CLOSED: This discussion has concluded.

Lack of Holistic Support from Medical System

I have been struggling with chronic pain on a daily basis for over two years and have been tossed back and forth between so many specialists that I have so many different diagnoses and no real treatment plan. I've also been told by my GP that I just have to 'live with the pain' which is beyond frustrating. I have had to go part time at work and have workplace modifications just to function. This whole journey has felt isolating, depressing and defeating. I long for a pain clinic in my community which has physio, doctors, specialists and counselors that are able to work together on a single patient to treat things more holistically so that I don't have to keep telling me story over and over to different professionals who only treat one aspect of it. I wish for something that is more integrative and for a medical team trained in pain science and narrative medicine approaches that are able to figure out the underlying issues as a collective. I also wish I had access to others in my community who are also struggling with pain so that we could support one another and share resources in an easy way. Finally, I wish that chronic pain was taken more seriously in terms of disability claims and by the wider medical profession.

Thank you for your interest in this consultation with the Canadian Pain Task Force towards an improved approach to better understand, prevent, and manage pain in Canada. 

The online consultation is now closed, and written submissions are no longer being accepted. 

Feedback provided from the consultation will inform a report identifying best and leading practices, potential areas for improvement, and elements of an improved approach to pain management in fall 2020. 

For more information on the Task Force, please visit the following link: https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/corporate/about-health-canada/public-engagement/external-advisory-bodies/canadian-pain-task-force.html  

Keep in touch with us via email at CPTF cptfsecretariatsecretariatgtcsld@canada.ca 

Sincerely, 

Canadian Pain Task Force