Depression not uncommon among those living with chronic pain

Horse and buggy, love and marriage – and pain and depression, all partners, so it seems.

A European study, called PainSTORY (Pain Study Tracking Ongoing Responses for Year), of people who are living with severe chronic pain found that one third of them weren’t feeling adequate pain relief from treatment and 3 out of every 5 felt moderately to extremely anxious because of the pain. Eight in 10 were taking prescription medications and half of them were experiencing adverse effects from the medications.

The 3-month study found that people living with chronic pain were not receiving adequate pain control, even when being treated by doctors. At the end of the study, the majority of the patients, 77%, said that their pain hadn’t improved at all or had, in fact, gotten worse, since the study began 3 months earlier. One third continued to experience severe pain, while 15% had moved from moderate to severe. A smaller group, 1% found their pain deteriorated from mild to severe within that 3 month period.

What does this mean? These issues show in every day life. Sixty percent of the patients said they had trouble walking and 50% said they had trouble getting a good night’s sleep. Almost half of the patients had to change the way they worked, if they were able to continue. Socialization, getting out, chatting with colleagues, enjoying life, was definitely affected as pain took over their lives.

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Tags: chronic pain blog, pain blog, living with chronic pain, severe chronic pain, severe pain, pain relief