Chronic Pain For Dummies -- Contents at a Glance -- Table of Contents -- Introduction -- About This Book -- Conventions Used in This Book -- Foolish Assumptions -- How This Book Is Organized -- Icons Used in This Book -- Where to Go from Here -- Part I: Getting the Lowdown on Chronic Pain -- Chapter 1: Hurting That Doesn't Go Away -- Just What Is Chronic Pain? -- Chronic Pain Is a Solitary Experience -- Checking Out Common Characteristics of Chronic Pain -- What Chronic Pain Feels Like -- Educating Yourself on How Pain Works -- Constant Pain Causes Its Own Damage -- Living with Chronic Pain -- Chapter 2: Discovering How Pain Works -- Touring the Nervous System -- Producing Chronic Pain in the Peripheral Nervous System -- Tracking Chronic Pain in the Central Nervous System -- Chapter 3: When Pain Becomes Chronic -- Assessing Different Types of Chronic Pain -- Looking at Behavioral Cycles -- Managing Flare-Ups -- Fighting Side Effects of Chronic Pain -- Keeping Relationships on Track -- Part II: Detailing Some Causes of Chronic Pain -- Chapter 4: Arthritis and Its Cohorts -- Sneaking Up on You: Arthritis -- The Most Frequent Form: Osteoarthritis -- Painful Joints and More: Rheumatoid Arthritis -- Sick and Tired of Fibromyalgia -- Overlapping Conditions: Polymyalgia Rheumatica and Temporal Arteritis -- TMJ Dysfunction: It's All about Your Jaw -- Sniffling Over Soft Tissue Diseases -- Lupus: When Your Immune System Attacks You -- Too Dry for Too Long: Sjogren's Syndrome -- Giving Up Gout -- Bones Silently Turning to Powder: Osteoporosis -- Diagnosing Arthritis -- Considering Surgery -- Focusing on Healthy Joints -- Chapter 5: My Aching Back -- Identifying Who Gets Chronic Back Pain -- Looking at the Back's Delicate Anatomy -- Describing Chronic Back Pain -- Taking a Look at the Causes of Back Pain -- Diagnosing and Treating Your Chronic Back Pain.

Chapter 6: Head Cases: Migraines and Other Types of Craniofacial Pain -- Distinguishing Between Primary and Secondary Headaches -- Avoiding Tension Headaches -- Managing Migraine Headaches -- Suffering from Sinus Headaches -- Understanding Cluster Headaches -- Tackling Thunderclap Headaches -- Paying Attention to Neck Pain -- Chapter 7: The Odd Couple: Injuries and Strokes -- Getting the Lowdown on Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) -- Suffering a Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) -- Dealing with Central Post-Stroke Pain -- Surviving Traumatic Brain Injury -- Preventing Spinal Cord and Brain Injuries -- Chapter 8: Burn Pain -- Lamenting the Tragedy of Burns -- Classifying Burns -- Preventing Chronic Pain -- Treating Burns -- Understanding the PTSD/Chronic Pain Connection -- Getting Help -- Chapter 9: Digestive and Urinary Conditions -- Looking at Your Digestive and Urinary Systems -- Diagnosing Digestive and Urinary Conditions -- Chapter 10: Reproductive Conditions -- Understanding Your Reproductive Systems -- For Women Only: Problems in the Reproductive System -- For Men Only: Problems in the Reproductive System -- Diagnosing Pain Problems: Who Can Help -- Chapter 11: Following the Nerve Pathways: Neuralgias and Neuropathies -- Understanding Your Network of Nerves -- Considering Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) -- Getting on Your Nerves: Peripheral Neuropathy -- Pain in the Face: Trigeminal Neuralgia -- Postherpetic Neuralgia -- Chapter 12: Cancer Pain -- Frightening and Shockingly Common: Cancer -- The WHO? The World Health Organization -- Educating Yourself about Opioids -- Checking Out "Helper" Drugs -- When Medicine Isn't Enough -- Part III: Managing Your Pain Medically -- Chapter 13: Putting Together an Anti-Pain Team -- Understanding How a Team Helps You -- Assembling Your Team -- Searching for the Right Doctor.

Educating Yourself as Much as Possible -- Telling Your Doctors What They Need to Know -- Chapter 14: Prescribing Medicines for Chronic Pain -- Finding Pain Relief Over the Counter -- Seeking Pain Relief with Prescription Drugs -- Working with Your Doctor to Find the Right Medication Combo -- Using Medicines Safely -- Buying Drugs from the Internet -- Using Alcohol and Recreational Drugs -- Facing Prescription Drug Abuse -- Chapter 15: Taking an Alternative Approach to Pain Management -- Exploring CAM -- Using Dietary and Herbal Supplements -- Getting Back to Nature: Naturopathic Medicine -- Curing Like with Like: Homeopathy -- Assessing Complementary and Alternative Treatments -- Chapter 16: Considering Surgery: The Last Resort? -- Making the Decision -- Checking Out a Surgeon's Resume -- Profiling Major Types of Pain-Relieving Surgery -- Recovering from Surgery -- Part IV: Managing Your Pain with Lifestyle -- Chapter 17: Tracking and Avoiding Pain Triggers -- Tracking Your Pain -- Developing a Pain Management Plan -- Taking Control -- Sidestepping Pain Triggers -- Chapter 18: Nutrition and Weight Control -- Paying Attention to Nourishing Your Body -- Healthy Eating -- Cutting Back on Calories to Avoid Obesity -- Maintaining a Healthy Weight -- Avoiding Trigger Foods -- Nodding Yes to Nibbling -- Chapter 19: Getting Physical: Flexibility, Strength, Endurance, and Balance -- Turning Around Deconditioning through Physical Therapy -- Exercising Right for Your Pain Condition -- Exercises for Conditioning -- Chapter 20: Tackling Fatigue -- Losing Sleep Is a Bad Thing -- Chronic Pain and Sleep Problems -- Charting Your Sleep Patterns -- Getting Some Shuteye the Natural Way -- Knocking Yourself Out with Medications -- Chapter 21: Treating Pain and Stress Using the Power of Thought -- Understanding the Pain/Stress Link.

Decreasing Stress Using Your Thoughts -- Challenging Negative Thoughts -- Creating New Automatic Thoughts -- Chapter 22: Relaxing, Praying, and Creating -- Exploring Stress -- Coping with Stress and Pain -- Part V: Understanding Pain Throughout the Life Cycle -- Chapter 23: Pain in Children -- Understanding How Children Experience Pain -- Measuring Pain in Children -- Detecting Chronic Illness in Your Child -- Assessing Pain Medications for Children -- Chapter 24: Pain and Aging -- Older People Have Real Pain -- Managing Pain with Medications -- Deciphering Pain in Seniors with Memory Problems -- Chapter 25: Pain at the End of Life -- Managing Total Pain with the Palliative Approach -- Facing the Hard, Physical Truth about Dying -- Looking at Hospice Care -- Understanding Your Rights -- Part VI: The Part of Tens -- Chapter 26: Ten Ways to Detect Bogus "Cures" -- Avoid Products Promising to Halt Aging -- Stay Away from Products Promising to Cure Arthritis Overnight -- Shun Amazing Cancer Cures -- Suspect Common Sales Tactics -- Be Aware of Safety Concerns of Supplements -- Check Out Health Claims Before Sampling -- Avoid Impulse Buying! -- Be Wary of "Cures" Sold on the Web -- Watch Out for Celebrity Promotions -- Always Report If Anything Goes Wrong! -- Chapter 27: Ten Things to Remember about Pain and Sexuality -- Address Your Fears -- Figure Out What to Do about Specific Problems -- Check Your Medications -- Pay Attention to Your Emotions -- Talk to Your Partner -- Let Go of Stereotypes about Sex -- Get Help from the Experts -- Make Dates If You Sleep Separately -- Become Physically Fit and Work at Being Attractive -- Educate Yourself about Sex -- Chapter 28: Ten or So Web Sources for People with Chronic Pain -- Finding Information -- Finding Support Groups -- Finding Doctors Who Specialize in Pain Management.

Locating Medical Centers Specializing in Pain Management -- Resources Outside the United States -- Advocacy -- Chapter 29: Ten Things to Avoid When You Have Chronic Pain -- Don't Stop Caring for the Condition Causing Your Pain -- Don't Be a Couch Potato -- If You're Overweight, Lose Those Pounds -- Avoid Pain Triggers -- Don't Let Stress Pile on to Your Pain -- Don't Neglect Your Sleep -- Don't Let Depression Persist -- Don't Ignore New Pain Problems -- Don't Forget Your Rights as a Health Consumer -- Don't Complain Too Much -- Index.