Stop chasing a cause and cure
About this site
Chronic Pain Champions is an information resource/support group to help people living with chronic nonmalignant pain, their families, and friends, as well as healthcare professionals. The focus is on a biopsychosocial approach to understanding pain, accepting pain, adjusting to pain, and adapting to pain to live a more functional and fulfilling life.
Are you tired of bouncing around between healthcare providers, Facebook groups, and Google websites trying to find a magical medical answer to chronic pain?
What if someone told you – there is no answer – at least, for right now?
They could be right.
Going to more doctors, getting more testing, and having more surgeries can make the pain worse and can even create new pain.
There is a time to accept the pain and learn to live with it. Controlling it, rather than allowing it to control you.
Are you tired of bouncing around between healthcare providers, Facebook groups, and Google websites trying to find a magical medical answer to chronic pain?
What if someone told you – there is no answer – at least, for right now?
They could be right.
Going to more doctors, getting more testing, and having more surgeries can make the pain worse and can even create new pain.
There is a time to accept the pain and learn to live with it. Controlling it, rather than allowing it to control you.
About me
Hello, I'm Tom Bowen.
My chronic pain journey started in January 2009 after surgery left me with nerve pain.
When I first experienced symptoms I had a tough time adjusting to them. I let them control me, instead of me controlling them. They affected my life, my family, my friends, my job, and my activities. No different than others facing the same challenges.
After many unsuccessful attempts to make the pain stop, including all sorts of medicines and risky denervation surgery, I attended the 3-week outpatient Mayo Clinic Pain Rehabilitation Center (PRC) in the fall of 2012 at the recommendation of my doctor.
I was doing better after the Mayo PRC program self-managing the pain until a fall in 2013 brought an onslaught of new symptoms including a 24/7 headache, neuropathy in my extremities, random widespread pain, and a whistle in my ear that made my original nerve pain worse. It seemed like all the tools I learned at the PRC couldn’t help me and I jumped back on the pain merry-go-round doctor shopping for causes and cures for the new symptoms – letting the pain control me, instead of me controlling it.
After numerous failed medical attempts to stop the pain or even just manage it, I gave up hope –questioning what life was going to be like with the pain and if I wanted to live it.
That changed in 2018 when I decided I needed a reset after the pain led me to quit the job I loved and file for disability. I went back to the PRC for a second stint in the fall of 2018.
Being at the PRC a second time was like flipping a switch. It all came back to me. I was able to change the way I was thinking about the pain, feeling about the pain, and behaving in relation to the pain. I was also able to find a new purpose and a source of distraction for the pain, serving as a pain advocate/educator.
Through pain rehabilitation, I’ve been able to stop the use of all medicines for the pain, including opioids, benzodiazepines, anticonvulsants, muscle relaxers, amphetamines, beta-blockers, antidepressants, and over-the-counter analgesics as well as other passive interventions like supplements and injections.
Do I still experience pain?
Of course, I do. But the pain commonly drifts in the background as noise, or I don’t even notice it. I don’t focus on the pain or worry about it because I know it means no harm.
I’m more than the pain. The pain and other conditions don’t define me. Instead, I'm defined by who I am and what I do. I'm a husband, a father, a son, a brother, an uncle, a friend, a mentor, a past coworker, a writer, and a clown.
Have I stopped hoping for a miracle solution to the pain? No. There are always medical advancements. I'm just not actively seeking a cause and cure. Instead, I focus my time on living well, despite the pain.
I'm driving the car. Pain is in the backseat.
PS I’m not a medical professional. My background is in advertising, marketing, and writing. You may have seen my articles in Practical Pain Management, Stat, or National Pain Report. I wrote an e-book Chronic Pain Won't Stop Me. I oversee a Facebook Support group Chronic Pain Champions – No Whining Allowed. And I'm a patient advocate on the Practical Pain Management (PPM) Editorial Advisory Board.
My chronic pain journey started in January 2009 after surgery left me with nerve pain.
When I first experienced symptoms I had a tough time adjusting to them. I let them control me, instead of me controlling them. They affected my life, my family, my friends, my job, and my activities. No different than others facing the same challenges.
After many unsuccessful attempts to make the pain stop, including all sorts of medicines and risky denervation surgery, I attended the 3-week outpatient Mayo Clinic Pain Rehabilitation Center (PRC) in the fall of 2012 at the recommendation of my doctor.
I was doing better after the Mayo PRC program self-managing the pain until a fall in 2013 brought an onslaught of new symptoms including a 24/7 headache, neuropathy in my extremities, random widespread pain, and a whistle in my ear that made my original nerve pain worse. It seemed like all the tools I learned at the PRC couldn’t help me and I jumped back on the pain merry-go-round doctor shopping for causes and cures for the new symptoms – letting the pain control me, instead of me controlling it.
After numerous failed medical attempts to stop the pain or even just manage it, I gave up hope –questioning what life was going to be like with the pain and if I wanted to live it.
That changed in 2018 when I decided I needed a reset after the pain led me to quit the job I loved and file for disability. I went back to the PRC for a second stint in the fall of 2018.
Being at the PRC a second time was like flipping a switch. It all came back to me. I was able to change the way I was thinking about the pain, feeling about the pain, and behaving in relation to the pain. I was also able to find a new purpose and a source of distraction for the pain, serving as a pain advocate/educator.
Through pain rehabilitation, I’ve been able to stop the use of all medicines for the pain, including opioids, benzodiazepines, anticonvulsants, muscle relaxers, amphetamines, beta-blockers, antidepressants, and over-the-counter analgesics as well as other passive interventions like supplements and injections.
Do I still experience pain?
Of course, I do. But the pain commonly drifts in the background as noise, or I don’t even notice it. I don’t focus on the pain or worry about it because I know it means no harm.
I’m more than the pain. The pain and other conditions don’t define me. Instead, I'm defined by who I am and what I do. I'm a husband, a father, a son, a brother, an uncle, a friend, a mentor, a past coworker, a writer, and a clown.
Have I stopped hoping for a miracle solution to the pain? No. There are always medical advancements. I'm just not actively seeking a cause and cure. Instead, I focus my time on living well, despite the pain.
I'm driving the car. Pain is in the backseat.
PS I’m not a medical professional. My background is in advertising, marketing, and writing. You may have seen my articles in Practical Pain Management, Stat, or National Pain Report. I wrote an e-book Chronic Pain Won't Stop Me. I oversee a Facebook Support group Chronic Pain Champions – No Whining Allowed. And I'm a patient advocate on the Practical Pain Management (PPM) Editorial Advisory Board.
All content is for informational purposes only and should be used in conjunction with healthcare professionals.
It is not meant to replace professional advice. Information provided is based on the author’s personal experience,
beliefs, and research regarding chronic non-cancer/end-of-life pain.
Consult a doctor or other healthcare professional before attempting treatment.
Use of the information provided is at your own risk.
© 2022
Tom Bowen
Chronic Pain Champions
It is not meant to replace professional advice. Information provided is based on the author’s personal experience,
beliefs, and research regarding chronic non-cancer/end-of-life pain.
Consult a doctor or other healthcare professional before attempting treatment.
Use of the information provided is at your own risk.
© 2022
Tom Bowen
Chronic Pain Champions
