December 31…  the last day of 2008.  Best wishes to all of you for a wonderful 2009.  I hope you enjoy this month’s selections for our last Pain-Blog carnival of 2008.  Our theme this month is: Looking Back on 2008 on the Last Day of the Year In Sickness and In Health shares her favorite [...]

Some of you are artistic and use your creativity to capture your experiences.  After Allyson, a reader, commented on an article about descriptions of pain in The Age of Iron, I invited her to share with us a poem about her experience with pain… Sadness, my friend. Too justifiable. Fear, my companion. Identifiable. Pain, my tormentor. Undeniable. Suffering, [...]

Enter the December How to Cope with Pain contest! Just 6 days left to enter the How to Cope with Pain contest.  The prizes include great books, CD’s, and a personalized computer station evaluation. To be entered in the drawing, you need to do 2 simple things: 1.  Sign up to get How to Cope with Pain by either email or RSS feed [...]

The end of the year often brings “Best of…”  lists.  One list that is truely terrific is 100 Illustrated Relaxation Exercises for Your Mind, Body, and Soul over at Massage Therapy Careers.  Thanks, Kelly, for the tip! Have something great you’d like to share?  Send it in here.  And a reminder, your submissions for the How [...]

CRPS/RSD is not well understood, is frequently mis-diagnosed, and has no clear guidelines for its treatment.  A bad triad!  Wendy K., a physician-reader, recently wrote in to present what treatments work for her.  (As always when I write about treatments, please discuss any that interest you with your treatment team before making any changes.)  Wendy writes: In response to [...]

Enter the December How to Cope with Pain contest! * * * * * Only 13 days left to enter the How to Cope with Pain contest.  So far, there are 49 entries, so your chances for a prize are good!  And How to Cope with Pain is up to 208 subscribers who get each blog article delivered to them [...]

Enter the December How to Cope with Pain contest! * * * * * I like to pass on to you good websites and articles that are suggested by your fellow readers or ones I come across.  I believe that learning about your illness and its treatment is crucial.  I hope you find these helpful. Mary [...]

Enter the December How to Cope with Pain contest! Periodically, I present readers’ stories so we know we’re not alone with our pain, and we can share what helps with others.  Today, Linda C. had written about her journey in life, which has included pain, and how she’s been supported by her spirituality. Are You Disabled? The [...]

Enter the December How to Cope with Pain contest! * * * * * We’re 12 days into the How to Cope with Pain contest, and it’s fun to see so many entries.  Some people just write “contest” in their entry as I suggested, while others include a thoughtful note – thanks!  So far, How to Cope [...]

Enter the December How to Cope with Pain contest! * * * * * Health insurance, when it works well, can be a life saver – literally.  But many patients with pain disorders face insurance denials for procedures or medications, hassles for prior authorizations, and mountains of paperwork. The American Pain Foundation is investigating how insurance issues [...]