Advocating for a Loved One in Pain

Presented by the American Academy of Pain Management

Understanding Pain

An estimated 50 million to 75 million Americans—men, women, and children—suffer with chronic pain. Although treatments are available to manage or reduce most pain, most pain goes untreated or undertreated.

There are two types of pain:

Acute Pain is considered “good” pain. It is the body’s natural alarm system. It is the pain we feel after trauma, surgery, or injury. Acute pain usually does not last long and goes away when the body heals.

Chronic or Persistent Pain is less understood and more difficult to describe. Many experts say that chronic pain is whatever the person experiencing it says it is. Chronic pain is assessed by factors such as location, intensity, and duration. But these measurements are not enough to describe the physical, mental, and spiritual toll the pain can take on an individual. Chronic pain can last months or even years.

Chronic pain takes a toll on a person’s body and can lessen overall health. If chronic pain is left untreated or is undertreated, it can weaken the immune system, slow the recovery from the disease or injury, and cause anxiety and depression. Pain can affect sleep, work, and personal relationships and it can even lead to thoughts of suicide.

Serving as a Pain Management Advocate

Besides being the person experiencing pain, the next worst thing is for a caregiver to watch a loved one in pain. One way you can help is by acting as his/her advocate. A few ways you can do this are by:

• Believing your loved one’s report of pain.
• Paying attention to the signs that indicate that your loved one might be in pain. These may include facial expressions, breathing and sighing heavily, unusual body movements, behavioral changes (such as not wanting to eat or sleep), or mental changes such as crying or irritability.
• Speaking up for your loved one when you go to the doctor, including insisting on managing his/her pain.

Communicating with the Healthcare Professional—Some Tips

• Write down where in the body your loved one is experiencing pain, what it feels like, and when the pain occurs (e.g., after a meal, in the morning, in the evening, or all of the time) See NFCA’s tips on reporting pain at: http://www.thefamilycaregiver.org/pdfs/CommEff_Crisis.pdf
• Before talking to the doctor, learn all you can about your loved one's health problem, pain, and pain management treatments.
• Be clear and concise when talking to the doctor.
• Listen to the suggestions the doctor makes and follow directions carefully, including giving them to your loved one exactly as prescribed. If your loved one is still in pain, set up another appointment so another approach can be taken.
• Try and remain calm when speaking to the doctor. It is easy to get emotional when you are worried about your loved one and want him/her to feel better. Remember that you are all on the same team and are striving towards the same common goal to make your loved one feel better.
  

Resources

For more information about pain, pain management, and how you can be an advocate visit:

American Academy of Pain Management (the Academy) at: www.aapainmanage.org
American Alliance of Cancer Pain Initiatives (AACPI) at: www.aacpi.org
American Chronic Pain Association (ACPA) at: www.theacpa.org
American Pain Foundation (APF) at: www.painfoundation.org
National Chronic Pain Society (NCPS) at: www.ncps-cpr.org
National Pain Foundation at: www.painconnection.org
The NFCA Take Care Fall 2004 Newsletter on Pain Management (Adobe Acrobat required) at http://thefamilycaregiver.org/pdfs/TakeCareFall04.pdf

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