I thought I was being promised a rose garden. Now Im not so sure.

Is the Hype About a New Non-Opioid Analgesic Justified? — Pain News Network: By Carol Levy In a previous column, I asked why pharmaceutical companies haven’t been able to “build a better mousetrap” by developing new and effective non-opioid medications for pain  Every doctor I've seen about my chronic facial pain has only offered me opioids. As is true for many

A Pained Life: Stop the Denial — Pain News Network

A Pained Life: Stop the Denial — Pain News Network: By Carol Levy, PNN Columnist For many of us, pain is sporadic. Sometimes we know exactly when it will be start or what will set it off. Other times, it may hit spontaneously. When my trigeminal neuralgia pain started in 1976, it was constant, triggered and spontaneous. Now it can be triggered b

Living on False Hope — Pain News Network

Living on False Hope — Pain News Network: By Carol Levy, PNN Columnist I live on false hope. I think hope is what keeps many of us afloat. And when the medical community tells you, “I have nothing left to offer you,” false hope is all there is. And then I open my email, and there is a story in KevinMD , a medical site that I trust. It’s

Is the DEA a Domestic Terrorist Organization? — Pain News Network

Is the DEA a Domestic Terrorist Organization? — Pain News Network: By Carol Levy, PNN Columnist Terrorism is very much in the news these days, given the Israeli-Hamas war and all the fallout from it around the world. But terrorism can also hit close to home and in unexpected ways. The FBI defines domestic terrorism this way: “Violent, criminal acts committed

A Pained Life: Let the Words Flow — Pain News Network

A Pained Life: Let the Words Flow — Pain News Network: By Carol Levy, PNN Columnist I ended my last column with my favorite saying: “You don't know what you don't know. And if you don't know what you don't know, you don't know what to ask. Our doctors need to ask.” A couple of days later, I thought about the column and my second appointment with a n

What Doctors Should Ask Patients in Pain — Pain News Network

What Doctors Should Ask Patients in Pain — Pain News Network: By Carol Levy, PNN Columnist I learned in childhood to keep my mouth shut if I had pain or was feeling sick. My siblings would say, "Stop your whining. Just go to your room if you're feeling so bad, so we don't have to hear about it!" I learned to say nothing, no matter how bad I felt.

A GIFT TO BE REVERED

https://www.painnewsnetwork.org/stories/2021/12/24/a-gift-to-be-revered (first published on Pain News Network I was thinking, “It's Christmas time. I'm supposed to be happy.” Instead, I am by myself in the parking lot, observing others walking with friends, enjoying each other, and the frivolity of the season. And I am jealous. I hear the laughter as they walk past me, reveling in the joy of the holiday. And I am jealous. I feel the biting cold, as I watch them pull scarves tight around their necks, pulling them up over chins and around their ears. Others tugging on their hats to keep out the cold. And I am jealous. This is my holiday, alone, unable to enjoy the cold and the fun of the season. My pain has left me mostly housebound. I rarely go out, not a conscious choice, but one the pain made for me. I don't want to go out when I am in pain. I don't want to go out when the pain is quiet because I don’t want to trigger it. Alone in my house, there is no one to befriend me. I have no family, they abandoned me years ago. Despite all the brain surgeries for my trigeminal neuralgia, they still think I am lazy and a malingerer. Friends I had long ago moved, died or the relationships just ended, as often happens in the normal scheme of things. My pain is in my face. It doesn't allow me to wear a hat or pull a scarf around my ears and face. Winter and Christmas add to the litany of so many other things the pain has stolen from me. For many people, parties await and shopping expeditions abound, anticipating the great morning of everyone around a tree, opening gifts and squealing at the wonderfulness of what they received. But they are anathemas to us. It is not that we hate the excitement, the time spent with others celebrating, the fun of seeing all the decorations and storefronts with their mystical, musical displays. It is that we hate the pain. It is knowing that if we say yes to the offer of going to a party, walking around the stores or exploring the neighborhood, we are saying yes to the pain. We are agreeing to put ourselves in what, for us, is danger. And that makes Christmas not so much fun. “Attention must be paid,” wrote Arthur Miller in “Death of a Salesman.” Willy Loman, the main character, was just a regular person. “Not the finest character that ever lived,” his wife says to his sons. “But he’s a human being, and a terrible thing is happening to him. So attention must be paid.” We are human beings and pain is the terrible thing that has happened to us. And attention must be paid. If there is no one else, I and the pain community hear each other. We pay attention. And that is a gift to be revered.