This week, we speak with Beth Harriman, an Administrative Assistant in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Can you tell me about when you first started experiencing the pain and what kind of pain it was?
About a 1-1/2 yrs ago I started waking up with back pain if I stayed in bed too long. It’s pain in my lower back and feels like a muscular ache. Some nights I will wake up and 2 or 3 in the morning unable to get comfortable. Other nights I sleep through the night but wake with pain and stiffness.
Did you seek help …read more

Pain in the elderly is a serious issue that is often misunderstood and untreated or undertreated. Many seniors have several health issues and pain management can be tricky because of interactions between medications, fear of “drugging up” the patients, misunderstanding of the severity of the pain, and the effects that some drugs can have on the elderly that they don’t have on younger people.
According to the Merck Manual of Geriatrics, “In one study, pain prevalence in the elderly ranged from 36 to 88%, and prevalence may be higher among nursing home residents. In the US, about 1/5 of elderly people …read more

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The FDA (the US Food and Drug Administration) has issued its second warning about a medication, the Fentanyl skin patch. Fentanyl is a restricted medication that should only be used for moderate to severe long-term pain, however, some doctors are prescribing it for shorter term pain, such as relief following surgery.
Fentanyl is a great medication for thousands of people who are receiving it for the right reason; however, if it is being used incorrectly, it can lead to overdose and death.
In Canada, fentanyl skin patches go by the brand name Duragesic®.
 

 
I’d like to put together a glossary on different medical terms used when treating or managing pain. So many times healthcare professionals (including myself) will use words without realizing that they may not be understood or, worse, misunderstood.
 
I’ll start on that but you can all help, if you want. If you have come across a word or term that you didn’t understand, please submit it and we’ll include it in the glossary. The more comprehensive it is, the better it will be for everyone all around.
 
The words or terms can be as simple as describing the difference between acute …read more

When is pain something serious, something you shouldn’t ignore? I know most of us have had at least one time when something hurt and we’ve wondered about the seriousness of it; is it something to shake off or something to get checked?
There are some types of pain you should never put off. A false alarm is better than ignoring a potentially fatal health issue.
1 – Chest pain

Although heart attacks can be felt differently between men and women, chest pain is nothing to fool around with and if you even have an inkling that you may be having chest pain due …read more