Health Ask the helpline guy brain is from Arthritis Cares helpline team. You can call the helpline free on 0808 800 4050 Q my pain is so bad, i feel that my life is unbearable. i no longer work as a nurse because of it (im 58). what can i do to make it stop? sonia guy brain answers: The really hard thing about chronic pain is that it can seem to intensify when you need to do things. It can become difficult to manage; trying to protect the painful joint or part of the body will get in the way of keeping moving which is essential when living with arthritis. Thereisoften a cycle involving pain, stress and difficult emotions. You can read more about it in the Arthritis Care booklet coping with pain, or call us on0808 800 4050 for a copy. Unscrambling a pain cycle will be an individual process. A good first step is to describe the pain to someone medically qualified, such as a sympathetic GP. Give examples of how your pain affectsyou functional examples help the medics visualise your situation. If your sleep is affected, its worth mentioning. If you cant work, you may have financial worries, and long-term pain can be associated with psychological issues such as anger, insecurity, or inadequacy. One of the referral options that a GP can offer is to a pain management clinic. Whats good about pain clinics is that they offer holistic treatment you are not just a knee or a back problem to them. A new patient should have a thorough assessment, which will determine the options available. Typically, you might be able to explore different medication, review your self-management strategies and a pain psychologist may be available to help you learn about the emotional techniques for dealing with pain. Realising that you can still live a full life, accompanied by pain not controlled by it is the goal. Here at the helpline, we provide information and support, and tell you what the recommended self-management may be but we dont offer medical advice. If the situation is more complicated, why not call us on our freephone number 0808 800 4050 10.00-16.00 weekdays to talk it over? Even if you have a lot of experience with self-managing your arthritis, its worth having a chat.