Pain
Background
This is a very broad area and covered in depth in the book Pain Free 1-2-3 (McGraw Hill 2006 by Jacob Teitelbaum M.D.). This book will tell you how to use the best of natural and prescription therapies to get pain free now. Unfortunately, most doctors are simply not trained to treat pain (except for Motrin and Tylenol family medications and maybe narcotics for pain — a rather weak menu to have to pick from). That your doctor can’t help your pain (and may actually seem clueless about pain management — as most are) doesn’t mean you can’t get relief. I can count the few pain patients who I couldn’t help on my fingers (out of thousands who I did help).
Treatments
Therapies & Advice
Pain Free 1-2-3 (book)
Read the book Pain Free 1-2-3. This will offer natural treatments you can do on your own (based on the type of pain you have) which are highly effective. It will also tell you which medications to ask your doctor for.
S.H.I.N.E.
Remember that pain is like the oil light on your body’s dashboard, and is its way of telling you that something desperately needs attention. If you have an injury, what it is telling you is obvious. When the cause is not clear, it will often go away by treating using the S.H.I.N.E. protocol, which stands for Sleep, Hormonal support, Infections, Nutritional support, and Exercise as able. When you put oil in your car, the oil light goes off. When you treat S.H.I.N.E. the pain often turns off.
Recommended Supplements
The below can be combined and also taken with pain medications. The effect may begin quickly. It builds over a week, and maximizes at 6 weeks. Once the pain settles, you may no longer need the natural treatments or may only take them "as needed" — with lower doses doing the job.
PEA
Research is mounting that for neurodegenerative diseases in general, especially in the presence of chronic pain, a supplement called PEA (Palmitoylethanolamide) 600 mg a day can be quite remarkable in both decreasing pain and regenerating nerve and brain cells. It takes three months to start seeing the effect however, so give it time.
BCM-95 Curcumin, Boswellia, DLPA and nattokinase
A special mix of BCM-95 Curcumin, Boswellia, DLPA and nattokinase has been a pain relief miracle—even for many whose pain has lasted decades. Called Curamin (by EuroPharma) take 1-2 caps 3x day (use the higher dose for severe pains, such as fibromyalgia) till pain resolves.
Willow Bark
The natural source for aspirin, but imho much safer, find one that is standardized to have salicin 40-80 mg 2-3x a day.
Comfrey
This topical cream (from EuroPharma) can be very helpful.
Other Therapies & Advice
Releasing tight muscles
There are many ways to stretch your muscles, which releases them — and the pain. These include chiropractic, osteopathic manipulation, and a host of excellent types of massage and body work.
Acupuncture can also help. Around 70% of acupuncture points correspond to muscle trigger points (the belly of the muscle where it causes a painful knot). Put a needle in a trigger point and the muscle will release (though much more is also happening with acupuncture).
Medications
There are dozens of medications that can help pain, usually avoiding the need for narcotics. Sadly, physicians simply are poorly trained in pain management. The book Pain Free 1-2-3 can guide you on which medications to ask your doctor for if pain persists despite the natural remedies and treating with S.H.I.N.E.
Though most pain can be relieved without narcotics, sometimes narcotics are needed. In my opinion untreated chronic persistent pain is far more toxic than taking the narcotics, and I consider it unconscionable to leave people in chronic pain. Sadly, some doctors and politicians seem to subscribe to the belief that "All pain is tolerable… as long as it is someone else’s!"
Chronic narcotic use will cause testosterone deficiency, which then can worsen the pain, so this hormone also needs to be checked and optimized.
The hormone HCG was shown to decrease the need for narcotics by about 30% in those with very severe pain who were on massive doses of narcotics.
Basically, that your doctor says they can’t help you does not mean you can’t get pain free!
For Specific Pains, See:
- Arthritis
- Chest Pain (or Angina)
- Pelvic Pain-Female
- Pelvic Pain-Male
- Headaches
- Migraines
- Spastic Colon
- Indigestion (or Heartburn)
- Nerve Pain
- Muscle Pain
- Fibromyalgia
- RSD/CRPS
- Small Fiber Neuropathy
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
More Information Online
The S.H.I.N.E. Approach and Treatment Protocol
Pain Free 1-2-3 (my book on pain management)
A Winner’s Guide to Pain Relief (book by Dr. Hal Blatman on how to treat the structural problems of pain. Dr Blatman is one of my favorite pain specialists.)
The Trigger Point Manual (book by Dr. Janet Travell; great for health practitioners working with muscle pain)