Los Angeles Chronic Pain

Happy New Year

Shaping Up in the New Year

By Penney Cowan

A new year, a new start, and new promises to ourselves to do better this year. For many of us that means to get in shape by exercising and losing weight, probably the most difficult thing to do given that we indulged over the holidays. It seems like from November to the end of the year it has been nonstop celebrations. Unfortunately, the busy schedules of the holidays prevented us from our normal routine of exercise and diet.

As we begin to settle in after the holiday rush we promise ourselves that we will get back to our normal routine. For those who are just starting a diet and exercise program and those picking up where they left off before the holidays, there are self-determined goals we want to reach. We promise ourselves that this year we are going to stick to the routine of exercise, be diligent and not sway from our commitment. We will watch our diets carefully, not snack in between meals, be mindful of our portion size at meals, and eat only healthy foods. It all sounds so good and, after all, we are determined that this year will be different.

Many join a gym, others sign up for classes to help them stick to their plan. Some prefer to stay at home and either use a television program on exercise or a book to get them started. Filled with hopes of dropping those first five pounds they begin with vigor, pushing and pushing their bodies that very first session. For many, that means increased pain, exhaustion, and defeat. We convince ourselves that we cannot exercise because it creates far too much pain.

What they did not take into account is the concept of pacing—spacing out your activities, listening to your body, and knowing when to stop. You see, it is not how much you can do in the first day or week, it is how long you will actually stick to the program.

Below are a few reminders of what you need to think about as you get back in shape in 2018.

During the Stars of Advocacy Gala, the California Chronic Care Coalition (CCCC) acknowledged policy makers, advocates, and volunteers for their efforts to improve access to affordable, high-quality care for Californians with chronic conditions. The organization’s Stars of Advocacy Gala at the Elks Tower Ballroom in Sacramento honored three legislators and more than one dozen Stars of Advocacy for their demonstrated commitment to overcoming disparities.

“The work being done by these legislators and volunteers supports our efforts to help patients with chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes, arthritis, sickle cell, heart attacks, multiple sclerosis, and more,” said Liz Helms, founder and CEO of CCCC. “The work of our honorees includes outreach to some of California’s most underserved, ethnically diverse communities. The honorees have demonstrated their commitment to overcoming social and economic disparities to provide valuable services to those living with chronic and acute conditions.”

Donna Kalauokalani, MD, President of the American Chronic Pain Association, was one of those honored at the Gala for her dedication and many hours of service to the American Chronic Pain Association.  We are proud of her achievements and grateful that she is a part of the ACPA!

Understanding Migraines Community Events

More than 29.5 million Americans suffer from migraine, with women being affected three times more often than men. A migraine can cause intense throbbing or pulsing in one area of the head and is commonly accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and extreme sensitivity to light and sound. Migraine attacks can cause significant pain for hours to days and be so severe that all you can think about is finding a dark, quiet place to lie down. Some migraines are preceded or accompanied by sensory warning symptoms (aura), such as flashes of light, blind spots or tingling in your arm or leg.

There is a real need to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of migraines as well as a better understanding of what a person can do to cope. Knowing time is limited when discussing with health care providers, it is important that detailed information is provided in a reasonable amount of time so that you can have a meaningful conversation with the health care provider. To help those with migraines take an active role in his or her treatment, The American Chronic Pain Association is hosting five community events in 2018.

To date they are scheduled for:

If you are interested in attending any of these events, please call800.533.3231 to register.  Watch the ACPA Web Page, Facebook, and Twitter for updates on future meetings.

Rare Disease Day

Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Patient Solidarity Day:

A global effort – thank you!

On Saturday, the 2nd of December, hundreds of patient advocates from across the world joined together in the call for “globally empowered patients: power through knowledge”. Patient Solidarity Day was a chance to focus on patients’ access to high quality information to empower health care decision-making.

The IAPO network made great strides in advancing empowerment at local, regional, national, and international levels on Saturday. Activities ranged from hospital leafleting sessions in Panama, student advocacy workshops in Nigeria, patient information materials translated into Albanian and German, blood screening sessions in Afghanistan, and international webinars in India, to name a few! Right across the world, patient advocates joined the call on Saturday for global patient empowerment, taking steps towards making this happen. Thank you for the role you played in getting out the message. See our 2017 supporters by clicking here.

Opportunity to share your opinion

The ACPA has been asked to help develop a national patient advisory group, a list serve of patients living with chronic pain who would be willing to complete various surveys to rate study methods or advise on issues such as branding. This is a PCORI (Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute) funded grant for Stanford University.

Each participant would receive $20 per year and an additional $5 or $10 for each survey completed. There may be as many as 5-10 surveys per year. Please contact us if you are interested and we will send you specific details regarding how this will work and what you will have to do to take part in the surveys.

They hope to recruit a total of 100 patients from around the U.S.

Please send your name, the best phone number to reach you, and your email to us at acpa@theacpa.org or by mail to ACPA, P.O. Box 850, Rocklin, CA 95677. Your personal information will not be shared or used for any other purposes by PCORI or Stanford other than sending you the surveys. Your immediate attention would be appreciated. Thank you.

Through the Gut Check: Know Your Medicine campaign, the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) seeks to support adults in actively learning about their OTC pain medicines, serve as a resource for pain sufferers, and to cut the number of preventable health issues, and even deaths, that thousands of people suffer each year from taking too much OTC pain medicine.

Tips

To build and establish safe OTC use practices, patients and health-care professionals should work together to manage all medicines — better dialogue and earlier intervention are critical for keeping patients safe. AGA offers these tips for HCPs when they are caring for patients to help them avoid complications due to OTC pain medicine overdose:

The American Chronic Pain Association has a video on the safe use of NSAIDs. Find it at https://theacpa.org/NSAIDs-safety

The American Chronic Pain Association

Acknowledges the continued support of our Corporate Partners

Combined Federal Campaign

The American Chronic Pain Association has been accepted by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management for the inclusion in the fall 2017 Combined Federal Campaign as a member of Health and Medical Research Charities of America. If you work for the Federal Government and would like to designate the ACPA for a contribution, please use our CFC number 10549. This is only valid for CFC Members.

 You shop.

Amazon gives.

Shopping on line helps the American Chronic Pain Association

If you use Amazon for your on-line shopping, you can now support the ACPA. It is simple just go to AmazonSmile and select American Chronic Pain Association as your charity from the dropdown menu.