severely restricted. They are known as "suicide headaches" for good reason. The strange thing is that people commit suicide dreading the onset of the next cluster headache rather than actually during one as would seem more logical.

I punched the doctor and was detained by the VA police. Fortunately, Iwas represented by an extremely aggressive DAV rep. At the about the same time it was discovered that the VA "back office" had been altering some of my records to coincide with their reducing my rating. After a rather drawn out process involving the US Senate, the US House of Representatives, VAOIG,the Cheyenne VARO, the DAV, 5000+ percodan tablets which had been mailed to me to treat chronic cluster headaches piled up with much dramatics on the table in front of us at the hearing, a hearing and me the Denver VARO restored all of my benefits--dropped all charges against me in return for my dropping all charges against the doctors and administrative personnel involved with altering my records. The leading researcher in the world on cluster headaches agreed to come to my hearing on his own dime. When the VA found out he was coming they canceled the hearing, CUED Cheyenne and it has been almost clear sailing since. The hearing officer asked for the percodan tablets, and my DAV stated with a smile, "This veteran might be dumb, but not that dumb."

Anyway, get back to me if I can be of any assistance.

Guaymas Jim