"Living with Pain" is this Your Only Option?

The American Chronic Pain Association estimates that 86 million Americans are "living with pain". Using the phase "living with pain" and not "suffering from pain" creates the impression that this is an acceptable "lifestyle". As an acupuncturist and practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine my approach is wellness not an acceptance of "un-wellness."
The following is an excerpt from a report by the American Pain Society:

How effective is the medical profession in meeting the need for pain relief?

Almost all chronic pain sufferers have gone to a doctor for relief of their pain at one time or another. Almost 4 of every 10 are not currently doing so, since they think either there is nothing more a doctor can do or in one way or another their pain is under control or they can deal with it themselves.

This is not the case with those having very severe pain; over 7 of every 10 are currently going to a doctor for pain relief. In addition, significant numbers of those with very severe pain are significantly more likely to require emergency room visits, hospitalization and even psychological counseling or therapy to treat their pain.

A significant proportion (over one-fourth) of all chronic pain sufferers wait for at least 6 months before going to a doctor for relief of their pain because they underestimate the seriousness of it and think they can tough it out.

Chronic pain sufferers are having difficulty in finding doctors who can effectively treat their pain, since almost one half have changed doctors since their pain began; almost a fourth have made at least 3 changes. The primary reasons for a change are the doctor not taking their pain seriously enough, the doctor’s unwillingness to treat it aggressively, the doctor’s lack of knowledge about pain and the fact they still had too much pain. This level of frustration is significantly higher among those with very severe pain where the majority have changed doctors at least once and almost of every 3 have done it 3 or more times. Their primary reason for changing was still having too much pain after treatment.

Doctors are not a major barrier when a patient asks for a medicine they saw or heard about; in the majority of instances the doctor prescribes it. Similarly, in the majority of instances when a sufferer has been referred to a program or clinic for relief, in the great majority of referrals their managed care or workman’s comp program permitted access.