Understanding Chronic Pain: A Doctor Talks to His Patients (Paperback)

by Robert T. Jr.; M.d. Cochran (Author) "The body is able, at least over the short-term, to protect itself from pain..." (more)
Key Phrases: biologic memory, opiate therapy, ruptured lumbar disc, Sue Jones (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"As an advocate for chronic pain patients, Dr. Cochran presents and accurate account of the personal and painful struggles of his patients. This exceptional book will enlighten patients and health care practitioners." --Sharon Ostalecki, PhD, author of The Complete Guide to Fibromyalgia: From Medical Experts and Patients

"Dr. Cochran's book should be read by all physicians and given to all patients who suffer with chronic pain." --Clifton K. Meador, MD, Executive Director/ Meharry Vanderbilt Alliance

"Dr. Cochran's compassion, as well as his comprehension of the scope of painfulness, is apparent throughout this book. His understanding of chronic pain helps temper some of the more difficult subjects he touches on. . . . His insights into the role of childhood abuse will be particularly important to those who have know that experience." --Carol, who suffers pain all over her body

Product Description
"This is a personal narrative, a record of my passage among victims of chronic pain and the discoveries that have come from those encounters. I write for physicians, nurses, therapists, and caregivers, but mostly, I write for you who suffer the disease. I know you very well, perhaps as well as anybody in the world. I have listened to your stories with patience and attention, and I have been greatly rewarded. You have trusted me with the deep recesses of your thoughts and fears, and the memories of the dreadful experiences that are so often the origin of chronic pain. I have treated thousands of you and I believe I have some understanding of your illness. I offer a series of essays about people like you who suffer chronic pain. From their case histories, I derive certain conclusions. Some conclusions are bold and imaginative. Some are disturbing and frightful. Not all of them will apply to you, but some certainly will. My wish is that you gain greater understanding of your illness, for only understanding it will you conquer it." Robert T. Cochran Jr., MD

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Providence House Publishers; 2nd edition (June 13, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1577363957
• ISBN-13: 978-1577363958
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #575,904 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book on the Subject., May 5, 2004

By	Tim Pheil (Selah, Wa USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Understanding Chronic Pain: A Doctor Talks to His Patients (Hardcover)

Very good book. Dr Cochran goes places that no one else goes. He talks about the psychological, psychosocial and psychiatric effects of chronic pain. He the first one to cover Conversion Disorder and Functional illness in a book of this type. This book is about treatment with medication, many different types of medication. After 30 yrs of treating chronic pain he very astute at treating it. I think that those who suffer should read with an open mind to the fact that what started out as in an injury may have transformed in to something different. He discusses the disease of the body and the mind. This isn't a feel better without medication and diet book. Thank Heavens.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired?, April 28, 2006

By	Martha Bryce (Kentucky) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Understanding Chronic Pain: A Doctor Talks to His Patients (Hardcover)

If you are sick and tired of being sick and tired, please read Dr. Robert T. Cochran Jr's book, Understanding Chronic Pain: A Doctor Talks To His Patients. I am not a medical professional; I am a 51 year old woman who has, for the past 20 years been diagnosed with painful and exhausting illnesses like Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, the Epstein Barr virus, Fibromyalgia, degenerative disc disease that required surgery, menstrual problems, and rheumatoid arthritis. As soon as I find a way to ease the pain of one problem, another excruciating painful problem manifests. Some of you may suffer so badly that you can't hold a job. Your family and friends have had to deal with your unpredictable health, so your social life and intimate connections have dwindled to nothing. Unless your employer is incredibly flexible, you either can't hold a job or have to function under the stress of constant pain, worrying about when you'll make the mistake that will get you fired. To top it off, you really don't care because if you are out of work, at least you will be able to get enough rest.

Worst of all, you may think that this is all in your mind.

Let Dr. Cochran explain to you that it is all in your mind - and in your body, too. After reading this book, you will, for the first time, understand why you hurt and why you can never seem to stop the cycle of pain. You will have information that you can share with your physician that may lead to the path of a life that is not ruled by pain. I have not found the solution to my chronic pain yet, but Dr. Cochran's book has given me something that I have not had for many, many years. It has given me hope. Let it give you hope, too.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding, original, and compassionate help, February 25, 2006

By	George Grady "GFG" (Boston, MA,USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Understanding Chronic Pain: A Doctor Talks to His Patients (Hardcover)

This is that rare book that will help and inform physicians and patients alike through fascinating and instructive "stories" (case reports.) There are no claims of dramatic breakthroughs but rather a believable success rate that can be raised from the usual 25% or so to more than 50%, which is dramatic when one considers that Dr. Cochran ends up with referrals that have not responded to any number of treatments. The approach Dr. Cochran uses involves an exceptional amount of listening to the whole history, and a willingness to try various combinations of medications and insightful thinking about factors that may trigger or perpetuate chronic pain. Readers can find other books on the subject (see cross references, Amazon), and the scientifically minded can sample controlled studies such as "Combination Therapy for Neuropathic Pain-Which Drugs, Which Combination, Which Patients", New England Journal of Medicine, 352:13, March 31,2005. As a doctor of the same vintage as Dr. Cochran, I agree that the time has arrived to use the insights of modern immunology, i.e. that the body may attack itself in certain diseases (Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis, etc.) in such a way that the "immune" response is counterproductive, analogous to how acute pain may provide protective reactions but chronic pain means that the mechanism has gone awry and is defeating the original purpose. Dr. Cochran describes the likely ways in which this perverted response can occur, and what might work to break the cycle. I have bought an extra copy so I can lend it to willing readers while keeping my original copy readily available.