4. Will the pain ever stop?
The subjective nature of all types of pain makes it extremely difficult to quantify and describe and this is particularly true about neuropathic pain caused by a Trauma Brachial Plexus Injury. No-one feels pain the same way or at the same level; there is no single accepted pain experience. It also should not be forgotten that pain is a complex phenomenon that can be intensified by each individuals behavioural, environmental and emotional conditions. Equally, each individual way of managing pain can vary enormously, but since we have been researching this subject, certain drug free methods of pain management have been mentioned repeatedly.
These are; (in no particular order)
Exercise
Distraction
Relaxation
Visualisation
Self Hypnosis
Each of these methods help enormously in the majority of cases. A more detailed explanation of these can be found in the article on Central Pain on this site. It is an old saying, but time is a great healer and most people with a BPI find that the pain levels reduce considerably over time, usually around 2/3 years.
"Yes, it will when all my nerves have healed properly. Well, that's what the Prof. says (Proffessor Birch). "
"..I still get lots and have tried and failed to get whisky on prescription..."
"The pain has got more manageable....it still feels like someone's squashed my hand into a breville toaster with the heat on...."
"I had severe pain constantly, like the majority at the start. Now I get very little, but when I do get it bad I can cope with it better. I believe the pain for me is as much my mental state at the time , stress etc. as it is physical. Learn to relax."
"Will the pain ever stop? Never met a bpi yet without it. The levels seem to vary from individual to individual. With most people it tends to get easier to handle and lessen with time. I remember not being able to hold a conversation with anyone for the first year or so without pulling funny faces and swearing a lot to myself. I personally found that the pills didn't stop it for me, and knocked them on the head after about 18 months."
" 9 years later, still in a lot of pain, it never stops. On bad days it's still really horrific, especially if I'm ill or run down. It still stops me sleeping and does affect my life up to a point.....but apparently, I'm one of a few percent of bpi's who get this severity of pain, so I've been told."
"In my case, no, but it got a lot less and a lot more bearable."
"The short answer is no, probably not, but it doesn't rule my life. Most days, unless I think about it, or something makes me miserable or unhappy, it is never a problem."
"I don't know if our pain will ever stop. I think we all just get used to living with it, I don't think it's the case that it goes away..."
'No. But you will learn to live with it."
There are many websites on the internet about pain; one I have found useful is Pain Support It is for people experiencing all types of pain but some of the drug free alternatives to pain management described on there are very useful.
