Scientific American: Have Pain? Are You Crazy?

[natasa778]

Great article, incl lots of great (if depressing) comments!

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com...8/have-pain-are-you-crazy-rare-diseases-pt-2/

“It’s all in your head,” patients with unexplained pain or unexpected symptoms often hear.

My recent post on rare diseases and pediatric pain clearly resonated with a number of people, prompting my immersion in the medical literature and speaking with some experts and patients about these topics and about the difficulties patients with atypical symptoms face...

...
And as a person who herself gets weird illnesses and the parent of a child who does the same, I share the frustrations my patients. Sometimes you have to persist in seeking other opinions—a search that is expensive and exhausting, financially and emotionally. It is discouraging. But, as I remind myself and my patients, some times you have to kiss a lot of frogs until you find the prince. Just like Sick Chick did.

 

[vamah]

There is a term for denying pain medication to children who are in pain: child abuse.

 

[alex3619]

There is a term for denying pain medication to children who are in pain: child abuse.

The argument stems from Evidence Based Medicine. That is, in these types of cases, it has been determined by a bureaucratic (not scientific) review process that they don't really work and the side effects are too severe, and the cost is too high.

EBM is driving medicine in directions that are very dangerous, but its not possible for me to give an opinion on this particular case as I don't know the science. I do know that long term pain might cause many problems with children in the long term, its obvious. I strongly feel that these kinds of attitudes, of denying treatment, are becoming too pervasive. I suspect it has more to do with cost than patient help.