How To Talk To A Pain Specialist About Your Pain

August 16, 2018 / Thomas Cohn, MD

Pain can be fluid or come in waves, so it can be very difficult to explain what you’re going through to your family, friends or doctor. When it comes to explaining your pain to us, we don’t expect you to be able to perfectly describe it or be able to give us a clear idea of what’s going on. After all, if you knew what was causing the issue, you’d probably already have a strong treatment plan in place.

We want to do everything in our power to help you find a solution to your chronic pain issue, and that begins when you come in for your consultation and talk to us about your pain. Below, we share some tips for helping convey what you’re going through, and how to best open up about your experience.

Explaining Your Chronic Pain

Here are some tips for helping to convey to the pain specialist what you’re going through.

1. Document Your Pain When It Happens – Some people have a hard time describing their pain because they aren’t having a flareup when they are in the office. This is why it’s important to really focus on what’s going on when you’re dealing with a chronic pain flare up. Catalog in your head your symptoms and where pain is located when flare ups occur, or better yet, create a pain journal to write down your experiences. This will give you a clear and documented history of what you’re dealing with.

2. Don’t Hold Back – Another way in which patients inhibit their treatment is by holding back when it comes to explaining or bringing things up to the specialist. Whether it’s because you’re embarrassed or afraid, the only person you’re hurting by withholding information is yourself. We’re not here to judge you, we’re here to help you, so don’t hide anything pertaining to your condition from us.

3. Don’t Lie – Along a similar vein, don’t lie to your pain specialist. If you haven’t been the best about sticking with your physical therapy program or you’ve forgotten to take your medications at times, let your doctor know. You need to stick with your treatment plan in order to have the best chance of a full recovery, and if you’re not giving it your all, your doctor may move on to other treatments when a simpler solution was all that was needed. And this goes for things like your exercise and diet habits too, not just truths about your pain condition.

4. Specifics – Be as specific as possible when you’re describing your pain. Don’t just say that your back hurts, tell us that your back hurts when you’re standing for long periods or when you wake up in the morning. The more details we have, the easier it will be to pinpoint potential problems. Again, some people find it easier to be specific if they document their symptoms with a pain journal.

5. Ask Questions – Finally, both you and your pain specialist can benefit from asking and answering questions. Ask if certain symptoms are normal, or what types of treatment they’ve found to be most successful. Your conversation with your pain provider needs to be two-way in nature in order to have the most benefit.

Hopefully these tips can help you the next time you visit a pain specialist, and if you’d like to talk with Dr. Cohn about your pain, contact his office by clicking here.

Dr. Cohn Featured In Minnesota MD News!

July 31, 2018 / Thomas Cohn, MD

Chronic pain is a huge problem in Minnesota and throughout the United States, and more people are becoming aware of the issue and trying to help spread awareness. One group that is attempting to help keep people informed and find solutions to chronic pain is Minnesota MD News!

Recently, Sheri Levisay sat down with Dr. Cohn and other members of the CDI Pain Care team to get a better understanding of how we’re working to treat chronic pain and find permanent solutions for every patient.

We’ve pasted a snippet of the feature story below, but for the full story, head on over to Minnesota.MDNews.com. Thank you to Sheri and her team for helping to put a spotlight on pain conditions that affect millions of Americans each and every day!

Few conditions affect more Americans than chronic pain. The American Academy of Pain Medicine estimates 100 million adults suffer from chronic pain, at an annual direct and indirect cost of up to $635 billion. A 2015 National Institutes of Health analysis found 25.3 million people with chronic pain suffered daily for at least three months, and 40 million described their pain as severe.

Compounding the problem is overreliance on opioids. Annual opioid prescriptions in the United States exceed 200 million, according to the CDC, and 165,000 Americans died from overdoses related to opioid pain medication from 1999 to 2014.

As leaders in health care and government search for solutions, patients with pain are left wondering whether their only alternatives are painkillers and surgery.

At CDI Pain Care, Thomas G. Cohn, MD, board-certified in physical medicine and rehabilitation as well as pain medicine, has an answer to that dilemma which reflects his 25 years of experience in the field: conservative pain management.

CDI Pain Care’s comprehensive approach starts with…continued here.

NIH Issues New Plan To Tackle Opioid Crisis

June 12, 2018 / Thomas Cohn, MD

Earlier today, the National Institutes of Health issued its new plan for taking on the opioid crisis in America. The plan is titled Helping to End Addiction Long-term, or HEAL. The plan has two main goals:

Fund projects that will help develop or facilitate treatments for opioid addiction and overdose.

Fund projects that are meant to improve the management of pain through research into how acute pain transitions to chronic pain, as well as research nonaddictive pain treatments.

“Like most other pioneering scientific initiatives, HEAL will focus on a range of objectives, from short-term goals to research priorities that will take longer to bear fruit,” the authors wrote. “Yet, all will be aimed at the same ultimate vision: a nation of people with far less disabling pain and opioid addiction.”

Treating Addiction and Overdose

For starters, researchers want to take a closer look at how we’re currently battling addiction and overdose. Through their research, they found that there are three main drugs prescribed to help wean people off of opioids. Researchers found that most people living with opioid addiction never get started on these treatments, and of those that do, half of them relapse within a year.

“Research to reformulate these medications to improve adherence, as well as to develop new, more flexible therapies, is needed to help those who have opioid use disorder,” the authors wrote.

The NIH also wants to fund efforts to create better drugs for reversing overdoses, especially among individuals who overdose on fentanyl. The current reversal drug is naloxone, and it isn’t as effective as experts want it to be when the overdoser has other drugs or alcohol in their system.

Treating Addiction Before It Starts

The second part of the initiative focuses on coming up with better pain treatment plans and stopping pain before it become chronic. This is what we’ve been championing for on the blog for years. We need to treat addiction at the source, and the underlying reason behind addiction is unaddressed pain. We need to find better ways to treat and manage pain conditions so they don’t progress to the point where opioids are needed.

Funding for both parts of the plan will come from a $500 million grant that Congress set aside for the NIH in the 2018 budget

How To Safely Stop Medications

June 4, 2018 / Thomas Cohn, MD

Having ongoing problems with pain often involves being on medication, and most of us are not thrilled with being on daily medication. Nothing is completely risk free, but most medications used for pain are relatively safe, although problems with side effects, intolerance and allergies are always a concern. Beyond the risks of opioids, most other medications can be managed in a straightforward manner. If the treatments are helpful, then it is easier to determine its value in management. The problem we all have is when one is not sure if a medication is working.

The use of medications to control pain is often difficult. A lot of time, pain problems require multiple approaches to control symptoms. The effectiveness of a medication may be subtle, allowing a higher level of activity prior to having pain. Sometimes the effectiveness is noted when doses of medication are missed. Often the cocktail of medications are used to avoid the need for opioids. Once on medications, most of us wonder if they are actually working. Furthermore, all medications seem to be overly expensive.

Safely Stopping Medications

Stopping medications and simplifying treatment is often a good thing. To be successful in removing medications, one needs to be doing other things to keep the body healthy. The range of must-do activities begins with a good exercise program that includes stretching, strengthening and conditioning. One must be treating the whole body and that includes improving your diet, sleep and mental health. Living a healthy lifestyle improves the health of the body, and often can successfully replace the need for medication. Without improved lifestyle, it is less likely that one would be successful at eliminating medications.

Once a person is ready to start removing medications, the next challenge is choosing the medications to eliminate from treatment. Sometimes it is clear that a medication has little effect since missed doses have not changed pain levels. Tapering off certain medications is necessary to prevent difficulties, so discuss stopping it with your practitioner. If it is not clear where to start, often eliminating the most addictive and those drugs with the worst side effects are a good choice. The next target is ones that are least affordable. Lastly, slowly remove the rest of the medications. It is better to go slowly since one is probably going to do better with a slow change and be more successful with drug elimination.

Simplifying medication regimens and eliminating drugs that are not effective from a management program is a good thing. The healthier the lifestyle, the easier it should be to reduce medication usage. Pain is a difficult problem to manage, but a comprehensive exercise program, a healthy diet with fresh food (versus fatty fast food and lots of carbohydrates), relaxation, good mental health and good sleep all improve pain management. Pain effects the whole body and treatment should include the whole person.

Chronic Pain and the Summer Heat

May 29, 2018 / Thomas Cohn, MD

Although summer doesn’t officially start for a few more weeks, the temperatures have certainly been feeling like it’s mid-July of late. Summer can be a great time to spend outdoors with friends and family, but it can also present unique challenges for individuals with chronic pain.

Below, we take a closer look at how you can make it through the warm summer months with your chronic pain under control.

Summer and Chronic Pain

Keep these tips in mind to keep chronic pain flareups at bay this summer.

1. Beat the Heat – Try to find shade or other ways to keep cool this summer. Warmer temperatures can lead to an expansion of blood vessels and swelling of our hands and fingers, which can contribute to pain if you’re also dealing with joint inflammation. Whether it involves swimming in the lake or heading to eat in an air conditioned restaurant, find ways to break up long stretches in the summer heat.

2. Sleeping Situation – Warmer temps can also make it harder for people to fall asleep and stay asleep, and you know how problematic this can be if you have chronic pain. Strive to make the bedroom an ideal habitat for sleeping. Turn off devices like the television or iPad, try to go to bed at a regular time, and keep the room cooler if possible, either with air conditioning or a box fan. This will help you achieve long periods of restful sleep.

3. Avoid Overdoing It – Don’t bite off more than you can chew when it comes to summer activities. If you overdo it one day, you’re going to be paying for it for the next couple of days. Know your limits and don’t be afraid to say “no” when it comes to making plans or partaking in certain activities. You know your body best, so avoid overdoing it when possible.

4. Hydration – Another thing to keep in mind this summer is to make sure you’re getting plenty of fluids. Staying hydrated helps joints and blood vessels work optimally, which can help keep you pain free or headache free. Plan ahead so you’re never without a hydration source if you’re going to be out in the sun for a while.

5. Talk With A Specialist – Finally, it’s a good idea to set up a consultation with a pain specialist. They’ll be able to talk about individual challenges that you may face this season and how best to prevent pain from becoming a problem. Whether you need another round of pain injections or want to tweak some therapy exercises, it’s a good idea to circle back with your pain care provider before the summer season gets into full swing.

For more information, or to talk to Dr. Cohn about any issues you may be having, reach out to his clinic today.