Did you know: "As many as half of the adult population claims to have some form of chronic pain. Common causes include: headaches, TMJ, carpal tunnel, backaches, arthritis, sciatica and fibromyalgia. Chronic pain can be intermittent or persistent and may require over-the-counter or prescription medication. Seldom does this pain interfere with activities of daily living or disable a person for more that a few days."

Any amount of pain, as pain sufferers know, is difficult to deal with. But, what about those who suffer long term? What's that called? How is it treated?

The diagnosis is: Intractable Pain: "A severe, constant pain that is not curable by any known means and which causes a bed or house-bound state and early death if not adequately treated. It causes adverse biologic affects on the body's cardiovascular, hormone, and neurologic systems."

Intractable Pain (IP) "has four outstanding characteristics: (1) constant, (2) severe, (3) disabling, and (4) causes detectable biologic impacts on the body's blood pressure, pulse rate, hormone levels, and neurologic systems. It should be considered a serious catastrophic condition that, inadequately treated, leads to premature death. Some of its complications include dementia, osteoporosis, muscle wasting, obesity and cardiovascular disease." (All of the above information is quoted here, courtesy of www.IntractablePainDisease.com)

HANDBOOKS EVERY PAIN PATIENT MUST READ

• Dr. Forest Tennant's Pain Control Guidelines
  On Meds, Staying Active, Diet, Supplements and Discharing Electricity
• Intractable Pain Patient's Handbook For Survival
• What To Do While Looking For A Good Pain Doctor

INFORMATION FOR PATIENTS & CAREGIVERS

• ThePainStore.com Blog
• 101 Ideas to Empower Women In Pain!
• Access to Prescriptions: Rx for Pain
• Differences in Pain Between Men and Women
• Intractable or Chronic Pain: There is a Difference

NEWS

• California Bill Would Limit 'Step Therapy' in Pain Treatment - July 2010
• Pain Patients Irate With Insurers' 'Fail First' Policy - April 2009
• Lack of Vitamin D Doubles Use of Pain Medicine - May 2009

RESEARCH ARTICLES

• The Actiq and Fentora Access Problem
• Appropriate Opioid Dosing for Activities of Daily Living
• Brain Atrophy with Chronic Pain: Call For Advanced Treatment
• Howard Hughes: Not a Drug-Seeker But a Relief-Seeker
• 10- and 20-Year Follow-Up of Severe, Chronic Pain Patients

LINKS

• For Grace - Empowering Women in Pain
  A Non-Profit Started By Cynthia Touissant, A Pain Sufferer Who Is Actively Seeking Better Pain Care for Women
• Intractable Pain Patients United (IPPU)
  A Non-Profit Grassroots Group Started By Southern California Patient Advocates, Speaking Out About Pain
• Pain Topics
  A Non-Commercial Resource for Healthcare Professionals & Patients, Focusing on Evidence-Based Pain Management
• Practical Pain Management - Journal, Founded in 2000
  The Foremost Authority on Cutting Edge Pain Treatment, Including Research by Dr. Tennant & Other Experts
• A Compedium of Pain Organizations
  Compiled by the International Association for the Study of Pain

ThePainStore.com & The Founder's History of Pain: Why ThePainStore.com? Having dealt with pain for nearly ten years, I was finally diagnosed with IP. Helping others in pain has become a passion for me. I hope this site helps you find a way to manage your pain, whatever the cause. I know as well as anyone, that even an hour of pain is agony. Finding a way to lessen it, to cope with it, to survive it, is vitally important for anyone who deals with pain. Best wishes on your journey and I hope I can be of some assistance!

The more we make our struggle public, the more people will understand that pain needs to be dealt with much more effectively than it is today. Many doctors are afraid to prescribe powerful pain relievers. Others have their hands tied by the insurance industry. Too many physicians are letting patients suffer, letting pressure from outside entities keep them from doing the right thing. It's time we all get pain relief, not the select few that find a REAL pain doctor. If we work together, I believe it is possible. This site is more than a place to purchase over-the-counter pain relievers. It's also a blog -and- a forum to discuss the issues we all deal with. Welcome -- you are among friends!