My TOS Life: My Pain Diary

Saturday, June 9, 2012

My Pain Diary

One of the characteristics that chronic pain sufferers share is the willingness to try anything within reason to eliminate, relieve, or manage their pain. This may lead to an eclectic collection of over the counter and prescription medications, some or none of which may be effective; pain relieving rubs, creams, oils, and gels of dubious effect; and gadgets and gizmos that may or may not live up to their manufacturers' claims.

I confess, I have my share of pain pills, preparations, and pain relief tools, the most recent of which is an iPhone app called My Pain Diary: Chronic Pain Management, which is about the most helpful app I own. It's super easy to use, and works just like its developer says it should. Let me tell you more about it.

Developed by a man named Damon, who lives with RSD/CRPS (Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy or Complex Regional Pain Syndrome), the award-winning My Pain Diary is completely customizable and allows you to keep track of several pain conditions at once. Even better, you create your own list of conditions rather than pick from a pre-selected list. You also create your own lists of:

trigger factors
adjectives that describe your particular pain
the specific parts of your body affected
the remedies you use to gain relief

Tracking the intensity of pain is easy, either by using numbers (0-10) or faces (emoticons).

To track even more information, you can add notes at the end of each entry.

Like pictures? You can include them in your entries.

And, if you suspect the weather may be a catalyst for pain, you can keep track of it, too.

The app also lets you graph your data, which allows you to analyze your pain history and look for common patterns.

You can also create a written report, which can be shared with your doctor and other pain management practitioners via email or print.

All this for $1.99.

I could go on with more features and benefits, but I'll let you look into for yourself. My Pain Diary:Chronic Pain Management

1 comment:

RobinSeptember 6, 2012 at 10:34 AM
This is a cool idea-I will be looking into it-thank you for sharing it!
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What is Thoracic Outlet Syndrome?

Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (TOS) is a complicated collection of neurological and vascular problems in the head, neck, shoulders, chest, arms and hands caused by pressure on the nerves and vessels in the thoracic outlet area. This area is the space between the clavicle and the first rib where the nerves and blood vessels pass on their way to the arms from the neck. Most common symptoms are: neck and shoulder pain; chest wall pain; upper extremity pain; headaches; heaviness of the upper extremities; numbness and tingling of arms and hands; weakness of arms and hands; swelling of fingers and hands; discoloration of the fingers, usually blue, but sometimes white; cold hands and/or fingers (may only be one or two fingers).

How Do You Get TOS?

It's not hard to get TOS. It happens frequently to computer users, athletes (such as swimmers, baseball, basketball, and tennis players) and hairdressers. Why? Because all of these activities either require over-the-head arm action or static postures, leading to repetitive strain injuries (i.e. tight or spastic muscles, inflammation, tendinitis, bursitis.) In my case, poor ergonomics at a computer work station combined with static postures was the culprit. TOS is also found in people who have cervical ribs, extra ribs found between the clavicle and the first rib. TOS may be relieved by physical and occupational therapy, massage, and correction of ergonomics. In many cases, although as a last resort, the surgical removal of the first (and/or cervical) ribs is performed in an effort to gain relief.

The TOS Shuffle

Shuffle: n 1: an evasion of the issue 2: a confusing jumble (as of papers or events)
Merriam Webster

The TOS Shuffle: n the method in which a person with suspected Thoracic Outlet Syndrome is shuttled through endless and often useless doctor's appointments, exams, tests, and treatments over a long period of time, perhaps years, before a definitive diagnosis is made.

My TOS Shuffle:
one physiatrist, four neurologists, two orthopedists, three thoracic surgeons, two vascular surgeons, four anesthesiologists, one rheumatologist, three occupational therapists, 11 physical therapists, three massage therapists, one acupuncturist, one chiropractor, four hospitals, three lawyers, two judges, six case managers, one claims adjuster, four MRI's, three EMG studies, six chest x-rays, one nerve block, one SSEP study, umpteen medications, three surgeries.

My TOS Team

Michael Daras, MD, PhD - Neurology
Ekong B. Ekong, MD - Occupational Medicine
Lyall Gorenstein, MD - Thoracic Surgery
Winston Kwa, MD - Occupational Medicine
Kaiyu Ma, MD, PhD - Neurology
James Romano, DC - Chiropractic
Samir Sodha, MD - Orthopedics
Daniel Tomlinson, MD - Orthopedics
Nelson Wong, MD - Rehabilitation Medicine
Access Physical Therapy and Wellness
Tom Chi, The Pain Whisperer
Mt. Sinai Center for Occupational & Environmental Medicine
Subtle Energies Holistic Health Center
Ouimette, Goldstein & Andrews, LLP