Healthy living
Medicines and supplements
Living with chronic pain
Hilary Hardman lived with chronic pain for 25 years. She finally found relief by learning how to manage the condition. Here's her story…
The moment Hilary Hardman realised she was seriously considering buying the traditional Yeast, Juniper and Beer Mixture Guaranteed To Cure Pain advertised on the internet, she managed a wry smile at her own foolishness.
"I almost clicked on the Buy Now button - but, thankfully, I managed to come to my senses just in time," says Hilary, 53, from Richmond, Surrey.
Hilary is a prime target of such remedies because for ten years she has suffered agonising daily pain in her arms and hands - a result, she thinks, of 25 years as an ill-trained typist.
In that time she has seen three specialists (one diagnosed repetitive strain injury, one couldn't decide and the other thought she was exaggerating) and has visited two pain clinics and tried everything they offered: hypnotherapy, acupuncture, steroid injections, physiotherapy and massage.
She has also spent hundreds of pounds on vitamins, nutritional therapy, reflexology - 'in fact, anything with an "ology" at the end, I've been there and done that,' she says.
For Hilary Hardman, a pain management programme was the only thing that worked.
"The funny thing is, they kept telling me the pain would never go away and I'd have to learn to live with it, but it's now a lot better than it was six months ago. Maybe I've relaxed and learnt to accept it and found that it's still worth getting up in the morning."
Written by Rachel Carlyle
Information on this site is for interest only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. You should consult your own doctor about any specific health concerns.
