Chronic Pain Expert Karen Lee Richards shares Chronic Pain management news and commentary at ChronicPainConnection.com. The HealthCentral Network, Inc. (www.HealthCentral.com) is one of the top health destinations on the Web, with more than 35 condition-specific, wellness and general health Web properties. http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/5949 http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/5949/rss self application/xml en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/5949 http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/5949/92986/shopping-pain Sat, 31 Oct 2009 23:18:00 -0400 Karen Lee Richards I used to love browsing through the stores during the holidays, looking for just the right gift for family and friends.  Unfortunately these days, shopping quickly turns into an adventure in pain.  Quarter-mile treks across full parking lots, crowds of people bumping into me, and 30 minute waits in long check-out lines are nightmares experiences I try to avoid at all cost.  After many painful holiday seasons, I've gathered 20... http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/5949/92986/shopping-pain http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/5949/92977/distracting Sat, 31 Oct 2009 20:33:00 -0400 Karen Lee Richards One of our community members, Saraboo, posed an interesting question in her recent SharePost A Healthy Focus.  She asked, “How do we NOT focus on the pain and instead focus on life?”  Her question inspired me to share what I've learned about controlling my focus and distracting myself from the pain – and then to ask you to do the same.Often people who don't live with chronic pain will tell us, “Just don't think... http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/5949/92977/distracting http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/5949/92971/chest-worry Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:16:00 -0400 Karen Lee Richards When we live with pain on a daily basis, we often wonder if a new pain is something we should be concerned about.  It can be particularly difficult to tell if you have a condition like fibromyalgia, where the pain typically moves around from day to day.  Right or wrong, most of us wait to see if the pain gets worse before getting it checked out.  But when it's chest pain, we naturally wonder if we could be having a heart... http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/5949/92971/chest-worry http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/5949/92568/fibromyalgia Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:30:30 -0400 Karen Lee Richards I've seen several people comment that they (or their doctors) think they may have fibromyalgia, but they're just not ready to go there.  While I can understand the reluctance to accept a diagnosis of fibromyalgia, there are significant benefits to acknowledging it and starting treatment as early as possible.  A new thesis from the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet showed that medications that affect the central nervous... http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/5949/92568/fibromyalgia http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/5949/92552/keeping-diary Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:37:46 -0400 Karen Lee Richards You may have noticed that I sometimes recommend keeping a pain diary.  Basically a pain diary is a daily log that tracks your pain intensity as well as medications, therapies and other activities that may impact your pain.  The pain diary can be a very useful tool in the diagnosis and treatment of chronic pain. Read more about the various reasons to keep a pain diary and download a Daily Pain Log that you can print out and use: ... http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/5949/92552/keeping-diary http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/5949/91687/fibromyalgia Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:37:54 -0400 Karen Lee Richards This Friday, October 23, one of the segments on The Dr. Oz Show is scheduled to be on fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome.  His guest will be Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum, who has battled these illnesses himself and has written two books about them.  In the past, I've heard Dr. Oz say that it was Dr. Teitelbaum who first convinced him that these conditions are indeed very real.  Check your local listings for the time and station... http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/5949/91687/fibromyalgia http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/5949/91305/lie-doctor Mon, 19 Oct 2009 04:04:49 -0400 Karen Lee Richards Have you ever told your doctor that you rarely drink alcohol, when you actually have a drink every day?  Have you neglected to mention that you take St. John's Wort every day?  Or have you reported taking your medication as prescribed, when the truth is you take it when you feel like it or when you remember it?  It's not unusual for people to lie to their doctors, stretch the truth, or simply omit information.  The problem... http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/5949/91305/lie-doctor http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/5949/90719/pesky-scale Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:49:00 -0400 Karen Lee Richards I suspect every chronic pain patient has been asked to rate their pain on a scale of 0 to 10.  But if you're anything like me, you've struggled with what you should say.  If I say a 6, will the doctor think my pain is not that bad?  If I say a 10, will she think I'm exaggerating?  I've long wondered what the different numbers on the pain scale actually mean.  Since there's not an official description set by any medical... http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/5949/90719/pesky-scale http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/5949/90713/suboxone-rems Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:03:00 -0400 Karen Lee Richards In June I told you about the FDA developing “Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies” (REMS) to put tighter controls on the use of opioid medications.  (See URGENT: FDA May Remove or Limit Access to Opioid Pain Medications)  One of the strategies being considered is requiring doctors to have special education and certification in order to prescribe each type of opioid medication.  One medication that is already being... http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/5949/90713/suboxone-rems http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/5949/90007/retrovirus-cfs Thu, 08 Oct 2009 22:16:00 -0400 Karen Lee Richards Scientists have discovered a potential retroviral link to ME/CFS (also known as chronic fatigue syndrome), a debilitating disease that affects more than a million people in the United States.  This is big news for the ME/CFS community. Researchers from the Whittemore Peterson Institute, located at the University of Nevada, Reno, the National Cancer Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, and the Cleveland Clinic, reported... http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/5949/90007/retrovirus-cfs