Nate Buchanan

Nate Buchanan

by Deleted user -
Number of replies: 4

I have seen chronic pain first hand through my grandmother. She has had chronic pain for the past few years and it ranges everywhere from chronic back pain to fibromyalgia. I know that it has been hard and definitely  annoying for her to have had to deal with chronic pain for the past few years. I think one unhealthy way that people in our society attempt to treat/deal with chronic pain is self medication. They decide that their back or hip is hurting, and have some pain pills left over from a surgery or an injury and begin to take the pain pills without a prescription. Another thing that people do that is not healthy is try to ignore it. According to the TED talk, the longer the pain is happening, the harder it will be to eventually control the pain. Finally, I think it could be bad to see multiple doctors if you are not relaying the information of what each doctor has prescribed. Two doctors could prescribe two different pain medications and then the patient is more susceptible to addiction. I think that three good habits would be to: see a doctor, take only what has been prescribed to you, and possibly seen a therapist of some kind since pain also has to do with your perception of pain. In the Amygdala, Scripps claims that NOP-coding genes are being targeted in rats to help test the effect of nociceptin on stress. Opioids are the types of drugs that can be taken to block pain in this area of the brain. I personally believe that people can control how they feel pain. There are obviously physical factors so you can't control it entirely but I believe your psychological perception of pain has an effect to the degree you feel pain.

References 

The mysterious science of pain - Joshua W. Pate. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-mysterious-science-of-pain-joshua-w-pate

Nociceptin: Nature's Balm for the Stressed Brain. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.scripps.edu/news-and-events/press-room/2014/20140108roberto.html

340 words

In reply to Deleted user

Re: Nate Buchanan

by Deleted user -
Hey Bucky, I really enjoyed reading your forum post. I’m sorry to hear about your grandmother struggling with chronic pain and fibromyalgia, it must be hard for her to get around and do the things she use to be able to do. I like your point about the TED talk and agree with what is said. A lot of people who become addicted to pain meds tend to be in more pain for longer periods of time, because the pain meds wear off and they’re left thinking that they are in more pain than they actually are. You make a good point at the end that people can control their pain and I’d have to say from first-hand experience that you’re right. I know with me having surgeries, a big factor in recovery time is overcoming the mental adversity that’s instilled when coming back from injury.

146 words

In reply to Deleted user

Re: Nate Buchanan

by Deleted user -
Hey Nate, I agree that a lot of people self-mediated themselves when they have pain. They use painkillers from previous surgeries and then later they get addicted to them. This is an unhealthy way to deal with pain. I did not think about how people would ignore their pain but it’s true, usually when there is pain, there is something going on and it shouldn’t be ignored. I agree with your healthy ways of coping with pain. Some other healthy ways to cope with pain are seeing a doctor about their pain more specifically a physical therapist. I also said that yoga, tai chi, and deep breathing techniques are healthy ways to cope with pain.

115 words

In reply to Deleted user

Re: Nate Buchanan

by Deleted user -
Hey Nate! Your post was great and very informative. I am very sorry to hear that about your grandmother. I agree with you on the self-medication because sometimes the medication that people have left over from the surgery can a higher dose of the drug than they need. I also heard that ignoring or trying not to think about it makes the pain worse in some cases, and I also thought that it was weir that the longer it went the harder it was to control the pain. I agree with your statement on the psychological side of pain, I too think that a person’s mind can help them to a degree of how much pain they feel. I also found in the ted talk that a person that a person who thinks they can control pain say they feel less intense pain than the ones who say they cannot control pain.

152 words

In reply to Deleted user

Re: Nate Buchanan

by Deleted user -
Hey Nate! I really love how you added a very personal example and I’m very sorry to hear about the pain your grandmother is going through. I really loved your advice about sticking to one doctor if you are someone struggling with chronic pain but that if you need to see multiple doctors, you should communicate any medical history (i.e. prescriptions) to them. I also thought the three good habits you mentioned were insightful as I also agree that seeing a doctor, getting medication if necessary, and potentially seeing a therapist (since pain seems to carry a psychological component) are all effective options.

104 words