This topic is a little off of my usual theme of chronic pain management but this has always been an issue that is very important to me. I have developed denial management and relapse prevention components for several agencies that worked with chemically dependent pregnant women. I’ve always believed that addiction treatment combined with regular prenatal visits improved the chances for a healthy baby.

Today a friend of mine wrote to share the good news from Kaiser about the results of their program to help with perinatal substance abuse. I’m including a little information from this study that was published in the Journal of Perinatology Advance Online Publication 26 June 2008. If you want to review the entire report go to http://www.nature.com/jp/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/jp200870a.html.

The coordination of care between mental health and obstetric professionals enhances the service delivery model for addressing substance abuse in pregnancy. Early Start’s replicable model of integrating substance abuse treatment with prenatal care is cost-effective and significantly decreases negative birth outcomes as well as maternal morbidity. The women and babies served by Early Start are healthier; therefore, the impact of the program reaches beyond them to also positively influence the health and well-being of the community at large, and consequently must also be considered from a public health perspective. The results of this study reflect the importance of widespread implementation of this model of care as a national standard.

To learn more about chronic pain management please check out our website at www.addiction-free.com and go to our Publications page and check out my book Managing Pain and Coexisting Disorders: Using the Addiction-Free Pain Management® System. You can also check out our Articles page to download my free article The Need for Multidisciplinary Chronic Pain Treatment.

If you’re like me you know that living with chronic pain is very difficult. If you also have a coexisting addiction or other psychological disorders it becomes even harder. Your self-esteem is practically non-existent and many of you may even lose the support of their significant others.

People with chronic pain and coexisting disorders often become depressed and feel a deep sense of hopelessness. Healthcare providers often become confused and frustrated when their treatment interventions are ineffective, and often blame the patient (you). Given the biopsychosocial nature of chronic pain it is imperative to utilize a multidisciplinary treatment plan.
 
I’ve helped people who were mislead by some unscrupulous healthcare providers who told them they could handle all of their chronic pain management needs.  In many cases what they offered was a wide spectrum of medication that led many of these people into bad problems. Other alternative healcare providers promised “miracle” treatment interventions; usually at a very high cost.

True multidisciplinary pain management involves a host of interventions such as physical therapy, massage, medication management, counseling or therapy, biofeedback, occupational therapy, exercise physiology, an addiction medicine specialist, an anesthesiologist or pharmacologist, and a case manager. It may also include some type of movement therapy such as Tai Chi, classes on spiritual wellness, yoga or meditation.

To learn more about chronic pain management please check out our website at www.addiction-free.com and go to our Publications page and check out my book Managing Pain and Coexisting Disorders: Using the Addiction-Free Pain Management® System. You can also check out our Articles page to download my free article The Need for Multidisciplinary Chronic Pain Treatment.

Effective pain management and avoiding a potential prescription drug trap is possible if you are willing to do the footwork and follow a strategic treatment plan using a collaborative multi-disciplinary treatment team.  With the proper treatment plan and support, people living with chronic pain can have successful treatment outcomes.  They can move from being a passive recipient (i.e., victim) to being an active participant in their healing process, leading them to once again feeling empowered and experiencing a higher quality of life.

I believe that effective chronic pain management needs a three-part treatment approach.  Appropriate prescription pain medication is necessary for many people living with chronic pain.  However, if you have a family (genetic) history of addictive disorders or other mental health problems in your family or yourself extra precautions need to be taken with some medications.
 
In addition, you should know there are biological, psychological, and social factors that need to be addressed when you live with chronic pain.  In fact, the most important part is learning how to differentiate between the physical (biological) and psychological (thinking and feeling) components of your pain.  The medication is meant to treat or address the physical symptoms but you are at risk for problems when you use your medication to cope with or manage the psychological symptoms.

Using nonpharmacological (non-medical) interventions is the third type of treatment approach that I believe is crucial for effective pain management. There are literally thousands of possible nonpharmacological interventions and each person will have different needs. Some of the common interventions include meditation, biofeedback, emotional management, acupuncture, chiropractic, physical therapy, hydrotherapy, etc.  Other possibilities include people learning to make peace with their pain or focusing on something else pleasant or rewarding besides the pain condition. The only limitation to developing nonpharmacological interventions is your imagination or the imagination of your healthcare providers.

To learn more about chronic pain management please check out our website at www.addiction-free.com and go to our Publications page and check out my book Managing Pain and Coexisting Disorders: Using the Addiction-Free Pain Management® System. You can also check out our Articles page to download my free article Avoiding the Prescription Drug Trap.