The 2019 Southern Pain Society (SPS) conference was held September 13-15 in New Orleans.  We enjoyed reconnecting with previous conference attendees and meeting many first-time attendees. It was great to have a new attendee share that “this is great–so much better than I ever expected.” It would be difficult to find someone who didn’t learn at least a few new things.

“I just want my life back, I want to feel like me again”. This is a common refrain in our work as pain psychologists. Too often individuals with chronic pain feel as though their lives have fundamentally changed from ones defined by activity and engagement in a meaningful life to ones full of limitations, isolation, and feelings of loss.

In a widely-shared article published in the Atlantic in 2015, titled “How Doctors Take Women’s Pain Less Seriously,” author Joe Fassler tells of his wife Rachel’s visit to the ER after she is suddenly stricken with excruciating abdominal pain, later revealed to be a life-threatening ovarian torsion. . The article tells of their agonizing 14-hour wait in the ER while Rachel’s pain is dismissed, undertreated, and misdiagnosed.

All patients had the diagnosis of chronic migraine. Almost all patients had utilized Botox for their chronic migraine. Each patient had utilized at least 3 preventive medications in the past. Many of these patients remained on a daily preventive. Approximately 60% of the patients were considered to have refractory chronic migraine.

The members of the Board of Directors of the Southern Pain Society were saddened to read about the possible need for the American Pain Society to cease operations.  We have long appreciated the scientific contributions and clinical guidelines for pain management made by the APS.