Today I was researching the impact of gender on pain management and one of the websites I visited was www.partnersagainstpain.com and reviewed their research on gender and pain management.  I want to include a brief summary below of what I discovered.  If you want to learn more please go to their website and click on Pain Resources and Links to find this research.

There is a growing body of literature that indicates that women are more likely than men to be under-treated for their pain.  Studies have shown differences in the attitudes of healthcare providers toward men’s and women’s experiences of pain.

1. McCaffery and Ferrell, using a questionnaire administered to more than 300 nurses, found that most respondents believed that women, compared to men, were less sensitive to pain, more tolerant of pain, less distressed as a result of pain, and more likely to report pain and to express pain through nonverbal gestures.  
2. Regarding physician perceptions of female patients with pain, Hadjistavropoulos and colleagues found that physicians distinguished between their “attractive” and “unattractive” patients. Attractive female patients were perceived as experiencing less pain than unattractive female patients, evidencing a “healthy is beautiful” stereotype.
3. Historically, the medical literature has portrayed women as hysterical and oversensitive. By extension, physicians often view women’s statements as emotional, rather than objective. In one study of patients with chronic pain, female patients were more likely than their male counterparts to be diagnosed with histrionic disorder, excessive emotionality, and attention-seeking behavior.
4. According to an analysis of recent pain research by Hoffmann and Tarzian, women are more likely than men to seek treatment for their pain and are less likely to receive it. The authors suggest that physicians may treat women less for pain based on the presumption women can handle more pain or, conversely, that women are in fact imagining pain where none exists.

We have additional gender related research on our website at www.addiction-free.com and go to ourNews & Research Archives page and review Gender and Pain.  If you want to learn for about pain management go to our Publications page to check out my new book Managing Pain and Coexisting Disorders: Using the Addiction-Free Pain Management® System. 

This being Memorial Day Weekend I’ve been thinking a lot about my dad who died last Fall.  The last six years of his life were very challenging for Bob (my dad).  He had been admitted to the hospital for pneumonia and ended up contracting a very dangerous staff infection that ended up leaving him partially paralyzed and experiencing severe neuropathic pain.  He also contracted a condition called Lupus Anticoagulent Disease that caused major blood clotting problems—that’s what eventually killed Bob.
 
During his last six years I helped Bob communicate with his doctors as his pain was not being adaquately managed.  In addition Bob was concerned about addiction problems but was open to letting me educate him and his medical providers.  In addition to his medication Bob was very willing to work hard with physical therapy and exercise.  If all of my patients were as motivated as Bob it would make my job so much easier.
 
I really miss my dad.  I miss his calls for computer support every day as well as help with his pain management planning.  During the last few weeks of his life he was able to share with me how tired he was and that he was ready to die. You can read all of Bob’s Story about my father on our Articles page.
 
If you want to learn more about chronic pain management please check out our website at www.addiction-free.com and go to our Publications page to check out my new book Managing Pain and Coexisting Disorders: Using the Addiction-Free Pain Management® System.  You can also check out our Ariticles page to download additional free articles

There are many problems associated with living with chronic pain that you may be experiencing. Chronic pain is a serious health condition confronting many people today.  Those of us living with chronic pain know first-hand that our pain is often disabling and for many of people living with chronic pain there are few safe alternatives when seeking help.  As a result, some people may end up suffering or developing an addiction to the medications they are using to help manage their pain.  Many people in addiction recovery can relapse and may even die from their addiction as a result of untreated—or mistreated—chronic pain conditions.

When people are on pain medication most do not experience problems.  However, many people do. Fortunately there are Red Flags or indicators that you may be using your pain medication in a manner that could eventually lead to problems or even addiction.  Both you and your treatment providers need to be familiar with these red flags and to seek professional help from a person trained in addiction who also has experience, understanding, or training in pain management.

A major obstacle to recognizing these Red Flags and achieving effective pain treatment is our denial system—the psychological defense mechanism that is there to protect us from unbearable situations.  It is important to remember that we developed this defense system to protect us from being overwhelmed by what I call Painful Reality.

There are times when this defense mechanism called denial can help.  Unfortunately, it can sometimes lead us to avoid looking at and dealing with a situation that is causing life-damaging consequences.  There is also another interesting point about denial.  If you are told “you’re in denial” you are now in a no-win position.  If you are in denial you don’t know it, and if you’re not in denial you can’t prove it to the satisfaction of your accuser.

If you want to learn more about potential medication problems with chronic pain management please check out our website at www.addiction-free.com and go to our Publications page to check out my APM Module Two: Examining Your Potential Medication Management Problems that includes a Red Flags checklist for prescription medication problems.  You can also check out our Ariticles page to download my free articles including Managing Pain Medication in Recovery.