Why it’s so hard for doctors to understand your pain

[Indigophoton]

An interesting short article mostly about the influence of genetics on pain.

We’re all human beings, but we’re not all alike.

Each person experiences pain differently, from an emotional perspective as well as a physical one, and responds to pain differently. That means that physicians like myself need to evaluate patients on an individual basis and find the best way to treat their pain.

Today, however, doctors are under pressure to limit costs and prescribe treatments based on standardized guidelines. A major gap looms between the patient’s experience of pain and the limited “one size fits all” treatment that doctors may offer.

Some pain is a natural part of healing. But that pain can vary depending on who is experiencing it.

Let’s start with a question that for years perplexed physicians who specialize in anesthesiology: Do redheads require more anesthesia than other patients? Anecdotally, many anesthesiologists thought they did, but few took the question seriously.

Finally, a study examined women with naturally red hair compared to women with naturally dark hair when under standardized general anesthesia. Sure enough, most of the red-haired women required significantly more anesthesia before they didn’t react in response to a harmless but unpleasant electric shock. DNA analysis shows that nearly all redheads have distinct mutations in the melanocortin-1 receptor gene, which is the likely source of the difference in pain experiences.

https://theconversation.com/why-its-so-hard-for-doctors-to-understand-your-pain-93526

 

[alktipping]

the article talks about institutional medical bias ,then shows the authors bias about the reasons some people become addicted to pain killers to put it simply many painful conditions are chronic and thus will lead to long term use of painkillers. I personally think the word painkiller should be taken out of the language and replaced with pain modulator. my life experience tells me a lot of medicines just don't kill or even greatly alleviate pain.

 

[Webdog]

Early 1980s papers coauthored by a neighbor of mine on "patient-controlled analgesia", concluding that patient self-administered intravenous morphine "is an efficacious and safe method of providing for postoperative pain relief."

https://journals.lww.com/annalsofsu...Controlled_Analgesia__A_New_Concept_of.4.aspx
http://annals.org/aim/article-abstract/696878/patient-controlled-analgesia

Yet here we are 35 years later being told patients shouldn't be trusted to manage their own pain relief.

 

[alktipping]

that is paternalistic medicine for you . I wonder just how long medical professionals have had this dysfunctional mistrust in patients after all the overwhelming majority of us would rather not see a doctor unless its absolutely necessary . unless some of them are just mirroring their own mistrust belief in human nature.

 

[Arnie Pye]

I wonder just how long medical professionals have had this dysfunctional mistrust in patients

For at least 2000 years. The effect is hugely more pronounced if the patient is female. If they (doctors) can get away with implying the patient is stupid, immoral, lazy, attention-seeking, lying, and mentally ill then they will do so.