I’ve got two books at publisher now and one should be out in July the other in Sept. Below are excerpts of my pain book which will be on sale at Amazon.com hopelully in July 2011:

Chronic Pain:
A Two Part Book of My Journey With Chronic Pain and Part 2 A Self-Help Guide for Coping with Chronic Pain.

Part One
Chapter I: Death

I Want to Die. The original title of this book was “Dead Life: Life Dead” but some of my friends said it sounded too gloomy. And well, I didn’t really want to die but at times I really did want to die. I just couldn’t go on living that way. Rather, I didn’t and don’t want to live with this pain. When you have severe, chronic pain it is like being dead.
Well, no, really, sometimes I really want to die to escape the pain and the loss of quality of life that results from it. It’s like living in a cesspool of human waste similar to the “Slum Dog Millionaire.” This all sounds confusing and reflects the confused state of mind that comes with chronic, severe pain. F*** it.
How did I get here? Who’d have thought that my life would end up like this? F*** this shit.
Dear reader, I apologize for my vulgarity here and in other parts of this book. I don’t generally curse but sometimes that is the only way to express the feelings I have, to break through the polite circle of courteous behavior. Severe pain doesn’t give a f*** about politeness. Intense continuous pain, tears, and rages. Rage at the pain, the “system” that supposedly treats it, and how the pain goes on and on, and never stops. When my patients read it, they say, “Yeah. Doc. You really know what it’s like. The cursing has to stay in the book cause that’s what makes it real. It makes me feel like I can talk to you. You get it. Leave the curse words in; they make the book seem more real.”
So why should you buy and read this book? Because it’s about learning how to cope with the pain. This self-book is for people who suffer unbearable, severe, screaming bad pain and those who live with, love, and support them. In spite of the pain they continue to live, as much as they can, sometimes a breath at a time, looking at the sky, seeing the clouds, feeling the cool breeze and the warm sun, and gradually build a new life out of the catastrophe of their pain, even though the pain never goes away. Chronic pain happens—it is real. You have to deal with it. You have no choice. Suffering is, however, to some degree, optional. It is very difficult if not impossible to get across to someone who doesn’t have or who hasn’t had severe, chronic pain, how totally, totally devastating, debilitating, debasing, and humiliating it is. It is like being dead but alive or alive but dead in all the things you used to be able to do; simple things like bending down to tie a shoe, or opening a door, or even getting out of bed. It takes me an hour or two to get up and going. First I wake up, and then I think about moving my body and getting my legs off the bed, and then sitting for a few minutes to get the energy to actually stand up. Then there is the slow walk to the bathroom, then brushing my teeth and squatting down so that I don’t lean over the sink—as that simple act of bending over will cause me more pain.
I’ve read other books on chronic pain, supposedly written by persons with chronic pain, but their description of their pain doesn’t come close to coming through in their written words. They either haven’t really had severe, chronic pain, or they are missing the point by trying to make it an academic review of research.
By sharing my story I hope to let you know that you aren’t alone and that there are some things you can do to decrease the suffering. There is water in the desert; you just have to find out how to get it. My story of my own pain and suffering also lets you know that I have been there, am there, which I hope will make my suggestions of self-help more meaningful to you. I have worked with more than a hundred chronic severe pain patients, and I have learned more from them than from any textbook or course of treating Chronic Pain.
I purposely do not cite many sources, as this is not meant to be an academic work. I have tried each of the specific strategies mention and found that some worked for me and some didn’t. I caution you and urge you to consult your MD before trying any of the coping skills I suggest.