Photo by Chandra Oh on Unsplash For months, I have been caring for a man with severe nerve pain from cancer that has invaded the nerves of his shoulder and arm. The pain is burning, lancinating, relentless. He is on an elaborate regimen of opioids and adjuvant analgesics, and has been through a series of interventional procedures, none of which made a lasting difference. What … Continue reading The Worst Day, Not the Average Day
A New Chapter in Pain Medicine — With Important Caveats Fifty million Americans live with chronic pain, and for many, current treatments fall short. Opioids carry addiction risks. Anticonvulsants help some but not others. NSAIDs have limits. For patients with persistent neuropathic pain — the burning, shooting, electric sensation that follows nerve damage — options have been particularly limited. Until now, perhaps. Over the last … Continue reading From Pufferfish Poison to Precision Pain Relief
So here’s the thing about pain: it’s complicated. Last weekend I was on call when my phone rang. It was an elderly woman in her 80s with advanced cancer that had been stable. Her chart said “pain well-controlled on optimized opioid regimen” – one of those clinical phrases we use that sometimes means everything and sometimes means nothing at all. She started talking about bone … Continue reading I Only Want What’s in Your Mind and Heart”: The Origins and Science of Total Pain in Oncology
Ancient Remedies and Modern Crises: The Poppy’s Legacy For centuries, humanity has sought relief from pain, and the poppy, with its potent analgesic properties, became deeply entwined with our history and culture. In 1805, a young German pharmacist’s apprentice, Friedrich Sertürner, refined this ancient remedy, isolating morphine and revolutionizing pain management. This breakthrough, however, paved the way not only for the widespread use of morphine … Continue reading The Jellyfish, the Poppy, and the Future of Pain Relief: A New Chapter Begins
It turns out that there is yet another thing that exercise helps for – chemo-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN). It not only helps to diminish the symptoms of neuropathy that already took place, but it can prevent it (!), which many other things that have been vigorously tried before (vitamins, fish oil, medications, etc.) failed to do so. It is potentially quite paradigm changing finding that … Continue reading New Insights: Exercise to Combat Chemotherapy Neuropathy
Marcin Chwistek, MD 