how do you cope with pain.
are you a person who uses what you can as soon as you can, ie, paracetamol and ibuprofen 4 times per day, or codein 3 times per day.
or are you the type who tries to deal with pain in other ways, like try to zen it out…..deep breathing, relaxing baths, massages or anything else.

Depends, though I’ve learned that a good night’s sleep is the most important thing so will take stuff to sleep.

Both and i’d suggest you do the same,

If you’ve got post op pain, then take all the pills you need to get on top of it and stay on top of it. Don’t wait until it hurts before taking the next set, it’s false economy, you need to get the level in your system up and keep it up. If allowed levels don’t work, see the docs and get some that do.

For sports pains ( with your history you’ll know what I mean) – I tried to avoid playing ‘injured’ and masking it with pain killers, if it was bad enough to need covering I figured it wasn’t going to improve by playing more. That said, I still did it plenty of times.

For me the worst kind of pain is the kind that seems to have no cause, and hence little idea of timescale. When I’ve broken bones, it hurts but you know it’ll settle down in a few days and you take the meds in the meantime. When my sciatic went just overnight, and I couldn’t move when I woke up, it was day after day with no end in sight that did me in. I dread getting arthritic like my mum, who’s in permanent pain with no real hope of respite other than the big sleep.

Hopefully for you, you know why it hurts and also what timescales you’re on, so take the tablets and look at the big picture. Chin up big guy!

To round off – yes, I’m convinced in the power of the mind to deal with pain too. But it’s not stage style hypnotherapy, it’s about positive thought which anyone can do with practice. My wife’s a total coward, first sign of a headache the pills are out, the fuss when she bangs a knee is immense, yet she birthed both my girls on self hypnosis (and a bit of gas and air for the stitches). Because it was a positive pain, one that had a purpose and an end, which you can rationalise and deal with.

Agree with the above and I reckon there’s a big difference between knowing there’s an end in sight Vs long term/unfixable pain management. With my situation, I’ve found that just ‘doing something’ is motivating (whether than be medicinal, physical, wacky, mental) and being open to trying stuff is good. Also, I’ve found CBT to be good mentally – I still hurt, but it helps keep a perspective on it. And finally, I was fortunate to spend a couple of years doing PE with kids who were severely handicapped … that certainly demonstrates how much tougher others have it.

Good luck

Some very good advice, especially from theotherjonv.

When I had my gallbladder removed, one nurse had just been on a Pain Management Course. She emphasised the importance of keeping on top of pain relief, and not attempting to “be brave”. It’s more effective to prevent a controlled pain “breaking through” than trying to reduce higher levels of pain. So keep taking the maximum dose of painkiller for a few more days, Ton.

(Or is it indigestion from the curry?)

Cocodamol and alcohol, quite good even if your not in pain.

Follow the medical advice . Keep taking the tablets . My mum is in chronic pain at the moment good sleep improved her life dramatically. Every time she slips back we have a talk and very quickly establish that she has elected not to take her medication for whatever reason . She was brought up not to make a fuss get on with things etc and sees being on pain meds as a sign of weakness. But they improve her life dramatically and taken regularly as proscribed are far more effective than ad hoc doses.

Take what they give you at the right times, if it doesnt work ask for something else. I was given tramadol once post op. Couldnt feel a thing but it was like tripping without any of the fun bits. Awful stuff.

cheers all for the advice. i have been ok pain wise, just using paracetamol which is working.

deep breathing works also to take your mind off stuff.
think i am gonna start studying yoga or buddhism or some other zen like stuff…….. 😆

Interesting comments here. I’m more of a mentally deal with it type of person. Partially because I’m not a big fact of prescription medicine, partially because half of them simply don’t work on me. Morphine based stuff is a waste of time so cocodamol is out. Overall I’ve found I get more effective pain relief by maintaining a positive perspective on it and not focussing on the pain but I’d always recommend people find out what works best for them.

Endorphins for me, then ibu’s 😀

Deep concentration/meditation only makes it worse 😆

Yoga and Buddhism are so last-century, Ton 😆
Mindfulness is the latest fashion (like meditation but without the religious stuff)

I have a high pain threshold due to previous medical conditions when I was young, I can tolerate a lot pain if I know it will ease within an hour or two. To be honest though I now take the easy option and do what I advice my patients when they’re in pain and trying to tolerate it. If someone can offer you something to take the pain away then take it.

There’s no harm in using your prescribed meds if you’re recovery post op like you then you want to be in comfort so you can relax and heal. Just take them and have the pain ease or go.

Will mail you later Ton, dealing with pain (and beating much of it) for 15 years now. All the best mate.

I’d certainly take a look at mindfulness

I did take ibuprofen for various injuries for years. Then stopped as I could see it had gone on too long. I some times use anti inflammatory jell.

But mainly making sure my body is working correctly and reasonably strong has reduced pain all round. Much better than pain killers

But that doesn’t mean that the I’m now anti pain killer. Clearly post opp hey are vital. But they were right for me in my situation

Both mind and meds for me, in your situation, keep taking the tablets.

I hope you heal quickly, best wishes. Neil.

I have a high pain threshold

A question I always ask when someone says that they have a high pain threshold – how do you know?

Pain thresholds are like driving abilities – everyone is above average.

A question I always ask when someone says that they have a high pain threshold – how do you know?

Pain thresholds are like driving abilities – everyone is above average.

How do I know?

Because I had a bone tumour for about 2 years that caused severe pain at times but I’d carry on and tolerate it. Once they took it out under surgery the pain I was in post op was nothing compared to a bad day when I had the tumour. So still now I recall that pain when I have aches and now I can tolerate worse if I have to. Such as walking 8 miles with a fractured collar bone to get back to the car, nipped a bit mind.

I thought this might have been to do with fallout from the ‘I fancy a curry’ thread….

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwd-wLdIHjs[/video]

Minfulness comes from some schools of Buddhism, I think some areas of Zen. Breathing and emptying the mind, that sort of thing. Pain control can vary for me. In the past I have dealt with post op pain without medication. Recently I had a bad tooth and was ready to cave my face in with a hammer. i suspect fear or anxiety play a large part of it. Accepting the pain or wanting it to go, Now. For me, the hardest pain to deal with has been mental pain, as opposed to physical=mental, but that is probably another subject.

however you deal with it, I hope it eases soon and take care while you heal.

Distraction, new bike buying/building may help 😉

Fair play and good answer Drac, my pain threshold is not as good as it was started to decline after I packed up playing rugby. Broken bones I have straightened out myself ie nose and fingers and toes and did located fingers repositioned where I could or medic would do it on the pitch. Snapped ankle ligaments hurt like hell when they went crack tried to run it off good ten minutes but ankle just ballooned. Walked mile and a half to hospital with dislocated shoulder having rotated it back in earlier but it fell out when I pulled on my shoe lace. Broken ribs rode for another three hours before quitting and struggling to drive home. Fractured bones now I can still cope andd always watch if I’m having stitches or needles or stuff cut and fixed.
However torn erector muscle from top to bottom required diazepam and I could have cried with the pain, teeth cleaning/ repairs have me head frenzied despite the fact I have many fillings done without anaesthetic of any sort as a youngster, can’t do it without loads of numbing jabs now.
As for bloody eye drops you have to hold my face and prise my eyelids apart….just can’t do it.
As for pain killers I can only have paracetamol/ codeine not allowed/ supposed to have any NSAIDs.
I think you either have an internal resistance to pain or you don’t ……naturally if you are queasy or can’t stand the sight of blood when you cut yourself properly the post cut throb you ain’t going to be able to cope with if you can’t cope with the sight of the cause of the pain. That’s my theory any how.

If you are in need of some zen like inspiration for your pain relief tha needz ta luk tu’t teachings of the great Bhagwan Hardcastle..

My worst pain was a kidney infection caused by kidney stone. I was given strong co codamol (30/500) to take four hourly. And I just slept for 16 hours for five days. Felt horrendous. Finally admitted to hospital for iv antibiotics and was given morphine.
Achillies tendon tear. I don’t know how I’ve done it, but it’s hurt more than breaking my leg last year. But on daily Naproxen, orthopaedic boot, and my work hours cut from 40 hours to 16 till it heals.

Scalded my fingers and wrist at work in 2012, didn’t hurt at first, but when I got downstairs to A&E it started to throb. And had to keep running them under the cold tap.
Bandaged up sent home with strong pain killers, two weeks later the blisters burst and got infected. It stung and stunk.

Pulled my groin during footy and hurt like a kick in the balls but have to man up and rest/heal.

I feel sorry for people with shingles and nerve damage. Paracetamol and more powerful pain killers won’t even touch some people.

This is interesting reading for me, as I’m having surgery on my spine next month. I have frequent migraine and cannot take regular pain relief, and shouldn’t take codeine at all. I’m not sure what the pain relief options are going to be for me, or where to get advice from.

Oh yes renal colic from a Kidney stone now that stung, just unbelievable amount of pain and the reason I carry pain killers with at work or when I’m away as I produce them regular. Urologist broke the lovely news that I will do that all my life and will just have to put up it with it. I’m prescribed painkillers to carry with me for when I get attacks, just waiting on another full on one. I get what I describe as a niggle reasonably regular, last one being the early hours of this am, as one moves around freely sometimes can put up with it other times not. Not looking forward to the one that decides to wedge itself as it’s pain I never want experience again.

They say renal colic is the men’s equivalent of giving birth. And after experiencing kidney stones I’m glad I’m not a pregnant woman as the pain is horrendous.
No amount of morphine gets rid of kidney stone pain.

Ask a woman who has given birth and had renal colic they’ll tell they’d rather go through childbirth again.

Value your health and ride!

I’m not sure what the pain relief options are going to be for me, or where to get advice from.

Probably best leave that to the medical staff at the hospital.

If there’s a pain threshold competition developing here, with childbirth being used as a benchmark, I’d like to point out that no two childbirths are necessarily the same! Both of my sons were facing the wrong way up (that is, spine to spine), and consequently both almost got stuck so I had 2 and a half hours of pushing with my second child and considerably longer than that with the first. And no pain relief because it was too late to have it by the time they realised the problem. So there 😛

No one ever volunteered to have a kidney stone. 😀

There must have been some unfortunate bugger somewhere who has had kidney stones while giving birth.

Haha I have heard of it before. Double contractions.

I wonder if they stubbed their toe at any point during all that lot. 😀

The stood on an upturned plug.

That hurts badly