Your GP is likely to be the healthcare professional who’ll be most involved in helping manage persistent pain, but it can sometimes be a difficult relationship. People in pain and their GPs both often feel that there isn’t enough time to deal with a problem as complex as long term pain.
There is no ‘magic pill’ for pain. As with any long-term condition – like diabetes, for example – the best way forward is for people living with pain and their GPs to work together to manage it.
Top tip: make the most of your next appointment by noting down beforehand one or two things that you most want the consultation to focus on.
Find out more: Pain Concern’s ‘Managing Medical Appointments’ leaflet gives guidance on getting the most out of a consultation.
To read the transcript of this programme, please click here.
Published September 2015. Text to be reviewed September 2018.
It was good to hear some people talking about chronic pain in a way as they understood it. The chronic pain I experience started a few months before a diagnosis with breast cancer and as I have had Type One Diabetes for more than twenty years it has been determined eventually that diabetic neuropathy is the cause. Luckily I have a good team around me to help.
Thanks for getting in touch!
It’s good to hear you’ve got a solid support network – having people around who understand you and your pain is so important.