For example, Ted:

‘I had this awful pain across the bottom of my eye and down my nose. There’s a sizzling noise on top of my head and in the morning my left hand has pins and needles all over,’ said Ted, 66, who had been a foundry worker for 30 years.

Two years earlier, Ted had been referred to the pain clinic. He had been struck on the face by a bolt that had spun out from a galvanising machine like a high-speed missile. The bolt hit him in the face fracturing his cheek bone and causing severe lacerations. There was damage to the nerve just below the eye, leading to a neuralgia — or severe pain in the face due to damage of one of the main nerves to the face.

Consequent surgery had failed to remove the pain and in fact led to Ted suffering from severe depression which had been initially treated by his general practitioner.

‘Since the accident, I am very tense. I’m always fighting at home. I’m hard to put up with. The operation I had only helped in one way. Before the operation, my right nostril was always dry and blocked. But after the plastic surgeon operated on my face, my nose got better. But I still had the pain.’

Ted’s initial laceration had been sewn up and a plastic surgeon had confirmed there was nerve damage. But Ted’s pain was unremitting and he was totally incapable of coping with it. When Ted came to the pain clinic, he was very depressed because he had not worked for two years.

After examining him, it was decided to try a combination of medications because there was no suitable physical treatment. Also, he was too depressed to respond to psychological treatment. Ted was started on an anti-depressant, Surmontil, to control his pain and depression. He was also put on the anticonvulsant medication, Rivotril, to modify his experience of pain.

To his delight, Ted became pain-free on this combination. His depression stopped and he improved enough to get a job as a part-time cleaner in a school. This worked well until the school council decided that he had become too old and he was retired.

The pain team was also delighted with Ted’s progress at the clinic. The alternative suggested by insurance company doctors handling the Workers’ Compensation case, was that he should have had an alcohol block — carried out by injecting alcohol into the affected nerves causing the pain area to permanently block or damage the affected nerves.

Alternatively, he faced the more drastic step of severing the facial nerve causing the pain. This would have led to a permanent degree of numbness over the side of his face. The medical team argued strongly against this to the insurance company stating their belief that Ted’s personality change was also entirely secondary to his pain condition and, with proper medication and care, this personality change would be reversed.

By the time he finished at the pain clinic, he was a happy man. His marriage was back to normal and he had settled his claim for a very small amount of money. He was content to be rid of the pain and walk away from a nightmare episode in his life.

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Again, feel the gentle cradling of the waves of your breathing rhythm. And, while breathing in, feel the cool shade and the coolness on your forehead.

While breathing out, feel how your body is so comfortably relaxed.

‘In time, you become more and more aware of being refreshed as you breathe in. And, when you decide it’s time to end the state you’re now in, yawn and breathe in deeply and refreshingly while you stretch and flex your arms and legs. And then open your eyes. Look around and breathe in once more. If you were lying down, sit up by supporting yourself with your arms while you breathe out.’ (This keeps the body relaxed and prevents dizziness after the deep relaxation.)

Further information

This sampling of many of the approaches that may be used in the management of chronic pain is likely to whet the appetite of readers. It is suggested, therefore, that those interested in pursuing them further should contact the local state branch of the Australian Society of Hypnosis Limited or any hypnosis society affiliated with the International Society of Hypnosis which is based at the Austin Hos¬pital, in Heidelberg , Victoria. These are organisations consisting of only medical practitioners, dentists and psychologists. All have attended or are attending, recognised courses in hypnosis.

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Safety

Hypnosis is a remarkably safe procedure providing certain precautions are taken. Because self-hypnosis is entirely self-governed, there is no way it can be harmful. By choosing only to attend a properly qualified practitioner, a doctor or psychologist or one of the properly qualified dental practitioners, you can be assured that you will be reasonably assessed and properly treated. Nothing can be suggested which is not under your control.

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‘While I still have bouts of pain at night, they’re not as diabolical. I feel the treatment’s a success.’

Jane, 29, a television script writer had had a long history of severe abdominal pain following surgery for endometriosis. This condition can cause severe abdominal pain and the adhesion of pelvic organs due to bleeding into the pelvis as a result of cysts bursting.

Jane had been told that she had adhesions and that this was the cause of her severe pain. She had been attending one of the major public hospitals for more than six months and had been seen by different specialists including gastroenterologists as well as psychiatrists.

Before coming to the pain clinic, Jane had been given full medical investigations including CT scans and laparoscopics.

She had also had some acupuncture, transcutaneous nerve stimulation and a spinal nerve block. She had taken very strong compound analgesic tablets such as Panadeine Forte without any relief.

Jane claimed she was only getting up to 20 to 40 minutes of pain relief from either Pethidine or Morphine injections. She was taking these frequently.

She was also taking very high doses of anti-depressants at one stage. One reason for her depression was that, when she came to the pain clinic, she had not been working for six months.The pain specialist suggested that her pain be controlled with medication other than narcotics. This did not really appeal to her and she disappeared after two visits.

She was later referred to an outside colleague of the specialist not associated with the pain clinic for assessment, and she was finally admitted to the in-patient pain program but once again quit after only a week saying that she did not need the program’s intense psychological aspects. So it was decided that she should try procaine treatment.

A test dose of procaine was given and she had a very marked psychological reaction from the treatment, experiencing perceptual distortions.

‘The walls seem to move in on me. I get anxious and edgy about everything and nothing in particular,’ she said.

It was noted that even after the test dose of each injection her pain was much better. The progress continued after each further injection. But she was so shaken by the sensory experience that it was decided to give her the procaine combined with intravenous Valium.

Even then, she was still very anxious and disturbed by the way she felt during the procaine therapy. This is one of the lesser-known side-effects of the procaine therapy.

Handling the psychological/tension problems caused by the procaine injection itself calls on all the experience that a pain clinic has gained. But Jane was still prepared to try this treatment of procaine and intravenous Valium because it worked. In fact, since the day she started the procaine therapy she had virtually had no other pain-killing medication.

Jane started doing part-time work and then eventually went back to full-time work. She had a procaine injection about once every month for a further 3 months.

The only other treatment she now has for the abdominal pain is the occasional injection to relieve spasms of the internal organs due to adhesions. But she has had no narcotic analgesia now for over twelve months.

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