Welcome
To the January 2010 Issue of Chronic Pain Solutions, our Addiction-Free Pain Management® Newsletter. We want to wish you and yours all the best in the New Year - including peace of mind and joyful success in all your endeavors.
Thank you as well for your continued interest and support in 2009. As always, we will continue to keep you up-to-date on our projects, the latest news stories and research we have on our website as well as upcoming events and trainings. Your input has been invaluable and is always appreciated.
On the Contact Us page please email any questions or comments and we will respond as quickly as we can.
Over the past year Interest in Addiction-Free Pain Management has continued to grow, as well as the number of subscribers to “Chronic Pain Solutions.” At Dr. Grinstead’s trainings, he always asks “What worked well?” “What didn’t?” and “What needs to happen to make it work better?” We want to make sure that Chronic Pain Solutions is working well for you and providing information that is useful in your work and/or your life. This month we will be sending out a survey to all our subscribers designed to let us know what is working well for you, what isn’t, and how we can make it better. When you receive this we would very much appreciate your taking a few minutes to fill it out. As a thank you, each completed survey returned will be entered in a drawing to receive a set of Dr. Grinstead’s publications; Managing Pain and Coexisting Disorders, Addiction-Free Pain Management Recovery Guide, and the Addiction-Free Pain Management Workbook.
As you all know healthcare professionals, as well as mental health and addiction treatment providers are often the first ones called upon to assess, intervene upon and develop treatment plans for the impaired patient with a chronic pain condition. According to the following reports, the numbers of people experiencing chronic pain and coexisting psychological disorders including addiction continue to rise.
In a 2009 report by the Ohio State University Medical Center researchers found that chronic pain is the most costly health problem in US. Increased medical expenses, lost income, lost productivity, compensation payments, and legal charges are some of the negative economic consequences. In February 2009, US News & World Report stated that chronic pain is a problem that more than a quarter of Americans age 20 or older, or about 76.5 million people, say they've experienced pain that lasted longer than 24 hours, according to the American Pain Foundation—and 42 percent have endured pain lasting longer than a year. And The American Academy of Pain Management (2009) acknowledged that pain is a silent epidemic in the United States. An estimated 50 million Americans live with chronic pain caused by disease, disorder or accident. An additional 25 million people suffer acute pain resulting from surgery or accident. Approximately two thirds of these individuals in pain have been living with this pain for more than five years. The most common types of pain include arthritis, lower back, bone/joint pain, muscle pain and fibromyalgia.
Given these sobering statistics, we are excited to announce that we will be field testing the Addiction-Free Pain Management® System through Cognit, the web-based addiction education and self-awareness program developed in conjunction with Terence T. Gorski, IT Specialist Wayne Blampied, and Dr. Stephen F. Grinstead. We are honored that Valley Forge Medical Center and Hospital (VFMC) in Norristown Pennsylvania, our first Addiction-Free Pain Management® (APM) Center of Excellence, has agreed to be our first test site. VFMC already has impressive outcome data from the patients who have undergone APM™ treatment at their "Breakthrough" - Chronic Pain Management Services (CPM) Program.
Please email Ellen at sgrinstead@cenaps.com for a copy of this outcome data. See the Gorski-CENAPS® section below for more about Cognit.
Relapse Prevention Coaching
With the New Year upon us, many people are thinking of making resolutions, or they are being strongly encouraged by their loved ones or doctor, to improve their health by finally doing something about their addictive disorder. Our Relapse Prevention Coaching services are individualized coaching sessions for anyone who is in recovery from an addiction and the use of self-defeating, self-destructive behaviors and wants to learn how to recognize and effectively manage situations that put their recovery at risk. It is especially helpful for individuals who have had relapse episodes, but anyone in recovery will find it useful. We combine the Gorski-CENAPS® relapse prevention methodology with personal empowerment coaching strategies to create a powerful foundation for long-term stable sobriety.
The Relapse Prevention Coaching Programs can assist individuals leaving treatment and support those people who cannot or chose not to go into traditional treatment programs. They are also invaluable for people who have had limited success with outpatient treatment, or for those who want to enhance their current program and learn how to put these powerful relapse prevention tools to work in their lives.
With the assistance of Dr. Grinstead and the support of a Certified Coach, clients will experience the seven clinical processes that help them to quickly identify and manage high-risk situations that cause relapse. They will receive expert guidance in setting powerful recovery goals and implementing specific actions plans to facilitate their continued recovery.
The foundation of our Relapse Prevention Coaching Program is the evidence-based work and 35 years experience of Terence T. Gorski's Developmental Model of Recovery. As an Advanced Relapse Prevention Specialist and Director of Training and Consultation for the CENAPS® Corporation, Dr. Stephen F. Grinstead's expertise in denial, relapse prevention and co-existing disorders underlie his biopsychosocial, multidisciplinary approach utilizing an ongoing continuum of care that incorporates strategic, cognitive-behavioral skill building exercises in conjunction with powerful solution-focused and strength-based coaching methodologies.
If people knew they could participate from anywhere using their phone and a computer, and that they could become active participants in their healing by participating in our coaching program, we feel confident that their feelings of helplessness and hopelessness would disappear.
Check out our Coaching
Questionnaire
which is the first step of deciding if you or someone you know is ready for APM Relapse Prevention Coaching,
or call 916-575-9961for a confidential interview.
Gorski-CENAPS® News
In a previous issue we introduced The Cognit Program to our readers. We are excited about the progress made this past year and the potential contracts on the horizon. Cognit supports Mr. Gorski’s mission perfectly; “To provide affordable recovery and relapse prevention for anyone who wants it.”
Cognit offers addiction and/or mental health treatment centers and organizations with web-based educational and self-awareness tools that support and enhance all stages recovery, as well as, modalities of treatment for people who suffer from addiction and mental health issues. The Cognit programs combine educational content, self application exercises, and self-awareness inventories to create a powerful web-based recovery tool and acts as a support umbrella from the earliest stages of treatment through to late recovery. No matter what course recovery takes, Cognit supports the entire process. The value of Cognit is in its ability to assist in the treatment process by offering effective, consistent, science-based, easy to use educational content and its ability to assess and quantify a patient's progress. Cognit utilizes self-awareness inventories, worksheet exercises, and session quizzes that counselors can access during and after client sessions.
Cognit is not treatment. It enhances and facilitates addiction and mental health treatment through its educational and self-awareness tools. Cognit quantifies a patient’s program and personal progress through a series of quizzes, assessments, exercises and self-awareness inventories. Cognit extends the educational window into the period before traditional treatment, during treatment and post treatment. The extension of this window allows treatment providers to focus more on therapy and less on education. Cognit assists in the therapeutic process by providing counselors with an in-depth perspective into a patient’s issues without the investment of valuable time to gather that information.
Cognit has completed beta versions of: Introduction to Addiction, Family Program, and a Military Post Deployment Program. We are also proud to announce that the Addiction-Free Pain Management Module will be ready in early 2010 and field tested at Valley Forge Medical Center’s APM Center of Excellence Breakthrough CPM program. An introductory demo is available online if you want more information.
From Our Readers
Question:
This past year I've been suffering with really bad burning pain in my right foot and bad back pain. I've been diagnosed with fibromyalgia and my doctor has had me on Neurontin (Gabapentin) for the past six months but I don't like how it makes me feel. I don't want any addictive medication because I'm in recovery and don't want to relapse. I asked my doctor if he would switch to Cymbalta or Lyrica but he refused saying they are bad drugs and they are being pushed by the pharmaceutical company.
What do you think about Cymbalta or Lyrica for my pain and is it safe for my recovery? I'm tired of living in agony.
Answer:
Thank you for calling and sharing what you are going through. First of all, I am very concerned that your physician condemned Cymbalta and Lyrica as "bad" drugs. Before making a decision one way or another, I would ask them for a copy of the research they are basing their judgment on. In my opinion and through my experience of working with many chronic pain clients, as well as pain specialists over the years, there is no such thing as a "bad" medication; however, there are positive or negative outcomes depending on the person taking the medication, how they are taking it and why they are taking it.
Neuropathic pain is a frequent occurrence for diabetics, fibromyalgia, and shingles. Many pain management providers have tried alternative ("off-label") medications such as Neurontin (Gabapentin) with varying degrees of success. Neurontin is one of those medications can cause significant side effects for some people.
According to a report presented at the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) 2008 Annual Meeting, pregabalin (Lyrica) significantly decreased the incidence of neuropathic pain at 3 and 6 months after total knee arthroplasty (TKA). The report concluded that this procedure significantly reduced the patients' pain.
Also in June of 2008 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved duloxetine HCl delayed-release capsules (Cymbalta) for the management of fibromyalgia. Previously, only pregabalin (Lyrica; Pfizer, Inc) was approved to treat this painful condition. Some see this as a major victory in validating fibromyalgia as a legitimate diagnosis while others see this as a greed-driven pharmaceutical ploy. Having worked with many patients who were diagnosed and living with the pain and problems of fibromyalgia I am firmly in the first camp. I have also recommended to many of them a trial of acupuncture in addition to medication, as well as other non-medication based protocols.
To read more about this topic please go to our 2008 Research Archive and scroll down to the Cymbalta posting. Also, near the end of the page is a posting titled Neuropathic Pain Management. Hopefully these articles will give you the information you need to help you more effectively manage your pain condition and be proactive with your physician.
"To try is to risk failure. But risk must be taken because the greatest hazard of life is to risk nothing. The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing. He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he simply cannot learn, feel, change, grow, live, and love. " ~ Leo Buscaglia
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